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  1. #1

    ESPN/Jon Pessah Article

    According to this link, it appears that Mr. Pessah is a Maryland grad:

    http://www.journalism.umd.edu/newrel...mposium06.html

    Draw your own conclusions.

  2. #2
    This is the first I've even heard of him. ESPN must have decided they wanted a Duke hating article and THEN decided who ought to write it. Very interesting.

    Rather than encourage anyone to respond, though, as suggested on the front page article, I'd suggest to ignore it completely. Getting a response is a better result for ESPN, and if anything comes of it most likely it will be taking the worst collection of comments out of context and using it as fodder against Duke. I saw them discussing this article all week on the air and I'm not even going to read it. I had already determined that Duke hating must sell, but if it means I get to see more televised games, then fine.

  3. #3
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    I agree with everything Lulu has said. Well put.

    Additionally, if it is true that Pessah is a Terp, I'm certain any commentary he may provide is incredibly thoughtful, illuminating, and nuanced. Insert the "winking" smiley here.

  4. #4

    I agree with Lulu too!

    Sometimes no response is better than a response and more telling. Plus a response gives credence to his article. But all that is just my humble opinion.

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by freedevil View Post
    Additionally, if it is true that Pessah is a Terp, I'm certain any commentary he may provide is incredibly thoughtful, illuminating, and nuanced. Insert the "winking" smiley here.
    I was fortunate enough to get to know Jon Pessah during the lacrosse media maelstrom. Your character assassination couldn't be more misplaced. Jon and I shared a number of incredible conversations over the course of several months, and I can tell you that he is one of the most thoughtful journalists I have ever met. I was most impressed with his resistance to the zeitgeist surrounding the early events of the lacrosse affair. At a time when everyone was ready to burn the lacrosse team at the stake, Jon refused to jump to conclusions, and preferred instead to focus on the broader picture. He turned out to be right. I respect him tremendously for that.

    Yes, Jon had criticisms of Duke Athletics, but no more or less than he would have of any program in the country. In no way is he a Duke Hater. I think he actually kind of likes the place.

    Like you, I am disappointed in both the tone and content of the article, perhaps even more so because I know the author. That being said, I also recognize that the author is not the person who has the final say in the content of a piece. ESPN the Mag has an agenda, and that agenda is to sell ESPN the Mag.

    We should consider ourselves fortunate enough to have so much success as to warrant a cover article when we allegedly go into decline. Nobody is writing an article about the decline of, say, St. Johns.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Viking Guy View Post
    I was fortunate enough to get to know Jon Pessah during the lacrosse media maelstrom. Your character assassination couldn't be more misplaced. Jon and I shared a number of incredible conversations over the course of several months, and I can tell you that he is one of the most thoughtful journalists I have ever met. I was most impressed with his resistance to the zeitgeist surrounding the early events of the lacrosse affair. At a time when everyone was ready to burn the lacrosse team at the stake, Jon refused to jump to conclusions, and preferred instead to focus on the broader picture. He turned out to be right. I respect him tremendously for that.

    Yes, Jon had criticisms of Duke Athletics, but no more or less than he would have of any program in the country. In no way is he a Duke Hater. I think he actually kind of likes the place.

    Like you, I am disappointed in both the tone and content of the article, perhaps even more so because I know the author. That being said, I also recognize that the author is not the person who has the final say in the content of a piece. ESPN the Mag has an agenda, and that agenda is to sell ESPN the Mag.

    We should consider ourselves fortunate enough to have so much success as to warrant a cover article when we allegedly go into decline. Nobody is writing an article about the decline of, say, St. Johns.
    What Viking Guy said.

    IMO, this is a HUGE overreaction by DBR. Does the article reflect negatively about Duke? Yeah. Is it unfair? Yeah. Big whoop. There are going to be articles biased against Duke every now and then. There are ALSO going to be articles biased FOR Duke. You take the good with the bad. Going off on a rail because of one article is silly.

    Guess what? Everyone else thinks that ESPN is biased FOR Duke. Are they right? Nah. Ever talk to a Tar Heel about ESPN? They think ESPN hates them, too. Ever talk to someone from the SEC? They think ESPN hates them and is biased in favor of the ACC. Either ESPN is biased against everyone, or perhaps it isn't biased at all, but rather people tend to see the negative stuff and overreact and don't realize that there's plenty of positive stuff, too.

    I subscribe to ESPN the Mag because my kids like the magazine. One article isn't all of a sudden going to make me cancel my subscription.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Viking Guy View Post
    We should consider ourselves fortunate enough to have so much success as to warrant a cover article when we allegedly go into decline. Nobody is writing an article about the decline of, say, St. Johns.
    Or UConn or Maryland.

    I've said it before elsewhere and will say it again here-- the only school that got major attention for a down year the way we did last season was when Carolina staggered through the 8-20 mess under Doh a few years back. I would also like to point out that Carolina has had seasons like we did last year and NOT gotten any attention for it.

    I see all of the articles and the such as proof that Duke is the standard by which college basketball is measured.

    And I think angry emails and letters to John Pessah is a waste of time. I can tell you from experience that he is going to be 100% convinced he is right up until the moment when the FACTS (not fan opinions) prove him wrong. When Duke makes the Final 8 or Final Four this season or especially next year, when K lands a stud big-man recruit (wait, he already did that with Singler), when everyone else is writing about how K still is THE leading figure in college basketball -- that is when John Pessah will look back on his column and nervoulsy laugh about how horribly wrong he was.

    --Jason "oh, and the notion that there is an anti-Duke conspiracy at ESPN is laughable to those of us in the journalism biz" Evans

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by gvtucker View Post

    I subscribe to ESPN the Mag because my kids like the magazine. One article isn't all of a sudden going to make me cancel my subscription.
    This is shocking. I didn't realize that *anyone* liked ESPN the Magazine.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by gvtucker View Post
    Guess what? Everyone else thinks that ESPN is biased FOR Duke. Are they right? Nah. Ever talk to a Tar Heel about ESPN? They think ESPN hates them, too. Ever talk to someone from the SEC? They think ESPN hates them and is biased in favor of the ACC. Either ESPN is biased against everyone, or perhaps it isn't biased at all, but rather people tend to see the negative stuff and overreact and don't realize that there's plenty of positive stuff, too.
    I'd say that I agree entirely with this sentiment. At UGA, everyone says that College Gameday hates us because they won't come here for a big game (it might be true and the fanbase probably deserved it). At Auburn and Tennessee, they think Lee Corso hates them because he never picks their teams to win. For all the people at ESPN that criticize Duke basketball, there is probably just as big a number who have nothing but good things to say. Complain all you want about Mike Patrick and Dick Vitale, but the two men have nothing but the utmost respect and praise for Coach K and the Duke program. There are numerous others who share that same praise on the ESPN network.

    As a graduating senior who would love to pursue a career in sports, I have no shame in admitting that I constantly look for openings with ESPN and will continue to do so, regardless of how much over-the-top coverage they give the Cowboys, Red Sox, and Yankees!

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Duvall View Post
    This is shocking. I didn't realize that *anyone* liked ESPN the Magazine.
    Yeah, shocking to me, too. But what can I say, at least they're reading.

  11. #11
    I agree with a lot of the sentiments in this thread, and often times let "hating" go, while trying not to get hung up on it. But the blurb from the ESPN gift catalog is a bit absurd. There isnt even a facade of journalism there - just blatant, outright disrespect.

  12. #12
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    "I was fortunate enough to get to know Jon Pessah during the lacrosse media maelstrom. Your character assassination couldn't be more misplaced. "

    Nice try. (Bless your heart.) But Pessah's character assassination is the one that couldn't be more misplaced!!!! And I'm not even bothering to bless HIS heart!

    Love, Ima

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post

    --Jason "oh, and the notion that there is an anti-Duke conspiracy at ESPN is laughable to those of us in the journalism biz" Evans
    OK - perhaps conspiracy is going too far, but how do you feel about the ESPN gift guide item on the front page. That to me seems something you'd expect to see on Inside Carolina, not ESPN. Although, I am starting to view ESPN's "talent" as far less than a good example of journalism.
    Last edited by mr. synellinden; 11-26-2007 at 11:36 AM. Reason: typo to/too

