Nancy Clark does not know her ass from her mouth. Is that assertive enough?

Boi From Troy (USC and lots of other subjects) and FanBlogs air out the rantings of an apparently highly defensive reporter.

The State of the News Media Report is an annual review by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, part of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York.

The conclusion of the 600-page report was that the traditional “journalism of verification,” in which reporters check facts, is being infringed upon by a new model of journalism that is “faster, looser and cheaper.”

In the new “journalism of assertion,” as the report calls it, information is offered with little time and little attempt to independently verify its voracity.

In other words, bloggers and some radio and cable talk show hosts make up stories and spread rumors. Too often, consumers don’t know the difference between these lies and mainstream news reports.

Because of this shift, there is no longer widespread agreement on basic facts. We don’t all know the same thing.
…
But I think “journalism of assertion” is just as pervasive in sports. Lies and rumors about coaches and players in Iowa City – accepted as fact until proven otherwise by the mainstream media – have sadly become routine. Ask Steve Alford. Ask Jennie Lillis.

Read the blogs if you want. Read the message boards. But do it for entertainment, not information. Don’t accept anything you read on them as truth unless it has been independently verified.

Usual scenario: A loser tries to make himself seem important by posting information that makes him appear to be an insider, “in the know.”

Worse case scenario: Gambling interests, bookies, the mob pass off inaccurate information about a player or team as truth to try to influence wagering or the outcome of a contest. They’re counting on readers and viewers to be gullible.

Speaking of journalism of the assertion, does she have anything to back up these accusations of blogs? They seem rather serious. Libelous as these statements may seem to blogs, they don’t reach it since she doesn’t actually accuse anyone, just an entire form of communication. All she does is imply and suggest that bloggers are actually trying to eff the readers and make money for gambling interests.

One can only trust properly credentialed media beings such as herself. For they, truly are, the truth bringers. All other heretics must be stopped and destroyed.

A few things. Here’s the report she is basing her own assertions upon, since it never dawned on her to provide a link or where to find it for others.

There’s a real retro feel to this sort of complaint. Many of you may be aware that I have a couple other blogs going, and actually have been at blogging for over 3 years. Others have claimed similar things about blogs years ago. The classic was a Boston Globe reporter, Alex Beam who made the mistake (April 2 entry) of trying to write about blogs (and their dangers) by looking in on them on April 1, 2002.

There is a complete South Park logic from this reporter from the Des Moines newspaper. For those of you unfamiliar with Prehistoric Ice Man, a man frozen in 1996 is thawed out in 1999. Stan and Kyle realize the only place where he can fit in is Des Moines, Iowa. A place 3 years behind the rest of the country.

Suddenly, it all makes sense.

No particular overarching theme for these stories. Some I’ve had for a day or so, thinking there might be more, but now I just want off my browser tabs.

An article about the shifts of various teams into new conferences. Mainly focused on BC and Louisville. Some quotes from Louisville Coach Bobby Petrino about expanding his recruiting.

Petrino also believes Louisville’s entrance into the Big East will help him stretch his recruiting territory because of increased exposure in the Northeast. He said Louisville already has lured two players each from New Jersey and Pennsylvania the last two years, including offensive tackle Brian Roche of powerful Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J., ranked by several recruiting services among the nation’s top 25 prospects.

“We tried to use [identification with the Big East] a couple of years ago, when we knew we were going in or thought we were going in, and tried to get into a different pool of players,” Petrino said. “I think we’ve done that. We’re always going to go south and recruit Florida, Alabama and Georgia.

“I want us to be the fastest team in the Big East. To do that, we’ve got to go south. But we’ve started going into New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Now, we can tell a young man that we have a much better chance of being in a BCS game and winning a national championship.”

No kidding. Just ask Michigan about the joys of getting to recruit easier into Pennsylvania once Penn State joined the Big 11. Of course it cuts both ways. Pitt now has Paul Dunn on the staff. Dunn spent the last 2 seasons in Kentucky coaching. He should help Pitt do some recruiting there, even if it isn’t officially on Pitt’s pre-set recruiting areas. The key when there is a conference expansion or shake-up is to take advantage of the new areas.

CollegeFootballNews.com sets out landmine games. For Pitt, they say it is Rutgers. “Why? Pitt can’t be overconfident against sleeper team.”

Here, I’ll disagree. I don’t think they will be. Rutgers should be 2-1 or even 3-0 when Pitt comes to Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are expected to be at least middle of the pack. I don’t think Pitt can be that overconfident, especially in their Big East opener. If there is a true landmine game, I think it is in week 2 at Ohio. It will be coming off a very emotional and heavily publicized opening game against Notre Dame, and the week before another big game at Nebraska. The Bobcats may not have the talent, but they will be a better coached team. It will also be the debut home game for Frank Solich and OU’s first ESPN game — ever.

A lot of people have e-mailed me or left a comment with the link to the Coach Dave Wannstedt interview on Pittsburgh Sports Report. By all means read the whole thing, if you already haven’t. Here’s a snippet:

PSR: What parts of this team excite you the most?

