Friday Morning: Lee Fowler on 850 The Buzz Friday; Audio Link Now Up

Thanks to all of you who have posted 30 updates and comments regarding Fowler’s “interview” this morning. We’ll continue to have more commentary as time goes by.

11:15 Update

Here’s a link to the audio of the interview:

Lee Fowler Takes Your Calls (850 The Buzz’s Blog)

My apologies if I wasn’t the smoothest reader on the air, but I had an office visitor come in past a closed door and distract me while I was reading Sw0rdf1sh’s quote.

–RAWFS

9:50am UPDATE:
Before today’s relative waste of time on 850 we all had questions that we would like to see Fowler REALLY answer and not side-stepp. Since he just opened the door to more questions/follow-up, we thought that it would be a good time to ask you to log whatever questions you would ask in the comments section of this entry. Since LF gives so many “Q&As” to the press then you know that isn’t finished talking. Who knows…the next interviewer may read SFN and pick up on some questions?

It is really fascinating, but you should go check this entry from March of 2005 when we did a very similar exercise. Even though some of those questions were Herb Sendek related, a lot of them would continue to ring true today.

Here are a few to get the ball rolling:

(1) In your interview with GoPack that was published on April 13th you indicated that in no uncertain terms that there would be changes coming within NC State’s Basketball staff.

In this off-season, there will be some changes made within the basketball office. Sidney is going back to square one, looking at what each member of the staff does to make certain it is the most efficient and effective way of getting things done. He is reviewing all facets of the basketball operation.

In Sidney Lowe’s subsequent interview with the News & Observer that was published on April 29th, Coach Lowe leaves no ambiguity around the issue and 100% contradicts you when answering a similar question:

N&O: Will the staff stay intact?

Lowe: Yes.

N&O: Will the support staff stay intact?

Lowe: Yes.

Since you consistently discuss Coach Lowe’s control of the team last year in public and share your thoughts on what happened during our collapse – Which one of you is right? You say there will be staff changes. He says there will not be. Is he defying you by not making changes?

…alright gang….your turn!

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87 Responses to Friday Morning: Lee Fowler on 850 The Buzz Friday; Audio Link Now Up

  1. Rick 05/16/2008 at 7:02 AM #

    They are prepping this interview by playing clips of Dave Glenn running down the Pack.

  2. Rick 05/16/2008 at 7:07 AM #

    He is in the studio.
    Apparently Lee has been trying to set this up for a while. Color me shocked.

    AG “Give me a State of the State”
    LF “Golf course coming. Game gainst FSU. Should get into the NCAA.”
    AG” What has COach Lowe been doing”
    LF “REfocusing. Three seniors coming back. Guys are embarrassed by the play last year. Sid is very competitive. Refocussing. Play wiht emotion and desire. Players had other things on their mind.”
    AG “Sidney called out Gavin at the ned of the year. And there were times whent eh frustration go tot him.”
    LF “Sid lost the players and could nto get them back. He was meeting with them individually but could nto get them back”

  3. Rick 05/16/2008 at 7:10 AM #

    David “We missed you athe caravan in Smithfield. Son is at baseball camp and they are wonderful. What can the fans do for to make NCSU successful. What do the coaches say they need for the programs to be better?”
    LF “No one is more frustrated than Sid. Don’t be negative about your own team. No one wants to win mroe than I do. It’s my livelihood.”

    I am missing alot as I am a bad typist.

  4. highstick 05/16/2008 at 7:14 AM #

    Go Alpha!!!!

  5. Rick 05/16/2008 at 7:15 AM #

    There was joking about the internet.
    Charles (RAWS) -he is reading the blog post about NCSU

    LF “I do not read blogs. If people are getting on there must be a need.”

    C “Two million visitors to Satefansnation”

    AG “there are some people that you do not want on the blogs”

    C “I would agree and I do a good job of being fair and not being too negative. I am going to read three quotes from area reports.” He is reading quotes about the sports information director. “If this is group is so hard to work with what are you going to do”

    LF “I do not know if your quotes are real. We are an open department and I want to hear if someone has a problem with us. They have my cell phone so they can contact me directly.” He of course did nto address antying.

  6. Rick 05/16/2008 at 7:17 AM #

    JO “fans feel the media is negative to the NCSU. DO you agree with that”

    LF “That story (about the athelte dorm) had no content and the timing was bad. We try to be positive with the press and give them what they need. We want them to be positive. They have concerns about blogs. About people that do not put their names down. Opinions are great but you want it to be factual”.
    Lee turned the question into a way to take a dig at blogs.

