> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://the-generalist.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # I just wasn't busy enough - URL: https://the-generalist.ghost.io/i-just-wasnt-busy-enough/ - Published: 2026-11-06T22:11:06.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-07T18:15:44.000Z - Description: Adding another helping to an increasingly full gig plate. - Author: Patrick Donnelly - Tags: Gophers, basketball, The Barn You ever look at your calendar or to-do list and think, "Dang, I just don't have enough to do" ... no? Just me? Well, in addition to my extensive portfolio of gig economy work, I decided to add another helping to the plate. This season I will be covering the Gophers women's basketball team for [Gopher Hole](https://gopherhole.com/?ref=the-generalist.ghost.io). The seeds of this development were planted back in March ... or if we're being thoroughly transparent, back in 2003\. In the days when Lindsay Whalen and Janel McCarville roamed the raised floor at Williams Arena (I will not call that venerable building by its ridiculous new official name), I fell hard and fast as I covered most of their home games for the Associated Press. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d5/5f/d55f7f93-1c82-4c17-bb6a-1e45e9fda0a0/content/images/2026/11/IMG_3109.JPG) Photo credit: Me. Credit for the new name: Peak capitalism. It was a perfect storm of sorts. I had season tickets for the men's team when I was in college and saw Willie Burton, Richard Coffey and Melvin Newburn lead the Gophers to the Sweet 16 in 1989 and Elite Eight in 1990\. After a few years away, my pal Tony and I got season tickets again in the mid-90s, just in time to see the Bobby Jackson-John Thomas-Hosea Crittenden-led team reach the Final Four. And that happened, no matter what the hypocritical goons at the NCAA might say. I saw first-hand how crazy things can get when the Barn is jumping. It's hard not to want more of that once you've been infected. Plus, I have always enjoyed covering women's sports. The athletes are singularly appreciative of the coverage. They aren't spoiled divas who act like they're doing you a favor by making eye contact with you, unlike some other gender I could name. Also, female athletes tend to be way smarter than their male counterparts. Why? I have a theory that goes something like this: Women have to work harder to prove themselves in every field, so if a woman is driven enough to turn herself into an elite athlete, odds are she's driven in other areas of her life, including but not limited to academics. So by and large, your questions to female athletes will be answered in complete sentences that demonstrate consideration of the topic of your inquiry. And then they thank you for interviewing them. It's pretty neat. I moved to Las Vegas in 2005 and spent the next four years doing many other kinds of writing, but not covering much women's hoops (UNLV's squad was worse than terrible when we lived there.) When we came back four years later, I worked a series of full-time jobs that limited my availability to freelance. And by the time I finally got back into freelancing full time in 2021, a lot had changed since 2005\. First of all, the Gophers had been pretty bad for a decade-plus. And the AP changed its coverage criteria – time was, we'd cover any NCAA women's game that featured a top-25 team. Now they only cover women's games if a top-10 team is in action. The one exception to that rule is the NCAA Tournament. So last year when the Gophers not only made it back to the big dance but hosted the first two rounds, I leapt at the chance to return to the Barn and cover what appeared to be a fun squad on the rise. I wasn't disappointed. Victories over Gonzaga and Ole Miss woke up the echoes of those Whalen-McCarville days as fans packed the stands and shook the rafters, sending me scrambling for my ear plugs so I could concentrate on what I was supposed to be writing. The vibe was electric. And I knew I wanted to cover this team again the next season. That led me to reach out to my friend and colleague [Nadine Babu](https://www.instagram.com/nadinebabu/?ref=the-generalist.ghost.io), who is co-owner of Gopher Hole. I asked her if they'd have room for me in their budget to cover the women's hoops team this season and she said they did, so here we are. My coverage of the beat started with a long Q&A with head coach [Dawn Plitzuweit](https://gopherhole.com/qa-building-something-special-dawn-plitzuweit-on-expectations-adversity-and-the-gophers-next-step/?ref=the-generalist.ghost.io), who has won 20+ games in each of her first three years with the Gophers and is by all accounts a good egg. More than anyone else, Plitzuweit is responsible for turning this program in the right direction, and a top-10 ranking this year was not out of the question until star forward Tori McKinney suffered a season-ending knee injury last month. Still, there are a lot of great young players and two veteran leaders who will make this season super interesting to cover, and if they can get back into the top 16, they'll likely be hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA tourney once again next March. [Q&A - Building Something Special: Dawn Plitzuweit on Expectations, Adversity and the Gophers' Next Step - GopherHole.comOne of the best stories on the local sports scene last winter was the play of the Gophers women’s basketball team. They exceeded national expectations and caught the attention of the local ticket-buying public, who packed The Barn for two thrilling NCAA tournament victories over Gonzaga and Ole Miss, giving the Gophers their first trip \[…\]![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d5/5f/d55f7f93-1c82-4c17-bb6a-1e45e9fda0a0/content/images/icon/favicon-8da20cd1-b6d1-4bca-9977-a6d98f389d97.png)GopherHole.comMaya Aflakpi![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d5/5f/d55f7f93-1c82-4c17-bb6a-1e45e9fda0a0/content/images/thumbnail/Coach-P-daa9fd6c-e891-4b04-bbf0-1ff9d52273a7.webp)](https://gopherhole.com/qa-building-something-special-dawn-plitzuweit-on-expectations-adversity-and-the-gophers-next-step/?ref=the-generalist.ghost.io) The Gophers won their season opener on Monday, [beating Harvard 82-62](https://gopherhole.com/gophers-womens-basketball-minnesota-82-harvard-62-what-did-we-learn/?ref=the-generalist.ghost.io). I couldn't attend, as one of my other paying gigs (hosting [Trivia Mafia's weekly game](https://www.triviamafia.com/ninemile?ref=the-generalist.ghost.io) and the [Initials Game Live](https://www.initialsgamelive.com/ninemile?ref=the-generalist.ghost.io) at [Nine Mile Brewing](https://9milebrewing.com/?ref=the-generalist.ghost.io)) posed a conflict I couldn't resolve. But I watched a replay of the stream and posted my reaction the next day. [Gophers Women's Basketball - Minnesota 82, Harvard 62: What Did we Learn? - GopherHole.comThe Gophers opened their season on Monday with a 20-point win over Harvard. They pretty much led wire-to-wire, save for a flurry late in the third quarter that put the Crimson on top by a point. But Minnesota’s strong defensive effort held Harvard to just 10 points on 4-for-16 shooting in the fourth quarter as \[…\]![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d5/5f/d55f7f93-1c82-4c17-bb6a-1e45e9fda0a0/content/images/icon/favicon-8b01acd5-5f52-43ae-8347-3ae42732799f.png)GopherHole.comMaya Aflakpi![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d5/5f/d55f7f93-1c82-4c17-bb6a-1e45e9fda0a0/content/images/thumbnail/Gopher-WBB-Harvard-9b3546e3-fa01-4605-a98c-a88344d3ed9a.jpg)](https://gopherhole.com/gophers-womens-basketball-minnesota-82-harvard-62-what-did-we-learn/?ref=the-generalist.ghost.io) The team faces a tough test on Saturday when they travel to Marquette. I will be working yet another gig that afternoon so we'll have to do another day-after recap. But such a minor inconvenience is a small price to pay for another chance to sink my teeth into one of the most underrated beats in town. I'll post more of my work here along the way, but for my full coverage and for all other Gophers sports news, bookmark Gopher Hole and check it out frequently. Thank you for your attention to this matter.