DW: Our offensive line is going to be critical and I was really pleased with them coming out of the spring. I thought that they were better than what anybody gave them credit for. And we only have one guy from opening day a year ago lining up in the same spot.

I was very encouraged by our tight ends. I think we have a good group of tight ends. And our secondary – I think if we stay healthy we have a chance to have as good a secondary as anybody in the conference.

PSR: What parts of the team keep you awake at night?

DW: Our front seven. Right now, if we were to play a game tonight, we don’t have one defensive lineman or one linebacker who is lining up at the same spot that he did opening day a year ago. That’s a concern.

That is really going to be the focus in training camp. We need to make sure that, number one, we get the players lined up in the right spots where they can play at the highest level possible and give us the best chance to win. And we’ve got to get this thing back together quick.

Finally, a little peak at Walt Harris at PAC-10 media day.

Harris almost said “Big East” on Wednesday when making a reference to the Pac-10’s media day, held a day earlier in Los Angeles.

“Excuse me, I’m not in the Big East anymore,” he said, smiling.

Minor slip, but here’s a statement that even someone like myself, who is objectively pro-Walt, provoked a “are you f***ing kidding me?” moment.

The Cardinal went 4-7 last season, dropping five games by a total of 22 points, while Pittsburgh won five games in the fourth quarter or overtime.

“It’s an interesting contrast,” Harris said. “You say, ‘What’s the secret?’ That’s what they hired me for: To make the difference and get us over the hump. … Getting close isn’t good enough.”

Actually, uh, that was part of the reason the administration let you jump. The team was only “getting close” in the overall scheme of things. Pitt had to come back against Temple and Furman. Blew the lead against BC before pulling it out. I’ll give him the ND and WVU games, but those other ones were part of the problem.

A couple more stories on transfer Mike Cook. His hometown paper gives a little more about what schools he considered.

Cook chose Pittsburgh after also considering La Salle, George Washington and Charlotte. Cook said he has given the Panthers an oral commitment, but expects to complete the paperwork that will make his transfer official this week. A journalism major, he will report to school no later than Aug. 29 for the start of classes.

Under NCAA rules, Cook, who played three positions at East Carolina – point guard, shooting guard and small forward – must sit out the 2005-06 season but may join the Panthers in 2006-07. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

I do like the fact that he played multiple positions, and will have a year to practice with the team and learn the system. The more I think about it, the more encouraged I get. He could be a very good inside-out threat. He has a scorer mentality and wants to drive to the basket — plus he can shoot free throws.

Cook’s father liked what Pitt offered.

“Pitt seemed like a place where Mike could thrive. They play the style he is looking for,” Cook’s father said. “They’ve been so good in the Big East, and watching them play made us feel like it was a winning situation. Even though they lose players, it doesn’t seem like they have much of a drop-off from year to year.”

In high school, Cook was part of team at Friends Central in Philadelphia that also showcased former Syracuse star Hakim Warrick, a Memphis Grizzlies draft choice, and Arizona junior Mustafa Shakur.

Given the number of guards that Pitt will have on the active roster come 2006, it would suggest that Pitt will be looking for Forwards and Centers for the rest of its recruiting class. Come 2006 barring any transfers or worse the guards on the roster will include Graves (Sr), Ramon (Jr), Benjamin (Jr), Fields(So), Ferguson (So), Gilbert Brown (Fr) and Cook (Jr). Not to mention walk-ons Bowman and Small.

That’s a lot of Guards. Versatility of position and their size for players like Cook, Ferguson and Brown will likely see them in the 3rd guard/Small Forward position a lot more than simply Shooting Guard.

No, I don’t actually believe that title, but it sure is catchy.

We’re back to ringtones of Pitt songs. I was meaning to get to this.

Here’s where you can listen to the real thing (Real Player)

Hat tip to Steve for finding a decent ringtone version of the Pitt Victory Song from MobileRingtones.com. You just need the right carrier. He said ATT mLife (now part of Cingular) works, and I found Sprint phones seem to offer it.

I’m on Verizon, so it isn’t available to me. There is, however, a new alternative. Xringer.com has a new option on Hail to Pitt. Rather than just the weirdly speeded up version, they have a much better one. You can find them here. The one with a “(2)” next to it is the better version. (Yes, I am enough of a geek to have downloaded it to my phone.)

Xringer has it available on Cingular and Alltel, but not T-Mobile or Sprint.

At least the quality and choices are improving.

A cross-posting pair of must reads from Blue-Gray Sky and Every Day Should Be Saturday on their new coaches.

First, go to EDSBS to read a very solid technical analysis on the coaching approach and style of Urban Meyer. In other words, get a better idea of what the hell happened in the Fiesta Bowl to Pitt.

Then head to BGS for one of the funniest damn posts you will read, all the while getting very nervous about what could happen on that September 3 game.