I just saw this on the front page and listened to the Gomes interview. That is brutal news. Trudell offered great interviews that you don't expect from the teams staff web guy. I have a hard time believing they'll be able to replace him.

Feel free to toss me down as a reference if you apply for that job CW.

*sigh*

Yeah, I've known about this for a while now. To be honest, it's going to be sad to see him go. I know that not everyone "online" particularly liked all his content that he did, but people have to realize that fluff pieces come with the job. I think he did excellent work as the "Wolves Reporter", and he is a cool guy to know in person. I know it won't be quite the same at TC this year. I think they will have a very hard time replacing him and all the stuff he did. There is a lot more work to his job than some people would think. Also, I don't think there are many official team representatives that come and hang out on blog forums like Mike has done with us.

Anyways, enough gushing from me. Everyone go listen to that Gomes-Trudell interview on Timberwolves.com. It's awesome. Gomes is the man!

I wish him the best of luck in LA and his future endeavors.

CW, have you called? Have you written? They aren't going to advertize it in the Trib. They already know who you are. Get busy my friend!

mmaland wrote:
CW, have you called? Have you written? They aren't going to advertize it in the Trib. They already know who you are. Get busy my friend!

I haven't. I thought about it... but after talking with Mike I think my chance of getting hired are somewhere between 0.00 and 0.01%

I don't have a journalism degree, which hurts. Also, Mike showed me his career plan and what he has done... and it is extensive, to say the least. Seriously, it would blow your mind what he had done previous to the Wolves Reporter job. And that was a few years ago before stuff like this became more mainstream.

Still, you should do it. What the hell.

Umm... I'm pretty sure the restraining order that Gomes has against CW has lowered his chances to -289.5%

On a more serious note, it's a cool job, no doubt, but there's also drawbacks as well. Once you're official you pretty much have to lose your opinion, at least publicly, and tow the company line. It's obvious why you have to do that as you can't go writing about Foye's "ego" on the Timberwolves' own website. If you worked for Microsoft and then started a blog where you bash Microsoft 50% of the time, you wouldn't have your job for long either.

Also, from talking to some Wolves staff people a couple years back when I was very loosely flirting with the notion of working for the team, I was basically told that people who work for sports teams generally aren't paid very well. It's part of the sacrifice you make for having a "cool" job that there's a lot of competition for. The big time people like the players, McHale, Hoiberg, etc. make a ton but everyone else who's not nationally known doesn't see the money. My sister works in the entertainment industry and it's the same thing. The stars of her shows and executive producers make tons and tons of cash, while she slaves away for 60-70 hours a week for significantly less than minimum wage if you broke it down hour by hour.

That being said, working for a sports team would definitely be a ton of fun and if you have the opportunity and ability to handle it financially it's a pretty awesome way to make a living.

I could live with potential low pay, since I don't get much right now anyways.

The hardest thing would be toeing the company line and not ever being negative. That would be tough, I don't think I could do that...

College Wolf wrote:
I could live with potential low pay, since I don't get much right now anyways.

The hardest thing would be toeing the company line and not ever being negative. That would be tough, I don't think I could do that...

It's called marketing, and it involves much more skill than analysis. Trudell created interest and positiveness presenting the Timberwolves to the public. He did it in a way that wasn't cheesy or artificial. That wouldn't be hard to do if you really were a fan which I assume you are since you live on this site.

There are enough ambulance chasers out there now, writing whatever controversial comments they can think of about a team or a player just so they can gain readership. We've quoted enough of these clowns on this site to fill a stadium. Most have no idea what they are talking about.

One of the key complaints on this site is about the marketing efforts of the Timberwolves. This would be your chance to change that. The right marketing person could indeed put earrings on this pig and make it beautiful. You should apply before they give the job to Tom Thundstrom.

...Sad to see Trudell go. I really enjoyed his style. He seemed to always be cranking out new pieces, in various formats and mediums. He kept it entertaining, informative, and fun. I think he did a wonderful job and am excited for him to have the opportunity to write for The Lakers. That is an obvious step up. Congrats to Mike - He's a true class act and is great at what he does.

I agree BonK I really enjoyed all his material and am sad to see him leave. I was going to ask what is he doing in L.A.? But it sounds like he is just doing the same stuff but for the Lakers? Anyways good luck Trudell.

I'll know that I've made it when there is a random thread on the internet discussing how much money I make.

I just hope if that day comes the consensus is... "He makes that much AND he gets to hang with the Wolves." Not... "Those types of jobs are sweet but you don't necessarily get paid a ton".

CW, Bonk, Pants and Co., I truly appreciate the kind words and well wishes. Indeed, don't think I won't be checking twolvesblog.com daily as I have throughout the past year. I have a great deal of respect for the amount of work and thought you guys put into something for which I'm lucky to get paid, and I look forward to staying in touch in the future.

CW knows how to reach me should you have any questions, would like to chat Lakers or NBA or whatever. I'm always happy to contribute anything I can to your site. Furthermore, I'm always eager for criticism from guys and girls who know the game, so if you see something you don't like or think could be better on lakers.com, please feel free to tell me explicitly.

Take care and regards,

Trudell

MTrudell wrote:
CW, Bonk, Pants and Co., I truly appreciate the kind words and well wishes. Indeed, don't think I won't be checking twolvesblog.com daily as I have throughout the past year. I have a great deal of respect for the amount of work and thought you guys put into something for which I'm lucky to get paid, and I look forward to staying in touch in the future.

CW knows how to reach me should you have any questions, would like to chat Lakers or NBA or whatever. I'm always happy to contribute anything I can to your site. Furthermore, I'm always eager for criticism from guys and girls who know the game, so if you see something you don't like or think could be better on lakers.com, please feel free to tell me explicitly.

Take care and regards,

Trudell


Once again, best of luck to you. It will should interesting out in LA, at the very least.

If you have time, we should do some kind of cross blog interview or question exchange (or something of that nature) when the Wolvies and Lakeshow play this season. I'll hit you up when it gets closer.

buh bye mike. tell kobe to suck it up he complanz too much.