1) Why did the article take so long to be completed?

The dog ate the first draft.  Then another was written on a cell phone, but it was put through the washing machine, and then the dog ate the cell phone.  Then it was written on a computer, but a virus attacked it, causing St. Martin's to win Divisions I, II and III.  Then the dog got the virus and died and editor just could not write in the mourning hours.  (Sure, that is the same excuse used last season.  Actually, one could add gaining custody of and flying one's daughter from Atlanta to New Orleans on the Friday morning of the state tournament.  Certain arrangements, of course, loomed larger in the editor's priority list.

In a nutshell over 2,500 photos had to be reviewed.  When just over 800 were chosen, they had to be named and then manipulated via cropping, color effects, etc.  When the design of the article was determined, the photos had to be added to the appropriate Webpages, resized to smaller images, and then hyperlinked to full-size images.  Designing a workable Website and adding the chosen and manipulated photos, took a full two-and-one-half weeks.  This is a Website fully designed by the editor.  It is not one created by an on-line Webpage building provider, or it would have more flair, elan and, dare I say, verve!

One very familiar with wrestling can look at a bracket and tell what happened.  One not so familiar might prefer to know what the listed scores on a bracket mean and how consolation brackets are derived.  But anyone can write on those lines.  But to look at a match and wonder what the wrestler did earlier and if two wrestlers had met before, and if so, what was the results, takes a season's worth of results being compiled.  Luckily, TrackWrestling has most individual matches listed.  The Louisiana High School Wrestling Archives actually served a purpose as well (finally!).  But neither is a database that can "spit out" results of matches between specific individuals.  For that information research is not only performed but then tabulated into mediums that can be referenced by the writer   That data took a full week to compile into a usable format.

The final piece contains about XX,000 words.  While the editor thinks the coverage is a little sparse, it takes a bit of time to write, rewrite, proof and edit each section.

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2) Who died and made you...?

The editor hopes this sort of question does not arise very often.  The article is intended to be as objective as possible, but subjective opinions are bound to either exist or be thought to exist.  The editor cannot change the facts, but also cannot vouch for their absolute integrity.  Notifications of factual errors are welcome as long as they can be verified.  If a subjective opinion is expressed and a reader disagrees with it, the reader is very welcome to state his or her case and possibly persuade the editor to rethink and rewrite the section in which it is found.

3) Why are some matches photographed while others are not?

Most of the tournament was run on 10 mats.  There is only one editor and he has only one camera, albeit photos were also provided by Rip Rittell and Shannon Miller.  The finals were run on three mats concurrently.  Again - one editor and one camera.

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4) Why does more information exist on some programs or wrestlers than on others?

This is partially due to scheduling.  More coverage can be gained at a tournament or a multiple-duals event than at a regular dual meet.  It is partially due to geography: the editor lives in the New Orleans area and it is easier to cover events held in that area.  Northshore and Baton Rouge events are not that hard but events in other locations requires substantially more time and financial expenditures.

It is also due to what others send to the editor.  People associated with some programs have forwarded a lot of photographs and information, while others have not.  The editor encourages everyone who can to submit what they can from events at which the editor is not in attendance.

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5) Can one copy the photographs on the Louisiana Wrestling News Website?

Absolutely! That is why they are designed to open into full-size images when clicked.  Just "right-click" an image after opening it, hit "Save as" and select where you would like to save the image on your computer.  Some photographs will lead to contact information for the photographers who took them.  They may require different arrangements for downloading their photos, over which the editor as no control.

Only the text of articles is copyrighted.  If some miraculous photograph is taken, the editor can prevent most people from copying it, but that is not the editor's intent.

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