Today on our official TomahawkNation.com FACEBOOK Page, someone had some negative feedback on our coverage of the legal troubles of our rivals, specifically the Florida Gators.  [He] wrote:

Matt, as a new reader, I think you should be able to find plenty of interesting commentary here on the Noles.  Let me help you out.

You could start with our two part series on FSU's defense being woefully undersized (part one) and our analysis showing that they weren't that good last year (part two), despite what the facial numbers would indicate, particularly when you remove sacks from run defense, since they aren't running plays. Maybe you are interested in an article examining whether the 'Noles scheduling tactics produce too difficult a slate.  Did you miss our report that Quarterback E.J. Manuel is back at full strength?  How about our piece on FSU's renewed recruiting emphasis in South Georgia?  Maybe you enjoy learning how FSU has benefited and suffered from fumble luck, or even learning that fumble recovery is luck and not skill.  If you're a basketball fan, you should read TrueCubbie's latest piece on Toney Douglas' draft prospects.  Want to get ready for next year?  Peruse all the information we're collecting on next year's opponents, as we scout the 2009 football schedule!  How about a unique method of predicting FSU's season prospects?  Were you in Orlando for Jimbo Fisher's address to the boosters?  If not, check out a fine recap from some of the valued members of our community.  Just two weeks ago we broke down where 15 national media outlets would rank FSU to start the season.  Don't miss the Wednesday Open Recruiting Threads where we break down the 'Noles honest chances at top recruits without obnoxious teasers or the need to mislead our readers and sell subscriptions.  Want in-depth analysis on baseball?  We partnered with baseball experts who are routinely employed by major league baseball to break down Mike Martin's ill-advised fondness of the sacrifice bunt, and backed it up with situation specific data.  Do you have really high expectations for this year's FSU team?  Might want to consider what elite recruits are still here from the Nepotism Era (That's what we call the period when Bobby almost destroyed our program).  Maybe you could read our followup to the Daniel Hood saga, a story we broke almost a year ago and reported that FSU was backing off the recruitment of the convicted sex offender.  Oh wait, you don't want to read that. 

Why did I select those articles?  Because that's what we pumped out in May, to say nothing of finding only the best links to other quality content and extended daily discussion in our comment section that message board guys could only dream of.  And May might be our slowest month, as our four main writers tackled finals in Law, Medical school.  We were pretty busy and still cranked our more content than any other site covering the Noles.

We're bragging here, but what other outlet comes close to providing the kind of in-depth coverage you find at our site?  I enjoy and respect all the 'Nole sites, and every media outlet has their place, but what kind of content are you looking for?  Maybe some pay-site that has a 500 word game preview listing the keys as "limit turnovers" and "outscore the opponent" is more up your alley.

Additionally, much of the value on our site comes from the quality discussion had in the comment sections, which are well organized and conducive to extended thoughts on the articles.  Our unique, instantly updating software and tiered response interface allows our users to respond to each other in real time, in a clear manner, as opposed to a message board type format where you might need to scroll back three or four pages just to understand what some moron is referring to.  Can you imagine message board thread handling 700 comments like we routinely generate for a basketball game live-thread?  Neither can I.  I know the rivals system would crash if that was attempted.

So, dissatisfied reader, you can peruse our library of over 300 articles, or you could complain about one article you didn't enjoy.

I do appreciate the feedback, but we will not stop covering the transgressions of other teams. Recruiting is the lifeblood of any team and for whatever reason, UF's 24 arrests over four years under Urban Meyer don't get near the coverage that FSU's few have. If the media doesn't report it, recruits don't hear about the dark side of UF, and if they don't hear about the chink's in the Gator's armor , they'll believe whatever Urban Meyer tells them.

UF's first major crime wave happened in the mid 1980's, before the national media cared about college football, and long before the advent of the internet.  FSU's transgressions in the 90's came as the spotlight on college football was increasing, and thus FSU developed more of a bad boy image, ditto Miami. ... .

Largely because of that timing issue, UF lacks that lawless image and most are not reporting the criminal activities of the Gators.  Meyer is very media friendly and holds wide open practices.  The media access is nearly unlimited.  As such, the writers covering the team are very reluctant to criticize UF, for fear of being denied access to one of the top programs in the nation.

FSU on the other hand, like Alabama, stonewalls reporters.  It's part of the Parcells-Belichek-Saban-Fisher coaching tree. There's a tactical advantage in keeping football information in-house, but it also fosters a media bias by writers who are routinely denied access to even the most mundane of team functions.

Remember too that this is a rivalry.  A lot of 'Noles have to work with Gators who run their mouth all day. The next time one of them mentions the arrest of a Seminole wide receiver, that 'Nole will fire back with "24 arrests in 4 years", or "hey, I need an assault rifle, can you call one of your football players?"

And finally, there's not much going on right now with FSU. We're in a relative quiet period. The players are doing voluntary conditioning drills, and the coaches are evaluating recruits.  I guess we could an article discussing the team's offseason activities.  But instead, I'm going to give you an opportunity to do it.  Just fill in the blanks:

Today I spoke with FSU strength coach Todd Stroud.  [Need picture of coach in shorts and T-shirt here, people like pictures, because they have to read less].  The 'Noles began their off season program last week. 

Stroud said the training this year is far better than last year and that their preparation last year is [need  a phrase that means "a lot better"] than last year's.

Stroud was proud of the team, but stressed the need for continued [either improvement or dedication works here]. 

A few players really caught Stroud's eye.  One in particular was [superstar who everyone already knows about or a freshman who has no real shot to play this year].  Stoud said [remember to pick the same guy here to stay consistent] showed great [leadership if it's the superstar, determination if it's the young kid] out there and is really leading by example. 

Another Seminole who is really impressing is [superstar who everyone already knows about or freshman who has no real shot to play this year].  Stoud said [remember to pick the same guy here to stay consistent] showed great [leadership if it's the superstar, determination if it's the young kid] out there and will be counted on this year. 

[Skill position player] ran a [obviously fabricated 40-yard dash time] and looks really fast.

Stroud said a few kids are unable to participate in off-season drills due to lingering injury, including [whoever is still recovering from off-season surgery, so pick McMahon, Spurlock, or Watson], but that his rehab is going well.

But that's not our game.  We'll leave that to some other folks.

Best wishes,

Bud Elliott
Editor in Chief, TomahawkNation.com