Ryan Whitney's Injury And The Edmonton Media
by Derek Zona on Dec 28, 2011 6:30 PM MST
in Opinion
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PrintSilence is golden
But my eyes still see.
Silence is golden (golden)
But my eyes still see.
--"Silence Is Golden", The Four Seasons
Ryan Whitney returned to the lineup on November 25th after four weeks of rest and rehab for a knee injury suffered against Vancouver on October 25th. From his first shift against Minnesota, it was obvious that Whitney wasn't healthy. While Whitney was never in the class of Paul Coffey, he's always been a superior skater. In the 13 games after his return, he movements suggested that he was injured -- and he was.
I tweeted at every Edmonton MSM member and asked them to inquire as to the status of Whitney's health. Regular readers know I asked about Whitney's health in every game thread and in each of my post-game articles.
I wasn't the only person wondering what was going on. Woodguy, a frequent commenter throughout the 'Sphere asked Whitney himself, via Twitter, about his health. Whitney blocked him on Twitter:
I didn’t think I was chirping him, just wondering why he can’t crossover his skates when he turns to the left.
He was pumping his right foot on left turns instead of crossing over in almost all instances that I saw.
It was obvious to damn near everyone that he was hurt, but the Edmonton media was mum. After watching Whitney unable to move laterally or accelerate for six straight games, and after watching a great breakout defenseman reduced to throwing the puck weakly around the boards rather than breaking out, I had seen enough.
In my postgame after the Oilers' loss to the Calgary Flames on December 4th, I knocked the mainstream media in Edmonton:
The Edmonton sports media is never one to cross the Oilers' organization, but they are collectively falling down on the job with regards to Ryan Whitney. He's not been able to skate since his first game back and no one is asking about it. One of the team's radio monkeys threw out some conditioning excuse, but anyone who has watched Whitney get beat in every way imaginable on the ice knows that he's injured. He's physically unable to move right now. So what does the media do? They do what the Edmonton media always does - nothing. Great work, people.
Surprisingly enough, I received two e-mail responses, both from Edmonton MSM members, both unhappy with my decision to call them out. The first outright admitted to Whitney's issues:
"Believe me, we know (or at least I do) that he's struggling. I prefer to cut him some slack for awhile (no training camp, no exhibition games, hardly any league games)...I will get around to pointing out how he's playing if this continues much longer...
It's convenient to dump on people from where you're living; we're going into the dressing room every day, actually talking to players..."
There's so much to fisk here that I'm not sure where to start. So the media knew he was struggling, but gave him slack because they had to face him in the locker room. The media thought it would be a good idea to "get around to" asking/writing about it at some point later. The MSM (at least in Edmonton) holds a monopoly on player access, and they regularly tout that access. Yet when the access should prove valuable to the consumers of their product, the media pulled the chute because they are "going into the dressing room every day."
I responded that I wasn't questioning Whitney's effort or his heart, but that it was obvious he was physically unable to move on the ice, yet no one said "boo" about it. I also pointed out that the media had no issues asking Ales Hemsky about the condition of his shoulder just days earlier.
A team with a history of sending injured players onto the ice was either doing it again, or allowing an injured player to make the decision to play, and this was a story that they would get around to at some point?
The second response was less cordial, though it admitted that yes, the media knew that Whitney was hurt, and no, they weren't going to ask or write about it.
"...If you had to stand face to face to him, you couldn't ask any of those questions. No one is going to talk about this and rightfully so. If you knew what he was going through just to get on the ice, you'd lay off of him."
Once again, the same MSM that parrots access as their trump card fears the players they have access to, and they fear them to such a level that they can't ask about an injury. Unless the player is Ales Hemsky, of course.
Shortly after those exchanges, rather than write about the mobility and injury issues, the Journal ran "Oilers’ Ryan Whitney improves one game at a time", a tribute to the hard work and hard feelings of Ryan Whitney. Not a single quote, nor a single question about his health.
