I think this is a big issue right here though (see bold.) He didn't get the story completely wrong and Herman's wife's analogy isn't a good one. If the story is about lunch (tweet in this case) then being together is clearly material. If the story is about a conversation, having the location of the conversation wrong doesn't diminish the story. Example: Source: Hey man, just heard from my contact in Coach Herman's office that he is talking with Kyle Allen right now. Reporter: Right now? Really? Where is this happening. Source: I'm not sure, it's all kind of hush hush. My guy says that Herman left the office to go talk to Allen. Reporter: Really? So Allen is Houston? Source: Seems that way, but they are definitely talking. Looks like Kyle Allen really likes UH. Reporter: Wow. You are 100% that they are talking? Source; Oh yeah, Herman told my guy directly that he was going to talk to him and that it looked good. Reporter: Wow. I'm gonna run with this. Thanks. In the above scenario, if "going to talk to him" was misinterpreted as a meeting that doesn't really change the story.
Well there is a WHOLE lot going on here and that is why the arguments were hard to follow closely. From Herman's perspective I can see why he is so upset because it risked an NCAA investigation and made him seem insincere to other recruits and also paints the particular recruit in a negative light. Having said that, Herman isn't happy for other unspoken reasons. He is a control freak and wants to control what information is leaked and to whom. He has his select group of media people he trusts will not leak what he doesn't want leaked and in exchange will give them the stories. Herman was also trying to get commitments from other QB's and the possibility of Allen transferring really jeopardized that. As for Lopez, this isn't the first time he has been wrong. I believe that Lopez or Wright also reported Herman was headed to South Carolina.
Now you know why the Coach has to defend himself because articles like Lopez's make you doubt what the truth is when there's no retraction even though Lopez admitted that they didn't meet.
Like I said, I don't want to defend Lopez. Guy doesn't have a very good track record and in general I find him annoying on the radio. (That's a preference thing, not trying to bash the man personally.) However, this spat seems to be less about him being wrong about where the conversation took place and more about Tom Herman being mad that a story came out that he didn't want out for various reasons.
Lopez didn't admit there wasn't a face to face meeting, he said "I'll take you at your word." His source told him there was a face to face meeting. It's very possible his source was wrong about the face to face part and Herman is telling the truth. It's also possible that Lopez's source was right and Herman is lying because he did something wrong. Lopez doesn't have an obligation to not report something his sources tell him because it isn't good for UH. Those sources turned out to be right about Allen going to UH. Edit: I think Nick Wright made a good point actually. Coach, and people in here, are almost acting like Lopez just made this story up and got lucky. That isn't the case. He really did have a source(s) telling him the two were talking. The only issue is that Herman says it was on the phone and source(s) said it was face to face.
Disagree. Tom was trying to pin them down and talk about the fact the *face-to-face* never happened, but they kept dodging and playing word games. The HUGE thrust of Lopez's article was the face-to-face meeting. It was the headline of the article, and the first two paragraphs. Tom kept saying the whole report was false, etc, which was technically incorrect, and what Lopez and Wright kept playing stupid semantics games over. Meanwhile, never apologizing or retracting anything. Worse yet, antagonizing credible journalists on twitter.
But, there's a big difference between Allen and Herman talking on the phone, and the two of them meeting face to face in Houston. Evidently, there are rules about when players and coaches can meet with each other, and it sounded like there was a question about whether rules had been broken. After Allen said he was going to transfer, I saw a list of about four or five different schools where he might end up. Houston was on that list, so a phone conversation would not be unexpected, or even all that big a deal. I expected Allen to to be talking with multiple coaches. A face to face meeting to me shows that there is significant interest from both sides, so it seems like a much bigger story TO ME. So, Lopez views the story as Herman and Allen having a conversation. While Herman views the story as a face to face meeting, that never happened, that some people believed may have broken a rule. Is that what the beef is all about?
Correct. That is the point that people are missing. All Herman was pissed about was the fact that he reported they MET in person (because that is a violation of NCAA rule AND the fact that he never met him)
Then that's what makes Lopez the uber unreliable source for any sports related news. Honestly don't believe why Herman would make that statement and then come on the show and blast these guys if he was lying. all lopez had to say was, my bad my sources might have misstaken the meet in person from talking on the phone, but the other part about TH and KA actually having a conversation is correct (that part I give Lopez)
Lopez has ties with aggy, right? Obviously Lopez and his source were on top of this, but i dont think its completely out there that the source threw in the booster part just to burn Allen for leaving. Or am i reading to much into this?
Lopez isn't going to say his sources were wrong if he doesn't believe they were, and they were pretty credible it turns out as Herman admits they had a phone call the same day Lopez reported they met. So at a minimum his sources were very reliable but got the type of conversation wrong. Is a reporter supposed to just retract any story that someone says isn't true? I also don't buy the whole "Herman is only mad about the face to face" part being wrong. He went after them for not being around the program and for the other guys getting in trouble for not having the story. There is clearly a lot of anger about control from Herman, which is fine.
nick said they never reporter that and that wasn't reported from 610. but yes i think Lopez was the one that said no wilfork in Houston lol
What are the chances that Lopez contacted Herman for a comment after getting the scoop but prior to reporting the NCAA violation? Lopez obviously isn't an idiot and knew full well the negatives associated with his report. Herman's comment about reporters trying to make a name for themselves (paraphrasing) seems to indicate that he is more upset that Lopez chose to run the piece without speaking to UH as opposed to just getting it wrong. I agree with you guys that say that this is a control issue. People want to hear about the coogs now and Herman is making it clear what it takes to get his support. This is all about building the program to a level that can compete with the big dogs. I can dig it.
