| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
bigbri131014
Joined: 23 Sep 2004
Posts: 2027
Back to top |
|
dukemayo
Joined: 27 May 2005
Posts: 696
Location: Durham, NC
Back to top |
 Posted: 03/16/08 4:27 pm ::: |
Reply  |
|
| Rothum wrote: |
| Funny how a good friend of mine was told by an ESPN employee just call and an entire youth league basketball team can get a tour.... |
I called ESPN yesterday and asked for studio tour information and was connected to a recorded message that said tours were not being offered and wouldn't be for the foreseeable future. It didn't sound like a new tape. (Didn't get an answer when I just tried the same number today.)
The item by the New York Times blogger that's linked earlier in this thread says that such tours were discontinued after 9/11/01 out of security concerns.
That sounds credible to me, but I'm content to wait for the NCAA to make its determination. In the meantime, be wary of the misinformation that will be flying around over this--both the honest mistakes and deliberate disinformation.
Also be aware of efforts to make it simply a Pat vs. Geno, Tennessee vs. UConn flap. It is that, of course. But primarily it's the Connecticut women's basketball program on the one hand and every other program on the other, particularly those that try to recruit the same players.
|
|
luvDhoops
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 8229
Back to top |
|
bigbri131014
Joined: 23 Sep 2004
Posts: 2027
Back to top |
|
Taoduck
Joined: 12 Feb 2006
Posts: 1260
Location: City of Destiny
Back to top |
| Posted: 03/17/08 1:58 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
| accommodatingly wrote: |
| Speaking of violations: when UConn fans bring up Pat's marriage, divorce and private life, it just makes UConn fans look bad. Please don't. |
Well said!
Pat's personal life has no bearing on this issue.
_________________
When in trouble, when in doubt:
Run in circles! Scream and shout!
|
|
braveniler58
Joined: 30 May 2007
Posts: 10537
Location: Arizona
Back to top |
| Posted: 03/18/08 5:38 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
In my opinion, the whole reason for ESPN not offering tours, because of 9/11, is bullshit. The attacks were a purely political move, targeting the World Trade Center buildings, the Pentagon, and supposedly the White House. I don't see anything else, especially sports-related, being threatened. So why would ESPN discontinue tours because of that? Nobody's flying planes into the ESPN building. I can understand tightening security a bit but banning people to take tours sounds ridiculous to me.
That excuse sounds fishy to me.
_________________
Phoenix Mercury fan for life!
|
|
myt
Joined: 29 Nov 2007
Posts: 3923
Location: California
Back to top |
| Posted: 03/18/08 5:45 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
| braveniler58 wrote: |
In my opinion, the whole reason for ESPN not offering tours, because of 9/11, is bullshit. The attacks were a purely political move, targeting the World Trade Center buildings, the Pentagon, and supposedly the White House. I don't see anything else, especially sports-related, being threatened. So why would ESPN discontinue tours because of that? Nobody's flying planes into the ESPN building. I can understand tightening security a bit but banning people to take tours sounds ridiculous to me.
That excuse sounds fishy to me. |
I agree with you. The action seems extreme for a sports entertainment organization/channel.
However, if something did happen to ESPN and it was off the air, TV viewing options would s*ck!   _________________
| SuziQ wrote: |
| ima say this only once, and I'm never gonna say it again. Parker's damn good. |
|
|
jimmyk
Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Posts: 4028
Location: Bristol. TN
Back to top |
| Posted: 03/18/08 6:57 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
| braveniler58 wrote: |
In my opinion, the whole reason for ESPN not offering tours, because of 9/11, is bullshit. The attacks were a purely political move, targeting the World Trade Center buildings, the Pentagon, and supposedly the White House. I don't see anything else, especially sports-related, being threatened. So why would ESPN discontinue tours because of that? Nobody's flying planes into the ESPN building. I can understand tightening security a bit but banning people to take tours sounds ridiculous to me.
