Q: Why did you enter the journalism field and was your direction always sports-related?
CM: Interesting story. My brother was three years older than me and was a journalism major at the University of Nevada, so when I went to college, I took the same major. Turns out, my brother eventually changed his major to education and is now a third-grade teacher, but I followed through and ended up getting my bachelor's and Master's degrees in journalism from the school. I was a so-so high school athlete (all-state academic baseball player, mostly because of the academic part!) and always wanted to have a sports-oriented career. I picked between a sports writer and an athletic training. I took the writer's path and while the money isn't the same as the medical field, I feel like I haven't worked a day since joining the Reno Gazette-Journal in 2002 as a college intern.
Q: Your output with just the coverage of Nevada athletics is prodigious -- more articles and lines than anyone else I can think of in a similarly-sized city newspaper. I don't really know how you can answer this question but how do you get the amount of work you produce done?
CM: I think it's three-fold: (1) I can write stories pretty quickly. It usually only takes me 20 minutes to write a feature story. I'm not sure why, but stories just fit together in my head when I sit down to write them. (2) I'm always thinking of story ideas. I read a lot of other newspapers (or, more accurately, newspapers' websites) and are thinking of different ways to cover the Wolf Pack. I might write one "traditional" story a day and add three or four alternative stories. (3) You have to put in the work. I cover coaches who work 80-100 hours a week, so me putting in 60 hours a week isn't too bad. I feel like the amount of work I put in is respected by those who I cover, which helps me get more stories as well. My wife and I welcomed a baby boy in September, so I work from home a lot now while watching him (and changing diapers!), but I still try to get three or four stories on our website per day.
Q: In your tenure as Wolf Pack beat reporter, who is the best Nevada player you've covered and why?
CM: I have to go with Colin Kaepernick. He was just a ridiculous athlete to start and then you drop him in the WAC and it was video-game stuff at points. He's probably the most athletic quarterback in the NFL, so imagine him going up against Idaho, New Mexico State and San Jose State. Nevada didn't have a defense until Kaepernick's senior year (when the team went 13-1), so his W-L record might not have been all that impressive over the years, but he's one of the best quarterbacks in college history by the numbers. He was so driven and competitive and worked so hard with natural athleticism that he's a special player that Nevada is unlikely to ever get again. Honorable mentions: Luke Babbitt and Nick Fazekas in basketball.
Q: Who is your top interviewee of all the Wolf Pack players you've talked with and why?
CM: Actually, I just did a story on Wolf Pack running back Don Jackson and he was great to talk with. I'll put him at No. 1. He grew up in South Sacramento. Most of his family had been arrested at some point. His brother is in jail for vehicular manslaughter and attempted escape from prison. His mom graduated from high school at age 40, but his brother, two sisters and dad never graduated high school. Don was on a bad path, too, with gangs and drugs and guns and fighting and ditching class all dragging him down. When he was in ninth grade, Don's teacher told the class he'd be dead or in jail by 17. Obviously he was wrong as Jackson is now a college graduate working on a Master's after turning his life around in the 11th grade. Jackson is very talkative and very open. He had a great story and wanted to share it to help others. He's a nominee for the Wuerffel Trophy, given to the top college football player based on play, academics and community service. Since he was so open with his past, I'll go with him.
Q: Nevada enjoyed the greatest success when a couple of homegrown high school talents -- Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson -- decided to stay and play in Reno. It was a harmonic convergence of sorts because the Reno area doesn't annually produce that level of talent. This usual dearth makes successful Wolf Pack recruitment in southern California, Sacramento and the Bay Area all the more critical. Eric Musselman has solid connections in each of these areas as well as throughout the country. How did Nevada get him to come aboard?
CM: He wanted to run his own program and Nevada was the first to give him that opportunity. It helped that he spent a year in Reno coaching the D-League Bighorns, which made him familiar with the area. His family is in San Diego and Danville, Calif., both close to Reno. It was a great opportunity for both sides. Musselman gets to run his own team and potentially move up if he succeeds and Nevada gets an NBA-level head coach who is getting paid among the lowest coaches in the Mountain West. Musselman isn't too concerned with money right now. It's more about opportunity. Good timing for Nevada.
Q: In the Murray crystal ball you have on your desk at work, which men's basketball team shows up as winning the MWC in 2015-16?
CM: San Diego State. It's always smart to bet on Steve Fisher. UNLV has the most talent, but that usually doesn’t translate. Boise State loses MW player of the year, Derrick Marks, but is still strong. Those are my three favorites. SDSU will likely have scoring issues again, but I'll go with the Aztecs.
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