Arkansas Media on Basketball

[-Blu]

Someone let me know if this is just me or does the Arkansas media really doesn't care about basketball.  This reason I'm making this thread is because of the beating our own media has been giving the basketball team over a 29 point win over Savannah State.  I've literally never seen a team take so much flak for a win with this large of a margin.

It started this week just listening to Sports Talk Bo.  Besides the fact that they only talk about basketball for probably 20 minutes on a 4 hour show,  They just gave the Bball team no love for this win and made it all negative, and one of the guys that works on show that's still a student, came on and gave his take on the game and was stating how pathetic it was and how we have to learn to make statements against teams like this, and just overall bashing the team for their performance in the game.  If you didn't watch the game and know what the final score was you would have thought we just squeaked by with a win.  And even with that said, Bo is always skeptical about the basketball team and points out the flaws and how we don't have a real pg etc.  That wouldn't be so bad, except for the fact that if you call and say ANYTHING negative about the football team, CBB, or Brandon Allen's QB play, he will literally go off on you like that's his Dad and his son and defend the heck out of the razorbacks no matter how bad they lost.  Bo is literally the only person in the nation that think that Brandon Allen running a 4'7 is fast.  But, if you wanna call and talk bad about Ky Madden and PG play, or if CMA's seat is getting hot, that's just fine by him and he agrees with most of it.  I just don't understand how you can be an extreme homer for the football team, but any little thing that's not perfect the basketball team does you like to point that out.  It's funny to me because every game after the football team losses the focus on the positives and talk about recruits coming in etc.  But, the basketball team wins by 29 points after having a bad first half and the entire focus is on how bad we played the first half.

And the Razorback Pig Trail Nation show is even worse, I record that show every week and watch it, and I was literally shocked at their 5 min coverage of the basketball team.  It was nothing but negative.  The started the segment by calling the win an "Ugly Win", then Mike Irwin comes on and the first thing he says is "A buddy of mine told me he turned the channel after the first 8 minutes."  Who says stuff like that?  I didn't hear him say anything about his buddies turning the channel when the football team was losing to Samford.  And the entire focus was on how bad the team played, and how this was the 7th worse attendance for a game.  Like, why even say that, who cares about the 7th worse attendance, that's the first time I've ever heard anything mentioned about being the 7th worse or 7th best at anything, that's completely irrelevant information.  And this is the same show that praises everything CBB and the football team does.

I know some of the media guys post on here and read fourms, and I just want to say, if you guys are going to be homers for the football team, do the same for the basketball team, because they deserve that same respect from their home media.  If your going to nitpick everything the basketball team does in wins, then I want to hear some nitpicking on the football team when we are down going into the 4th quarter against teams like Samford, and losing leads to teams like Rutgers.

[SPAL]

Well said ....media coverage has as much of an effect on attendance as the product itself. +1

[Dr. Starcs]

Who is this "Arkansas media" you speak of?

I'm not aware of any. Lol

[Breems]

Arkansas media can be pretty elementary. It's often obvious that some of the guests don't even watch the games, but it's their job to read the statline and make stuff up. Bo often tries to overcompensate for being the realist.

As for criticism of the Savannah St. game, Razorback fans should be encouraged. A culture of winning is slowly developing right under our noses. A culture that questions anything other than a complete beatdown night-in and night-out, just like the latter Petrino teams that let teams like ULM and Troy hang around too long.

[chiefhawg]

Someone let me know if this is just me or does the Arkansas media really doesn't care about basketball.  This reason I'm making this thread is because of the beating our own media has been giving the basketball team over a 29 point win over Savannah State.  I've literally never seen a team take so much flak for a win with this large of a margin.

It started this week just listening to Sports Talk Bo.  Besides the fact that they only talk about basketball for probably 20 minutes on a 4 hour show,  They just gave the Bball team no love for this win and made it all negative, and one of the guys that works on show that's still a student, came on and gave his take on the game and was stating how pathetic it was and how we have to learn to make statements against teams like this, and just overall bashing the team for their performance in the game.  If you didn't watch the game and know what the final score was you would have thought we just squeaked by with a win.  And even with that said, Bo is always skeptical about the basketball team and points out the flaws and how we don't have a real pg etc.  That wouldn't be so bad, except for the fact that if you call and say ANYTHING negative about the football team, CBB, or Brandon Allen's QB play, he will literally go off on you like that's his Dad and his son and defend the heck out of the razorbacks no matter how bad they lost.  Bo is literally the only person in the nation that think that Brandon Allen running a 4'7 is fast.  But, if you wanna call and talk bad about Ky Madden and PG play, or if CMA's seat is getting hot, that's just fine by him and he agrees with most of it.  I just don't understand how you can be an extreme homer for the football team, but any little thing that's not perfect the basketball team does you like to point that out.  It's funny to me because every game after the football team losses the focus on the positives and talk about recruits coming in etc.  But, the basketball team wins by 29 points after having a bad first half and the entire focus is on how bad we played the first half.

And the Razorback Pig Trail Nation show is even worse, I record that show every week and watch it, and I was literally shocked at their 5 min coverage of the basketball team.  It was nothing but negative.  The started the segment by calling the win an "Ugly Win", then Mike Irwin comes on and the first thing he says is "A buddy of mine told me he turned the channel after the first 8 minutes."  Who says stuff like that?  I didn't hear him say anything about his buddies turning the channel when the football team was losing to Samford.  And the entire focus was on how bad the team played, and how this was the 7th worse attendance for a game.  Like, why even say that, who cares about the 7th worse attendance, that's the first time I've ever heard anything mentioned about being the 7th worse or 7th best at anything, that's completely irrelevant information.  And this is the same show that praises everything CBB and the football team does.