That excuse sounds fishy to me. |
Maybe because having three thousand of our people killed by airplanes on one day scared the hell out of everyone? Have you forgotten what that day was like? We didn't know what happened, and even after we found out, for the longest time we felt completely unsafe. The anthrax in letters stuff probably didn't help.
I don't blame them one bit for doing that.
As for the rest of this abomination of a thread, it doesn't matter. As I think I mentioned earlier, there is a group of coaches who could hand a recruit large sums of cash in a paper sack with Myles Brand inspecting the sack and it wouldn't end up messing up those schools in any way. Pat and Geno are two of them.
|
|
RavenDog
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Posts: 6878
Location: Home
Back to top |
|
jimmyk
Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Posts: 4028
Location: Bristol. TN
Back to top |
| Posted: 03/18/08 7:20 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
| RavenDog wrote: |
Whew! With a few hundred chicken farms, egg factories and illegal moonshine stills as University of Tennessee's top nearby attractions, thank God Maya resisted the temptation to tour one on her visit there! |
Actually, there are some pretty cool things around here, although someone who doesn't know wouldn't think so.
I must say that there are two attractions we could get recruits to visit against NCAA rules, and they both belong to Dolly Parton.
|
|
bigbri131014
Joined: 23 Sep 2004
Posts: 2027
Back to top |
| Posted: 03/18/08 8:06 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
| I have been thinking about this for a while now.. When a recruit comes to visit your school you want to SELL you school and state and surroundings areas to make it most appealing to the recruit. Why is the NCAA restricting things such as tours (if they are offered to the public) to recruits? If it doesnt have a price tag on it and there are no papers signed whats the big deal?
|
|
gpark33
Joined: 17 Oct 2005
Posts: 5116
Back to top |
| Posted: 03/18/08 8:50 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
Re: the comments about the tours stopping after 9/11 being BS.
Have you guys visited any U.S. tourist attractions since 9/11? There are much tighter security restrictions and yes, tours of more than just ESPN have been discontinued. Why would ESPN say they discontinued tours after 9/11 if that were not the case?
|
|
myt
Joined: 29 Nov 2007
Posts: 3923
Location: California
Back to top |
|
braveniler58
Joined: 30 May 2007
Posts: 10537
Location: Arizona
Back to top |
| Posted: 03/19/08 12:41 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
| Yes, I have, and like I said, I can understand tightening security, but I don't understand banning tours outright. As long as they go through the proper security precautions (metal detector, etc etc) what is the harm?
_________________
Phoenix Mercury fan for life!
|
|
beknighted
Joined: 11 Nov 2004
Posts: 11050
Location: Lost in D.C.
Back to top |
| Posted: 03/19/08 12:52 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
| braveniler58 wrote: |
| Yes, I have, and like I said, I can understand tightening security, but I don't understand banning tours outright. As long as they go through the proper security precautions (metal detector, etc etc) what is the harm? |
Speaking as someone who lives in Washington, the truth is that 9/11 caused an incredible number of people to tighten security in peculiar and sometimes ridiculous ways. For instance, I've endured several years (seriously) of construction on my way to and from work because they decided to create new protection for the Lincoln Memorial. (I should be grateful that at least they spent the money to design the security in a way that doesn't make the whole thing ugly.) They've also created underground visitor centers (meaning, places to screen for bombs) for the Washington Monument and the Capitol. The project for the Capitol already is a couple of years behind schedule and way, way over budget, and it does not seem to have occurred to anyone that a lone bomber actually probably could kill more people in the enclosed underground spaces where an explosion will have nowhere to go than in the open air. We Washingtonians also had to put up with rules that prohibited anyone from getting up out of an airplane seat for a half hour at the beginning and end of a flight, a restriction that was in place nowhere else in the country and that made no sense at all once the cockpit doors were locked for the duration of the flight. (That's gone now, by the way. Apparently somebody realized it was pointless.) I could go on and on, but I'll stop now before I annoy people too much.
|
|
mercfan3
Joined: 23 Nov 2004
Posts: 19766
Back to top |
| Posted: 03/19/08 1:23 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
| gpark33 wrote: |
Re: the comments about the tours stopping after 9/11 being BS.
