Nt Should Open Practices

[mad dog]

not questioning truthiness... just commenting on the "take my ball and go home" approach to writing an article. Doesn't get what he wants, so he lays into everything negative he can find about the program in the past few years. Let's see...there's a less-than-desirable stadium, low attendance, obligatory Southlake reference... check check check. Oh and let's also comment on how NT isn't in the same position as the top program in the state... check. Ok, I think that's everything... lets send this baby to print!

Anyways, Im done with this topic... I'll never understand it, and I'm ok with that.

That's a pretty good summary of my reaction, as well. No real issue with the sentiment, just the method.

While I think it a bit strange that such an ardent supporter would choose to take shots at HIS university in such a public fashion, I'm not really that familiar with the guy, or who he was. So I'll refrain from further comment about that.

[JayDub]

You just love being a pain in my ass, don't you?

[Green Nightmare]

Jaydub is right

Tim Mac's coverage of this program, the first time we were on the rise, was superior to Vito. I never got the impression he was a DD mouthpiece.

I see his point, but he needs to respect what Dodge is trying to do.

[greenjoe]

The first time I went to College Sation, about 20 years age, I wanted to get a look at the Aggies and of storied Kyle Field. It just so happened that NT was going to open against the Aggies in the next week or so. I walked up the ramp into Kyle, and was stopped by a nice elderly man. He asked me what my business was, and then told me that Aggie practices were closed to the public. We visited and he was very nice, but he wouldn't let me in to watch the practice. I could have been a NT coach scouting the Aggie practice, or a spy from UT or OU. Anyway, not all practices are open.

Thanks Boise

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[Got5onIt]

I say we hit little Timmy with a bottle of spahetti sauce at a game in which Vizza starts, while the godfather theme is playing, with everyone yelling in Joe Pesci accents, and waving the Italian flag.

[GreenBat]

YES!!!!!!!

But your HSOs, don't always agree with mine.

Edited August 16, 2007 by GreenBat

[EagleMBA]

This is NOT Burger King...Tim can NOT have it his way...he'll get it Coach Dodge's way, if he gets it at all!

I am sick to death of media who think they are ENTITLED to things others don't get. If Coach Dodge hasn't thrown his practices and access to the players wide open, there is a strategic reason he has not done so. Go with it!

And yeah, my panties are in a wad!!

[mad dog]

SPOOORTS!

[meangreenfreak]

SPOOORTS!

AND ALL THAT IMPLIES!

[emmitt01]

I too find fault with T. McMahon...and mind you I was always one of his most ardent supporters up until today. I can't knock what he says because it is all true but I sure as hell find fault with both the timing and 'bruised ego backlash' slant it has. Todge is a major media story both because of his massive success in this media market and the fact that the high school to college jump is a story in and of itself. This means that quite a few papers and their editors probably want to see some print...and I am GREATLY appreciative. If Todge makes it hard for T. McMahon and the rest of the media to spoon feed our gameplans to OU and SMU then guess what...I HAVE ZERO SYMPATHY FOR THE REPORTERS. Think it's hard for a representative of one of our opponents to hang a camera around his/her neck? (hell, wouldn't that make it easier for them to "sneek a peek" anyway?) I know, I know, OU would never resort to spying on lil' ol' NT, right? All they've done in the last few years was drop their home opener to TCU at home and lose to Boise State on National TV. Sure, we aren't TCU or Boise State just yet but when have you ever known a monolith to take chances when the cracks start appearing in their dam? Not to mention that if you ask any UT fan with an eye for history they'll tell you that one of the greatest legends in the history of the TX/OU rivalry has to do with a certain OU coach and a spying scandal.

Yeah maybe media attention will die down with losses to OU and SMU. If those two losses and a focused well-oiled offense and defense that can SUPRISE someone leads to 6,7 or 8 wins after those two losses (and I'm not ready to concede a loss to SMU) then I think the reporters will come back around. Gee, bowl win in his first season? Think Todge couldn't get a lil' positive spin out of that one?

[MeanGreen61]

B$#ching because reports can't get into practice. Before they b$#ched because they were ask to attend. (singing off key) "What a difference a year makes"

[meangreenfreak]

IF TD continues to keep practices closed, think about what it means for our opponents. They will be watching SLC film when preparing for NT. As of now, they have nothing to prepare for. I don't think they will get just a ton of film from the OU game. I think it's VERY smart on TD's part to keep the advantage as long as he can.