I know some of the media guys post on here and read fourms, and I just want to say, if you guys are going to be homers for the football team, do the same for the basketball team, because they deserve that same respect from their home media.  If your going to nitpick everything the basketball team does in wins, then I want to hear some nitpicking on the football team when we are down going into the 4th quarter against teams like Samford, and losing leads to teams like Rutgers.

I agree with you 1000%.

[Smithian]

One, football is more popular than basketball. Football will almost always get the lion's share of coverage. Come January/February it will shift more to basketball.

Two, you're right, some people are negative about basketball. The atmosphere around the program was toxic for a few years and most people are still waiting for postseason results to get them excited. IMO, the issue facing Arkansas basketball is much more apathy than it is pessimism. When the Hogs make the tournament that will change for the better.

[Smithian]

Arkansas media can be pretty elementary. It's often obvious that some of the guests don't even watch the games, but it's their job to read the statline and make stuff up. Bo often tries to overcompensate for being the realist.

As for criticism of the Savannah St. game, Razorback fans should be encouraged. A culture of winning is slowly developing right under our noses. A culture that questions anything other than a complete beatdown night-in and night-out, just like the latter Petrino teams that let teams like ULM and Troy hang around too long.

If you think people complaining after wins is a unique issue for winning programs then you have forgotten the bad old days.

[cardsNhogs]

We should be hearing more basketball talk now because Football is OVER. We won't until conference starts though is reality.

[Breems]

If you think people complaining after wins is a unique issue for winning programs then you have forgotten the bad old days.

No, it's much different. It's knowing we are better versus wishing we were better.

[The Hogfather]

I can't stand guys acting like they're "keeping it real" by ALWAYS being skeptical/dismissive of anything positive regarding Hog sports.  Tommy Smith does it, Bruce James does it, Harry King does it, Bo does it sometimes, etc.  They end up sounding like people from outside of Arkansas, who don't ever think Arkansas is worth a chit in any sport.  Very annoying.  I don't mind true REALISTS.  I mind people who say they are Hog fans TRYING (and not succeeding) to be realists.

[-Blu]

One, football is more popular than basketball. Football will almost always get the lion's share of coverage. Come January/February it will shift more to basketball.

Two, you're right, some people are negative about basketball. The atmosphere around the program was toxic for a few years and most people are still waiting for postseason results to get them excited. IMO, the issue facing Arkansas basketball is much more apathy than it is pessimism. When the Hogs make the tournament that will change for the better.

Yea, I understand football is the most popular sport for the university and it deserves most of the coverage, however football season is over and we got a basketball team that is now projected by most experts to be a tournament team.  There is so much to talk about with the Bball team right now, and a lot of it is positive.  And there is enough fans that care about basketball for them to discuss it more than they do.  It just seems like a lot of the media guys like Bo really don't like basketball, and they just talk about it because they have to for a few minutes. I don't even think Bo watches most of the games from the way he talks, I've never heard him go in depth talking about what a player was doing, or how they made adjustments or anything like that.  But, he knows all the 40 times of all the football players, and even if the football team loses by 50 points, he finds something positive from the game to talk about.

Like I said, I am just shocked how our own media is treating the basketball team.  It's suppose to be EXTREME HOMERISM by our own media, when I turn on the radio to listen to them talk about basketball it should seem like we're going to win the championship, they should be getting people hyped and excited about the season and talking about all the positives, even if we are 0-9 right now.  And I wouldn't complain if they didn't do this for the football team.  Bo Mattingly talks about Brandon Allen like he's Johnny Manziel or something, if you didn't watch Brandon Allen yourself and just listened to Bo you would have thought this guy was in the running for the Heisman. I also thought it was funny that the close loss we had to LSU to end the season was praised, and so much positive was spinned on that game, and they talked about the progress we made, and how we're going to use that momentum for next year.  And this was a LOSS!  And Bball team wins games by 29 points, and it was an "Ugly Win", my friend turned the channel, we gotta do better, and we need a real PG.  You kiddin me!  I watch NBA league pass and listen to the local stations on there, and you can always immediately tell which team's station your listening to, because of the extremem homerism they do.  That's their job to favor their team and make the fans excited about their team, even if they are exaggerating what they are doing, or the progress they are making.

[DeltaBoy]

It has eroded over time since Nolan left and it will take a SEC West Title and a sweet 16 run to build it back up.

[-Blu]

It has eroded over time since Nolan left and it will take a SEC West Title and a sweet 16 run to build it back up.

There is no SEC West, and hasn't been for a while now.

[Rawker]

There is no SEC West, and hasn't been for a while now.

,,,and there ya go.

[cardsNhogs]

There is no SEC West, and hasn't been for a while now.

Guess people would know that if media done better job haha

[ErieHog]

There is no SEC West, and hasn't been for a while now.

You want to know why they're still so negative?  Because you just responded to the demographic they're trying to get to tune in;   damn whatever is really happening or has happened in the last 10 years-- the audience wants to be poorly informed.

