Dear dimwit on the phone

This. At one stop, every team went double wing, so less than half the teams started TEs and only one each season was more than a large athletic blocker. We'd sometimes give a TE some credit for being in the top DE conversation. Also did that a lot with slotback/DBs. The area's best team had theirs all go both ways and not carry the offense. So if you were talented but not heavily used at RB, that could help (FWIW, they were probably the best DBs as well). We also had issues with school size, as the team could have logically been 80 percent from the biggest school, but we'd balance it out. (Also helped to have an all-purpose slot on each side).

One year we had a delightful mess of a baseball team on one side of the infield. The best defensive player started at third but moved to short halfway through the season. We had zero quality third basemen, and while this kid was the best shortstop around, he would have blocked a kid who hit well with some pop and forced a .204 hitter to fill a spot. We adjusted. The best part was the local baseball coaches made their own, more-inclusive team. The best defensive player was named DPOY, opening the spot for .204 hitter, and his mom sent us a pleasant, pissy email. Something about not respecting his accomplishments.

 

We've gotten around that sort of problem with baseball with a generic infield and outfield position. We might end up with three shortstops and a first baseman, or three center fielders, but it usually seems to work out better than trying to shoehorn someone into a specific spot (especially when they often move around a bit in high school baseball depending on who's pitching).
We usually pick five infielders, four outfielders, one catcher, one DH, a utility player and about three pitchers, plus or minus one in each category, and we still end up pissing people off. No matter where you set the bar, someone just below it is going to be upset.

 

You're costing them scholarships. They work just as hard as everyone else. You're biased for/against the school.

Speaking of high school sports, some nut job complained about our coverage of football teams as they were winning in the state tournament, in that he was upset we were covering teams that win. He actually said writing about football and wins isn't journalism and isn't what high school sports is about. Sounds like his kid has been riding the bench in another sport on a losing team and wants a participation story to go along with his participation ribbon.

 

Dear Dimwit, Canuck version

Every year the Toronto Star posts their "Best Phone Calls from Readers.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/12/31/best_of_2014_phone_calls_from_toronto_star_readers.html

On April 23, the Star ran a story about a missing pet pigeon. “Caller says she thinks the missing pigeon might be at Warden Station.”

 

You need to make posting this an annual tradition.

 

Had a coach call in his game last night - one of the top basketball programs in our area - they won 105 to 30 something. He gives us the information for the box score and finishes the conversation with our guy handling the phones "can you not write a story on it?" When our phone guy tells the rest of us in the department this we collectively go "why did he call it in then?" We did put the game in our roundup.

 

While I totally agree to get as many kids on the list as possible, you should only give players one spot, why didn't you give him the MVP? If he's so much of an offensive stud to give him offensive POY and he led in ints and tackles, why not give him MVP honors, unless you had a kid who just blew everyone away in that category?

 

We had a kid who just blew everyone away

Our defensive player of the year was an all-state linebacker for a team that won nine games and led the state's biggest classification in scoring defense. He was also a three-time POY who had his best season this year, and the unquestioned heart and soul of that great defense. Defensive POY was really a no-brainer in this case, and Mr. Three-Way Stud was not it.
Unless you meant an overall MVP award? We only do an offensive and defensive POY, and I prefer to keep it that way. Plus, this guy was good but as it was, he was co-POY on offense with his teammate, a running back who rushed for 2,100 yards.

 

Dear Coach/AD,

When you post your varsity schedule online, don't put JV-only events on their too without marking that they're JV-only. Nobody cares.

Signed,
Schedule guy

 

Sometimes I wish I could do that.lol

 

We don't bother with Daily Paper all-star teams. Those are picked by the conferences and district coaches. The closest we come is when we send a rep to a meeting with other media for The Associated Press district teams (different from those picked by the coaches), which are then used to pick the all-state teams.

 

Best last name of the night for high school hoops: Shatt-Palm