John Wagner

[guest44]

https://twitter.com/jwagnerblade/status ... 2431089664" target="_blank


Clearly, he sees BG basketball the way the administration does.

[hammb]

https://twitter.com/jwagnerblade/status ... 2431089664


Clearly, he sees BG basketball the way the administration does.

Completely clueless, but he's also not covered the team for the entire 15 years.

I don't think there were multiple regular season championships, either. I think the only championship we had in that last 15 years was Orr's 2nd season. Where we were actually in a 3 way tie or something and had the tie breaker?

To me winning a regular season conference title is meaningless. When I want to gauge the quality of a program I want to see A) total wins, and B) success in the postseason. For the bulk of the last 15 years we've had neither. I think The Jans year was the only 20 win season we've had, and last year was the furthest we've advanced in the MAC tourney in forever. The handful of times we HAVE actually made a postseason tournament I think we've been bounced in round 1 every single time.

This program has been hot garbage for the last 15 years. I try with all my might to not project that frustration on Huger. He cannot control what happened prior to his arrival, so I cannot let 15 years of frustration paint his expectations. But to say that we haven't sucked for the last 15 years? Way off base...

[guest44]

I don't know how long he has covered the team, but that makes it worse. He sat through the majority of the Orr years, and still formed that opinion. Games must look different when you are paid to cover, and given food and drink.

[Flipper]

John is a baseball writer covering college football and hoops. He does a great job covering the Hens for the Blade and they have to do something with the guy from October to March...so he's our boy. I don't think he has the intrinsic understanding of either of the main collegiate sports (and throw in hockey which he largely ignores) ...nor the passion for them...that he does baseball and it shows. He demonstrates a remarkable lack of curiosity re injuries and the coaches' decisions on playing time. He doesn't want to delve too deeply into unpleasant issues because that would generate ill feelings and controversy and I honestly don't think his disposition as a person is geared towards that. That works when you're covering MiLB ...when you try to paint that same smiley face onto a moribund college athletics program that has a fan base that's largely either angry or numb, you wind up looking like a putz or a shill.

[hammb]

John is a baseball writer covering college football and hoops. He does a great job covering the Hens for the Blade and they have to do something with the guy from October to March...so he's our boy. I don't think he has the intrinsic understanding of either of the main collegiate sports (and throw in hockey which he largely ignores) ...nor the passion for them...that he does baseball and it shows. He demonstrates a remarkable lack of curiosity re injuries and the coaches' decisions on playing time. He doesn't want to delve too deeply into unpleasant issues because that would generate ill feelings and controversy and I honestly don't think his disposition as a person is geared towards that. That works when you're covering MiLB ...when you try to paint that same smiley face onto a moribund college athletics program that has a fan base that's largely either angry or numb, you wind up looking like a putz or a shill.

Agreed.

I felt like Ryan felt our pain, covered our team well, etc. But with Wagner our team(s) are just an afterthought for a guy they need to justify on the payroll for the 6 months a year the Hens aren't playing.

Which is why I wouldn't even take the time to challenge him back on the tweet. He's just paid to do a job, and that job is mostly just writing fluff pieces and game recaps for our teams. He's not paid to offer his opinion on our team, and if he WERE offering it up, it could conceivably affect his ability to get the access for doing the stuff that IS his job.

Is what it is. WHen you get 1000 fans a game, hard for local media outlets to justify any actually media coverage.