It is in e-mail form....so the first is last and the last is first. Also... Egriz, if you think it is illegal to post this e-mail without Tony's permission please let me know..... i know of no such law, but I don't study the law. 
Craig,
I hear what you are saying, and you make some valid points. Yes,
politics come into play, and yes, on preseason teams such as this one we
need to spread the wealth among different teams and conferences. Unlike
many other publications and organizations, I like to be able to point to
factors that enter into each selection. While stats are an important
part of the process, stats can also be deceiving and I think that
previous all-america or all-conference selection shows consistent
performance over an entire season and thus has more merit than stats. I
know that the groups that pick the all-conf teams have some biases of
their own, but by-and-large, I have to trust their position as
professionals and trust their selections as being the top players in
each league. I get defensive when I am accused of being biased or not
doing my homework because I go through a painstaking process to make
sure the most deserving kids are recognized. If I really let my
objectivity drop, you would see a lot more Montana players on these
lists -- my positive feelings about the program and its fans are well
documented, I believe...
Tony Moss
Executive Director/I-AA Football
The Sports Network
GeauxGriz wrote:
> Tony,
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy your articles and wait with child
> like anticipation for the next. However, let us consider this: Is it
> possible the reason why some players such as Picher, Bush and Young
> are not All-American or First team all conference is because of the
> politics that be? To demonstrate this lets crunch some numbers.... due
> to time I will pick only to defend Picher, and compare him to the
> First team All-Big Sky DEs (the guys you put on your list because they
> were 1st team), however we could do the same for Young and
> Bush.....
Jon Montoya played 10 games....he had 23.5 total tackles which equals 2.35 a game he had 12 tacklesfor loss.....1.2/game
> and 6 sacks......................... 0.6/game
Jared Allen played 10
> games.....he had 49 total
> tackles........4.9/game
> he had 16 tackles for
> loss....1.6/game and 6 sacks........................0.6/game
Picher played 12 regular season
> games... had 60 total
> tackles......5/game
> 18 tackles for
> loss.........1.5/game
> and 10.5 sacks.............0.88/game
So my question still stands.....
> could politics have a part in picking which people are 1st team? If
> not, maybe you could help me understand why Montoya was picked ahead
> of Picher. If politics do have a part, then please understand that
> you, as the leading writer on1-AA, have a position of power. You are
> a essentially a Congressman in the nation of 1-AA football. I then,
> am no more than a mere lobbyist, who is lobbying for his interests. I
> do realize that there are good players outside of Montana, and I am
> not saying that these players I have mentioned are the best at their
> position. I am saying that they should definitely be mention in the
> top 15-20 players in the nation at that position. So again I lobby
> you..... if and when these players do well, please give them some
> ink. Maybe then they will be 1st team All-conference and maybe
> All-American. Is there such thing as true objectiveness? I would
> offer that as human beings, it is impossible to be truly without bias
> or prejudice. After all, did you handle my comments with
> objectiveness........ or rather with bias toward defending your
> article?
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Tony Moss
> Sent: Monday, June 24, 2002 10:59 AM
> To: GeauxGriz
> Subject: Re: Comments
> Craig,
> Your terrific research apparantly failed to uncover the fact
> that Picher, Bush, and Young were neither All-Americans or
> First-Team All-Conference performers, as every other player
> on their respective position lists were. Please don't quote
> statistics at me, when you should be aware that you are
> comparing players with 16-game totals against those with 10-
> and 11-game totals. You need to realize that there are great
> college players outside of the town of Missoula, Montana,
> even if they don't necessarily play for the national
> champions. It's called being objective -- look into it.
>
> Tony Moss
> Executive Director/I-AA Football
> The Sports Network
>
> GeauxGriz wrote:
>
> How could you forget about Ciche Picher, U. of Montana? Or
> was his 26 tackles for loss, including 18
> sacks, not impress you enough? How about his six forced
> fumbles....and recovering 4? Or his two
> pass defection and an interception......for a DE????? Are
> you kidding me? The other guys you put on
> that list aren't even close!
>
> We also have a guy named Tim Bush on our Defensive line who
> had 18 tackles for loss including 10
> sacks........3 FF and 3 FR..... How could you him?
>
> what about Trey Young, at safety? 96 total tackles, 13 for
> loss, 9 sacks, 2 ints, and 10 PDs...... Those
> sats are better than half your list.........What is going on
> here?????
>
> Maybe more research and less sunbathing this summer would
> improve the quality of your work......
>
> > I notice that you say " for the quarter finalist of a year
> > ago" or some such thing to help justify some of your
> > picks.........well let me remind you .....The Grizzlies
> > are the defending Nation Champs! We are going to have
> > the best returning Offensive/defensive Lines in 1-AA, and
> > you only mention one of them?????? Come on.