IF the other teams have nothing to prepare for, we can surprise their tails off with our offensive attack.

[Bryan316]

Why would any coach want reporters and camerafolk wandering around on the sidelines and such? That's a distraction and a liability in case one of them gets in the way and knocked over. Sit on the park benches that face the practice fields and watch through the fence.

[Evan]

First of all I can see both sides of the situation, but I do think there was a little tongue and cheek to Tim's editorial. Believe it or not, I don't think that Tim really believes he gave Rick the idea about hiring Dodge.

That is the key point here. It was in his blog and is meant as an editorial. This was not a major "published article" as some have posted. I do agree with others that Tim is a great Alum and covered NT well when he was here, before moving up in the Belo tree.

We have been lucky as fans to have had the unusually high level of access in the past. Dickey with all of his faults was very fan friendly when it came to access.

We always seemed to complain that there was never enough coverage in the papers about NT. And as I remember last week people were throwing a fit that parents were allowed in but not fans or reporters, and we were turning away big donors.

If Dodge wants to close practice, that's his decision, I'm fine with it. Some will fine with it, others won't be, but it's his call......

Harry and I will have Brett Vito on the Podcast tonight and I'm sure it will be discussed.... but hopefully more football than anything else.

........shameless Podcast plug I know

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

On second thought, I think Dodge should open practice to reporters. Then we can save the money NT would normally spend on tackling dummies.

Best post in the thread.... (my oppinion)

--At this point everyone including opponents are wondering what his NT offense will look like... [ plus the first two opponets are not that far away from Denton ] After a game or two I suspect things will change somewhat..... patience... It likely will be different next year also when teams know what to expect anyway.

[Cr1028]

I woud just like to know how in the hell his practice notes are going to build us a stadium or even increase attendance.

"Hey honey, did you see in T-Mac's article he said that Daniel Meager was 3 for 5 with no picks in practice today? I think I'm going to go out right now and donate to the Mean Green Club and get some season tickets as well."

Putting up 40+ points on SMU. Yes. Scoring a few TDs on OU on national TV. Yes. Practice notes by Timmy Mac. No.

[NT80]

First of all I can see both sides of the situation, but I do think there was a little tongue and cheek to Tim's editorial. Believe it or not, I don't think that Tim really believes he gave Rick the idea about hiring Dodge.

That is the key point here. It was in his blog and is meant as an editorial. This was not a major "published article" as some have posted. I do agree with others that Tim is a great Alum and covered NT well when he was here, before moving up in the Belo tree.

We have been lucky as fans to have had the unusually high level of access in the past. Dickey with all of his faults was very fan friendly when it came to access.

We always seemed to complain that there was never enough coverage in the papers about NT. And as I remember last week people were throwing a fit that parents were allowed in but not fans or reporters, and we were turning away big donors.

If Dodge wants to close practice, that's his decision, I'm fine with it. Some will fine with it, others won't be, but it's his call......

Harry and I will have Brett Vito on the Podcast tonight and I'm sure it will be discussed.... but hopefully more football than anything else.

........shameless Podcast plug I know

Good points. TMac is saying what many of us have been saying for years ... we wanted more media, we got more media with the hiring of Dodge, now UNT wants to shut it off? Now is not the time to kill the media with trying to get fans, donors, a new stadium, better recruits, etc...all influenced by media. Media will shut itself off when NT loses and we'll be back to begging them to cover us again, why now? Think people.

Edited August 16, 2007 by NT80

[gangrene]

First of all I can see both sides of the situation, but I do think there was a little tongue and cheek to Tim's editorial. Believe it or not, I don't think that Tim really believes he gave Rick the idea about hiring Dodge.

That is the key point here. It was in his blog and is meant as an editorial. This was not a major "published article" as some have posted. I do agree with others that Tim is a great Alum and covered NT well when he was here, before moving up in the Belo tree.

We have been lucky as fans to have had the unusually high level of access in the past. Dickey with all of his faults was very fan friendly when it came to access.

We always seemed to complain that there was never enough coverage in the papers about NT. And as I remember last week people were throwing a fit that parents were allowed in but not fans or reporters, and we were turning away big donors.

If Dodge wants to close practice, that's his decision, I'm fine with it. Some will fine with it, others won't be, but it's his call......

Harry and I will have Brett Vito on the Podcast tonight and I'm sure it will be discussed.... but hopefully more football than anything else.

