Dear dimwit on the phone

And I'd tell them it was what they wanted. And in this case, instead of complaining about them complaining, I'd be noting the irony. Then I'd probably go back to the old way and remind them every once in a while about getting what you wish for.

I don't think I would have thought like this five years ago. But then this job was much different then.

 

Guys, don't take this the wrong way, but I can't think of two more arrogant posts. You have people begging you to put things in the paper so they can BUY the paper, and you're telling them putting news in the newspaper is a luxury?

If you work at a paper smaller than the New York Times, you put it in the paper. And, yes, I've taken seventh grade agate. I've slung bowling agate until the wee hours of the morning. I've covered said events, too. And I did it because I wanted people to read and buy the paper.

Tell them to write it and send it in. Clean it up and put it in the paper.

 

Smallies try hard, still lose
By fossywriter8
The Daily Scrapbook
COUNTY SEAT — Showing why they only play junior varsity, the Small Town reserves committed 15 turnovers in the first quarter and were outscored 17-0 in the second Tuesday en route to a 73-21 loss to rival County High.
“But they tried really hard, and that's what's important,” first-year Small Town JV coach Sam Bloviate said. “Everybody got in, and we actually outscored them in the fourth quarter.”
The Smallies (0-19) held an 11-10 scoring advantage in the last period, thanks in large part to a pair of 3-pointers from foreign exchange student Gunther Schnekel in the final minute. He ended with a team-high six points.
Small Town actually led 20 seconds into the game when 5-6 post Wilt “The Stilt” Dankhouse split a pair of foul shots for a 1-0 advantage, the Smallies' first lead in 33 games.
It didn't last.
Led by “Sticky Fingers” Stu Schtupa's five steals and nine rebounds, the County Mounties (9-9) converted Small Town's 25 turnovers into 16 points and dominated the defensive boards when the Smallies managed to get a shot off on the way to a 25-8 lead at the first stop.
“Schtup's such a catalyst for the team,” said County High JV coach Hank Fogsworth, who called off his team's press after the first two minutes. “A 5-2 guard with nine rebounds in one quarter? I can't wait to see what he's like as a sophomore.”
Though the second quarter had the Smallies down 42-8 by halftime, they matched their season-high for points in a quarter. A field goal would have helped, but Small Town's first bucket didn't come until Jimmy Slinker hit a jumper with 2:03 left in the third quarter, snapping an 0-for-27 shooting effort by the team.
“I was really glad Slinky got that one to go,” Bloviate said. “He's been working on his head fake and finally did it without traveling or throwing the ball out of bounds.”
However, while the Smallies pounded Slinker's back with congratulations, County High's Dirk Katchka fired an inbound pass to Chaz Fishpaugh at the other end for a quick score and a 62-10 lead.
“We've got to work on our transition defense,” Bloviate said. “That and a lot of other things.”
Small Town ended 3 of 55 from the field and 13 of 43 from the line while committing 39 turnovers.
Schtupa led everyone with 25 points, 17 rebounds, nine steals and eight assists, missing out on a possible triple- or even quadruple-double when he didn't play in the fourth quarter.
Fishpaugh, Katchka and Jack Zagland each added 11 points, with Fishpaugh grabbing eight rebounds.
Dankhouse backed up Schnekel with four points and four rebounds for the Smallies, and Slinker, Tom Whitehead and Phil Warzell each scored three points.
Small Town's varsity won 59-57 in double-overtime on Jake “Big Daddy” Vossburg's two foul shots with no time on the clock. Vossburg, a 6-foot-7, 254-pound forward who has already signed with State U, ended with 34 points and 18 rebounds for the Smallies (19-0). County High (18-1) got 18 points each from Lance Diggler and Burt Harrelson.

 

I'll be sure and let the Kansas City Star know they should be running seventh-grade agate.

No, they're not begging. They're demanding. And the first time around, I did a lot of people things demanded I do and that led to burn out. Also, are you sure they're buying the paper? Because I keep getting told to my face by nearly everyone I run into they they're reading ours for free on our web site.

And it's the JUNIOR VARSITY. These games are not meant to be competitive. They're meant to be developmental. And if these people don't think that the score and the two or three kids who scored the most points are enough, then they'll never be satisfied anyway.

Being told that it's "the word on the street" is arrogant. It's one person trying to convince me that there's this great demand for girls' JV information when he's actually the first person to say anything about it either way in about three years. This is someone's grandpa who wants to use me to supply clips for his granddaughter's scrapbook and he's using printouts of our web pages that he can get for free.

Edit: TBF, I'll concede this point: The word "luxury" is the wrong word. But if two paragraphs in a roundup or at the end of the varsity story can't make a JV parent happy, there will be nothing I can do to make them happy.

 

Bravo ... author, author!

 

Rather than talking down to a JV parent who asks for coverage, be nice and tell them the truth: Unfortunately, we don't have enough staff to cover JV events. We've got 20-plus schools (or whatever your total is) that we have to track. There just aren't enough hours in the day.

If you're nice about it - and honest - they'll appreciate it. At least that's what I've found.

It's Customer Service 101 - not a hard concept, folks.

 

Tremendous.

 

Dear water polo parent, thank you for going over my head when I explained that I didn't have enough space to run a full story on your son's letter of intent signing, but it wasn't enough for you when I said I'd run a standalone. Great way to start my morning.

 

My favorite are the JUCO "signings." I've yet to cover a JUCO that actually gives athletic scholarships. And, at least in our case, if you have even rudimentary skills, you're on the team. So, no, parents, coaches and ADs, I will not run a picture of your kid pretending to sign his or her name on a blank sheet of paper.

 

See, my original rant began because I've been nice and honest about it and they don't care. It's their kid and dammit I'd better find a way to get something more than what they're seeing in that paper. Here's a typical JV report:

"JUNIOR VARSITY -- The Ospey JV girls team defeated Podunk Central 44-25 to improve to 7-4 on the season. Jill Person led the Osprey with 25 points and Angela People followed up with 14.
The Osprey trailed 20-18 at halftime but outscored Central in the third 18-2 to take control. The Osprey face Podunk East Friday night at 4:30 in the main gym."

If that isn't enough, then I give up.

 

Every juco in Kansas gives scholarships. There are limits on out-of-state scholarships in some sports. The basketball conference is probably the second or third best in the nation at worst (as a group, there are better individual programs).

I know there are states where no scholarships are offered at all. One is Minnesota. And then the Minnesota football teams seem amazed when they go to bowl games and can't compete with the Kansas schools, which typically have at least 7 or 8 Division I prospects on each team.