  7. Rick 05/16/2008 at 7:19 AM #

    RAWS – you did a good job asking questions but I feel he sidestepped what you asked. LF was again dismissive of the internet. His “must be a need for them” and “not putting their names” along with his attitude made clear his thoughts on blogs and forums.

  8. highstick 05/16/2008 at 7:21 AM #

    I have a “need”. A need to succeed!

  9. Rick 05/16/2008 at 7:21 AM #

    They are really pounding the Pack with their ads. They just brought back the whole Herb crap. I am reminded why I bought my XM radio.

  10. PackMan97 05/16/2008 at 7:25 AM #

    Much of the internet may not have real names, but it certainly isn’t anonymous.

    I’ve been using this handle since the days of WolfChat and Rancho De Nada. Sure, it isn’t my “real name”, but so what? It’s not like anyone would have trouble linking it to my real self and I behave accordingly (most of the time) >:)

  11. RAWFS 05/16/2008 at 7:27 AM #

    Good morning all.

    “I do a good job of being fair.”

    (I honestly feel I do, Lee; read the @#$#@ing site and see for yourself.)

    “I am going to read three quotes from area reports.

    ‘most difficult group to work with in the ACC’ – TV sports anchor

    ‘it’s like they intentionally make my job harder to do’

    ‘she is simply uncooperative.’ ”

    LF “I do not know if your quotes are real. We are an open department and I want to hear if someone has a problem with us.”

    It’s REALLY NICE to be called a liar. Or at least have it inferred. I am sorry Mr. Fowler, but if you do not think that Annabelle Myers is more or less disliked (and in some cases despised) by the area media, then you are not doing your job.

    Bottom line here is this: when someone has a legitimate beef (and this is a legitimate beef, ask any of the writers here or any reporter you meet) they are dismissed and not taken seriously. In my case, he tried (lamely IMO) to infer that I was doing something less than honorable and lying through my teeth. People are NOT going to to go to him because the SID will extract her revenge. Hell, I better change my logo before I get a takedown notice.

  12. Rick 05/16/2008 at 7:30 AM #

    AG “OJ Mayo fiasco. Sleezy people are hanging around .Is tehre anything we can do from a college standpoint?”

    LF “The rules are to the NBA’s advantage. Go to two years required before drafting.”

    Me – He did not answer the question

    JO “you mentioned the baseball system of drafting. Is there a movement to go to this?”

    LF “It has to come from the NBA. We cannot control it”

  13. old13 05/16/2008 at 7:31 AM #

    What a tool! Is his job sidestepping relavent questions and issues about Wolfpack sports or building a strong athletics department! If the former, he’s doing a great job; if the latter, what a failure. (BTW if Foulup is listening, I’m a ’68 NCSU graduate and former WPC member – former due to him! And I post here mainly because SIGNED letters/emails to anyone at NCSU go ignored as far as I can tell!)

  14. RAWFS 05/16/2008 at 7:32 AM #

    “Much of the internet may not have real names, but it certainly isn’t anonymous.”

    Lee, since he told us all about doing morning drive radio for years, should understand better than anyone that people in radio have on-air names that are not their real ones, and that there is a long and storied history of pseudonyms in writing, including print journalism.

    Just how dumb does he think we are????

  15. Sw0rdf1sh 05/16/2008 at 7:37 AM #

    Discussion on the One and Done rule and NBA. LF hopes and prays that this is a good step.

    Talking about the way baseball has the rule and you can’t leave until your junior year. He doesn’t really say if he is a fan of that

    LF talks shoe companies and how they are coming together with the NBA to talk about the issues and how it isn’t good for the game of basketball. Talk about the new 8th grader getting a scholarship and when his coach called time out, the kid looked at his AAU coach instead.

    Getting ready for phone calls. This could be good.

    First caller:
    Been around for a while since the V years, never wavered, but there have been a couple of things that have shakened.

    The LTR, it became extremely difficult for a family of 4 to afford to go to a game. Caller travels a lot and wanted internet games, and having to pay to hear the game….along with LTR rips his heart out. Very costly for a family of 4.
    Caller feels that it is getting costly.

    LF: Thinks LTR happened at 20 or 30 years ago at UNC and they looked at that. He says we do have tickets that you don’t have to have LTR’s for in both football and basketball….but if you want to keep your same seats…you need an LTR.

    Buzz: Isn’t the answer this is the cost of doing business?

    LF: Charter increases have a 40% increase for Wolfpack Travel. He feels we are in the middle of the league with our costs though. Bigger stadiums are charging more, and we are conscious of our Wolfpack Fans.

    Next caller coming up, time for some coffee.

  16. Rick 05/16/2008 at 7:37 AM #

    Joe “I appreciate you taking the time. PLease do it more” WTF?
    “I am a die hard Woflpack fan. But there are some things that have shaken my faith. LTR have made it hard for families to afford the games. Having to pay to hear the games on the internet. Why is it so expensive? Why do I ahev to pay for internet streaming”

    LF “I think that happened when UNC built their building. We do have tickets that are not LTR. To keep your location you have to have LTRs. You should be able to get tickets.”

    AG “Isn’t this the cost of doing business?”

    LF “Well it is. It is unfortunate. 42 percent increase in football travel. We are not in the top 20 of what we charge.”

    Me – big friggin shocker given how crappy we have performed.

  17. Rick 05/16/2008 at 7:40 AM #

    “Bottom line here is this: when someone has a legitimate beef (and this is a legitimate beef, ask any of the writers here or any reporter you meet) they are dismissed and not taken seriously. ”

    So his answer is someone should bring it to his attention. That is exactly what you did. You brought it to his attention and he completely blew you off and insulted you to boot. Why would anyone bring something to his attention when he is going to ignore it.

    What a putz.

  18. Rick 05/16/2008 at 7:42 AM #

    This is about what I suspected. LF pontificating on anything except what people want to hear. He ignroes pointed questions and rambles like a dodgerly old man instead of answering questions.

  19. Paramarine 05/16/2008 at 7:52 AM #

    Talking about 5 hour limit on tailgating… He said no plans to do anything more to address it. Says that there is a cost associated (I assume in terms of providing for security, traffic control, and parking ushers) for every hour open. Goes on that vast majority of people have been satisfied with the 5 hour cap.

  20. highstick 05/16/2008 at 7:55 AM #

    But….Sid only lost 4 more games than he did the year before…Duh, New Orleans, East Carolina…shall we mention the losses that shouldn’t have been, Lee??? Doesn’t register to him at all that this past year, they should have improved.

  21. Rick 05/16/2008 at 7:55 AM #

    JO “Tailgating. Is there any plan to get rid of the 5 hour rule”

    LF “THe chancellor feels that five horus is plenty of time”

    JO “What does the cerfew accomplish”

    LF “It is expensive. I know people think I wake up and try to make the NCSU fans mad. We did a study and very few cars would come more than 5 hours early. ”

    Joe “Congrats on the TOB hire. Why woudl you hire a coach wiht no experience. Do you regret not speaking out about Sendek and the abuse he took. He was the best

    LF “I took alot of abuse for that. Herb was and is a close freind of mine. I have to make a decision that I think is best. Some people will disagree. Our fans felt like it was time for a change. Lowe is one of our guys and he knows basketball. I have confidence in him and his staff.”

    AG “Do you think Lowe will have a learning curve becauseof college?”

    LF “No question. I tlaked wiht him about this and he hired a college staff. Dealign with parents is something he has not had to do. Sidney is unbelievalbe about hsi knowlede of basketball”

  22. Rick 05/16/2008 at 7:57 AM #

    I do not think I have ever heard an hour with so much talking in which nothing was said.

  23. highstick 05/16/2008 at 7:59 AM #

    The last caller obviously was a “HWSNBN” fan. “Best basketball coach at State in the past 30 years who did not ‘bend the rules)!

    Were the calls screened beforehand? I’m surprised there wasn’t a single question about why we no longer are competetive.

  24. highstick 05/16/2008 at 8:02 AM #

    Rick, you got that right! Lot’s of talking, but no answers, no vision, no stated goals, just the same “trust me” line.

    It was refreshing to be reminded that Lee knows basketball and now Sid also knows basketball. I guess everything will be ok, then.

  25. happypackdad 05/16/2008 at 8:10 AM #

    I thought it was a good interview. He answered the questions pretty well IMO. Good ot hear about NC State sports in this dull time of year.

    SFN: Thanks for stopping by, Lee. I thought that you said that you don’t read the blogs?

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