(05-10-2012 03:16 PM)usffan Wrote: (05-10-2012 09:44 AM)Derby Wrote: Article by Dan Wolken of The Daily...
I'm curious to hear what Memphis fans think about Wolken. I haven't read everything he's historically written about Memphis, but I can tell you that he has changed his tune about the Big East a fair amount. He used to rip the league to shreds, but now that Memphis is in, he's been FAR less critical.
USFFan
I'm probably more qualified to answer that than almost anybody. He and I are well acquainted, and have run into each other a few times, and have communicated quite a bit over the past few years.
I'm the guy that Dan "outed" on his radio show two years ago, for telling some friends of mine in an e-mail (and others by PM) that I thought we were going to the Big East. He thought I was making that stuff up, and he felt that if Memphis really did have any chance, that talk like that hurt us, and he absolutely savaged me on air. He got access to my e-mails, and read a few on the air, making fun of me for being an idiot, and perhaps a liar.
I wasn't making any of it up, b/c Tranghese WAS telling both our president and Fred Smith that we were in, and they were telling others around them (which is where I heard it), but they were not talking to the media, of course, so Dan still believes it was untrue, even today. He asked Dr. Raines in an interview before he left if that story was true, and she refused to answer the question. What does that tell you, lol?
Anyway, I don't hold anything against him, but that incident turned a lot of the Memphis fan base against Dan. Not all, but a lot.
IMO, Dan is an absolutely top rate sportswriter, and did a terrific job as the beat writer at Memphis. He put out a lot of info, and most of it was spot on, and he was also very insightful about what he saw at games, and about the college sports landscape in general. This REALLY came into focus when he left, and his successor is nothing like that, and is a disappointment.
Beyond the big blowup with me, where Dan collects critics is with his style. He is quite intelligent, and beyond confident, to obnoxiously cocky, and he never admits he's wrong. He shoots from the hip, or lip, and never has any qualms about who he hits. Anybody who disagrees with him is a "moron."
As long as he is not firing at you, it can be highly entertaining.
On the flip side, in private, although he still carries those personality traits, he can also be quite thoughtful and generous, although he NEVER shows that side to anybody in public.
As for him softening up on the BE, I don't know. I didn't particularly see that, but we all have our viewpoints. He definitely became a Memphis fan while there, but he always stayed objective in his reporting, and often went after Memphis coaches in particular, even when it seemed unnecessary, or wrong-headed.
He always thought Memphis fit better in the B12 than in the BE, but he is an equal opportunity assassin. When it comes to pointing out the folly of this or that situation, the Big East and every other conference, coach, player or fan is always fair game to him. So that might seem why he tore up the BE so much. I think people in lots of places have the same impression about him. It's just the way he comes off.
But he also believes the BE can work, and I think that is independent of whether Memphis is in it or not. I think he's taking up for the BE right now, b/c he thinks those who are predicting a split are idiots, lol.
I'd say he is in a good position now, b/c he is not affiliated with any one school or conference, and is free to opine on any and all things college sports. And he does. A lot. His twitter account is usually one that is fun to follow.
/
"Don’t sell the Big East's chances of surviving and thriving short"...
