AJC on Smith,Blackwood and Dykes

cyptomcat

cyptomcat

Hibernating
Joined
Nov 19, 2007
Messages
68,960
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/s...2009/03/05/tech_football_players_leaving.html

Georgia Tech A-back Greg Smith and defensive back Jake Blackwood have left the team, according to the school. Smith likely will transfer and use his final season of eligibility elsewhere.
Also, walk-on quarterback Bryce Dykes from Norcross High School has left the team but will remain in school. Dykes played in two games for Tech in the 2008 season.
Click to expand...

Blackwood, an important special-teams player, will graduate at the end of the semester and has decided to forego his final season of eligibility.
Click to expand...
 
hiveredtech said:
No...Greg Smith tried to make it work.
Click to expand...

Great point.

Two more observations:
1. Our receivers were probably the most impacted group when CPJ came in. It clearly wasn't easy to transition to the new style, and there was personnel attrition as a result. This makes me respect and admire guys like Bay-Bay and R.B. even more, because they continue to fight through the adversity.

2. Both Greg Smith and James Johnson are, and always will be, Tech men. They are both fine representatives of the Institute, and should go on to great success in whatever field they choose. Good men + GT degree = Great results.
 
gtloyal said:
Great point.

....

2. Both Greg Smith and James Johnson are, and always will be, Tech men. They are both fine representatives of the Institute, and should go on to great success in whatever field they choose. Good men + GT degree = Great results.
Click to expand...

Note that Smith decided to pass on the GT degree part according to the article.
 
aeromech said:
Note that Smith decided to pass on the GT degree part according to the article.
Click to expand...
Everything I've seen is he will graduate (as noted above) and then look to transfer to a FCS school for his masters and to play his last season.
 
All three will graduate in May. They accomplished the most important reason they were at GT. Blackwood and Dykes will now enter the workforce...and Greg Smith will go give WR one more shot somewhere.

Congrats to all three...first class decisioning.
 
Blackwood and Dykes will now enter the workforce
Click to expand...
or the unemployment line?

yes, I'm cynical. No reflection on the ability of these fine young men, just a comment on the times in which we live.
 
CPJ could give a rats ass of Greg Smith. He was not a fan of him.
 
I wish them all the best. Thanks for the contributions to GT. The GT degree will get them all far in life.
 
hiveredtech said:
All three will graduate in May. They accomplished the most important reason they were at GT. Blackwood and Dykes will now enter the workforce...and Greg Smith will go give WR one more shot somewhere.

Congrats to all three...first class decisioning.
Click to expand...

Wow, puts a whole new spin on everything. Surprised the AJC left that out, NOT.
 
Yeah, isn't it interesting that the "home town paper" never mentions TECH's academics.

These guys that graduate from Tech are all-stars whether they played sports or not.
 
Shame on me, I should have read everything thoroughly.

Mr. Davis-

Thanks for reading and taking the time to write. I always appreciate the feedback. The story does mention that Jake Blackwood is graduating. If Bryce Dykes is graduating after two years at Tech, I did not know that, but frankly, would be very surprised if that were the case, and regardless, the story states that he will remain in school. I didn't mention that Smith was graduating. I wish I had known - and you have a point that I would have been more responsible to report that. To that end, I appreciate your encouragement to keep finding "the rest of the story" and will keep trying to do so.
Regardless, I would posit that the more newsworthy element is that he plans to continue playing elsewhere. I understand where you are coming from, but I like to think that I don't portray things in a "positive" or "negative" light. I try to portray things as they are.
In this case, the story is that three players on the team have decided to stop playing. I didn't say they were "quitting" or "bailing" or that "Three Jackets are bolting on Paul Johnson," which, if I had, I would say would be negative. (Unless all three of them said as much.) I said they were leaving the team. That is exactly what happened.
I hope you will indulge me. Please read these stories.
http://www.ajc.com/gatech/content/sports/gatech/stories/2009/03/02/georgia_tech_news.html

http://www.ajc.com/gatech/content/sports/gatech/stories/2009/03/02/tech_football_workouts.html

Please point out to me the anti-Tech slant that it seems a lot of Tech fans think the paper is guilty of. I'm sorry for unloading on you. It's just that I take personally the frequent assertions that the AJC hates Tech and tries to portray them in a bad light, as I take that as a direct judgment of my work. I'm far from perfect, but one thing I pride myself on is being fair. I would think that if you spoke with Dean Buchan or Wayne Hogan -people whose job at Tech is to make sure that the AA is publicized as well as possible - they would tell you that I do right by the school.

If I've misunderstood the nature of your complaint, I apologize and ask that you'll help me understand. And, again, I'm sorry for going double barrels on you. You've caught me on a day when I have some time on my hands and I was already aware that some Tech fans didn't think the story was fair, which I probably let get under my skin more than I should have. And all that said, I sincerely appreciate that, despite your opinion of the newspaper and its coverage of Tech, you've continued to read us online. Thanks again for taking the time to write.

Sincerely,

Ken Sugiura
 
I'm fine w/ Ken's response. I think he has some okay points and he clearly cares about whether folks believe he is unbiased. But, I wonder if the AJC reports when UGA players leave under similar circumstances. I understand they might report regarding a Greg-Smith-like exit, but I seriously doubt they would report when student-athletes like Dykes and Blackwood leave.
 
It's not Ken that's the problem. It's the editorial writers (Moore), and the layout editors (UGA wins, its front page with picture; Tech, not a guarantee), and the headline writers.
 
What an excellent reply by Ken.

I wonder if he browses this board.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top