RallyNorth.net: High School Sports - Merrimack Valley and Southern NH

Are you kidding me? Your blaming Timmy Woods for your lack of journalistic work ethic? Call the Andover AD...what about Central or Methuen? Those are the teams in your circulation...you crap on the Middies all season and now you end with this? Why don't you do your job!!

http://www.lowellsun.com/football/ci_11184223 Here I did your job for you...

Thanks for letting us know why the All Conference team was not in the paper-I was wondering why. I will make a call and ask why you did not receive he list. You are right-our kids deserve the recognition!

Hey mka, you moron...
It's not the league's job to send them? They got sent to all of the other papers, right? Did they not get sent because the et has, in the past, ripped them for their ridiculous amount of mvps?
the commish of the mvc is a PAID public servant, getting money from my paycheck everyweek under that "MA TAX" line. i want him doing his job. If not, he should find his ass on the street.
The kids deserved to be noticed, and that's that.

You know MKA, it's been an hour since an irate friend of mine woke me from a deep slumber to warn me of your personal attacks.
I've thought about how to respond.
First, I figured to go with the usual smarmy, sarcastic route, maybe:
"Duuuuhhhh, contact some other AD's, what a brilliant idea, genius ... And go to the Lowell Sun website, sheer journalistic savvy. Gosh, I never would have thought of those things. Forward your resume, a journalist with these talents would be a great addition."
Then I said, nah, not worth it.

Then I thought maybe I'd ask you what it is about Dracut that makes you bleed that weird shade of blue:
"Is that kind of allegiance taught in schools?
Is it induced through the water supply? I mean all football season you were incredulous if I dared to write that someone would score on the Middies. Allow me to shed some light on your wonderful little town, in which you seem to think nobody can do any wrong. Dracut is not Zanadu.
Nice place, but just like everywhere else.
There is no incredible air of infallibility there People there make mistakes.
it is Dracut, a little Valley town that takes 35 minutes to get to from everywhere.
Haverhill to Dracut ... 35 minutes. Tewksbury to Dracut ... 35 minutes. Salem, N.H. to Dracut ... 35 minutes. I know, I lived there for a year. It's got two roads and a pretty good Italian Restaurant, Scolas. I go with the chicken parm, my late dad loved the fruiti di mare pasta dish. My sisters prefer the white sauce."

But then I said, no, that's not right either. You're passionate, if not misguided, about Dracut, I'll respect that.

So I'll just take the direct route.
Woods is the MVC commish. It is his job to get the team out to the media, not one of the other ADs.
When the baseball coaches have their meeting, two days later all the newspapers have an e-mail waiting from Pete Paladino at Central. Not just the E-T and the Herald, all of them.
That's how the thing works. Each AD takes on the one sport per season. It's his job, not a coach's or another AD's, his. And for some reason he chose to ignore us.
The reason I couldn't go on the Sun web site and take the team is that if you notice, it lists only players from the lowell area on the second team and HM list.
He did a disservice to the kids, which is his top priority.
My top priority is entertaining and informing readers. That's my job.
Thanks for reading.
Hector

Russ Conway was the Tribune's last big player and worthwhile writer...The E-T is slipping into irrelevance, it is pretty much relegated to a coupon pamplet and Lawrence basher. By the time it's out and delivered it's OLD NEWS. I personally don't know anyone who reads the Tribune for any real news or sports, then again, I don't know anyone who subscribes...A circulation of 50,000 customers in an area in which it covers seems terribly low. Seriously, when was the last time you saw the Eagle Tribune sprawled out on a restroom floor or under the arm(s) of a commuter? It comes as no surprise to me that you fell through the proverbial cracks.

Russ Conway. That is funny I just fell over in my seat!!!

"Loyal Reader said:
Russ Conway. That is funny I just fell over in my seat!!!"

Is that you Joe "Cantankerous" Murphy?

kodiaksrevenge you are a funny, funny man...

kodiaksrevenge,

You're right, I'd much rather read the Lowell Sun and their crew of crank yankers.

50,000 circulation is small? Not really. I hate ignorant people.

The real debate here falls back on the MVC. I'd want to know why it was done? Why was my nephews name not in my paper? I want answers and none of the "bashers" here seem to be giving any other than to go to the LS website.

Maybe they figured you only wanted the Central players names since 3 out of every 4 stories in ET about HS athletes are always from CCHS. (Just kidding, sort of) Seriously, Woods is a tool and should have done his job better, try calling him and try and get a quote about the FB players who should have been suspended during the season for rule violations, but he (Woods) looked the other way. Tell him that is why your calling and I garuntee he'll return your call to go into full "spin control", then ask him why you didn't get the MVC All-Star team sent to you.

WOW...touched a nerve huh? Don't lecture me on my allegiance to the Middies. You go out of your way to degrade them and, now the town every chance you get. You have done this all season, it seems obvious you were playing to your ET subscribers with all the anti-dracut venom. Hang on to that journalistic integrity...Hey Randy why don't you give Hector a call and wake him up from his afternoon nap...

Newspapers, in general are becoming a fossil... that's hardly the Tribune's fault. Check out the fact finding errors up at the Union Leader, and you will certainly opt for the E.T.'s honest and accurate reporting.
Hector, you keep it spicey and fun...good work. Bottomline, football is a tough sport at any high school, and the players deserve credit when it is due. LQQking foward to reading this list of athletes!