It wasn't until December 19th that someone in the MSM finally broke their silence on Whitney's injury. Robin Brownlee published a story at OilersNation in which he detailed Whitney's struggles with recovery from his ankle surgery and pain in that ankle. From that article:
"You want to feel comfortable out there. It's tough to feel comfortable when you're in pain. There's obviously a thought process you've got to have in getting by that."
Good on Brownlee for getting over the awful fear of looking a player in the eye and asking honest questions, but his statement "There's obviously a big difference between playing with injury and playing with pain." is terribly misguided. Pain is the most basic and obvious sign of an injury. Playing through some amount of pain is a necessity in hockey, without that ability, hundreds of players would be on IR at any one time. But playing through the pain of an injury that won't worsen with use is far different than attempting to play through the pain of an injury so debilitating that it impairs a player's on-ice ability. If the pain is so great that the player can no longer move normally, they shouldn't be on the ice. It was clear to many that Whitney was not moving normally.
Whitney is still injured and clearly not healthy enough to play the game effectively. That he came back early might be noble in the eyes of the hockey world, but a player can't play the "noble warrior" through surgery and recovery.
The truth behind the entire situation was finally revealed yesterday when the Oilers tweeted
Whitney finally admitted what any attentive fan could see and what the Edmonton MSM already knew but wouldn't report. Like so many Oilers before him, he rushed back to the ice to the detriment of the team and his own health. Whitney wouldn't admit it to himself, the Oilers wouldn't shut him down, and the media was content to remain complicit in the whole charade.
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Not sure if we qualify as MSM . . .
. . . we are a blog at the Edmonton Journal, Edmonton’s biggest media outlet. But we’re all fans and none of us cover the games live, or interview the players.
In any case, at our Journal blog, we’ve noted Whitney’s poor play in numerous game grades, and was one of the first blogs to point it out in a full, stand alone article on Dec. 12.
Again on Dec. 18, we did a stand-alone article on Whitney’s troubles.
Now, I never had an inside info that he was still hurt, but it was obvious he was still in recovery mode from his various injuries. . .
I agree with your overall point that if a reporter has a quesiton and a chance to ask a question, the reporter should do it. It’s always good to have more info. That said, if columnists/reporters were giving Whitney time before blasting his performance — as we now see folks blasting Hemsky — I’m OK with their forebearance.
It’s tough for these players to come back from injury, and we should try to be patient with their performance, even as they play poorly during their fight to get their games back.
by David Staples @ The Cult of Hockey on Dec 28, 2011 6:43 PM MST reply actions
Not sure if we qualify as MSM . . .
You don’t, at least according to your cohort Bruce.
That said, if columnists/reporters were giving Whitney time before blasting his performance — as we now see folks blasting Hemsky
Can you tell me why the media was so soft on Whitney and is now going after Hemsky like a pack of dogs?
It’s tough for these players to come back from injury, and we should try to be patient with their performance, even as they play poorly during their fight to get their games back.
“patient with their performance” is something completely different. Everyone could see he was still injured.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
This four-month old article remains fairly relevant, w.r.t. both Whitney and Hemsky.
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2011/08/31/whitneys-tender-ankle-cause-for-concern/
Written without any access whatsoever, other than the two (ahem) MSM types cited as its sources. Whitney’s quotes then speak to his impatience to come back as soon as possible.
Oilers fan through thick, thin and anorexic. Writer for The Cult of Hockey.
by Bruce McCurdy on Dec 29, 2011 3:10 PM MST up reply actions
Not to throw away the rest of your post, but I think you missed the point with your last line. Zona isn’t claiming the media should focus on performance or talk in hyperbole about office issues. An honest question about his health shouldn’t even be near the grey line. He was playing hurt and that was obvious. From day 1 the Oilers and Whitney should have been addressing this and any concerns about the injury.
Note that the media will ask questions, but only when it appears in the best interest of the team. When Hall came back from his injury, Renney and the commentators were eagerly commenting how he had pain but it was expected and not detrimental to the long term healing process.