>
>
Craig,
I hear what you are saying, and you make some valid points. Yes,
politics come into play, and yes, on preseason teams such as this one we
need to spread the wealth among different teams and conferences. Unlike
many other publications and organizations, I like to be able to point to
factors that enter into each selection. While stats are an important
part of the process, stats can also be deceiving and I think that
previous all-america or all-conference selection shows consistent
performance over an entire season and thus has more merit than stats. I
know that the groups that pick the all-conf teams have some biases of
their own, but by-and-large, I have to trust their position as
professionals and trust their selections as being the top players in
each league. I get defensive when I am accused of being biased or not
doing my homework because I go through a painstaking process to make
sure the most deserving kids are recognized. If I really let my
objectivity drop, you would see a lot more Montana players on these
lists -- my positive feelings about the program and its fans are well
documented, I believe...
Tony Moss
Executive Director/I-AA Football
The Sports Network
GeauxGriz wrote:
> Tony,
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy your articles and wait with child
> like anticipation for the next. However, let us consider this: Is it
> possible the reason why some players such as Picher, Bush and Young
> are not All-American or First team all conference is because of the
> politics that be? To demonstrate this lets crunch some numbers.... due
> to time I will pick only to defend Picher, and compare him to the
> First team All-Big Sky DEs (the guys you put on your list because they
> were 1st team), however we could do the same for Young and
> Bush.....
Jon Montoya played 10 games....he had 23.5 total tackles which equals 2.35 a game he had 12 tacklesfor loss.....1.2/game
> and 6 sacks......................... 0.6/game
Jared Allen played 10
> games.....he had 49 total
> tackles........4.9/game
> he had 16 tackles for
> loss....1.6/game and 6 sacks........................0.6/game
Picher played 12 regular season
> games... had 60 total
> tackles......5/game
> 18 tackles for
> loss.........1.5/game
> and 10.5 sacks.............0.88/game
So my question still stands.....
> could politics have a part in picking which people are 1st team? If
> not, maybe you could help me understand why Montoya was picked ahead
> of Picher. If politics do have a part, then please understand that
> you, as the leading writer on1-AA, have a position of power. You are
> a essentially a Congressman in the nation of 1-AA football. I then,
> am no more than a mere lobbyist, who is lobbying for his interests. I
> do realize that there are good players outside of Montana, and I am
> not saying that these players I have mentioned are the best at their
> position. I am saying that they should definitely be mention in the
> top 15-20 players in the nation at that position. So again I lobby
> you..... if and when these players do well, please give them some
> ink. Maybe then they will be 1st team All-conference and maybe
> All-American. Is there such thing as true objectiveness? I would
> offer that as human beings, it is impossible to be truly without bias
> or prejudice. After all, did you handle my comments with
> objectiveness........ or rather with bias toward defending your
> article?
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Tony Moss
> Sent: Monday, June 24, 2002 10:59 AM
> To: GeauxGriz
> Subject: Re: Comments
> Craig,
> Your terrific research apparantly failed to uncover the fact
> that Picher, Bush, and Young were neither All-Americans or
> First-Team All-Conference performers, as every other player
> on their respective position lists were. Please don't quote
> statistics at me, when you should be aware that you are
> comparing players with 16-game totals against those with 10-
> and 11-game totals. You need to realize that there are great
> college players outside of the town of Missoula, Montana,
> even if they don't necessarily play for the national
> champions. It's called being objective -- look into it.
>
> Tony Moss
> Executive Director/I-AA Football
> The Sports Network
>
> GeauxGriz wrote:
>
> How could you forget about Ciche Picher, U. of Montana? Or
> was his 26 tackles for loss, including 18
> sacks, not impress you enough? How about his six forced
> fumbles....and recovering 4? Or his two
> pass defection and an interception......for a DE????? Are
> you kidding me? The other guys you put on
> that list aren't even close!
>
> We also have a guy named Tim Bush on our Defensive line who
> had 18 tackles for loss including 10
> sacks........3 FF and 3 FR..... How could you him?
>
> what about Trey Young, at safety? 96 total tackles, 13 for
> loss, 9 sacks, 2 ints, and 10 PDs...... Those
> sats are better than half your list.........What is going on
> here?????
>
> Maybe more research and less sunbathing this summer would
> improve the quality of your work......
>
> > I notice that you say " for the quarter finalist of a year
> > ago" or some such thing to help justify some of your
> > picks.........well let me remind you .....The Grizzlies
> > are the defending Nation Champs! We are going to have
> > the best returning Offensive/defensive Lines in 1-AA, and
> > you only mention one of them?????? Come on.
>
>