Have you guys visited any U.S. tourist attractions since 9/11? There are much tighter security restrictions and yes, tours of more than just ESPN have been discontinued. Why would ESPN say they discontinued tours after 9/11 if that were not the case? |
The problem being that there are conflicting stories. Some have said ESPN is giving tours, some saying it's not.
And the BS, is possibly that if they did stop giving tours, how do we know it's not because of the current Maya problem and they are just using it as an excuse. (9/11 was quite a while ago..) And..why would a television station in Connecticut really feel like they were effected.
_________________
“Anyone point out that a Donald Trump anagram is ‘Lord Dampnut’”- Colin Mochrie
|
|
gpark33
Joined: 17 Oct 2005
Posts: 5116
Back to top |
| Posted: 03/19/08 1:30 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
| mercfan3 wrote: |
The problem being that there are conflicting stories. Some have said ESPN is giving tours, some saying it's not.
And the BS, is possibly that if they did stop giving tours, how do we know it's not because of the current Maya problem and they are just using it as an excuse. (9/11 was quite a while ago..) And..why would a television station in Connecticut really feel like they were effected. |
Several people on the board have said they called and ESPN says no tours. I haven't personally called. My gut would say if you don;t buy that and want to know yourself, call ESPN and ask for a tour.
Shortly after 9/11 you may remember a big Anthrax scare at NBC. As if 9/11 were not enough, that moved networks into virtually locking their doors.
|
|
bigbri131014
Joined: 23 Sep 2004
Posts: 2027
Back to top |
|
Orion
Joined: 26 Jun 2006
Posts: 952
Location: Washington, DC
Back to top |
| Posted: 03/19/08 10:04 pm ::: UConn rules violation |
Reply |
|
"Perfect Patty"?
"EAT IT" ?
Lovely. How old are you anyway?
_________________
An original Mystic fan.
|
|
bigbri131014
Joined: 23 Sep 2004
Posts: 2027
Back to top |
|
Orion
Joined: 26 Jun 2006
Posts: 952
Location: Washington, DC
Back to top |
|
braveniler58
Joined: 30 May 2007
Posts: 10537
Location: Arizona
Back to top |
| Posted: 03/19/08 10:58 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
| beknighted wrote: |
| braveniler58 wrote: |
| Yes, I have, and like I said, I can understand tightening security, but I don't understand banning tours outright. As long as they go through the proper security precautions (metal detector, etc etc) what is the harm? |
Speaking as someone who lives in Washington, the truth is that 9/11 caused an incredible number of people to tighten security in peculiar and sometimes ridiculous ways. For instance, I've endured several years (seriously) of construction on my way to and from work because they decided to create new protection for the Lincoln Memorial. (I should be grateful that at least they spent the money to design the security in a way that doesn't make the whole thing ugly.) They've also created underground visitor centers (meaning, places to screen for bombs) for the Washington Monument and the Capitol. The project for the Capitol already is a couple of years behind schedule and way, way over budget, and it does not seem to have occurred to anyone that a lone bomber actually probably could kill more people in the enclosed underground spaces where an explosion will have nowhere to go than in the open air. We Washingtonians also had to put up with rules that prohibited anyone from getting up out of an airplane seat for a half hour at the beginning and end of a flight, a restriction that was in place nowhere else in the country and that made no sense at all once the cockpit doors were locked for the duration of the flight. (That's gone now, by the way. Apparently somebody realized it was pointless.) I could go on and on, but I'll stop now before I annoy people too much. |
I do know what you are referring to as I go to Washington DC for college. However, my point is, while tightening security is fine, what is the reasoning for banning tours outright? As long as their security detail do their job properly (not just the staff but also the technology), there should be no concern, especially for a non-political facility such as ESPN.
_________________
Phoenix Mercury fan for life!
|
|
bigbri131014
Joined: 23 Sep 2004
Posts: 2027
Back to top |
|
Orion
Joined: 26 Jun 2006
Posts: 952
Location: Washington, DC
Back to top |
|
|
|
oh and this from ESPN.com
