Take Cover!

Last week at BlogWorld the conversation seemed to hover around the MSM. How to gain acceptance as bloggers, the MSM's role as bloggers and how the two will co-exist. For the most part both sides seemed to be in agreement that both could co-exist and that there would even be more cooperation in the future between the two. Whether we agree with what they write or not they are the standard, they are professionals who have trained to be writers and get paid to do it.

Some bloggers have also been trained journalism, though I would say that there are more bloggers that are lawyers than trained journalists. That isn't surprising, as it seems to me the lawyers are well trained at research and writing briefs and the like and it is their job to formulate an argument. It has been shown that bloggers can keep the MSM honest or call them out when they are either wrong or not doing their job, that's fine, as it is normal checks and balances. Bloggers aren't going away and the MSM really has no choice but either accept the medium or get lost in the dust as bloggers find more creative ways to get the word out.

I have had my issues with the MSM but they have the access and I don't. As I have said in the past, portions of my commentary is based on what I read in the MSM so it would be hypocritical of me to bash the MSM as wrong or misinformed day in and day out and then take their material for my own use. If I disagree I will say so but I won't outright bash them for the sake of doing so.

But for the MSM to take up blogging to write opinions and observations is one thing, to take up a cause is quite another and that's where we are today.

I'm not the biggest fan of the L.A. Times' Kurt Streeter. I have disagreed with him in the past but this time I will watch with amusement as he takes up the cause to save Karl Dorrell. My only question is why?

(Emphasis Mine)

He's got guts I'll give him that.

Of course the return salvo from across town has already started. I've never denied that I read BN, I like getting my entertainment free with my price admission so it will be fun to watch. And based on the comments I have already read, his hope of reasoned arguments is already out the window. Good luck with that...

Streeter is off base here, Dorrell needs to go for his football record alone. The attempt to play the injury card is weak and that is easily disproven with 3 letters U-S-C. No team has been hit with more injuries than we have yet we still find a way to be in the mix. And before you bring up the talent gap Dorrell has had his chances to recruit against PC and only this season did really make a mark so that's on Dorrell too.

Streeter also attempts to play the race card, I'm not sure how I feel about that, but a number of people have brought up to me that this is where it could get sticky for ucla. They're in a hard place here with a Hispanic AD and ucla being the home of Jackie Robinson, etc. ucla has a lot of political capital to lose with people who could care less about athletics for firing a guy like Dorrell. ucla is not a football school, sorry guys, and the administration has shown that time and again with the lack of funding for quality coaching, at least up until this season when they opened the bank account to extend Dorrell and give pay raises to the coaches.

Look, I have no dog in this hunt. SC will continue to do what it does to build a top program. But it will be interesting to watch as all hell breaks loose over this. I don't agree with the statements from Brian Dohn or Chris Foster that the current ucla recruiting class for 2008 will explode if Dorrell goes, I could see 5-7 kids maybe going elsewhere but not 10-15.

I am not going to make the case for or against Karl Dorrell others have done plenty to make the argument against Dorrell so I guess Streeter is going to carry the torch for Dorrell.

Like I said, it should be fun to watch.