OC Register "Reporter" Smears UCLA
by Tydides on Aug 27, 2009 2:57 PM PDT
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PrintEarlier today Al Baldreas from the OC Register blogged this post with a sensationalistic headline (which has been edited since then):
Football: UCLA recruit facing attempted murder charges
August 27th, 2009, 7:00 am · Post a Comment · posted by Al Balderas, staff writer
Lakewood High School running back Jerry Stone was in juvenile court on Tuesday, where he was charged with two counts of attempted murder in last week’s drive-by shooting in Compton.
Stone was allegedly the driver of said shooting in which no one was injured. Stone could also be facing two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of permitting someone to shoot from a vehicle, and a few other charges.
According to rivals.com, Stone had received a medium level of interest from a few colleges, including UCLA, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah.
He ran for 1,450 yards for Lakewood last season, with 18 touchdowns.
A UCLA recruit charged with a serious crime! This is obviously a huge story/scandal! I wonder where Al could have been getting his information? Well when I want to know who UCLA is keeping tabs on, I check out scout.com:
Hm, that's odd. There's nothing there. But he has no schools of interest listed at all. Well then surely rivals will back up our good friend Al...
For reference, here's what it looks like when a school offers (and obviously shows interest in) a recruit:
And here is the ironclad evidence that will vindicate Mr. Baldreas once and for all!
OOPS!
He didn't provide a single shred of evidence that Stone was connected with UCLA except for this form site on Rivals.com that listed UCLA with few other schools in a category of having "Medium" interest. Of course the problem with that line is that doesn't indicate UCLA's interest in Jerry. Instead that indicates that the recruit is interested in getting pursued by the schools listed in the database.
In other words, Al was so amped up to connect UCLA and attempted murder charges that he forgot about those stupid pesky "facts". But why let facts get in the way of an agenda? He had a story to push, and by God, he was going to connect the dots, no matter how tangentially connected those dots were. This amounts to nothing less than a blatant hit job on the UCLA coaching staff. He probably thought he was going to get away with his bullshit too.
It didn't take that long before Al got lit up by his commenters including the following from Christian Dunn:
Your title of this ‘report’ is absolutely ridiculous….
Jerry Stone was ineligible as a junior in high school; and he’s been destined for junior college for a year; yet you write that he’s a ‘UCLA recruit’. I’m completely blown away that you would associate UCLA with a murder suspect. He’s just as much a UCLA recruit as he is a USC recruit, ie. not at all. Though if anybody would have a chance of taking Jerry Stone in as a recruit it would be USC, the team that has commitments from TWO of Jerry’s high school teammates at Lakewood. Take off your cardinal and gold glasses; and quit trying to tarnish UCLA.Further more, you obviously do not know how to navigate a recruiting site such as rivals. The ‘medium interest’ is not from the school; but rather from the recruit. UCLA isn’t even remotely interested in Jerry Stone and to my knowledge never were considering his academic shortcomings have been well known for years. I could say on a site that I"m interested in Harvard, but it doesn’t mean they’ll be sending me an acceptance letter. If UCLA had interest in Stone, they would’ve invited him to junior days, or to practice, and would’ve offered a scholorship. To my knowledge, Stone never stepped foot on UCLA’s campus for a football camp, junior day, or to attend practice. You may want to check up on whether or not he’s attended such functions at USC; then you will probably have to change the title of your ‘piece’.
Al ended up editing his title to the following:
Football: Lakewood back facing attempted murder charges
August 27th, 2009, 7:00 am · 9 Comments · posted by Al Balderas, staff writer
At this point I don't think that edit is good enough. This post has no business staying up in the UCLA section of the OC Register blog, given they have provided no evidence that the kid was actually being recruited by UCLA. It is nonsense. And if this post stays up, the UCLA media officials should consider holding this so called "reporter" accountable by restricting his access to the program.
What a joke.
GO BRUINS.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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Hmmm...
Is he Marcia Smith’s boyfriend?
