Wolves Media Profile: John Meyer

Posted By: Dan Slaubaugh

The Minnesota Timberwolves community is extremely fortunate to have a large collection of dedicated, knowledgeable Wolves writers who cover the team year in and year out. Here at OTP, we are giving fans an opportunity to find out more about these talented individuals. Our ninth profile feature is Canis Hoopus Editor/Writer John Meyer, who is one of my personal favorite Twitter follows among the Wolves Twittersphere.

Name: John Meyer
Affiliation: Canis Hoopus
Web Address: www.canishoopus.com
​Twitter: @thedailywolf

​John! I appreciate the time! Should be fun!

Thanks for having me, Dan.

How long have you been covering the Wolves for Canis Hoopus?

This will be my third season covering the team for Canis.

What sparked your interest in writing and how did you get affiliated with Canis Hoopus?

I've been blogging about the Wolves for about five years--between Canis and my old site--and have loved the team since I was about 10 years old. Sports have always been the backbone of my life, especially basketball. In high school, I used to write weekly previews for my fantasy football league looking at each matchup of the week. That was something I loved to do and it kind of sparked my interest in sports writing.

I wrote a little bit for the school newspaper at St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN, though my interest in tennis, track and field, and hockey often wavered. That helped me realize how you have to write about topics you actually care about or else the final product is probably not going to be what you want it to be and there’s not going to be a whole lot of satisfaction coming out of it. About two years after college there came a point in time where I was really bored and hated my job and was looking for another hobby besides playing and watching sports and gaming in my basement. Something that felt a little more meaningful and lasting. So, I started my own basketball blog (thedailywolf). I used to spend so much time talking with my friends and family about the Wolves and the NBA (of course that still happens) that it just made sense to put some of my thoughts into ink.

Eventually I had the same thought a million other people have had in this world, “Why not start a blog?” I wanted a new outlet to express myself, become a better writer, and spend time on something I’ve been passionate about my entire life instead of wasting hours getting pissed at 12 year olds who would kick my ass in Madden online. So, yeah, I started blogging!

​After blogging at "thedailywolf" for a few years, Eric in Madison emailed me asking if I was interested in joining Canis--he's the site manager--and I was looking for the next step up at that point. They needed someone to cover home games and attend press conferences, which had always been a dream of mine, so it was a no-brainer for me.

What will viewers find by reading your content?

I always hope they learn something new or think about a topic in a different way than they might have before after reading my articles. My goal is to bring readers closer to the team and to educate and do my best to bring interesting stats and research to the table which is something Zach Lowe does an incredible job of doing (as we all know). I hope the passion for the game comes out in my writing and that people can see that plenty of time and thought has gone into my work.

What keeps you driven and motivated to cover the team with excellence?

All of the writers that cover the team. I’m not breaking any news here but there’s an incredible pool of talented individuals that write about the Wolves. They all push me to be the best I can be, whether they know that or not. I think the knowledge and skill level in the entire Wolves writing community is unbelievable. That probably drives a lot of us. 

I look up to the work of pretty much any Wolves writer you can think of, and everybody that’s been featured in your profiles thus far and moving forward as well. Our blogosphere is super deep and the die hard fans that follow the team are ridiculously smart as well. They all fuel me to keep writing and they drive me and motivate me.

I’m also cognizant of how many people would kill to have the opportunity to cover the team. I never want to lose sight of that because it makes me want to go the extra mile when it’s closing in on midnight on a freezing cold Monday in mid-January after the Wolves lost by 20 and it’s my turn to write a recap of the game but I worked all day and I’m an exhausted soul running purely off caffeine. It’s easy to embed some dumpster fire GIFs up on the site, say we got more of the same at Target Center, post a delicious short ribs recipe and call it a night.

Those are some of the things that drive me, Dan.

Do you have any interest in possibly moving up in the sports media world to cover the team at a bigger platform?

That is my goal, for sure. Maybe someday that dream will come true. Until then, I will continue to do what I’m doing and enjoy every second of this opportunity.

The Wolves are one of the NBA’s best young squads. Why should fans be sure to follow the team next year?

Because the 12-year playoff drought is about to end! I like to be overly optimistic in August and September before we get back to reality once the season starts. Why would people want to miss the dawning of a new era of basketball in the real North? That’s my question. Karl-Anthony Towns is the best young player in the league. The Bounce Brothers can make your jaw drop, and stay there for a while, at any moment. Rubio is one of the most fun players to watch (unless you only care about scoring). Thibs is an absolute game changer on the sidelines. Gorgui Dieng has become quite good. Kris Dunn is one of most highly-touted rookies and Shabazz Muhammad can snap for 35 points off the bench (see the win over Golden State). Cole Aldrich and Tyus Jones are both Minnesotans if you’re looking for some type of local connection to the team. Nemanja Bjelica is also better than people realize and he’s going to show it. I can’t think of why any sports fan would not be intrigued by the Wolves at this point. The bandwagon is getting full, Dan...

Do you have a favorite Wolves memory in the time you’ve been covering them?

I’ll give you a few in bullet form:

• Lorenzo Brown called me John Mayer in the locker room after a win over the Celtics in 2015 and he was familiar with Canis Hoopus. I told him that it was Mayer, though he could call me whatever he wants. We shared a nice laugh and then I started running the unofficial LoBro fan club on Twitter.

• Ricky’s game-winner over the Thunder this past season was a proud moment for me. He gets so much criticism for his shot, which is fine, but too many critics ignore everything else he’s amazing at. It was fun to give people the middle finger just for the night to be quite honest.

• The win over the Warriors this past season. Enough said, right?

• Towns asked me if I wanted his Rookie of the Month award for February after the game it was awarded to him. He said personal awards don’t matter to him at all because his eyes were on much bigger achievements. He told me that he wanted to throw the hardware in the trash but that his parents would kill him if he ever did that. I didn’t really know what to say at the moment. I think it was something like, “Ummm...yeah! I’ll take it off your hands if you don’t want it.” One of the great PR guys, Dan Bell, walked over to tell KAT that he would regret getting rid of it 10 years from now. Towns finally agreed and put the award back in his locker stall. I will never forget that moment.

• KG’s dunk over Blake Griffin brought me back like 15 years. I felt 10 years old again at Target Center in the moment. The crowd went insane and the players were absolutely going wild. Afterwards, I asked Towns about his mentor turning the clock back and how much that hyped him up. "I felt like KG was me, and I was KG," he said. All I could do was smile back at him.

• I’ve really enjoyed watching Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine grow up with the Wolves in my two years covering the team.

What was the most enjoyable storyline in the past NBA season and why?

For me, it was the year of Karl-Anthony Towns. I wrote about it for SB Nation Rookie Week, but watching greatness being born right in front of my eyes was unforgettable. He changed the entire landscape of this franchise. If you’re looking for a non-Wolves storyline, I actually found myself cheering for LeBron and the Cavs in the Finals. Shout-out to K-Love for his defense, on an island, against the MVP, during the most important possession of the NBA season. Watching Cleveland break their title drought gave me hope and optimism as a Minnesotan. I was two years old when the Twins won the title in 1991. My Dad says it was super dope though.

Which are some of your favorite NBA and Wolves related writers you follow?

I enjoy reading all of the writers in the Wolves community and the profiles you’re doing in this series are covering pretty much everybody. I would echo those choices. Lowe and Jenkins are obviously the heavyweight prize fighters in the blog game, but I also love reading a lot of the SB Nation team sites and the beat writers for every team.

Rapid Fire (Flame Emojis)

Favorite sports movie? I don’t think it’s possible to pick one. He Got Game, Jerry Maguire, Above the Rim, Moneyball, Any Given Sunday...

Favorite food? Tacos/Burritos

Favorite weather/season? Fall

Favorite TV show? Game of Thrones

Hidden talent? Hmm...I don’t know...I’m pretty good at sports trivia.

'95-'96 Bulls or '15-'16 Warriors? I’ll take MJ so I can see someone photoshop the entire Warriors team with crying Jordan’s. 

Favorite NBA player of all-time? That’s hard. Kevin Garnett. Love and Rubio are both close. Towns will be soon enough.

Space Jam or Like Mike? Space Jam, though I have Like Mike on DVD (it was a Christmas present from my Dad because we were joking about the movie one night).

When do the Wolves finally end NBA's longest playoff drought? I believe whatever Karl-Anthony believes and his eyes are on this season. With Thibs in the fold, I think it’s finally going to happen. 42 wins. Sneak in by one game.