This topic of the Washington Post’s coverage of GW sports is far to prevalent right now to ignore, so I guess I’ll have to weigh in. As sports editor of the Hatchet, I have been confronted with the issue of how we allocate space in the Hatchet. Earlier this year, members of the water polo and golf teams were both upset with the coverage they were receiving from the Hatchet. The Hatchet is the only news source on campus and receives upwards of 15,000 hits on issue days (Mondays and Thursdays). My argument is that coverage should be based on interest. Many coaches and athletes believe that teams don’t get the student interest because the Hatchet does not cover them well.

In the winter, basketball dominates our coverage. We have a men’s team that is ranked 15th in the nation right now and a women’s team that is making a lot of noise as well. We cover basketball like a glove on a hand. Dempster, myself and senior staff photographer Jeff Baum traveled to Baltimore to see the GW men’s team take on a team that is ranked 334 out of 334 in the nation. We know that people count on us. Most stories that are broken nationally come from us (Lulu’s incident last year, Pops and Mike going to the draft and Dokun redshirting). GW basketball will always get top bill in the Hatchet and on our web pages. Now with GW in the top 15 teams nationally, the issue of the Washington Post giving the team attention is at the forefront.

Many people do not understand basic precepts of newspaper journalism, which adds to their consternation. The editor allocates space and decides what’s covered. Maryland is still the Washington area’s team. Gary Williams is one of nine active coaches with an NCAA championship. The Post has every right to give them more space. Ivan Carter, who now covers the Wizards for the Post, was a very good writer and covered GW well. They got the front page when they won the Atlantic 10 championship last year. Dan Steinberg, who is a very good writer and nice person, does a great job with covering GW. I’m sorry to all the fans who think GW deserves top bill every issue. It’s just not justified. When GW makes it to 11 straight NCAA tournaments and wins a national championship, they will be as popular and receive as much coverage as Maryland.

In addition, take a look at Maryland’s schedule. While GW will play only two games against ranked teams (Maryland and N.C. State), Maryland will play 10 and four games against teams who are receiving votes. Maryland losing to GW is almost inconsequential in their schedule while if the game had gone the other way, it would be a big issue.

Try to keep your eye on the broad issues and don’t get caught up in GW fantasy land.