Duke Basketball Report -
There are two different ways a 'fan site' may be ran.
One is the type where the webperson(s) mostly just link to other, more reputable sites for content. There is very little original content because the site maintainers realize that they are just normal fans like the rest of us and not journalists. If there are original articles they are done in a convincing way - with opinions that are 'backed up'.
Examples of Duke sites like this are Dukeupdate.com & Duke Blue Basketball.
Another way to run a fansite is to be arrogant enough to consistently give a subjective opinion, develop 'theories' & frankly, not 'back things up'.
Is the Duke Basketball Report one of these sites? Well let's give the DBR credit - they provide up-to-date links and obviously have a large readership. But...well, the following speaks for itself:
Enjoy!
One of the little things you might not notice about Duke basketball, but which is a telling detail, is that you'll rarely hear anyone call more than one syllable. So it's Shav, Shel, Chris, and so on. It's a smart principle, and a sign of the level of organization the program thrives on: yelling Shelden is less effective and takes longer than yelling Shel. We're not saying Shel is what they call for Shelden, but you get the point. That's an important thing at Duke.
--They really understand basketball, don't they?
The Herb Haters are bound to re-emerge after Maryland's extraordinary comeback, but get real: State finished second in the ACC without a point guard or a legitimate post presence. They're a definite tourney team, and will be for the foreseeable future. That ain't chopped liver. Herb's not running around looking for someone to hug, but the program is doing well.
--I'm sure NC State fans go to the DBR for advice and gives the slightest shit what the DBR guys think. Right?
Duke played a pretty impressive game in many respects, not least of all Casey Sanders, whose last game was one of his better efforts at Duke. Never a scorer, Casey has always focused on rebounding and blocking shots, and he made a dramatic difference under the basket. Collison scored 33 points and had 19 rebounds, but might have had 40 had Sanders not been so strong on defense.
--It would be cool if they really were making a sarcastic jab at Casey, but they weren't.
McCray went to the bench and sat down. Williams came over and began to go after him, and whatever he said, McCray didn't like it. He stood up and looked for another seat on the bench, away from the harangue, but then sat back down again. Williams continued, then went to the end of the bench to see what was going to happen after a pair of Duke free throws. During his absence, an assistant - we think it was Jimmy Patsos - continued the harangue for him, sitting next to McCray, gesticulating wildly, and obviously making the kid really feel like crap.
Then, when Maryland was coming back down the court, Williams went back and both of them tore into the kid. McCray stood up again, circled around, tried to go left, then right, then gave up and sat back down again and just took it.
All we can say is: poor kid. Duke's philosophy of next play never looked better. No one really deserves to be treated that way.
After the game, McCray told the Post that "I kind of reacted a little the wrong way. It was just in the flow of the game. It was my bad, so I just got to get over it. . . . It was just Coach's decision [not to play me again]. I can't do nothing about it. I can't really cry about it."
Fair enough, and Williams is right, he should have been aware of the clock, since everyone else in the building was. But still, he didn't deserve that level of public humiliation. Williams and Patsos should issue a public apology. If it was good enough for Patton, it's good enough for these bozos. We can't imagine being parents of a recruit and catching that act and then letting our child play for Williams. What a disgusting display
-- What a bunch of wimps. What the hell do they know? Coaches get mad at players sometimes. Look at this article on ESPN.com directed to Coach K:
I remember a TV timeout in a big game a few years ago, a game your team was losing at the time. I remember being behind the Duke bench to hear your right-hand man, Johnny Dawkins, drop screaming F-bombs into players' faces and obscenely impugn the masculinity of every starter in the huddle. Your face indicated that you had no problem with it, perhaps even encouraged it.
We all should want Duke footall (sic) to be excellent, but part of that, Duke, is about how we treat our teams. We're not Maryland, FSU, or UNC, and we should keep that distinction very clear. We're Duke. We may stink at football, but we're still Duke. Let's act like it.
--The difference between pride and arrogance.
Since returning to the ACC to coach his alma mater, Maryland's Gary Williams has been quick to attribute losses to North Carolina-based ACC opponents to biased officiating. He'd often imply there was a conspiracy by the ACC to prevent Maryland from winning..
--As you can see, the DBR basically makes things up and provide nothing to backup their ridiculous accusations.
On the other hand, D.C. has many downsides, including a very high murder rate, high crime in general, a city government which has been at times an absolute disaster, and obviously Washington is a prime target for terrorism. With the planned (but thankfully disrupted) chemical attack planned for Jordan, which the Jordanians estimate would have killed 20,000, or 60,000 less than the attackers were hoping for, terrorism moves into ever more ambitious phases. We have no idea how hard it would be to get that sort of thing into Washington, but you can be assured that it is being diligently explored
--The ironic thing here is that Duke has many alums who live in DC and the surrounding area.
It is also funny when the DBR tries to excuse a Duke player every time one gets in trouble. Instead of admitting that Duke, like any other school, has some problems, their excuses are nothing short of ridiculous. It also would be fun to see the DBR explain this article about how certain parents of Duke players are given special benefits. Strange, since they seem to have an interest in how player's parents receive jobs...
Let's also not forget how the DBR used their site to help out their 'unemployment' situation. Perhaps they can find a job as mathematicians - look at this fancy graph they created to show the ref's treatment of Duke. (they seemed to forgot that when and who a foul is against is a big factor in the ref's calls).
Now, about the DBR's "fundraisers":
The Dukebasketballreport had another 'fundraiser' to keep their site 'afloat'. in 2005 they claimed to have raised $26,000. In 2004 they targeted a total of $25,000. Before that, they raised $15,000.
Look at how they beg:
Some of you had also suggested specific levels of giving, so we'd like to add those as well:
* $25.00 per year
* $50.00 per year
* $100.00 per year
* $500.00 per year
* $1,000.00 per year
Other than that, we would say let your conscience be your guide.
It is obvious that the DBR is a popular site and receives a lot of traffic. But anyone who works in IT can tell you that for that type of site, it doesn't cost $40,000 over two years to run. Infact, it shouldn't cost anywhere NEAR that. Where does this money that they are begging for go? How about the DBR provide an expense report?
Note that in their begging, the DBR says they need this money to keep the site afloat.
IT DOESN'T COST THAT MUCH MONEY TO RUN A WEBSITE!!!
In a related note, a couple of the folks behind the DBR apparently have trouble finding jobs. Hey Dookies - these are the folks who are begging for money. And apparently, you are giving.
One thing the DBR does deserve credit for is this editorial - where they call out one of their own -- "crazy towel guy".
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