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Can't find it
I just wasted a half hour of my life trying to navigate the OCR’s site without any success. If anyone can find the name of the sports editor on the OCR’s site, please let me know how you did it. I also Googled like crazy and couldn’t come up with any name.
But that column, and that columnist, is a disgrace.
Tim Burt
tburt@ocregister.com. When it doubt, turn to the person who has access to media contacts.
by bruinbabe2000 on Aug 28, 2009 11:41 AM PDT up reply actions
Ken Brusic is the editor for the paper
Not sure who specifically is the sports editor. Brusic’s e-mail is kbrusic (at) ocregister.com
Wow.
The LA Times may not care very much about UCLA, but I think the OC Register just flat out dislikes UCLA.
The OC Register
The OC Register is just like the LA Fishwrap. They report everything about sc and glorify it and UCLA gets treated worse than a second class citizen. On Aug.21, Jeff Miller quoted dear Pom Pom Pete, " We gotta win. Whatever helps us win each game is the right thing to do." He was talking about his QB problem – which one should I choose? Who cares!!!!!! “Whatever helps us win each game is the right thing to do”. Do you think that also means CHEATING? The sc motto – arrogance + ignorance = u$c. Cheatey Petey and his THUGS get away with anything they want because the NCAA looks the other way. Can it be because sc brings in a lot of money to the NCAA???? Just asking.
by Forever a Bruin on Aug 27, 2009 6:48 PM PDT reply actions
It amazes me "sometimes"
The quality of research that goes on here on BN (great job Ty) when ‘stories’ like this break. I am routinely appalled by the lack of follow through and investigative acumen displayed by the LA Slimes and the SC Register.
Can’t we elect a person to lead a watchdog committee for these kinds of smear jobs? In this case, I suggest we all email Ken Brusic and show our contempt and displeasure with his news paper. Similarly, this news of a smear job should be sent to the OC Bruin Alumni clubs who should be asked to send their emails to Ken as well.
A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. John Wooden
OC Register Complaints
I did find this, but it’s probably not nearly as effective as contacting the editor directly:
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/sections/news/corrections/
Legal demands for corrections must be in writing and sent to the publisher at Box 11626, Santa Ana, CA 92711-1626.
Looks like Balderas hasn't posted since this debacle
They have had Adam Maya covering their “UCLA blog” since this debacle happened. BTW Maya, IIRC is a Trojie alum (which is pretty hilarious).
Anyway, I am ok with Balderas coming back. However, he will not have a shred of credibility until he formally apologizes to UCLA coaches and fans for his ridiculously, stupid post (and I am being charitable here for now. If he doesn’t apologize I will take it as smear/hit job on his part).
N, I thought your earlier post was completely appropriate - ACCESS DENIED
If our guys have a bad game or our coaches make some questionable calls, then they are all fair game for criticism. If a reporter things that player A should be starting instead of sitting on the bench, then of course the reporter can voice his criticism. He may sound stupid, but we can all take a lesson from Chris Berman on the old Bristol U commercials: “There’s no such thing as a stupid question, just stupid people who ask questions.”
But a smear job like this, then an attempt to cover it up, and no retraction or apology? Sorry, that crosses the line. If this alleged reporter drove his car like he drives his keyboard, he would have his license suspended. I think it’s time for Guerrero and the SIO to tell reporters that reporting like this will lead to suspension of credentials. It’s obvious that this reporter has an agenda that is centered closer to Inheritance Hall than to Westwood. A reporter doesn’t need access to make up crap like this. I think this reporter at a minimum should be told not to bother coming back until the Pac 10 conference begins. And if the sports editor can’t or won’t fix things, then Mr. Guerrero should tell them all that if they want to write about the story, all they have to do is buy a ticket.
I’m sure that loss of access won’t scare anyone like this. This alleged reporter had no access when the story was invented. But not being invited to the great feeding trough in the sky (aka the press box) will be horrible. The loss of free food is a much bigger penalty than the loss of a pass into the locker room.
Freedom newspapers, which owns the OC register
filed for bankruptcy this week. How fitting.
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
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