Where are all the articles about how low profile basketball players should get more accomplished because lame reporters don't ask inane and speculative questions about them? Huh? Why do those low profile basketball players suck so much? They don't have the pressure of having grown men gossip about them in newspapers and on blogs. They should be better than simply low profile.

And please don't dress up your nastiness with a rationalization that you're playing "Devil's Advocate." You did no research on the subject, so all you're doing is gossiping.

Shall I play Devil's Advocate? Apparently it is license to gossip and speculate based on no evidence or research.

Posted by LoveTheIllini on March 11, 2009 at 5:59 AM

I posed a question yesterday in the Klee Chat concerning whether some Illini fans needed to get a grip on their fire and passion. These comments from LoveTheIllini are one example of what motivated that question.

First, Klee's devilish advocacy seems perfectly reasonable and within the standards of responsible journalism. His tone was not snarky or suggestive, and he did not present his thoughts as factual or certain. On the contrary, he explicitly qualified his preferential treatment questions ('just playing devil's advocate here'), and in the same paragraph concluded the video evidence suggested the proper decision was made by the IHSA ('basketball justice' were his words).

Perhaps a longer story on the IHSA's record of rescinding or reducing automatic suspensions would be interesting, and might even show that all players are treated similarly, but Klee was not making this argument.

Why is it gossip to question the assumption that Richmond's case would have been as compelling were his basketball career not a subject of interest to Illinois fans (or even high school basketball junkies in Chicago, or even Waukegan supporters)? It is an especially appropriate question when Illini fans reacted as they did, by flooding the IHSA offices with complaints.

To go further than Klee, one could argue it is also reasonable to wonder whether Bill Richmond hoped posting the video on youtube would elicit such pressure on the IHSA. He must have understood that his son's high-profile could benefit his case. After all, how many similar suspensions make the papers across the state? If someone in the Richmond camp did not believe his high-profile were significant, it seems reasonable to wonder, why not simply send the video to the IHSA and appeal the suspension the way every other school would? If all players are treated equally, then basketball justice would surely still have prevailed.

LoveTheIllini has a point; Richmond is subject to a different set of circumstances than any low-profile, less-talented player. But if it is reasonable to argue the spotlight leads to extra burdens, as LTI notes, why is it so egregious to wonder whether the spotlight might also come with extra benefits?

Paul Klee is a credit to the NG, and to his profession. While other newspapers struggle to transition from traditional paper coverage to the online universe, Klee's work on IlliniHQ shows that journalism is not dead, and that online content does not have to be controlled by thoughtless bloggers, and ranting messageboard posts. He successfully combines traditional beat coverage with the expanded content opportunities provided by online publishing (in game blogs, podcasts, and blog notes). I hope he stays a few more seasons before he is poached by a bigger media outlet.

Posted by EugeneFromParkRidge on March 12, 2009 at 11:34 AM

I think the Illini will be a better team next year with a taller point guard to see over the defense. I would like to see Coach Weber change our defense a bit at times instead of staying man to man all the time leaving the (back door) open we seen so many times this year. Other teams changing to different zones at times then back to man to man seems to give the Illini fits. I hope next year we do something before letting the clock run down to 6 seconds, and tell the big guys, stuff the ball, not let it get blocked from behind with a (baby kiss) shot off the glass.

Posted by Tjam on March 14, 2009 at 5:58 PM