Thanks GO4...same to you...look forward you guys representing the West with pride!

quote:

Originally posted by Radio Man:
Wow...I just realize I made the first post of 2007 on Huskermat...woo hoo! I guess being at home on New Year's Eve without an active social life does have an advantage! Actually, my wife is at work and I'm home with my 7 year old son, so life is just fine with me!

Gee...and I thought I was the only one having a dull start to the new year. LOL

Hi All,

Wow....things are rocking. Anyway, Happy New Year to everyone. (Even if the Huskers didn't get the win.)

I thought I would weigh in on this one in a minor way. Someone said to follow the rules or go somewhere else. Most people follow the language rule. This leads us to rule 2 which is the "respectful" rule. Guess this is a bit vague...I am not sure how one clearly defines this rule on this site? I really haven't seen much in here that would qualify as a violation of the rules. I guess I would like to hear an interpretation of rule two. This might help the Mason guy monitor himself.

For myself, If I don't like what a person is writing, I don't read it and I certainly don't respond to it. Makes life pretty easy.

Now back to watching some more football.

It would make perfect sense to send Millard High to the Clash...Why don't you guys go grapplinman? You have the best chance of representing the state other than Skutt!

I didn't know there was a fourth high school in the Millard Public Schools district.

No wonder OPS wants to take Millard over...

Another attempt at sarcasim from the failed editor! If you check your history books you would see that MS was Millard high prior to the split in the district there old wise squirrel!

Ummm...Mason? I'm FULLY AWARE that Millard South was formerly known as Millard High School. You may not be aware of this, seeing as how you're over there in the great (allegedly) state of Iowa, but Millard has become a big enough district to have not only added a second high school (Millard North, opened around 1980) that required Millard High to be renamed Millard SOUTH...but have also expanded to the point where they now have THREE high schools thanks to the addition of Millard West a little over a decade ago (where my daughter proudly goes to school).

And believe it or not, all three schools have had a good deal of success in this sport over the years (four titles and five runner-up finishes between the three, along with numerous individual champions). You might want to look back on recent history -- which was documented quite frequently on NWI -- to see the kind of success all three Millard schools have had.

As far as journalistic capabilities go, I'll be more than happy to put my resume up against yours anytime, pal.

And, for the record...we like to refer to it as "sarcasm" -- we have no idea what the word "sarcasim" means. Must be one of those Iowa educational nuances those of us here in Nebraska are fortunate enough not to be exposed to.

But what do I know? I'm just a "failed editor"...

The Squirrel always wants to get into it with all of the posters on the old Huskermat. Why is that? A good editor can take a little criticism. The fact is that NWI failed. You were the leader of that right Mike? And just becasue you have had 25 jobs at local beats like gretna and norfolk do not make for a power resume! But what do I know being an idiot like I was called earlier from one of your colleagues. Please check for my spelling and grammar usage editor. Gives you something to do between jobs!

I always accept constructive, and accurate, critcism when it is warranted. You have yet to offer said criticism on this board on a variety of issues.

And since you seem to think you know so much about journalism in general, and NWI in particular, I'll give you some facts to deal with:

Fact 1 -- I have a 23-year career in the journalism field and have achieved numerous awards and honors, as well as a tremendous amount of good will and respect from those I have affected with my work. Tell us about your experience in the field.

Fact 2 -- NWI itself did not fail. In fact, it was my decision, and mine alone, to walk away from the publication, a decision I did not make without a great deal of thought and consideration. NWI was honored by the National Wrestling Media Association as a National Publication of the Year and wrestling fans all over the world turned to NWI (and Huskermat) first for Nebraska wrestling news, and it was a difficult decision for me to close it down but, ultimately, was one that was best for me on a variety of levels and one that I have come to accept and grow from and would be more than happy to assist anybody interested in either taking over the reins of NWI or consulting on a similar type of project.

Fact 3 -- Much the same as other online trolls like Rome and Wrasslin, you have been trying to bait me into this discussion for some time now. Like the others, you have nothing relevant to bring to the discussion. What your reasons are for doing this are beyond normal intelligent comprehension, but I'm not about to allow this character assassination to go on any further without refuting your baseless cheap shots. You asked about past antagonists on this board, lumping several legit quality contributors in with the likes of those two bozos...but right now it appears YOU are the lone antagonist on this board (at least, until Ross finally gets tired of your crap and sends you to a fate similar to others who have tried this line before).

You seem to think that doing what I did and what Ross is doing is such an easy job. I realize you lack the courage, competence and capability to do it, but I'd invite you to channel all the negative things you've had to say about NWI, Huskermat and the state of the Nebraska wrestling heiarchy into a project that addresses all these issues. I think that if you actually had the ability and guts to attempt such a venture, online trolls like you would come to find out that it's not nearly as easy as it looks.

Ross and I have both made the effort to help improve the coverage of wrestling in Nebraska, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for the work Ross puts into this website, much the same as the respect that was shown to me by about 99.9 percent of the wrestling community in this state for making a go of NWI. Aside from your anonymous, gutless, trollish personal attacks...what are YOU doing to help the cause?

It takes no effort to do what you are doing. Are you man enough to accept the challenge? Or do you lack the courage to do anything more than what you're doing right now? Your response will no doubt provide the answer to both of those questions...

Mike, you just kill me. You were probably the most important person in getting Nebraska wrestling some needed publicity in this state. I have no doubt that the OWH, LJS, etc. upped their articles because of the coverage you gave our sport and they felt they needed to "pick it up". However, you need to also realize that as time went on, you got pretty full of yourself. I'm sure that most of us would have acted the same way, but you really need to realize that it happened. Your NWI Mag lost its appeal in the last couple of years with re-hashed articles from other publication (I'm sure they were not cut and pasted but some sure were similar), and I know for a fact that even though you sold advertising for state brackets, some years you didn't even complete them! Now, I'm sure you will "call me out" but I'm not trying to bash you, as I said earlier, I think you have been a godsend to our sport. The reason people raz you on this site is because you feel that you have to respond to just about EVERY POST on here. Leave it alone! Get a life! Make it your New Year's resolution to only post three times a week. I think your mental health will benefit.

Now THAT is constructive criticism...thank you, John.

My only response is that, to the best of my knowledge, we completed brackets every year we ran them, and the copy-paste option was never used in publicizing stories, although information from other publications (as is customary in the business) was rewritten for publication on the site.

I know I should just ignore the comments these trolls make, but for as much time, sweat and gas as I poured into making a go of it, I'm not about to have some anonymous jerk with absolutely no background in the business and no real interest in the growth of our sport in our state get away with calling out my journalism skills, my website or the progress that has been made over the years.

I have made my point on that, so no further comment will be made by me from here on out. Thanks again, though, for the CONSTRUCTIVE criticism... :) If you'd like to talk further with me about this, please e-mail me at mikeycpro@gmail.com