Dale Jr. to Hendrick Motorsports

[Bubbler]

Ancillary to the story, but David Poole takes on the Mouse over who broke what and when:

http://turn-lane.blogspot.com/2007/06/this-aint-news-standing-up-for-what-you.html

I know Poole will get some bravos and I don't blame Poole for being pissed, but that blog entry does him no good outside of our industry.

There's a way to go about these things, but I guarantee his readers (and especially his detractors) are going to fail to see his valid point for the petty (not Richard) trees. And the blog, understandable though it may be, comes off as petty.

I've been down this road. In my market, there's a television station that literally robs my stories blind. Right down to the verbiage and word choices I use in my copy. Without attribution. During a recent coaching search, they ripped my story blind for their lead item on two consecutive nights. They are particularly bad when I post breaking news to our web site before their newscasts.

It's infuriating as heck. I would love to lash out publicly at these ethics-less forkers, but I haven't succumbed to that temptation. At best I'd get a half-hearted apology, they'd stop for a time, and they'd do it again. More likely, I'd get no acknowledgement at all.

I don't see what purpose it serves other than to call attention to their operation. All I know is that when I'm regularly pounding their ass into submission on my beat, I don't see their name attached to a web site link to my breaking story. I don't see them being given attribution on a wire story. So publicly, they don't exist.

I know with ESPN being national that changes things somewhat, but not entirely. If I was deadset on "nailing" someone like that, I'd be damn sure it was structured in a way where I wasn't the protagonist victim. Right or wrong, that's how readers will see this.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

(original post deleted)

One wonders what Mr. Davis (who posts here sometimes) will have to say about Poole's blog. If he's smart ... nothing.

 

[Moderator1]

David posts here sometimes, too, so they can have a civil debate right here if they'd like.
No dog in this fight. But I read stuff well before 2 p.m. and I do believe Jenna's stuff was the first.

 

[slappy4428]

David posts here sometimes, too, so they can have a civil debate right here if they'd like.
No dog in this fight. But I read stuff well before 2 p.m. and I do believe Jenna's stuff was the first.

Yeah, Poole admits her's was first, tho it was buried.
But the bigger (ongoing) battle is ESPN's continual false claims of being first when it isn't.

 

[Hustle]

Bubbler: I get the impression - just a gut reaction - that the post doesn't happen if Poole doesn't get the e-mail from the ESPN guy.

Seems like it would be like your TV station taking the time to e-mail you to complain about some info you got wrong. OK, maybe not a great comparison, but you see what I'm saying: The arrogant e-mail set it off, otherwise, IMO, it's dead issue.

 

[ondeadline]

Just a minor point: Isn't it a "bold-face lie" rather than a "bald-face lie"?

To me, it's a bit of an "inside baseball" debate and we care about this stuff, but race fans couldn't care less.

 

[dog428]

Readers might not give a shirt, but it needed to be said. In fact, it needs to be said more often and by a lot more people. Maybe if we get the info out a little more often (especially if it's respected guy like Poole putting it out there), people will at least think twice when they hear the shirts at ESPN patting themselves on the back for this sort of stuff. And maybe, just maybe, if they're embarrassed enough times they'll stop some of this shirt.

And I'm also not completely sold that readers and viewers don't care about this. It's obvious that someone believes people care about this "You heard it here first" shirt, because every TV station in every market does it. So, it must mean something to somebody. If that's the case, I would say pointing out that they were lying their asses off when making the "we were first" claim is just as meaningful, maybe more so.

 

[Bubbler]

Bubbler: I get the impression - just a gut reaction - that the post doesn't happen if Poole doesn't get the e-mail from the ESPN guy.

Seems like it would be like your TV station taking the time to e-mail you to complain about some info you got wrong. OK, maybe not a great comparison, but you see what I'm saying: The arrogant e-mail set it off, otherwise, IMO, it's dead issue.

You're probably right, but the readers aren't going to see it that way. They're going to see it as Poole whining.

 

[wickedwritah]

Poole's post would've gotten a lot more debate had he just come here first. Doesn't anyone recall the memorable Mike Freeman thread? It gave sportspages.com a lot of juice.

 

[boots]

With so many outstanding racers, who is going to get Hendrick's BEST car? Also, is Kyle Busch getting forked in this whole deal?

 

[wickedwritah]

With so many outstanding racers, who is going to get Hendrick's BEST car? Also, is Kyle Busch getting forked in this whole deal?

The way it works with Roush is, if something is in development and has potential, it usually goes to the driver highest in points. Greg Biffle made that comment a couple years ago. I'd expect the same at Hendrick.

That being said, I really doubt Junior will be lacking the quality equipment that Johnson and Gordon have.

 

[playthrough]

I don't know if there is a Hendrick "No. 1" car, per se. They're winners, all of 'em, which is what's so amazing. Junior will get prime equipment but his success will be tied in part to the crew chief, and it will be very interesting to see if Eury Jr. comes over from DEI or if Earnhardt starts fresh with someone new. My guess is Hendrick is thinking the latter.

Busch is and isn't getting f*cked. He's gotta be smart enough to realize that the chance of landing Junior would put any driver without a championship potentially on the chopping block, and in Hendrick's case that was gonna be him or Mears. If he's mad that it's him instead of Mears, that's understandable. But at 22, he's got many big paydays ahead and he can go to another team and be the star. In fact, one could argue he's a bigger free agent than Junior if the ONLY criteria is age, upside and driving talent. His temper is a big strike against though.