[Hollywood_HOGan45]

Our football program is garbage right now and the basketball team has a great chance to make noise and the are so much fun to watch!

When Florida comes to town, we need a full house especially if we can beat ATM.

[nextlevel]

There is no SEC West, and hasn't been for a while now.

Yes.

I do not listen to sports talk radio, I rarely read print articles, I will read online articles from various sources, I do watch the news and switch it up from channel to channel for the 5, 6, and 10 o'clock news casts.

None of these guys have a high basketball IQ, I doubt any of them have played the game in an organized setting, they all harp on things that are not important or as emphasized with Mike's system, the older guys like to portray the program as still being on the 90s level and expectations and comparisons should be held to such a level.

Before the SSU game, one channel was harping on the hogs being beat "badly" on the offensive boards in the Clemson game, they went on to include a sound byte from Mike stating they need to improve rebounding and it is a matter of guys wanting the ball of the board and going and getting it. That's fine, every team has areas they can improve on, but Arkansas outscored Clemson on the offensive glass, so they didn't get "beat badly" by where it counts, the score board.

Now if this was football and the opponent forced 4 turnovers that led to 3 and outs while the Razorbacks forced two that led to 14 points for a 14 point win, you would hear how turnovers were the difference in the game, points off turnovers, etc. Points from OFF rebounds are not included in the stat line...

They have harped about the "true PG" since Dykes brought it up last year, but are not knowledgable enough in the game to see that this apparent lack by any definition of the role has not directly led to a loss in any game, could Guard play improve? Yes, but it isn't the lack of one player or the position used how they think it should (usually going into a direct contrast of what Mike is trying to do offensively) leading to on court results.

There are many areas of the team and program that could improve, the things these guys harp on, and by a direct result leads to posters repeating the same drivel here, shows a lack of knowledge of the game by all parties involved. It isn't any different than talking about how "good" or "bad" an opponent is because of the name on the front of the jerseys...

[BigSexyHog]

I blame Obama

[nextlevel]

When Florida comes to town, we need a full house especially if we can beat ATM.

I know I'm taking this out of context, but you provide a good starting point for another area that is drummed to death.

Road wins, the way these guys talk every team but Arkansas has had a winning record on the road in the past couple of years (not even close to true).

The other area are fans who say "I'll show up to BWA when they start winning on the road", what sense does this logic make?

[Hollywood_HOGan45]

I know I'm taking this out of context, but you provide a good starting point for another area that is drummed to death.

Road wins, the way these guys talk every team but Arkansas has had a winning record on the road in the past couple of years (not even close to true).

The other area are fans who say "I'll show up to BWA when they start winning on the road", what sense does this logic make?

Exactly.
We haven't been good in a while but I still love going to the games and watching us improve.

[earshot]

Road wins, the way these guys talk every team but Arkansas has had a winning record on the road in the past couple of years (not even close to true).

Good point.

Last year Mizzery had only 2 road wins all year, Yet they were considered a lock for the turney.

[nextlevel]

Good point.

Last year Mizzery had only 2 road wins all year, Yet they were considered a lock for the turney.

Mizzou was also 2nd in the country in rebounds, blows a huge hole in the rebounding is key to road wins rhetoric some of them spout, huh?

Ole Miss was .500 on the road, second best in the conference, was barely a bubble team entering the SEC-T...

[Beaverfever]

Someone let me know if this is just me or does the Arkansas media really doesn't care about basketball.

Arkansans are self-deprecating with basketball as a defense mechanism.  We've been burned too many times with high expectations. 

[jry04]

Mizzou was also 2nd in the country in rebounds, blows a huge hole in the rebounding is key to road wins rhetoric some of them spout, huh?

Ole Miss was .500 on the road, second best in the conference, was barely a bubble team entering the SEC-T...

Look at the big picture of Ole Miss...

Played just 2 top 100 RPI teams in the non-conference, and lost both of them. Also had 6 losses in conference play, with 2 of them to SC and MSU. Road wins don't matter that much when you do not play any good OOC opponents, and lose to the worst teams in your conference, which is a weak conference to begin with.

Also, you cannot use one example to prove a theory is wrong. I would be willing to bet the better rebounding teams win more games on the road than teams who have worse rebounding.


LSU was actually the best rebounding team in the SEC last year. They won 4 road games, and had several single digit losses to quality teams on the road. UK was the 2nd leading rebounding team, and they won 4 road games as well in the SEC. Ole Miss was third in SEC rebounding, and they were .500. LSU and UK weren't great on the road, but obviously much better than us. Rebounding can be the difference in 3 or 4 more wins.

[mhuff]

Someone let me know if this is just me or does the Arkansas media really doesn't care about basketball.  This reason I'm making this thread is because of the beating our own media has been giving the basketball team over a 29 point win over Savannah State.  I've literally never seen a team take so much flak for a win with this large of a margin.

