Before you read any further, you need to click on this entry that lays the groundwork for comments made here.
“Costner, who is 6’9 can shoot threes because he was recruited into Herb Sendek’s system.”
* ESPN color analyst, Jimmy Dykes commenting on the secret source of Brandon Costner’s abilities with approximately four minutes to go in the first half of NC State’s 74-67 win over Michigan on Monday night.
Now…we don’t really think that Jimmy Dykes truly believes that Brandon Costner can shoot well from the outside simply because the John Woodenesque Herb Sendek blessed Costner with recruitment. But, we do think that this quote crystalizes the central focus of where Dykes brain was all night while he called the Wolfpack’s big win over the Wolverines.
It was incessant. It was insulting. And it was ill-timed. And we deserve an apology.
Take for example the extremely ill-timed and inappropriate comments Dykes made with 3.3 seconds to go in the game and Sidney Lowe’s NC State Wolfpack celebrating its pending victory over Michigan. Again, the focus during this obvious time of celebration is on Herb f*ing Sendek and a criticism of NC State fans:
Well, they’ve got one of their own on the sidelines. That’s what these fans have wanted for years. Herb Sendek did nothing but win ballgames here but this fanbase was never happy with him. So he kind of rode that momentum out of town and they brought in Sidney Lowe.
What an appropriate time for such a tirade, don’t you think? Were the previous two hours of bashing not enough time for Dykes to get his uneducated and irrelevant opinion across?
It isn’t that we are just making a mountain out of a mole-hill. Dykes d&*# sucking of Sendek and criticism of NC State fans ran rampant all night in ESPN’s telecast. It was so obvious to everyone that watched the game that News & Observer even commented on the Sykes lunacy; SFN blogged it during the live broadcast; and hundreds of NC State fans made reference to the comments during the broadcast on various Wolfpack-centric websites. For example, look at the first comments from our friend at Section Six:
Does anyone have an estimate on the size of the stick that was up Jimmy Dykes’ ass tonight? I love how these national media guys have been all over us since Sendek left, even though they neither care enough nor are close enough to the situation to have even an inkling of what’s actually occurred. “In my opinion, they’re hard on their personnel here.” Oh, really, Jimmy? You’ve been in Raleigh for two days, but hey, staying at the Marriot sure puts you right on top things! This went beyond Herb Sendek. He was slamming us for firing Chuck Amato because Amato is an alumnus. Nevermind that we just finished a 3-9 season. I bet Dykes hasn’t seen more than three quarters of Wolfpack football over the last three seasons. He has no idea what we’ve dealt with.
If ESPN wants to talk so damn much about Herb Sendek then go televise and Arizona State game. That will do wonders for the ratings because the world is obviously in love with this guy. If not, shut the hell up and focus on the incredible job that Sidney Lowe is doing in Raleigh and move on!!
If you want to make your voice heard to ESPN, then we suggest that you click here and leave them some feedback on the broadcast.
We also suggest that you email Athletics Director, Lee Fowler and Sports Information Director Annabelle Vaughn Myers.
“Coach Fowler” has never been shy about taking it upon himself to call the media and voice his thoughts. We know for a fact that during Fowler’s first year on the job he called some newspaper reporters throughout the country to criticize them for running comments that Herb Sendek was on the hotseat in Raleigh. Heck, just a couple of months ago Fowler reprised his role (he must not have been very busy) and called ESPN’s Mark May to tell May that he was incorrect in his references that Chuck Amato was on the hotseat in Raleigh. (How did that brilliant move work out?).
Since Fowler has such a penchant to call the media to criticize them for criticizing “his” coaches…perhaps he can finally find the time to call the media to stand up for NC State fans!?
Wait a second…considering that the past five years of Fowler’s public criticism and name calling of the NC State fanbase planted the seeds and served to support the media’s criticism of our fans perhaps we should turn to a different spokesperson on the matter.
Postscript:
At least ONE of ESPN’s outlet’s decided to focus on the real stories of Monday night. If you have ESPN INsider then you can read Andy Katz’s comments by clicking here. SFN saw Katz walking around the RBC at halftime on Monday night. Just to wet your whistle:
But nothing Michigan did matched the hustle and intensity of NC State. For those who weren’t sure how Lowe would coach, you should know this: His players absolutely love him and would run through a brick wall for him.
