Michigan and Ohio State ditch printed media guides

I swear, it's like we planned this (blue skies ahead?). ... Here's the release, with the link at the end.

The Ohio State University and the University of Michigan have agreed to halt the printing of athletic team media guides in an effort to develop new media initiatives for more effective communications and help with cost containment.
“With the new media environment and current economic climate, the decision to cut back in this area was prudent,” Bill Martin, University of Michigan Director of Athletics, said. “The discussion to eliminate the printed version of the media guide has been ongoing within the Big Ten and NCAA administrative services for some time.
“We understand there is a need for a stronger commitment to new media,” Martin added. “Our alumni and fans want more timely information.”
Both Martin and Smith also noted it is important to make changes that will not affect the athletic and academic well-being of the school’s student-athletes.
“With Ohio State and Michigan together making this statement, I hope our decision will be a catalyst for other schools to follow suit,” Gene Smith, Ohio State Director of Athletics, said. “All athletic programs are in the midst of cost containment discussions, but our decision is not only based on economics, the structure of media consumption has changed rapidly and we need to meet the challenges head on.
“New initiatives will have to be developed to allow media, recruits, alumni and fans to follow our teams,” Smith said. “Social networking already plays a role in our communication plan and new platforms will continue to develop.”
The elimination of printed media guides will take place immediately and effectively will result in a total cost reduction of more than $250,000 per year.
http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=3744008

A plug for "Crimson Literacy"

Although I'll be getting away for a while in June (yes, it's about time, especially since I haven't had a real vacation in a couple of years), I've also been invited to participate in a unique event that you may want to check out especially if you're a football fan.

In addition to my most recent book ("100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die"), and the Tuscaloosa News book we did on last season ("Return to Glory: The Story of Alabama's 2008 Season"), I'll also be talking up my new "Huddle Up!" series that will come out this summer.

While I doubt the Alabama edition will be ready in time, we'll probably have a couple of other versions by then. Either way, in my mind this will serve as a sort of kickoff event (yes, pun intended) for the series.

Some of the other authors who have been invited include Keith Dunnavant and Warren St. John and Chip Cooper. Should be fun.

Special Event: "Crimson Literacy-Up Close & Personal"

Sponsored by The Literacy Council of West Alabama

Friday, June 26, 2009

5 p.m.-6:30 p.m. at Barnes & Noble.

Multiple authors' signing and open house. Open to the public.

6:30 p.m.-8p.m. at I.O. Metro.

VIP & authors' reception with music, food, silent auction. Ticketed event.

For more info, call 391.0560, email johnnie@tuscaloosachamber.com, or visit the Literacy Council of West Alabama site: http://www.tuscaloosachamber.com/literacy/

Some awards are really tough to get ...

Ok, I'm not big on trying to pat myself on the back, but this one I'm pretty proud of.

Friday afternoon, the Alabama Press Association's Better Newspaper Contest winners were announced and I landed best sports column (and also contributed to the winning entry for best sports news in-depth coverage).

Many of you know that my goal has always been to become a sports columnist. Earlier this week, I also got three Alabama Managing Editors awards, including second place for sports column.

What I really like is that they were different columns. The AME column was on how black football players were getting arrested along The Strip in Tuscaloosa, and the other was for climbing into the ring with Olympic boxer Deontay Wilder -- who broke my orbital bone with one punch.

A heavy price to pay, but I'm going to enjoy it.

Already No. 1 on the Walsh list

So I finally got the final numbers on book sales from July-Dec. 2008 (yes, I know, what can you do?), and "100 Things" has already out-sold my previous best-selling book, by, get this, eight.

Just please don't return them now.

The list:
1. 100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.
2. Where Foootball is King: A History of the SEC
3. Crimson Storm Surge: Alabama Football Then and Now
4. Who's No. 1? 1oo-Plus Years of Controversial National Champions in College Football
5. No Time Outs: What It's Really Like to Be a Sportswriter Today.

As I mentioned before, it'll be a lot more interesting when we get into the Huddle Up series

This could have a huge impact on the Huddle Up series

From VUcommodores.com (link at the bottom), by David Rutz

The possible elimination of printed media guides for Southeastern Conference and all Division I teams will be discussed at the SEC spring meetings, which start May 25 in Destin.

For Vanderbilt fans that have purchased these books and National Commodore Club members accustomed to receiving them as a perk of membership, the possibility of moving the guides online is significant.

"We want our fans to understand what is going on and why," said Vanderbilt Director of External Relations Rod Williamson.

SEC Associate Commissioner Charles Bloom said the possible changes are primarily about budgetary concerns.

"The rationale behind this legislation is to move everything online," Bloom said. "When we talk about the budget shortfalls that people are having, and a way to cut money out of the budget, media guides are seen as one of the first things that athletic administrations look at to cut money."

There is a very good chance that the books will be eliminated sometime in the next year and possibly immediately.

The spring meetings will involve discussion between school athletic directors and SEC officials, and the conference will attempt to move legislation on media guides forward to be voted on by the NCAA, Bloom said.

http://vucommodores.cstv.com/genrel/051709aaa.html

Goodbye old friend

No more adds

As I wait to hear on the final stages of the 2009 Huddle Up series, the final adds for the Michigan edition were completed tonight.

So all the writing is done, along with the adds that took a couple of months to complete, with only some final proofs (Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, Notre Dame and Oklahoma) to go. The first wave (Tennesssee, Ohio State, Texas and the New York Giants) is at the printer.

Yeah, my brain is about as warped as the image on this tuba. ... More soon.

No more monkeying around

Yes, monkeys are cool. That's just a fact, so enjoy this photo. But things are about to really pick up, so you may want to keep an eye on things here.

First off, I've upgraded the blog. Hope you like the changes.
Second, there will be a lot more posts in the near future as things unfold with the Huddle Up books and the nine initial editions are released.
Third, my annual college football rankings are coming up, so I'll start unveiling the updated results soon.
But wait, that's not all ... only I'm not telling for now. You'll just have to check it out for yourself.

No more writing

The Auburn additions are finished (at least I think they are, I sent in an extra 50,00 words but a lot it we'll save for next year in phase II of this enormous project), which means all the writing for the 2009 editions is behind me ... again. I still have to go over some additions for the Michigan edition, but that'll be more editing than writing -- which is a lot easier.

So here's where everything is at:
Tennessee: At the printer (awesome).
Ohio State: About to go to the printer - they're tweaking the final proofs now.
New York Giants: I'm about to get the proofs, possibly tomorrow.
Texas: Again, the final proofs will be here any time now.

Alabama, Oklahoma and Notre Dame will follow. Michigan and Auburn have yet to be laid out. I expect they'll be last. It's home stretch time, though.