The media claims it isn’t just a PR machine for the Oilers but rarely seem to step outside of anything beyond that role. This is a great example of the situation and Derek captured it perfectly in this post.
by till_horcoff_is_coach on Dec 28, 2011 7:01 PM MST up reply actions 2 recs
This is excellent. I think that there is a clear difference between asking someone who is obviously still injured and ineffective because of that fact questions about his injury, and blasting someone who has recently returned from injury for a perceived lack of effort when it is just a case of his timing and conditioning being off. Whitney wasn’t just a little off or a little slow and had poor stamina, the man couldn’t skate properly because he was still hurting.
Not smart for him and not smart for the team, either.
Random nonsense at @Baroque97
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
by Baroque on Dec 28, 2011 7:07 PM MST reply actions 1 recs
Can you tell me why the media was so soft on Whitney and is now going after Hemsky like a pack of dogs?
Out of everything you discussed in this article this is the question I’d most like answered.
The access issue is probably the most irritating to me. These are people who claim to be superior because they have access. If access is keeping them from doing their jobs then what is the point?
I almost started talking about their belief that their supposed objectivity makes them better as well but that is a much longer rant for another day.
by TigerUnderGlass on Dec 28, 2011 7:41 PM MST reply actions
Apparently Hemsky finally had a gut full of the media scrutiny today and told the reporters around him to f-off before abruptly ending his media session. I heard Tencer saying something about it about an hour ago.
What I don’t get is if Whitney is so hobbled that he’s overcompensating, isn’t that the time when you’re most likely to get re-injured? I just don’t get how he could be so dumb as to risk his career by playing with this obviously unhealed injury.
Unless of course in his mind this IS his career at stake. Maybe he feels that if he stays away too long from the game he’ll never get back to the level he was at before.
Derek noted above that players play through pain routinely. It’s just part of sports culture that if a guy’s hurt all the time, people will think that he’s either a malingerer or not tough enough. Plus, the player wants to be back out there – I don’t think Whitney is worried about his career, quite the opposite – he wants to help his team. It’s up to the team to realize when a player is too injured to play.
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You should read Brownlee’s piece over at Oilers Nation. Whitney isn’t just playing through pain. If he was I suspect he could deal with that. His ankle is simply not strong enough for him to play properly, so he’s massively cheating to stay in the lineup. When you do that, you’re far more open to further injury. For the life of me I can’t understand why he’s allowed anywhere near a rink at this stage of his recovery.
What I don’t understand is how/why this is so blatantly obvious to at least a subset of fans (and the media), yet the team is fine with it. And of course, the media wants no parts of an honest discussion on the topic.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Apparently Hemsky finally had a gut full of the media scrutiny today and told the reporters around him to f-off before abruptly ending his media session. I heard Tencer saying something about it about an hour ago.
Good for him. I imagine he’s seen the same things from Whitney and he’s seen the media ignore it. Now they’re after him? I’d tell them to f-off as well.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Clearly, we don’t know all the facts.
But if/perhaps there is no additional risk to re-injury other than the usual risks, and the ankle is weak. Perhaps the best way to strengthen the ankle might be “doing”. How is one going to strengthen the muscles and tendons around the ankle for hockey by not playing hockey.
Maybe trial-and-error is the only workable recovery method, since this is a rare injury, and even rarer in hockey. There is perhaps not the knowledge base about how best to come back from such an injury for a hockey player.
If that were the case, then the Oilers refusing to take advantage of a two-week conditioning loan to the minors would also be a story in this.
by J.J. from Kansas on Dec 29, 2011 8:24 AM MST up reply actions
1) You are still using up a roster spot with a conditioning stint.
2) The recovery time required for Whitney is clearly much greater than two weeks. If the recovery period is the whole season, why disrupt both teams for two weeks.