It started this week just listening to Sports Talk Bo.  Besides the fact that they only talk about basketball for probably 20 minutes on a 4 hour show,  They just gave the Bball team no love for this win and made it all negative, and one of the guys that works on show that's still a student, came on and gave his take on the game and was stating how pathetic it was and how we have to learn to make statements against teams like this, and just overall bashing the team for their performance in the game.  If you didn't watch the game and know what the final score was you would have thought we just squeaked by with a win.  And even with that said, Bo is always skeptical about the basketball team and points out the flaws and how we don't have a real pg etc.  That wouldn't be so bad, except for the fact that if you call and say ANYTHING negative about the football team, CBB, or Brandon Allen's QB play, he will literally go off on you like that's his Dad and his son and defend the heck out of the razorbacks no matter how bad they lost.  Bo is literally the only person in the nation that think that Brandon Allen running a 4'7 is fast.  But, if you wanna call and talk bad about Ky Madden and PG play, or if CMA's seat is getting hot, that's just fine by him and he agrees with most of it.  I just don't understand how you can be an extreme homer for the football team, but any little thing that's not perfect the basketball team does you like to point that out.  It's funny to me because every game after the football team losses the focus on the positives and talk about recruits coming in etc.  But, the basketball team wins by 29 points after having a bad first half and the entire focus is on how bad we played the first half.

And the Razorback Pig Trail Nation show is even worse, I record that show every week and watch it, and I was literally shocked at their 5 min coverage of the basketball team.  It was nothing but negative.  The started the segment by calling the win an "Ugly Win", then Mike Irwin comes on and the first thing he says is "A buddy of mine told me he turned the channel after the first 8 minutes."  Who says stuff like that?  I didn't hear him say anything about his buddies turning the channel when the football team was losing to Samford.  And the entire focus was on how bad the team played, and how this was the 7th worse attendance for a game.  Like, why even say that, who cares about the 7th worse attendance, that's the first time I've ever heard anything mentioned about being the 7th worse or 7th best at anything, that's completely irrelevant information.  And this is the same show that praises everything CBB and the football team does.

I know some of the media guys post on here and read fourms, and I just want to say, if you guys are going to be homers for the football team, do the same for the basketball team, because they deserve that same respect from their home media.  If your going to nitpick everything the basketball team does in wins, then I want to hear some nitpicking on the football team when we are down going into the 4th quarter against teams like Samford, and losing leads to teams like Rutgers.

Blu, I salute your allegiance to the Hog BB team. What you have said goes for every sport .... male or female. We should be promoting each team and giving them our support. However, it is the nature of people to gripe and talk bad of others. I sympathise with many here because we have been to the mountain top and now have been in the valley for too long. To me you have to point to the top. We were elite and then the administration did a poor job and did not get off its hip to get good coaches. But who cared? I mean Nolan embarrassed the university ,and everyone wanted to distance themselves from the program. Most people want to stay away from controversial issues ,or if you're a zealot, you are labeled a sunshine pumper. If everyone had shown his or her ire back then, we could have remained on top. A person should not stick his or her head in the sand. If something is wrong, get on it. I mean what does one have to lose....... one may suffer ridicule or be smited on HV? ....... Big deal..... At least you are on the right side of the issue. I salute you for raising this topic. Some of us don't have as long to live as others. I want to see the HOGS excel in everything, especially BB. If that is not happening, a new AD should be sought. Either do your job or hit the road. Most schools will not settle for mediocrity. Basketball became a non event..... probably have to fill some seats before anyone cares at the top. Money talks.

[poloprince]

They were blinded by the BP years and began to think that Arkansas was becoming a football school.

[nextlevel]

They were blinded by the BP years and began to think that Arkansas was becoming a football school.

My favorite argument/thoughts have always been those who think that a good basketball program hinders the football program...

[-Blu]

Yes.

I do not listen to sports talk radio, I rarely read print articles, I will read online articles from various sources, I do watch the news and switch it up from channel to channel for the 5, 6, and 10 o'clock news casts.

None of these guys have a high basketball IQ, I doubt any of them have played the game in an organized setting, they all harp on things that are not important or as emphasized with Mike's system, the older guys like to portray the program as still being on the 90s level and expectations and comparisons should be held to such a level.

Before the SSU game, one channel was harping on the hogs being beat "badly" on the offensive boards in the Clemson game, they went on to include a sound byte from Mike stating they need to improve rebounding and it is a matter of guys wanting the ball of the board and going and getting it. That's fine, every team has areas they can improve on, but Arkansas outscored Clemson on the offensive glass, so they didn't get "beat badly" by where it counts, the score board.

I didn't quote your whole post, so we're not getting too much clutter, but I agree with everything you said, and you made some very good points that I missed. And to reiterate your point on guys harping about things that's not important in Mike's system, that's completely true, I've heard guys in the Media constantly complaining about a PG, Bo Mattingly has even stated several times, that no one can convince him that this can be a really good team without a great PG.  And it's frustrating because just comments like that let you know they don't really watch the games or know much about Mike's system and/or college basketball.  Mike had the most success with his Mizzou elite 8 team that had a PG by committee approach, if you watched them play they do the same thing that we do now, anybody could bring the ball up the court because their team was so versatile, there wasn't a "Traditonal PG" that brought the ball up the floor and setup the offense, Demarre Carrol would bring the ball up a lot of times and he was playing the 4 spot.

[nextlevel]

I didn't quote your whole post, so we're not getting too much clutter, but I agree with everything you said, and you made some very good points that I missed. And to reiterate your point on guys harping about things that's not important in Mike's system, that's completely true, I've heard guys in the Media constantly complaining about a PG, Bo Mattingly has even stated several times, that no one can convince him that this can be a really good team without a great PG.  And it's frustrating because just comments like that let you know they don't really watch the games or know much about Mike's system and/or college basketball.  Mike had the most success with his Mizzou elite 8 team that had a PG by committee approach, if you watched them play they do the same thing that we do now, anybody could bring the ball up the court because their team was so versatile, there wasn't a "Traditonal PG" that brought the ball up the floor and setup the offense, Demarre Carrol would bring the ball up a lot of times and he was playing the 4 spot.

