I emailed Ivan Maisel of ESPN to correct his statement Erickson "Turned down LSU" to correctly state after some research that he was on a list of candidates but said he was not interested but was never officially offered nor was he ever interviewed. in order to "Turn down" a job you have to first be offered it. Erickson was never officially offered. With that he responded with a smart ass comment "That is not what I heard - Thanks anyway for sending me a message" I replied to his email with the following. "Well a few moments of research would have proved as he was a candidate but never officially offered, but hell who needs factual journalism anyway right ?? He was mentioned as a candidate and declined to be interviewed. He was never officially offered. He declined to be interviewed. At that point he was on a list of coaches, a list that included Nick Saban. It is hard to turn down a job you have never been offered, nor what is to say after his interview that LSU might not have wanted him. ESPN constantly throws LSU under the bus reporting Saban is interviewing for every job under the sun. ESPN constantly reports non facts pertaining to LSU. I am stumped why a little research seems to be to much to ask from a journalist. Don’t worry Peter King of SI said he would bet his house and a bowl of gumbo that Saban would be in the NFL this year. Needless to say us Tiger fans have yet to see his house or a bowl of Gumbo. So we are used to it…."
at least he replied . . I emailed Dennis Dodd of CBS (can't broadcast sports) after he mentioned the whole #34 Jersey Issue with Auburn and Ernie Sims. He says that CTT offered the jersey even though both Ernie Sims and CTT have said that the jersey was not available. Never heard back from him . . .
I'm not sure that his reply was really a smart ass message, I think your second message was a bit of an overreaction. Also, I don't get this perception that ESPN is anti-LSU. What possible reason could ESPN have for being negative towards LSU?? These reporters report the info that they get, it may not be true, but its not like they are trying to subvert LSU's recruiting or anything like that.
Actually he is a pretty cool guy, we have exchanged a few emails today. He said his source at Oregon State told him that. I asked him does he have a Source at LSU that concurs with that ?? He said he got that from an Oregon State contact. So I replied well the operative word in that is Oregan State. My beef is the story is different from LSU and that is article should have said Erickson turned the offer to be interviewed NOT he turned down the Job. It gives the false impression, he was offered the Job and LSU had to "settle" with Saban. Which is really not the case. J_Oates. Your point is very valid. I dont think some of us Believe ESPN is anti-lsu. Our point is their faluire to report the facts of a story OR the entire story has come off lately as Anti-LSU. The stories about Saban to the NFL every 5 minutes have been proven to be false, yet they reported that AND it was always proven that rival coaches uses those reports to hurt LSU recruiting (One of our new recruits saying that a few coaches used that on him during the process) So no is ESPN Anti-LSU- Of course not. Does their failure to do research and report facts Hurt LSU sometimes yes. I think that is our beef.
Dont get ESPN ticked at us. They have given us incredible exposure by televising our games. Who will ever forget the Tennessee and Miss State games that were on ESPN. I think it has helped our recruiting. Would much rather have our games on ESPN.. well I take that back. Jill Arrington vs. Adrian whats his name. CBS RULES
Maisel also guaranteed that Franchione was staying at Bama two days before his TAMU press conference. I'm sure that's what he wanted to happen because of his ties to BAMA. NO Credibility !!!!!!!
Maisel and coaching candidates: I have seen this guy being mentioned on several boards but I have not followed him closely. It appears that he has made enemies with the fans at multiple schools rather than just spewing garbage about LSU. The fact that he has multiple teams upset with him and his articles points to the possible conclusion that he is not a very good writer overall. A logical presumption would be that he is caught up in the competition and relies on his "sources" too much without any followup or corroboration. Also, there seems to be a trend of reporters taking an in your face approach and use of "shock value" topics and stances. I guess it is a sign of the times. Society as well as journalism has thrown honor and integrity out the door and welcomed ratings and the almighty dollar. That is what I think has happened with Maisel. Also, big schools like LSU don't settle when they pick the 2nd guy interviewed. The top two candidates are usually steller, but someone has to interview first. Saban-Erickson, Erickson-Saban. At the time, not much difference other than Erickson's national title at Miami. I know NC's are huge but you get my point. However, after those first interviews, there is usually a recognizable drop in the attractiveness of the secondary list of coaches. Regardless of whether Erickson had an offer, LSU did not settle for Saban. AUDave