The mistake is insisting on playing him on the 2nd pair, rather than on the 3rd pair. The mistake is playing him on the power play. The mistake was not signing a real defenseman in the offseason as Whitney insurance. Looking for overlooked AHL D like Potter is good. There is nothing particularly wrong with gambling on Barker, except that it says your pro scouts are idiots. But that does not excuse not signing a real defenseman as Whitney insurance.
The decision on Whitney seems sort of binary. LTIR or playing. The doctors and Whitney clearly think playing is better than not playing. If playing isn’t facilitating recovery, then he should be LTIR’ed.
by godot10 on Dec 29, 2011 10:01 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
I didn't realize the Barons' record was that important.
If skating more on it is what’s going to make it better, then fine. There’s nothing saying a guy on LTIR isn’t allowed to skate. Unless the argument is that ONLY NHL-paced gameplay is going to make it stronger, putting a guy in the lineup to get strong enough to play NHL hockey when he’s currently not is stupid. If it is the argument that ONLY NHL-paced gameplay is going to make him strong enough to not suck at hockey, then I really have no answer, because that doesn’t make any sense.
by J.J. from Kansas on Dec 29, 2011 12:21 PM MST up reply actions
Then he’s free to practice to his heart’s content. He’s free to skate miles around the ice before and after practice. He’s free to do whatever he wants without killing the team in the process because his mobility is gone.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Weak ankles are very easy to injure/re-injure. That’s a simple fact. Make one even slightly wrong movement, and muscles that would normally be able to compensate and correct can’t. Result: ligament rupture. Good show, Edmonton.
SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there). Link now 100% less broken.
Robertson's Rants - Exceedingly occasional, lengthy ramblings on hockey topics, hosted at Puck Podcast. And no, my name's not Doug.
Hemsky forgot to shine Matheson’s shoes and wash his car after practice today, and now fragile Jim’s all pissy about it.
by melancholyculkin on Dec 29, 2011 12:53 AM MST reply actions
The way that article reads, I see “It’s okay to play hurt and hurt your team’s chances to win in the process, as long as you are apologetic and humble about it.” But not actually doing something sensible, like stopping playing until you are capable of actually helping out.
Random nonsense at @Baroque97
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
The double standard is jaw-dropping and unacceptable. Someone besides the guy in his underwear in mom’s basement needs to call these guys out on this.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
I hate this whenever it comes up with hall of fame voting for baseball too – the idea that because a player didn’t make nice to the press he will be penalized by them not voting for him because their feelings are hurt.
For something that expects so much toughness, physical, mental, and emotional from it’s athletes, sports media seem to be able to get away with an awful lot of pettiness, small-mindedness, and thin-skinned whining at times.
Random nonsense at @Baroque97
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
by Baroque on Dec 29, 2011 11:50 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
had to look it up
But yes, like that. I don’t expect athletes to be really nice and chummy with the media, it helps if they are at least civil, but some people (even very talented and effective ones) are just big jerks. As long as they do the job they are paid to do professionals should be able to look past that and admit that although he was a difficult and cantankerous person to deal with, he was excellent as a player.
Random nonsense at @Baroque97
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
This is how you get in the HHOF as a hockey writer. Generally sucking at your job, but doing the Oilers’ bidding at every step of the way.
I hear Staples will soon be nominated for his grovelling stadium “work”.
by RiversQ on Dec 29, 2011 10:50 AM MST via mobile up reply actions
It’s not just the writing contingent either. The radio side is in full kow-tow mode.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
I hear Hemsky is bad in the room.
but seriously, I’ve loved Alice as an Oiler. It sucks to watch him be demonized and one can only assume he’s already on his way out of town. The guy deserves to be in a better light than the way the Edmonton KGB has portrayed him.
sigh… if only he was a warrior like Whitney.
I hope this attitude proliferates, but I doubt it will.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Good work Derek.
Matty – get over yourself – you like Whitney and you don’t like Hemsky – both irrelevant.
I just want to know about their injuries.
Whitney, and more accurately, the Oilers, get an easy ride because he’s a likable tweeting kinda guy. Meanwhile the more reticent, less affable, but great player, gets called out for his effort, his dedication to the team.
Whitney’s return was ill-advised and premature, and unsuccessful, yet he’s hailed as a gamer, a warrior.
Hemsky’s return was also unsuccessful. but called into question and he’s tabbed as a whiner, a wimp.
The Oilers have had their share of guys who are good in the room, but I’d like that to show on the ice as well — and Whitney is not ready for prime-time. He should be in the room and contribute that way, while he gets back into game shape.
If Hemsky were the big problem he gets portrayed as, wouldn’t he have been traded a long long time ago?
Thanks Fred, much appreciated.
Whitney’s return was ill-advised and premature, and unsuccessful, yet he’s hailed as a gamer, a warrior.
…who is getting better with every shift.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
The best that you can say about Brownlee et al is that they are gutless cowards. The worst is that they are venal scum. I vacillate between the two. Either way they are not only bad at their jobs they are bad people. Rather, they are bad at their jobs because they are bad people.
by Captain Obvious II on Dec 29, 2011 10:02 AM MST reply actions
Brownlee is the only member of the media that actually comes off well in this entire thing. It took him 24 days, but he finally asked about the injury. Think about that for a second. Every other player in the league comes back from injury and is immediately pestered with questions about the injury. It took the Edmonton media 24 days to ask.
So, BOOO Robin that it took that long to ask, but at least he did. And it’s sad that he was the only one.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Comes off well?
What?!??
Maybe the least incompetent of the bunch, but I’m sure his colleagues tolerate this behaviour from him now that he’s a slightly gauche blogger rather than working for a daily.
by RiversQ on Dec 29, 2011 11:05 AM MST via mobile up reply actions
Okay, maybe “well” is too much, but at least he asked the damn quesiton.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
A month later, Derek. A month later.
My initial reaction to Captain Obvious II’s rant was that it was a little extreme. Truthfully he’s not that far off.
The Oilers have been successful for years dragging players through the mud and have actually convinced their customers that the shitty city they live in is the problem with attracting free agents. (Granted, Edmonton has an inferiority complex that is baffling.) All of it is just not right. The MSM in Edmonton make it possible for this kind of thing to happen. They are enablers of the worst kind.
by RiversQ on Dec 29, 2011 11:18 AM MST via mobile up reply actions
A month later, Derek. A month later.
Yeah, I know, I know. I would have been in the room asking the question after the second game when it was obvious he couldn’t move.
They are enablers of the worst kind.
And are arrogant and obvious about it. When Jones wrote the column espousing the Pronger trade the day before the team held a banquet for him, it was apparent that they aren’t even trying to cover it up anymore.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
The best that you can say about Brownlee et al is that they are gutless cowards. The worst is that they are venal scum. I vacillate between the two. Either way they are not only bad at their jobs they are bad people. Rather, they are bad at their jobs because they are bad people.
Ok, can we get a bit of a reality check at this point, please? I get pissed off at the so-called “mainstream media” same as anybody else, but when we’re describing people with phrases like “gutless cowards,” “venal scum,” or even “bad people,” simply because they don’t like the same hockey players we like, well, at that point we’ve completely lost the plot. I mean we’re getting into Ezra Levant territory here, and that’s not a good thing.
Did you happen to catch any of Rob Tychowski’s tweets about Dustin Penner or Ethan Moreau this season?
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Nope. I can guess what he was writing about Penner, but what did he have to say about Moreau?
Don’t get me wrong – bad reportage sucks, and should be called out for it (and I thought your article was a good one on the topic). But the tone in which that is going on in this comment thread is at risk of crossing over into hyperbolic hysteria. Let’s save the accusations of “gutless cowardice” for the people to whom that description actually applies.
He was saying similarly nasty things about them.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Shame on Tychkowski for that, then. He is one of the worst of the Edmonton sports media people, in my opinion anyway, and I have little trouble believing that his twitter account contains some true 24-carat nuggets of dumb. Even so, I’d be more inclined to describe him as “really crappy at sportswriting” than as “venal scum.” Or at least I would want to know more about him before breaking out the truly heavy condemnations!
WORSE THAN HITLER.
Manager at Vancouver Whitecaps and western Canadian soccer website Eighty Six Forever and infrequently-posting flunky at Edmonton Oilers blog The Copper & Blue.
by Benjamin Massey on Dec 29, 2011 11:31 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
It’s rather obvious to me what the difference is.
The Oilers intend to keep Whitney as an Oiler for a substantial amount of time yet, therefore the media want to be nice and buddies with him still. The Oilers’ brass have not indicated they have soured on him, so the media won’t.
Hemsky is as good as gone by the trade deadline. The media are quick to throw shot out at him, and throw him out to the wolves, and the average fan just go with what they read by these guys. We all knew before that Hemsky was quick off the ice at practice, and just now they media are making a big deal out of this.
This happens with every player the Oilers are getting ready to offload, and the fans just follow suit.
Pronger, Smyth, Pikkenan, Omark, Penner, Cole, Souray etc… Heck, we can trace this trend all the way back to Jason Arnott and probably beyond.
It’s ironic that the player leaving town is always the one cascaded as a problem, or at fault by the organization, and Hemsky is simply the next player to follow suit.
You’ve stolen my 11:30 thunder ;)
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
If Jim Matheson hates him, that just makes me like Ales Hemsky all the more.
Manager at Vancouver Whitecaps and western Canadian soccer website Eighty Six Forever and infrequently-posting flunky at Edmonton Oilers blog The Copper & Blue.
by Benjamin Massey on Dec 29, 2011 10:49 AM MST reply actions
As if we needed more reasons to like Hemsky. It’s going to make his exit more painful.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
As an aside, I think we can now put to bed the idea that Renney’s vaunted fitness test means anything at all. If it couldn’t suss out the fact that Whitney couldn’t skate and green lit him anyway, it can’t be good for anything at all.
It’s downright Mathesonian.
by RiversQ on Dec 29, 2011 10:53 AM MST via mobile reply actions
To be fair, maybe the vaunted fitness test doesn’t include things like “pivot” or “move laterally” or “accelerate”.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
One starts to suspect fellating is involved after awhile.
by DarrenV on Dec 29, 2011 11:28 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
I did say it was Mathesonian.
by RiversQ on Dec 29, 2011 2:35 PM MST via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
As a third party observer
This bugs the shit out of me on a number of levels. It also reminds me of the recent past in Tampa, where there were unspoken stories in the local media that only came to light through published reports in Canada. Mainstream media afraid to do their job because The Organization may retaliate in some way.
It’s easy to get complacent with the information that you have at your finger tips, thinking there is no need to share it or no need to report on it. But a player injury? A player playing hurt? How often would you see MSM members actively ignoring it in their reporting? Not just a single reporter who opted to do this, but the entire team press corps? Would this type of thing happen in other markets? Part off what reporters are supposed to try to do is scoop each other – get to the bottom of a story, share facts with the readers that competitors don’t know / haven’t disclosed.
As a fan, I want to know the truth. As a blogger, I want to share what I know. Something obvious shouldn’t be treated as privileged information, or as a highly personal question (Whitney’s injury status) that invades his privacy.
If the Oilers and the media are coordinated on this, they are doing themselves and fans a disservice.
Typing is an adventure, and reading should be, too!
Raw Charge.
Mainstream media afraid to do their job because The Organization may retaliate in some way.
Because access is their crutch. It’s why they honestly believe blogs are garbage. Bloggers can’t know what’s really going on without access, therefore they can’t write anything worthwhile.
But a player injury? A player playing hurt? How often would you see MSM members actively ignoring it in their reporting? Not just a single reporter who opted to do this, but the entire team press corps? Would this type of thing happen in other markets?
Look at what’s happened with Crosby and Giroux. No, this doesn’t happen elsewhere.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Everything we know about the Oilers’ dirty laundry, we’ve learned from TSN and CBC. Not Sportsnet, not CHED, not the fishwrap.
SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there). Link now 100% less broken.
Robertson's Rants - Exceedingly occasional, lengthy ramblings on hockey topics, hosted at Puck Podcast. And no, my name's not Doug.
by Doogie2K on Dec 30, 2011 11:40 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
Awesome thread, don’t know how I missed it.
Matherson’s article isn’t fit to wrap fish or light a fire. Horrid,self-serving pap.
Also,
Everything we know about the Oilers’ dirty laundry, we’ve learned from TSN and CBC. Not Sportsnet, not CHED, not the fishwrap.Spector broke the Souray story on Sportsnet website.
by Woodguy on Dec 30, 2011 3:01 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
Broke? Souray reserved that interview for months specifically for Spector to get wide circulation.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Yeah, but in a conversation about the locals breaking news, I’m not sure it’s fair to credit the locals when the news is purposefully brought to them.
It’s like crediting Tambellini for the Smyth trade.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
What I wonder is how the majority of fans react to seeing a player run out of Edmonton and succeed elsewhere. I don’t mean you folks, I know that you look at the player, his new team, where he fits, and aren’t all that surprised if he happens to do well because you can see how he would fit and have a good idea of how talented he is regardless of character assassination.
I wonder about the other fans. Do they see it as a black mark for Edmonton management, that they “let one get away,” or see it as a unique combination of the player and his new team that could have never been reproduced in Edmonton, or see it as a sign that he was slacking off all the time and just got motivated once he was out of the so-called hockey hellhole of Edmonton?
Random nonsense at @Baroque97
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
The Edmonton Oilers – Rebuilding through character assassination since 1998
by Joe Girth on Dec 29, 2011 12:11 PM MST up reply actions 3 recs
Media
There are many heated comments on this thread and I’m not sure why. I believe this is a pretty common situation, media has a story on a team issue (be it injury, trade request, players disliking each other) and team asks media not to run said item. The GM may say ‘hey guys, if you keep this story off the print or the airwaves we’ll throw you something back down the line’.
In this case, I imagine, interviews with RNH new life, Eberle’s stellar season so far. It’s not beyond the realm to imagine dealings of a similar nature happen in every city in every pro sport with the local media. Teams don’t want dirt dished on them, editors bank the credit for not running the story and get continuing or better access down the line.
Media could always ignore the teams and run the story but then things like this start happening
http://www.allmediascotland.com/press_news/31740/rangers—withdraws-co-operation—with-the-bbc
http://www.allmediascotland.com/press_news/31778/media-ban-imposed-by-hearts-fc
Not to mention scores of journalists in the UK being banned from EPL clubs, the most famous being Daniel Taylor who is now forbidden from attending Manchester United FC pressers or games for asking the manager honest and not unfair questions. His ability to do his job for his newspaper is now hindered.
by shuddertothink on Dec 29, 2011 12:10 PM MST reply actions
the problem is
This isn’t a matter of, for example, asking a media member who knows a player has a broken hand to not mention it during the playoffs because he is hiding it pretty successfully and is still effective in the lineup as long as the opponents don’t start whacking him on that hand.
This is the entire media deliberately not covering something that is obvious to the fans watching the team on television and acting not as an independent organization but as a wing of the Edmonton Oilers. If they are going to be the team’s propaganda arm, then the team should pay them directly instead of the newspapers and other news organizations. They are supposed to serve the public that consumes the stories they generate, not the team that expects them to grovel for snippets of access. (At least that’s what I always thought those who considered themselves journalists were supposed to do.)
Random nonsense at @Baroque97
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
I am agreement with you, Baroque. The press should serve the consumer to highlight newsworthy items and to scoop each other in the process.
Maybe the media has gone away from being fearful of not getting the scoop or the exclusive and is now fearful of being out in the cold with no information, no access or off the records. It has become a game of survival. In the print industry could a said newspaper afford to never have quotes from the GM or the coach or any of the teams players again? What would that do to it’s sports section, the knock-on effect on it’s sales or it’s bottom line? Don’t piss off the big guys is a probable editors motto.
It’s wrong and it shouldn’t be like this. Yet it is.
Now I can understand all media outlets sticking to a blackout of a story, the example you used fits, a player having an affair with a teammates wife is another. It’s just not in the papers interests to break omerta. This is an injury to an oft injured player so it baffles me as to why there was such silence. This is a minor story where there seems to be no need for the use of a blackout.
by shuddertothink on Dec 29, 2011 1:25 PM MST up reply actions
I can understand their nervousness, though. If they don’t have access, how can they compete with bloggers? For all they denigrate them, they can see as well as readers can that the best blogs are often better written, more analytical, and more insightful than all but the best sports writing in traditional media.
And the fact the injury was so obvious is the other factor. Nothing was being hidden, it was right there for anyone to see. Puzzling behaviour all around.
Random nonsense at @Baroque97
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
Who gives a flying shit about access that they never fucking use? It’d be one thing if they were breaking stories and had to sit on something sometimes to keep a source happy. It’s quite another to have access and then tell us, “Oh, yeah, we’ve known this for months,” the day after TSN breaks the story. And that’s what happens every Goddamned time.
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by Doogie2K on Dec 30, 2011 11:43 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
They admitted it to me. How nuts is this?
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
That’s just it – they have access but never take advantage of it, yet still seem scared they might lose it. I don’t get that mentality at all – the closest I can recall is immature grade-school kids who taunted their friends claiming they knew some big secret, and COULD tell any of them, but maybe they would just keep it to themselves. Just wanted to feel important by having friends BEG them to spill the beans.
There should be a bigger difference between adults and third-graders.
Random nonsense at @Baroque97
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
There's an interesting paradox in play here
Rabid fans are more than ready to play hangman with a player’s careers at the drop of a hat. At the same time they’re willing to accept any number of management’s “rebuild”, “process” or “patience” storylines pretty much ad infinitum. We (as a fan base) talk alot about Edmonton being hockeytown, yet I have to winder how long Montreal fans would wait before burning management in effigy. We happily accept managerial incompetence, yet we abhor the same individual failures.
by David S on Dec 29, 2011 12:17 PM MST reply actions 1 recs
Forget effigy.
Montreal fans might burn the actual management.
Random nonsense at @Baroque97
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
You mean “mourir brûlée vive” right? I hear they don’t do anything in english there.
by Joe Girth on Dec 29, 2011 2:06 PM MST up reply actions 1 recs
I suppose so. I only took a couple years of high-school Spanish, so any French I attempted would sound like Pepe Le Pew’s stuttering friend. :)
Random nonsense at @Baroque97
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
I understand that in other cities bloggers can get media creds and therefore at least some access. Is this not possible in Edmonton? One great way to get the questions you want asked is to ask them yourself.
If bloggers with an established site and a track record can’t get a press pass from the Oilers, then we should be asking, why not?
This is not possible in Edmonton.
“We don’t accredit websites and bloggers not affiliated with or employed by a mainstream media outlet.”
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
“We don’t want anyone asking questions who doesn’t have a boss we can whine to and have yank their choke chain when they are too aggressive and intrusive.”
Control freaks.
Random nonsense at @Baroque97
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
Indeed. I kind of liked being challenged by the MSM writers. They weren’t man/woman enough to ask an uncomfortable question, so clearly, I wasn’t.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
What is the definition of “mainstream media”? By now, I should think SB Nation as a whole could make an arguement that it has evolved into “mainstream media”.
Perhaps some sort of campaign for the Oilers to wake up and join the 21st century on this one is in order?
Good luck, sir. The Oilers claim they are in line with the policies of other Canadian hockey teams and "We don’t accredit websites and bloggers not affiliated with or employed by a mainstream media outlet."
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
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