........shameless Podcast plug I know

Good points. TMac is saying what many of us have been saying for years ... we wanted more media, we got more media with the hiring if Dodge, now UNT wants to shut it off? Now is not the time to kill the media with trying to get fans, donors, a new stadium, better recruits, etc...all influenced by media. Media will shut itself off when NT loses and we'll be back to begging them to cover us again, why now? Think people.

I agree with both of you. Just like we are not even close to being in the position of turning away fans from our gates (and I've seen some on here post things to the affect of "if you don't like it, just don't come to the game") we are no where close to being in the position of turning away media coverage.

However, Tim's blog was written very much in jest and those of you that took offense to it need to lighten up.

I buy into the theory that Dodge is just keeping practices closed for now in an attempt to limit the knowledge our opponents will have about our team. Once we play a few games and the opponents get game film, I expect and hope that the media will have more access to our practices. I imagine there will still be instances throughout the year in which it will be beneficial to close a day or week of practice so we can work on new or trick plays for a specific game. Reporters and even broadcasters tend to have very big mouths. John Madden is probably the worst. How many times have you heard him say something about what a team was working on in practice during the week?? Michael Irvin blamed Madden for revealing his push-off technique on national television and it was largely because of Madden's commentary on that technique that the NFL created stricter rules for offensive pass interference.

[greenjoe]

Presuming that OU or SMU wanted film of Southlake Carroll, where would they get it ? I know each university exchanges their game films, but is NT obligated to give another school a high school film ?

Thanks Boise

[FirefightnRick]

nice elderly man. He asked me what my business was, and then told me that Aggie practices were closed to the public. We visited and he was very nice, but he wouldn't let me in to watch the practice. I could have been a NT coach scouting the Aggie practice, or a spy from UT or OU. Anyway, not all practices are open.

My grandfather had a saying he repeated all the time that "you get more bees with honey than you would with Vinegar

". And it's always amazing what a difference it makes

when people who are in charge to DO A JOB remember the simpleness of "customer service" and treat people kindly when doing their job.

If you don't want members of the press to get rubbed the wrong way, treat them with respect and be upfront with them. Otherwise your asking for it, and who in hell at North Texas can afford that?

Rick

Edited August 16, 2007 by FirefightnRick

[GoMeanGreen1999]

I like Tim and most of the reporting he does, though I don't agree with all that he writes as with most writters. That being said, if Dodge wants to open them, fine with me. If he wants to keep them closed for now - fine with me. Dodge is getting far more publicity at this point then we got in four years from going to four straight bowl games. I just can't get over how good this hire was for the publicity we are getting.

[calvin]

I understand the coaching side of not having the practices open to the public but on the other hand it is a little frustrating to go to practice and have to watch it through a gate when in the past you could be right there with all the action.

[MeanGreen61]

I understand the coaching side of not having the practices open to the public but on the other hand it is a little frustrating to go to practice and have to watch it through a gate when in the past you could be right there with all the action.

So you're missin' the DD era ?

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

My grandfather had a saying he repeated all the time that "you get more bees with honey than you would with Vinegar

". And it's always amazing what a difference it makes

when people who are in charge to DO A JOB remember the simpleness of "customer service" and treat people kindly when doing their job.

If you don't want members of the press to get rubbed the wrong way, treat them with respect and be upfront with them. Otherwise your asking for it, and who in hell at North Texas can afford that?

Rick

--- I don't see that closing practice especially in the first year of being the head coach is being "disrespectful" of anyone. I would think banning them later in the year and maybe next year for the first week might be counter-productive though. Winning or doing well at the start will get us a lot more respect than opening practices from day one. We are not being rude to them ... just not allowing them to view what is happening..... never again (under Dodge) will opponents know so little about what he may do.

---Letting them in also just opens the door for criticism of his methods and activities... he has enough problems now on that front because he is a HS coach who is becoming a college coach. How is keeping them out being disrespecful...?? It may not media friendly but not insulting nor a sign of disrepect..

Edited August 16, 2007 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[MeanGreen61]

My grandfather had a saying he repeated all the time that "you get more bees with honey than you would with Vinegar

". And it's always amazing what a difference it makes

when people who are in charge to DO A JOB remember the simpleness of "customer service" and treat people kindly when doing their job.

If you don't want members of the press to get rubbed the wrong way, treat them with respect and be upfront with them. Otherwise your asking for it, and who in hell at North Texas can afford that?

Rick

There's another old saying. "Don't let the tail wag the dog".