Let's try this again, one more time
“Shot fake!”
Bobby Knight used that phrase over and over and over when doing TV color commentary on college basketball games.
It probably doesn’t make much difference in this case, but I’m not exactly one of Knight’s big fans.
He once ended a press conference in a huff, simply because I asked why he’d switched to a zone defense during the second half of a game against Illinois.
“You saw the damn game,” Knight hollered at me.
“Sure,” I replied, “but I wasn’t the one who decided on the zone.”
Knight promptly stormed out of the room without another word.
So look, I’m hardly a guy who’s going to take any of Bobby Knight’s advice.
And yet…
A week ago, I accidentally gave you all a shot fake.
After introducing myself as our new sports columnist, I said that I’d be doing these things on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
BUT THEN there was no column on Wednesday or Friday.
“Shot fake!”
We’d forgotten that I had the rest of last week off.
Apologies.
And no more shot fakes.
Barring hospitalization for whiplash on Northwest Boulevard, I’ll be writing about the Zags on Tuesday and doing my regular columns on the appointed days.
So, to the nitty-gritty now, why add me to The Press sports roster?
I really want to explain this, because I’ve handled the same role at other newspapers — and there actually is a method to getting readers more and more involved.
And that’s now my assignment.
Let’s start with the work of Mark Nelke, the paper’s savvy sports editor, and his wingman, Jason Elliott.
These two gentlemen have been required to defend the Alamo as part of their job description.
The Alamo?
What I mean is that even at a newspaper serving Kootenai County and North Idaho, there are a staggering number of sports stories — not to mention actual events — and having just two people to handle all those incoming bullets is an awfully big ask.
There are a lot of tales that need telling, folks.
SO HOW does your new columnist proceed?
My formula has always been the same: Start with local teams and athletes, and move outward from there.
Wait, wait…
I know what you’re going to ask.
Let’s say there’s a unique story about a basketball player at Timberlake High, and he’s worthy of a well-crafted column.
That question you were going to toss into the conversation was this: “Well, that’s fine for his family and the gang at Timberlake, but I have no connection to him.”
I get that argument.
I do.
And no, a column on this fictional Timberlake athlete wouldn’t appear on a day the Seahawks are preparing to play in the Super Bowl.
Ah, but now you folks at Timberlake might say…
“Why not? There will be a million national stories about the Seahawks, so keep your column close to home.”
The key to all of this is simple.
Both of those arguments are correct.
So…
Why would I write about the Seahawks that day, maybe adding a local angle to the whole show?
IT’S OBVIOUS: Everyone in town is going to be talking about it, and there’s a good chance my analysis of the Seahawks — just like our Gonzaga package right now — would be as insightful as anything you’d get from the national gang.
They’re way overrated, anyhow.
And now the other side of the debate: Why use up a full column on a kid from one high school when thousands of readers would read the headline and roll their eyes?
Because it would be a heck of a story, that’s why.
Here’s the key…
No matter what the subject, can a column grab you all by itself?
Is it written well enough that you’ll keep on going and then, as you amble off to fetch that second cup of coffee, you’re agreeing it was pretty interesting stuff?
Here’s the deal…
With each column, I ask that you let me have a shot.
No matter what that day’s topic might be and whether or not you think you’ll care, give me a chance to begin spinning my yarn.
Trust me.
This ain’t my first rodeo in a sports market this size, and I know pretty much how to keep you reading.
Just give me eight seconds on that bull.
Steve Cameron has been covering sports at all levels — from high schools to the Olympics — for more than 30 years, and he is the author of 13 sports books.
Steve’s sports columns for The Press appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He also contributes the “Zags Tracker” package on Gonzaga basketball each Tuesday.
Facebook: Steve Cameron
Twitter: @BrandNewDayCDA
Email: scameron@cdapress.com