Palm Beach, Tweets, Virginia Tech, Miami

[Moderator1]

Anybody know anything about what went down today in Palm Beach? I've been asked about it several times and I'm only getting bits and pieces so I can't really form an opinion.

It was some variation of this: A kid who was a Virginia Tech "commit" signed with Miami. A reporter was either on the call or listening to the call when the kid told VT. Some quotes were "tweeted" from Frank Beamer, only it wasn't Frank Beamer. Tweets were pulled. No idea if the assistant coach, Charley Wiles, knew a reporter was listening. No idea if PB ran a cx or just changed the names.

Or really, what exactly happened. Does anyone know, can anyone enlighten?

This is what I see up now - and I haven't checked Twitter.

http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/highschoolbuzz/2012/02/01/west-boca-raton-sends-robert-lockhart-to-miami-ja-wand-blue-next/


Might be some teachable moments here.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Starting with "commit."

 

[Cosmo]

I posted something about this on the Twitter rushing to be wrong thread:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/hokies-journal/post/national-signing-day-2012-conversation-between-virginia-tech-and-recruit-jawand-blue-is-aired-publicly-on-twitter/2012/02/01/gIQAT8czhQ_blog.html

 

[SeanKennedy]

Beamer apparently did discuss it:

"I found it highly unusual that a newspaper guy would be tweeting a private conversation … and then I'm interested how that newspaper guy got on that conversation and us not be aware of it," Beamer said. "We're kind of checking into that right now."

http://www.dailypress.com/sports/colleges/virginia-tech/dp-spt-teel-column-signing-day-20120201,0,3526036.column

 

[JimmyHoward33]

I find it highly interesting that there's a tweet on his feed that says something along the lines of VA Tech spokesman confirms my earlier tweets are true...but then magically, the earlier tweets aren't there.

I don't mean to pile on, but really why chest beat about how you were right if you deleted the tweets in question?

 

[playthrough]

Another Twitter success story.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Just to be clear, Blue invited Porter to listen to the call?

 

[MonsterLobster]

Maybe I missed it, but is there a part to this story where it's revealed everyone involved is a teenage girl and at the end the reporter jumps in and say, "I KNEW YOU WERE A FAKE FRIEND!"

 

[BDC99]

Starting with "commit."

Not to threadjack, but this also is one of my pet peeves, but I have given up trying to stop our writers from using it. Sigh.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Never give up. Never surrender. Rivals doesn't get to rewrite the dictionary.

 

[BDC99]

Never give up. Never surrender. Rivals doesn't get to rewrite the dictionary.

I still fix it. Every time. But I have stopped reminding them not to do it. They generally stop using it for a month or two, then they magically return to it.

 

[Jake_Taylor]

Starting with "commit."

Not to threadjack, but this also is one of my pet peeves, but I have given up trying to stop our writers from using it. Sigh.

I'm not disagreeing or trying to argue, but what should we use instead? In a perfect world we wouldn't have to write about it because it's not really a "commitment" and all, but enough readers want to know when a kid decides on a school, even if he's free to (perhaps even likely to) change his mind that we have to cover it.

Is there a better term, or do we have to write every time we mention a recruit that "Joe Runningback said he will play for State, but his decision isn't official until he signs a letter of intent in February." ??