Old Titan Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 I've been reading the Tulsa World sports section since I was a teenager in the 70's, and I can't ever recall seeing ANYTHING quite like the full 2-1/2 page love letter to TU's Danny Manning in this Sunday's edition, in honor of his birthday - complete with TWELVE photos of Danny as a college player, Danny as a pro player, Danny as a high school player, Danny as a 3rd-grader, Danny as a husband and son, yada, yada, yada... Seriously, it looked like a spread on Justin Bieber in "Tiger Beat". And, if THAT'S not enough, you can log onto tulsaworld.com, where "KU head coach Bill Self; a Lawrence, KS librarian; AND a high school teammate talk about their Danny Manning memories"! Hyperbole much there, TW? Please, remind me again: how many games has this 46-year-old won as a head coach - at ANY level? And can someone tell me if Scott Sutton and/or ORU will get 2+ pages of coverage when we kick his butt in December? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Anyone who thinks that the Tulsa World does not have an agenda is seriously mistaken. I will savor our beat down of them in December. In fairness, the buildup of Manning is actually detrimental to him as a coach. When he stumbles, the TU fans will viciously turn on him . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 they can devote the entire paper to manning. i just want to beat those guys next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oruvoice Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 If it weren't for Woj, we'd be looking at our second straight win over TU this December... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 I don't mind TU wanting to get better - they had to, before they lost all their fans. And I don't mind those fans getting so excited about their new coach (though I do think some of them have unrealistic expectations of what he can achieve in the short run). What I DO mind is the Tulsa World shamelessly plugging TU's men's basketball program in such a way. Their lack of professionalism in that whole feature was appalling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bballmangc Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 But TU has more fans and therefore more money into the paper right? Shouldn't be that shocking really that they focus on a new hire; Plus Danny Manning is a household name and pretty popular in the region. I haven't been around near as long as most people on the board, but seems pretty par for the course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 But TU has more fans and therefore more money into the paper right? Shouldn't be that shocking really that they focus on a new hire; Plus Danny Manning is a household name and pretty popular in the region. I haven't been around near as long as most people on the board, but seems pretty par for the course. Not to this extent - unprecedented level of foot-kissing going on here. I was actually a little surprised that Eric Bailey was behind the whole deal: he's announced on his Facebook page that he's leaving the TU football and basketball beat this coming season, to instead cover OU along with Norman-based Guerin Emig. Can't imagine TU being assigned anyone else from the World staff who will be as friendly as Bailey has been to their program... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oruvoice Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 What is MIND-BOGGLING is that MOST on the TU message board and TU fans that I have talked to over the past few weeks, GENUINELY think that they are going to have a REALLY good year, this coming season?!? You take a look at the departing seniors, the transfers, & the big kid with the health issues, and their roster is almost COMPLETELY depleted. Manning MAY be the savior of their program, but for ANYONE to think they will be .500 or better this year is NUTS! They may not win 12 games. It will be REALLY interesting to see how long it takes before the TU faithful become unhinged... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 Oh, 'bout one game. Seriously: if TU looks disorganized or poorly coached right out of the box, there will be people coming out of the woodwork complaining that this was a bad hire. Heck, they might start griping after their exhibition games! To their credit, those particular folks are laying low right now, allowing DM to enjoy his honeymoon. But, should things not fare well from the start, I can assure you they will waste no time in saying, "I told you so!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BasPlayr Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 LOL. this is a good read. sort of reminds me of the TU folks complaining about the lack of coverage by the TW over the past 3-4 years, and the vastly unequal amount of coverage that OU & OSU get in this cities paper compared to TU & ORU. You got to admit, ORU has been the beneficiary of TU's underperformance these past several years. Had TU not been down, ORU would have, undeservedly, been relegated to 4th in the pecking order of sports reporting during BB season. TU and Manning are the news right now. Everyone wants to see what this "experiment" will produce so they are going to hype it because it is current. By the time Football gets here, Manning will have become an afterthought. Come November, he will come back to the forefront exactly for the reasons OT mentions above. Everyone in the state, for that matter, in the region will be watching what happens at TU. Yes, you all will likely beat us, Badly! No, all the TU fans on the message boards do not believe we will have a really good team next year. At least not yet. What those board people are saying is IF, and that is the operative word here, IF Manning can bring in someone this late that can run the point, AND find someone to help out in the Blocks, then TU has a SHOT at having a really good year. But that won't happen unless all of those stars align just right. No point guard, or no Post man, and TU will struggle mightily to get above .500 next year. Heck, I'd be willing to stick my neck out there and say even the best of the coaches, including Coach Self & Coach K, would have a very difficult time coaching TU to a .500+ WL record without those two key ingredients. As to The TW shamelessly pumping sunshine up over Manning. Keep a couple of things in mind. The Jones family, the ones that still run the TW, still have strong ties to TU. They also have strong ties to Kansas, and OU. So there is a connection that many don't realize. And for the closet conspiracy theorists, it wouldn't surprise me if the "money" at TU didn't "buy" that homage in the paper also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUJason Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 It is also a very slow sports time. It wouldn't hurt if the TW would take some of that extra space and profile the college baseball teams as they head into the college baseball tournaments. I'm sure they will do that when the tournaments are occurring, but some extra attention prior to the tournaments if they are trying to fill up space wouldn't hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BasPlayr Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Well, I guess we'll see now. Don't see how this helps our cause much, but. . .definitely doesn't hurt your chances against TU this year. TU set to announce the signing of a 2012 PG out of a HS in New Orleans. Don't know if this means they have given up on a 5th year transfer, or if it means that Maduka likely will get cleared to play. Still believe we need that experienced PG and Kodi or another Big to salvage any symblance of a "good" season. Regardless, I also still believe that ORU stomps a mudhole iin TU this year. But it will be a fun show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BasPlayr Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 What is up with the huge shuffle of reporters over at the TW? I heard Mike Brown is now covering only HS sports??!!?? Didn't he cover you guys last year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Mike Brown off the ORU beat?....please....say it ain't so!!!.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Jimmie Trammel has replaced Mike Brown as ORU beat reporter. I like Trammel, but Mike Brown has done a great job covering ORU. I appreciate all that he has written about the Golden Eagles and will miss his work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 TheEagleman hopes that Trammel is half as good as Brown.....Mike will be missed....he was honest but mostly positive about ORU which is a rarity at the Tulsa World.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 23, 2012 Author Share Posted May 23, 2012 What is up with the huge shuffle of reporters over at the TW? I heard Mike Brown is now covering only HS sports??!!?? Didn't he cover you guys last year? I see that many of the TU faithful are currently gripping over Bill Haisten's assignment to cover TU football and basketball in Eric Bailey's place. "Scoop" Haisten (as they like to call him) does not have a lot of fans on the TU message board, dating back to his coverage of TU's coaching search that ended with Doug Wojcik's hiring (Haisten was a Bob Hoffman fan), and his seemingly never-ending coverage of the Rotnei Clarke/Conley Clarke/Kelly Clarke recruiting fiasco a few years back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BasPlayr Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 "Scoop" got his nickname from taking stuff he read on our message board and not giving credit to his source, ITS. So, yeah, he isn't well liked. And he isn't off on a good foot so far as he hasn't produced even a burb about TU recent signing. Of course, TU fans are accustomed to Baily. Just like the ORU fans were accustomed to Brown. As long as Haisten gives TU a fair and prompt reporting record, the fans will come around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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