Hey MKA, if you're going to continue to try and land low blows on this web site, that's fine, but at least earn your keep.
Can you shed some light for us on Grimard's recruitment?
Where's he headed?
I've heard everything from Boston College to Merrimack and just about every level in between. What's the scuttlebutt out there?

Looking for someone to do your leg work? Sorry after all the BS you spewed this year especially today, you won't be getting any help from me. I'm sure you have contacts that can help you ascertain that information...maybe you can give Tim Woods a call...

Randy,

I hate to disappoint Randy, but I do not read the Lowell Sun...I rely on the internet for my news, as do most people in todays world.

50,000 subscribers is by no means tearing up the news stand; when you consider the geographics the E-T covers - think about it. Lawrence the very city the Eagle Tribune grew up in has 72,000 residents, Andover(32,000), N.A.(27,000), Methuen(45,000)....Yeah, the more you look at the numbers, the more you realize 50 grand is a very small number of the populace. But whatever, you go on thinking it's on the majority of our doorsteps.

Let's get to the real debate here, as you refer to it:

Your All-Stars were recognized in a broader geograpical area thanks to newspapers like the Globe, Herald and Sun...Do we need to be reminded that our LOCAL athletes are awesome? Do we really need to see their names in this rag to know how well they played, even though they were lauded for their onfield success week in and week out?

Just to clarify,
MKA, I figured you had no game and I was right. You know nothing about Grimard. Good cover, though. Go on the attack.
Wow, those shots really hurt me. So original, too. "Do your own leg work." That stuff is priceless.
I ask you again, bring something new or interesting to the table. Your act grows old, tiresome and truly unfunny.

As for the revenge guy, you are right the newspaper penetration rates are sinking. But your numbers are a bit wrong.
There aren't 72,000 homes in Lawrence, 32K in Andover, 27k in NA, etc.
It's one newspaper per household, not per person. Industry rates say that each paper is read by an average of 2.5 people.
Therefore, say in Methuen, we're being read by about half of the 45,000 people. Not good, but again not bad.
We buy the globe and e-t in my house, but we don't buy a globe for me, one for my wife and one for my son.
So yeah, we're in, I'm making an educated guess here, 1 of every 2 homes in Methuen, 2 of every 5 in Lawrence, 1 in 3 in NA and, 1 of 4 in Andover, etc.
That's not great, but it's fairly accurate.
And we'll say this one more time, in plain English, the second-teamers and HMs from Central, Andover, Methuen and Haverhill were not represented in any paper.
Again fellas, thanks for reading. The more hits on this site, the better for me. Tell all your friends, too.

oh I know more than you think...

"We buy the globe and e-t in my house"
You don't get a complimentary Eagle Tribune at work

Actually, you people could do a lot bettter covering local sports if you weren't wasting so much time, money and space on Burt's nonsense. People don't buy the E-T to see what he thinks of the Celtics or Pats. Local sports coverage has slipped since the layoffs, game recaps have been abandoned yet you still use your sports pages as Bill Burt's personal playground

Hector. I, like you, am quite dissapointed that the league chose not to provide the list of MVP's to the E-T. My son enjoyed quite a year and, quite a career and, quite frankly, worked his butt off to overachieve. He, as well as the other league standouts, are deserving of recognition. It truly is sad if the league chose to "penalize" your paper over petty wrangling. I'm hoping that you will be able to sort through all of this and publish the list in the paper. It is not too late nor is it ever too late to recognize an individual or individuals for his (their) outstanding accomplishments.

Signed,

Proud Parent!

P.S. Hector, I very much enjoy your writing and feel that you do an outstanding job of covering the local high school sports!

GRIMARD TO PURDUE
COULD HAVE GONE TO HARVARD

GRIMARD TO PURDUE. LOL

Hec, good article up until the claim that the MVC is a real league....What a bunch of Merrimack Valley gumbas.....3rd and 20 = fullback dive......I'll give you Rob Conrad which means they put out a player every 20 years. Every 15 if you count Tim Hickey.

Hey Warm in NC stick to basketball. What do you know about football?? I don t remember you putting on the pads unless you count Middle School.
Let me guess you've never seen a high school game here but have always studied the game on TV and know talent when you see it.... Brilliant!!!

Gee, how come they got rid of the posting on what a colossal waste of space and resources it is to run Burt's tiresome ruminations about the Patriots and Celtics in an allegedly local newspaper.

Doesnt' the publisher realize that the paper's recent deemphysis on local sports (coverage of which is available nowhere else) while keeping Burt's self-indulgent pattering about the NFL and NBA (commentary on which is available everywhere else) cost him money in wasted salary and lost street sales? What would the Alabama teachers union think about that, as the value of its pension fund investment in stocks plummets in value and it must rely on profitability from its Massachusetts publishing group to pay people in retirement? Don't we remember after the sale by the Rogers family, when The Boston Globe said "According to Daniel J. Griffin, the Eagle-Tribune's vice president of marketing, the newspaper is targeted to suburban families with children." Guess what, Mr. Ketter? Those suburban families with children can get NBA and NFL commentary and half-page take-outs on obscure college players in a lot of other places. Better protect your bread and butter, rather than the egos of people with no conception of what readers want in a local newspaper.

only in the MVC would the fourth QB picked be called second team. And the trib could have had the correct name of the kid.
it`s matt not mike

Hey Loyal Reader.....high school football on TV ? And you're calling me "brilliant". MVC Football = fullback dive left, fullback dive right, QB draw, 20 yard punt. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz