This was the first Google image result for “Sam Webb.” Let’s roll with it. (image via Wikipedia)
UPDATE: I have placed a poll on the right sidebar asking for your opinion on the pay sites.
Yesterday, it was announced that Tim Sullivan would be leaving The Wolverine to “pursue other opportunities.” Just a few days ago, it was confirmed that fellow Wolverine.com contributor Michael Spath – who had worked for the site for 15 years – was also leaving. That leaves editor John Borton and writers Chris Balas and Brandon Brown. Borton put a post up on The Fort – which is Michigan’s premium message board on Rivals – thanking Sullivan and Spath for their service, and then advertising the openings, asking for new applicants. While it had appeared for a couple weeks that Spath was moving on to bigger and better things, he has since intimated on Twitter that the departure was not his choice.
Hit the jump for more on the pay sites.
The situation at the premium sites has always been curious to me. I have long wondered how Rivals got away with paying five full-time employees (until recently, it was Borton, Balas, Brown, Spath, and Sullivan) to run a site that had subscribers paying somewhere around $10 a month. Of course, throw in some ads, the magazine subscription, the season previews, etc., and that increases revenue somewhat, but it still seems like a stretch to pay five guys a living wage. I have never had a Scout subscription, but the situation was similar at what is now called The Michigan Insider (or TMI). ESPN had something similar for a while at Wolverine Nation with Tom VanHaaren and a couple other writers, where you could gain access to “insider” information with a subscription to ESPN: The Magazine. 247 Sports has taken a different approach, where they have frequent opportunities to sign up for a subscription for free for several months before having to start paying $10 a month; they also have a lot more ads that are displayed more prominently on their site, all of which slows down the loading of pages.
It got me thinking about the recruiting sites in general and the almost incestuous nature of the beast. Here’s a look at a few of the headliners in the Michigan football/recruiting world:
- Ace Anbender: The Wolverine Blog > MGoBlog
- Brandon Brown: (I forget the name of his first site) > MGoBlog > The Wolverine
- Steve Lorenz: Tremendous > Wolverine247
- Tim Sullivan: Varsity Blue > MGoBlog > The Wolverine > TBD
- Tom VanHaaren: MGoBlog/URecruit > Wolverine Nation > ESPN recruiting analyst
- Sam Webb: ??? > The Michigan Insider
For those people who make a living following recruiting, I wonder what the endgame is. Can Ace make a 30-year career out of writing for MGoBlog? Can Lorenz – who’s right up there with Webb as the best in the business – seemingly spend the rest of his life on Twitter and text messaging football players? What other stops can Sullivan make if he wants to continue his career?
To be clear, I’m not criticizing those people for their career choices. I just wonder how the industry of Michigan football recruiting can support so many full-timers, and the above list doesn’t even include all the people employed by The Wolverine, Wolverine247, The Michigan Insider, MGoBlog, etc.
Considering the site navigability, the information available, site layout, etc., here’s my ranked list of the three pay sites:
- Wolverine247/247 Sports
- The Michigan Insider/Scout
- The Wolverine/Rivals
What do you think of the pay sites? Is it sustainable to have three subscription services for similar information? Who are the guys you like most in the Michigan recruiting world?
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I just can’t see paying for recruiting information that will be published for free elsewhere 10 minutes later, I honestly don’t know how these sites managed to get anyone to pay for a subscription. Between your site and MgoBlog, there is MORE than enough recruiting info and analysis, I just don’t need it the second it comes out.
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Ditto. And some seem to think highly of themselves for being members of paid sites. LAME.
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Mgoblog and TTB aren’t out there getting first-hand information. They get their info (mostly) from the pay sites, take it in, and then spin it back around to the public for free. If the people actually talking to coaches and other program ‘insiders’ are selling insurance or whatever instead, we will all have less info (or inferior info).
Nobody is going to get harmed here, but the content of recruiting info (which obviously there is demand for) becomes (even more) speculative it may not be worth paying attention to any longer.
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If Webb and Lorenz were the ones getting canned I would be majorly bummed.
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I believe the UM athletic department used to give out free annual magazine subscriptions to TheWolverine for season ticket holders who had premium seating. That was a major cash cow for TheWolverine for a very long time. However, some time after Dave Brandon was hired, they stopped giving away the free magazine subscriptions. As you can imagine, thewolverine lost a ton of their main revenue right there.
I don’t personally subscribe to any of the pay sites anymore, but I always thought Sam Webb was the best in the business. Looks like Lorenz is up there too now.
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Funny results from Google on Sam Webb. Twitter goes to the one we know and love. Images are all some male model. And Wikipedia lists the former chairman of the Communist Party USA.
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Honestly, all I do is read your blog first, then goto MGO, then check a few twitter feeds and I’m GTG. I don’t need any more information and there are no out of pocket costs for me. Very satisfied.
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Well, I’m glad TTB is your first stop of the day.
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I’m no fan of Sullivan and Spath because I find their personalities off-putting, their analyses to be poor, and their writing to be mediocre. It may be a case of addition by subtraction for Rivals.
Rivals seems to have fallen behind the pack as Webb and Lorenz have emerged as superior ‘insiders’ on recruiting at least and probably program developments too.
The thing is that when coaching staffs change the relationships have to be rebuilt, so Rivals may have lost a lot in the Carr-Rodriguez-Hoke-Harbaugh turmoil. And who knows what the basketball staff changes will mean for ‘insider’ news.
Hypothetically (not at all saying it’s true, just a pure hypothetical), Webb’s relationships could have been strongest with Greg Jackson and Bacari Alexander…and now Balas or Lorenz will be the best ‘insider’ around. Who knows.
In general, fewer people covering Michigan means less info. In this case though, it’s hard to think that will be the case.
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I agree on Sullivan. I think his writing was poor, and I don’t think he knows much about the sport of football. I actually liked Spath for his content, but I don’t think he was on top of things as much as Webb and Lorenz.
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