Pressey came in, he would be described as "what this team needs", yet you heard Mizzou fans clamor about how much he was hurting the team.

Even after Mike left, same complaints, so it wasn't as if "Mike didn't know how to use him" as the excuse is given for Michelson being a tall softy.

[-Blu]

Blu, I salute your allegiance to the Hog BB team. What you have said goes for every sport .... male or female. We should be promoting each team and giving them our support. However, it is the nature of people to gripe and talk bad of others. I sympathise with many here because we have been to the mountain top and now have been in the valley for too long.

Your correct, it is the nature of the FANS to gripe and talk bad about the programs etc.  However, the people in the media are professionals that are paid to cover the team and make people interested in seeing and hearing about the program they are covering.  I mean, the more people care about program, the more people tune into their station, which gets them better ratings, and the ratings get more sponsors, and more sponsors mean more money and bonuses.  So it makes 0 sense for them to bash or badmouth the basketball program or any Arkansas program; they should support and be positive about all of them.  Just like how they do football.  The football team was BEYOND horrible this year, it was a nightmare, but you watch the Pigtrail show, the Bret Bilema Show, or listen to 92.1 they made everything seem positive, and kept talking about future, and give recruiting updates, etc.  it made you hopeful and want to watch the next game and see what happens.  There was no comments of "I talked to my buddy, and he turned the channel after 8 minutes."  Something like that should never be said, especially when the channel that was being turned by your "buddy" was the channel that your on right now lol.  Like I said, I was just shocked that we would bash the basketball team for a 29 point win, because we started off slow on finals week, and our best player missed the first half.  The story line should have been "Razorbacks rally in 2nd half to beat SSU by 29".  Not "Razorbacks get an ugly win, and have 7th smallest crowd in Bud Walton history."

[dsims2k3]

Your correct, it is the nature of the FANS to gripe and talk bad about the programs etc.  However, the people in the media are professionals that are paid to cover the team and make people interested in seeing and hearing about the program they are covering.  I mean, the more people care about program, the more people tune into their station, which gets them better ratings, and the ratings get more sponsors, and more sponsors mean more money and bonuses.  So it makes 0 sense for them to bash or badmouth the basketball program or any Arkansas program; they should support and be positive about all of them.  Just like how they do football.  The football team was BEYOND horrible this year, it was a nightmare, but you watch the Pigtrail show, the Bret Bilema Show, or listen to 92.1 they made everything seem positive, and kept talking about future, and give recruiting updates, etc.  it made you hopeful and want to watch the next game and see what happens.  There was no comments of "I talked to my buddy, and he turned the channel after 8 minutes."  Something like that should never be said, especially when the channel that was being turned by your "buddy" was the channel that your on right now lol.  Like I said, I was just shocked that we would bash the basketball team for a 29 point win, because we started off slow on finals week, and our best player missed the first half.  The story line should have been "Razorbacks rally in 2nd half to beat SSU by 29".  Not "Razorbacks get an ugly win, and have 7th smallest crowd in Bud Walton history."

Well said. +1

[sooiepig_12]

Pressey came in, he would be described as "what this team needs", yet you heard Mizzou fans clamor about how much he was hurting the team.

Even after Mike left, same complaints, so it wasn't as if "Mike didn't know how to use him" as the excuse is given for Michelson being a tall softy.

I'd take Pressey in a New York minute, and we'll see how Mic does at KU.

[rzrbackramsfan]

Your correct, it is the nature of the FANS to gripe and talk bad about the programs etc.  However, the people in the media are professionals that are paid to cover the team and make people interested in seeing and hearing about the program they are covering.  I mean, the more people care about program, the more people tune into their station, which gets them better ratings, and the ratings get more sponsors, and more sponsors mean more money and bonuses.  So it makes 0 sense for them to bash or badmouth the basketball program or any Arkansas program; they should support and be positive about all of them.  Just like how they do football.  The football team was BEYOND horrible this year, it was a nightmare, but you watch the Pigtrail show, the Bret Bilema Show, or listen to 92.1 they made everything seem positive, and kept talking about future, and give recruiting updates, etc.  it made you hopeful and want to watch the next game and see what happens.  There was no comments of "I talked to my buddy, and he turned the channel after 8 minutes."  Something like that should never be said, especially when the channel that was being turned by your "buddy" was the channel that your on right now lol.  Like I said, I was just shocked that we would bash the basketball team for a 29 point win, because we started off slow on finals week, and our best player missed the first half.  The story line should have been "Razorbacks rally in 2nd half to beat SSU by 29".  Not "Razorbacks get an ugly win, and have 7th smallest crowd in Bud Walton history."

Ahaha! Man that is bs what they're doing.  Thanks for the update on arkansas media.  Mike Irwin,what say you?

[rzrbackramsfan]

It amazes me how people even want to talk football right now! Bad season, recruitings bad, let's focus on basketball.  I guess I like basketball more in the first place though.

[-Blu]

Ahaha! Man that is bs what they're doing.  Thanks for the update on arkansas media.  Mike Irwin,what say you?