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by mr. synellinden View Post
    OK - perhaps conspiracy is going too far, but how do you feel about the ESPN gift guide item on the front page. That to me seems something you'd expect to see on Inside Carolina, not ESPN.
    I am not all that sure the this really IS an ESPN Gift Guide that is quoted. Sounds more like a spoof to me that DBR is misinterpreting. I sure haven't seen it anywhere. I can't find it on the web anywhere, either.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by gvtucker View Post
    I am not all that sure the this really IS an ESPN Gift Guide that is quoted. Sounds more like a spoof to me that DBR is misinterpreting. I sure haven't seen it anywhere. I can't find it on the web anywhere, either.
    Here

    I think it's become pretty clear that espn.com has made an editorial decision that shots at Duke are comedy gold, at least in Page 2 content. I'm just not sure why we should care about this.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by mr. synellinden View Post
    OK - perhaps conspiracy is going too far, but how do you feel about the ESPN gift guide item on the front page. That to me seems something you'd expect to see on Inside Carolina, not ESPN. Although, I am starting to view ESPN's "talent" as far less than a good example of journalism.
    Dude, the Holiday Gift Guide is a Page 2 article. It's a joke!

    DBR is making itself look very foolish by displaying an complete lack of sense of humor in the matter.


    PS: the Onion is actually a satire newspaper. It's not real news!

  17. #17
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    Western North Carolina

    Lacrosse Sympathizers

    While I am greatful to anyone who supported the lacrosse players during the witch-hunt, DO NOT assume that everyone who did so is evenhanded or unbiased.

    While the more well known, mainstream, media outlets and personalities were handing out pitchforks and torches, virtually all sports writers were urging caution.

    Personally, I had several UNC fans, each of whom hates Duke with a passion, express severe doubt about the allegations. I think all serious sports followers, and especially the sports media, have grown accustomed to unfounded allegations heaped on athletes (usually professional, but still) in what ammount to little more than extortion schemes. Groupies, street agents, etc, the media know that there are people who take advantage of young athletes.

    Several Duke-Haters, many irrationally so, were of the opinion that there was no real proof, and that this could happen anywhere. I think all the UNC fans had horrifying visions of some evil young women making baseless insinuations about the UNC hoops squad. Every serious sports fan realized that athletes are targets.

    So, just because someone was supportive, or even-handed, during the lacrosse troubles does not mean that they do not harbor deep, unwarranted, irrational, unsupported hatred of Duke.

    That said, the best way to end this talk is to win. IN MARCH. Given how our squads have underperfomed since 03, and the talent on said rosters, talk of slippage is valid, if not true. But, unlike Jason, I do not think an elite 8 is enough (unless we are on the wrong end of an epic 92esque battle with the eventual NC). I think only a strong FF showing will shut up the critics. And, we need a true low post threat. Singler is amazing, but he is somewhere between Shane and Dunleavy on the true post scale. We don't have to recruit one per se, should Lance or Zoubs develop, that would do just fine.

    Remember, reality means very little (excepting a NC); perception is key. And right now the perception is that Duke cannot attract a true low post player. The last successful one entered school 5 years ago. There is not one comming next year, and CURRENTLY we are not involved with any top tier true posts for the rising Jr class.

    All the above said, Duke Haters must be quaking in their boots. Recruitniks readily admit that the 08 class is weak. The 09 class is better, but it is not a great class. The 2010 class is stud-rific however. Duke Haters, especially in the media, must have the nightmare, doomsday scenario in their minds. This summer, K could very well lead the USA back to international glory. IF he gets the superstars to play like last summer, we could be in for a summer of blowout, fun to watch games. Games where superstar NBAers actually play together and play D. Games where Kobe, LeBron, et al talk about what an IDEAL coach K is to play for. Games where Kobe, LeBron, and other HS to NBA players talk about how they would've been better prepped for the pros had K been their college coaches. A Gold Medal next summer would let K take his pick out of those classes. Duke could be godly again, and the haters would reall hate that.

    Patrick Yates

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Lulu View Post
    I had already determined that Duke hating must sell, but if it means I get to see more televised games, then fine.
    well put.

    jealousy is an ugly color to wear.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by gvtucker View Post
    One article isn't all of a sudden going to make me cancel my subscription.
    Or turn my sound down.

    *snarf*

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    However, I think we can all agree that "by staying silent he lost some credibility, and maybe some of his soul" is some terrible, terrible writing.

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