…not because I was intending to stir things up; but because whenever we can find out from our members what they want from the blog, well, that’s a good thing.
 
I feel like I should address some of the points Jo-Jo made.
 
First, let me say that this post is a once in a blue moon type deal. If you scroll down you’ll be hard pressed to find another post like it. Yes, I occasionally goof around on my Pac-10 power poll or other recurring features, but part of that is because I don’t have an hour to devote to researching every other team in the conference. Also, I feel like we as a society take sports too seriously. Watch ESPN for an hour or two and you’ll be smacked with superlatives describing the importance of this weekend’s key NFC south matchup. Read Gregg Easterbrook’s thoughts on Spygate from last year and you’ll have a perfect example of a relatively minor issue (in the grand scheme of things) blown completely out of proportion. Sports aren’t as important as the more serious issues in life, so we should take sports a little more lightly than we do.
 
I have to disagree on the argument that you could hear what I wrote at any bar in the state. At any bar I probably would’ve heard some of the same things I did last night, such as “F—- you, ref” or “You suck” or any number of verbal insults directed at the officials. What you probably don’t hear at bars are any sort of attempt to be clever or thoughtful, or provide an ounce of meaningful analysis. If you read my post again, you’ll notice that I intentionally snuck in some analysis – particularly about Nikola Koprivica, the team’s early shooting woes and why a game like this may actually help the young Cougars.
 
I think what you’re ultimately disagreeing with is the tone. My style of writing is made up in large part by the blogs I’m infulenced by – Fire Joe Morgan, USS Mariner, Lookout Landing, Will Leitch’s stuff from Deadspin, etc. And those blogs have a certain tone that gets bashed on by the mainstream media from time to time. Mainly due to the fact that it doesn’t fit the media’s ideals of objectivity and “professionalism”. The problem is it’s some serious pot-calling-kettle black stuff. Read this article, then my post, and see if you can tell which one was actually published in a newspaper. I’m not saying Brandon Scheller’s stuff is wrong, not at all, but I’m saying if you read “mainstream” writing from people like Bill Simmons or Rick Reilly, it’s sometimes hard to tell the difference between them and an experienced blogger.
 
As for our blog’s creed that you referenced, that hearkens back to your old WSU Hoops, a blog that I loved to read, and while I discovered the blog more when it was Nuss doing the posting, I agree with the statement and your philosophy. Nuss is a better writer than I am, and also does a better job of elevating the intelligence of the discussion on the blog. I try to shoot for those higher goals as well, but one of the great things about being a blogger is you aren’t forced to follow the constraints of the mainstream media. If I want to write a post that’s one extended joke like this one, I can. And these types of post will be few and far between. Plus it was fun to write – when you’re putting a lot of time into something that isn’t your real job, I think it’s better to have fun with it than try to write an AP-style recap every time.

Also, does insightful discussion mean only serious discussion? I don’t think it does. I think this post was a little better thought out than a post saying “Huskies suck” with a picture of Calvin peeing on the W. Anyone can do that. It’s tough to do something humerous, and I’m sure 50% of our readers got a laugh and 50% hated it. That happens sometimes.
 
More thoughtful, serious analysis is on the way. And I wouldn’t do this sort of thing for a more high-profile recap like UCLA, Gonzaga, etc. My only regret is shorting the people who couldn’t see the game some good quality analysis. That will happen, though, and I think what I did write captured the overall theme of the game; which is that the refs spoiled what could have been a clean, defensive contest. Anyone who was at the game knows how angry the crowd and both coaches got throughout the 40 minutes. The fans and the teams deserved better.

…all I’m saying is Nuss and Grady really have yet to disappoint in the news/special features/analysis department so there is no reason to think that this humorous post-game report will be the norm. And again, my guess is there will be an actual game recap to follow.