Here's a link to a video that's a good example of how the Arkansas media covers the Bball team.  They didn't even tell the final score, they just kept talking about how bad we did in the first quarter.  "The not so prime-time razorbacks" is what they were referred to to start the segment.

http://www.nwahomepage.com/fulltextsports/hoop-hogs-end-finals-break-thursday/d/fulltextsports/AsjYsXP7R0u8d6HCdGotKA

And I've seen Mike Irwin post on here, I really would like to hear the reasoning for them choosing to focus on the first half struggles rather than the team having one of the longest home winning streak in the nation, and rallying in the 2nd half to beat the team by 29 points.  It was like the were looking for stuff to complain about, and that's really odd to me considering the treatment they give the football and how they cover their stories.

edit: and another one of my favorite lines in this video is when Mike Irwin says Portis has been working harder to get rebounds after getting "punked" in Maui.  That was a really articulate and professional statement 

[cmiller01]

edit: and another one of my favorite lines in this video is when Mike Irwin says Portis has been working harder to get rebounds after getting "punked" in Maui.  That was a really articulate and professional statement 

That was actually a quote from Portis himself, good effort.

[razorhead94]

I am a former student at U of A and I have always thought the NWA media was very elementary.  I minored in journalism up there so I kind of have a taste when it comes to journalism.  All the local news stations up there need some definite work especially when it comes to sports.  And they are the worst when it comes to citing sources and using secondary sources as primary.

[mhuff]

Your correct, it is the nature of the FANS to gripe and talk bad about the programs etc.  However, the people in the media are professionals that are paid to cover the team and make people interested in seeing and hearing about the program they are covering.  I mean, the more people care about program, the more people tune into their station, which gets them better ratings, and the ratings get more sponsors, and more sponsors mean more money and bonuses.  So it makes 0 sense for them to bash or badmouth the basketball program or any Arkansas program; they should support and be positive about all of them.  Just like how they do football.  The football team was BEYOND horrible this year, it was a nightmare, but you watch the Pigtrail show, the Bret Bilema Show, or listen to 92.1 they made everything seem positive, and kept talking about future, and give recruiting updates, etc.  it made you hopeful and want to watch the next game and see what happens.  There was no comments of "I talked to my buddy, and he turned the channel after 8 minutes."  Something like that should never be said, especially when the channel that was being turned by your "buddy" was the channel that your on right now lol.  Like I said, I was just shocked that we would bash the basketball team for a 29 point win, because we started off slow on finals week, and our best player missed the first half.  The story line should have been "Razorbacks rally in 2nd half to beat SSU by 29".  Not "Razorbacks get an ugly win, and have 7th smallest crowd in Bud Walton history."

Blue, well done ,but talk shows are like response oriented. Many announcers do not care what is right.... the high road. I call them " yellow journalists." They are sensationalists who are only trying to get more listeners. People watch and it's kinda like the man sitting on the dunk seat at the fair. People are attracted to the idea of dunking the guy with the big mouth or watching someone else do it. News is not presented on talk shows. It is opinions. Announcers go with the flow. It has nothing to do with going with the right. Hey, we don't have to listen to them. However, people do because they want to rant about somebody or something. Hey a lot of people watch Jerry Springer. People get their laughs by preying on other people's miseries. Hey, it is scripted. I like wrestling ,but everyone knows it's real. Anyway, you can constructively criticize the coach, the team, or anyone , but when you maliciously attack another or our team without merit, you're getting on the fighting side of me. I have been a Razorback fan for almost 50 years. This is the worst season I can remember, but when times are bad, you find out who you want in the foxhole with you, and who's a sissy and a coward.

[Atlhogfan1]

Blu, you are very sensitive and will have a hard time once focus is actually turned to basketball.  You should be enjoying this time right now. 

I don't know that spinning it to "rallying" to beat Savannah St is too much of a positive. 

As far as NWA media, it is a small market.   Of course it is not going to have collectively the same media talent as larger markets. 

[Rooster Hogburn]

Bo is an idiot with a microphone.

[-Blu]

Blu, you are very sensitive and will have a hard time once focus is actually turned to basketball.  You should be enjoying this time right now. 

I don't know that spinning it to "rallying" to beat Savannah St is too much of a positive. 

As far as NWA media, it is a small market.   Of course it is not going to have collectively the same media talent as larger markets.

Nothing you said makes sense.  I really shouldn't respond to you, but I couldn't resist.

1.  I've made it through the Pelphrey years as a fan listening to us lose to SWAC teams at home on the radio, I think I'll be fine to listen to an actual winning team this year.  But, thanks for your concern.  And I think you are exact target audience they are looking for, ill-informed, doesn't like to read, short attention span, and didn't watch the game.

2.  Please take any basic class in communications, mass media, marketing, public relations, etc and then come back and we can discuss why it's a bad idea to bash a program that directly affects your companies ratings.

3.  What does being a small market have to do with anything?  That's like me saying I shouldn't have common sense because I went to a small school.  The media covers the football team just fine, it's extreme homerism, like it should be.  They turn every negative about the football team into a positive and keep fans interested in the program no matter their outcome on the field.  If you read my post, all I was saying is they could give the same respect to the basketball team.  But, I think by your post we can now see that the reason they may be doing this is because a lot of their target audience (yourself) actually prefers them to be negative about the basketball program. Seems to be the popular thing to do right now.

[Rooster Hogburn]

Blu- as a fella with many hours of high level coursework under your belt, even you must admit that you are sensitive. You definitely have a tendency to overreact and often become snippy with others. You also have a tendency to over think simple concepts. Nobody disputes that you definitely love to read, as evident by your lengthy posts. There can also be no mistake that you like to pound you chest as a superior intellect.

#youareloved
#drphilpsychoanalysis
#howsthatworkinforya
#keepitsimple

[-Blu]

Blu- as a fella with as many hours of high level coursework under your belt, even you must admit that you are sensitive. You definitely have a tendency to overreact and often become snippy with others. You also have a tendency to over think simple concepts. Nobody disputes that you definitely love to read, as evident by your lengthy posts. There can also be no mistake that you like to pound you chest as a superior intellect.

#youareloved
#drphilpsychoanalysis
#howsthatworkinforya
#keepitsimple

I actually hate to read, unless it's about sports.  I love to debate sports, that's my guilty hobby.  And as far as my education I just have bachelors in Business Administration, I don't know what school you went to that basic communications classes are considered "high level coursework." And I don't care if someone doesn't agree with me, it's actually good to hear other opinions, as you can see many people don't agree with what I say, that's fine that's what discussion boards are for.  However, if someone calls me out and takes it personal and challenges my character and intelligence, I'm going to come right back at them.  You guys telling me "sensitive" I am has nothing to do with the OP.  You don't even know me and trying to predict what I've done in life. 

#letpeopledefendthemselves
#nicepredictionsbro
#nobodywastalkingtoyou

[Atlhogfan1]

Nothing you said makes sense.  I really shouldn't respond to you, but I couldn't resist.

1.  I've made it through the Pelphrey years as a fan listening to us lose to SWAC teams at home on the radio, I think I'll be fine to listen to an actual winning team this year.  But, thanks for your concern.  And I think you are exact target audience they are looking for, ill-informed, doesn't like to read, short attention span, and didn't watch the game.

2.  Please take any basic class in communications, mass media, marketing, public relations, etc and then come back and we can discuss why it's a bad idea to bash a program that directly affects your companies ratings.

3.  What does being a small market have to do with anything?  That's like me saying I shouldn't have common sense because I went to a small school.  The media covers the football team just fine, it's extreme homerism, like it should be.  They turn every negative about the football team into a positive and keep fans interested in the program no matter their outcome on the field.  If you read my post, all I was saying is they could give the same respect to the basketball team.  But, I think by your post we can now see that the reason they may be doing this is because a lot of their target audience (yourself) actually prefers them to be negative about the basketball program. Seems to be the popular thing to do right now.

1.  We are going to have some fun discussions once conference play gets here.

2.  I didn't hear any of the local commentary so I can't say what could be considered bashing or their opinion on what they saw.  One of my degrees is in journalism from the UA.  Lets talk about it now.  Not everyone wants sunshine and rainbows.  A good journalist doesn't give you that or only the negative.  They give you the facts and it is up to you to decide.  In this case, it was commentary and an opinion from Mike Irwin.  Too many of you don't know the difference between reporting and editorializing.  As far as Bo goes, he is an entertainer and I would suspect his ratings are fine based on how long he has been on the air. 

3.  Small market usually equates to lack of experience or talent as a whole.  There are exceptions including in NWA as some have chosen to stay instead of moving on to larger markets. 

You are so sensitive that you seem to only hear or see the negative.  Perhaps the local media there is actually trying to hold the basketball program to a higher standard this season given circumstances like it is Mike's 3rd season and they appear to be getting progressively better.

I don't choose to go negative or positive.  I'll give you both if that is what I see.  You can deal with it when conference play starts or fall apart like you are now.  Enjoy this time before the rest of us actually start caring enough to comment.  Right now, it isn't worth dealing with posters like yourself as you are in full protection mode for the program.  Now go back to trying to convince the others here how good South Alabama is. 

[-Blu]

2.  I didn't hear any of the local commentary so I can't say what could be considered bashing or their opinion on what they saw.  One of my degrees is in journalism from the UA.  Lets talk about it now.  Not everyone wants sunshine and rainbows.  A good journalist doesn't give you that or only the negative.  They give you the facts and it is up to you to decide.  In this case, it was commentary and an opinion from Mike Irwin.  Too many of you don't know the difference between reporting and editorializing.  As far as Bo goes, he is an entertainer and I would suspect his ratings are fine based on how long he has been on the air. 

So, why are you commenting if you haven't even listened or heard anything.  You literally just admitted to having no knowledge of what the OP was about, but you just wanted to come in here to call me sensitive, to make yourself feel better.  If you haven't listened or don't know what we're talking about, why are you commenting on it.  Did your journalism classes not teach you to do research before you write something.  You need to call University of Phoenix and get your money back.  And, since you want to call me names, let me call you one, I think your an idiot to get upset enough to call someone names for giving THEIR OPINION on a message board.  If you think it's sensitive or don't agree with it then don't post!  You've literally never seen me comment on anything you or roosterman here have said, cause chances are I probably wasn't interested in anything you had to say.  And reality check to you, if you can't handle other people's opinions without challenging their character, you got long life ahead of you.  You can get away with crap like that on message boards, but in real life, you come at people like that your going to have a rude awaking their sport.  I hope that's just your "internet" persona for your own safety.

[Atlhogfan1]

So, why are you commenting if you haven't even listened or heard anything.  You literally just admitted to having no knowledge of what the OP was about, but you just wanted to come in here to call me sensitive, to make yourself feel better.  If you haven't listened or don't know what we're talking about, why are you commenting on it.  Did your journalism classes not teach you to do research before you write something.  You need to call University of Phoenix and get your money back.  And, since you want to call me names, let me call you one, I think your an idiot to get upset enough to call someone names for giving THEIR OPINION on a message board.  If you think it's sensitive or don't agree with it then don't post!  You've literally never seen me comment on anything you or roosterman here have said, cause chances are I probably wasn't interested in anything you had to say.  And reality check to you, if you can't handle other people's opinions without challenging their character, you got long life ahead of you.  You can get away with crap like that on message boards, but in real life, you come at people like that your going to have a rude awaking their sport.  I hope that's just your "internet" persona for your own safety.

I haven't called you a name nor have I challenged your character.  You are entertaining though.

If you have an issue with Mike, PM him.  It would be interesting to see how he responds to you. 

[-Blu]

You are entertaining though.

If you have an issue with Mike, PM him.  It would be interesting to see how he responds to you.

Your entertaining as well, you made my last 20 minutes of work fly by.  And as far as pming Mike, he can read the thread like anyone else if he cares, what is he going to do argue with me via pm?  I'm pretty sure he gets emails, messages, letters, and there's other fourms that people complain about their station.  You think he's going to spend time to argue with everyone that doesn't like the way he broadcasts?  I'm in sales, and we get complaints on a daily basis about some of our products, I'm not going to go into fourms and argue on twitter with customers though.

[Biggus Piggus]

Let's just say -

Please, Jeff Long, end this scheduling miasma. If you really want to emulate the Big Ten, do it in basketball scheduling.

Example - Wisconsin. I'm using Ken Pomeroy ratings here. Wisconsin has played

11. Florida
24. Virginia (road)
32. Saint Louis (neutral)
35. Marquette
58. St. John's (neutral)
61. West Virginia (neutral)
83. Green Bay (road)
132. Oral Roberts
152. Eastern Kentucky
175. Milwaukee
204. Bowling Green
222. North Dakota

They have one more nonconference game, and it's a dog - Prairie View A&M. But look at that schedule! Well rounded and challenging, not overly brutal.

4 top 50
7 top 100
5 from 132-222
1 below 300

Florida is a good example too.

7. Wisconsin (road)
8. Kansas
16. Memphis (neutral)
21. Connecticut (road)
34. Florida State
116. Middle Tennessee
240. Southern
248. UALR
257. North Florida
297. Jacksonville (road)

Upcoming:

60. Richmond
156. Fresno State
308. Savannah State

5 top 50
6 top 100
4 from 116-248
3 below 250
1 below 300

Playing against four very good opponents and several more good ones offsets the five dogs. They understand RPI math.

Compare Arkansas's schedule:

17. Gonzaga (neutral)
36. Minnesota (neutral)
37. Clemson
52. SMU
59. California (neutral)
98. Louisiana
149. South Alabama
242. High Point
288. Southeastern Louisiana
308. Savannah State
313. Tennessee Martin
325. SIU Edwardsville
327. UTSA

3 top 50
6 top 100
2 between 149-242
5 below 250
4 below 300

Arkansas should have at least 15 games above 250, not 11. And playing five sub-250 opponents, four below the fatal 300 line, IS FRICKING STUPID AND COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE.

If this ends up costing the Hogs entry into the Big Dance, somebody should pay. Crappy scheduling hurts home attendance and TV ratings. Lack of true road games hurts the team's readiness. Poor leadership should be managed out of the athletic department.

[Ugly Uncle]

Interesting thread:

Just a couple of things:

1.  It is early in the basketball season and we have been averaging about one game a week.  Basketball isn't like football as far as coverage because during football season something is happening every day.  The schedule was
SUNDAY:  Assistant coaches meet with media.
MONDAY:  Coach Bielema meet at NOON with media.
TUESDAY:  Offensive coaches and players meet with media
WEDNESDAY:  Defensive players and coaches meet with media.
THURSDAY:  Coach Bielema meet with media

SATURDAY:  Game.

There was something going on every day to talk about or report.  With Basketball we have one game then typically just one media opportunity during the week.  That will change when we move in to conference play and we are playing twice a week and having two media opportunities a week.  Right now there just isn't too much to talk about, especially playing against weaker opponents.

2.  I fully admit that I am too much of a homer when it comes to the Hogs, but I've pointed out that just a couple of years ago we were barely winning games or losing against these same teams we are blowing out now.  We DO have the 5th (If I'm not mistaken) longest home winning streak in the country right now.  There IS a lot of upside to what we are seeing.  However, for those other media guys that are having to fill time or space with reports there is only so much that you can say right now.  So, they (we) look at the games and try to break them down just to keep information flowing out about the basketball team.  Remember, we just aren't around the basketball team as much and there isn't as much need to know about (as in football) "How is the offense looking or how are the special teams shaping up this week." 

I'm very optimistic about this team though.  I think it has taken Mike longer to rebuild this team than what people had hoped, but we were much lower than most people realized.  I'm no basketball guru but I will not miss a game this year covering the Hogs if I can at all make it and I miss the "Standing room only" crowds of the past.  We are not that far away from having a VERY good product (team) on the floor.