Re: Vancouver's Hockey "Media" (or "Idiots" as Torts calls them)

ClamRussel · Post by **ClamRussel** » Thu Jul 10, 2014 10:30 pm

Betamax wrote:Bill Good Jr. announces his retirement from the broadcasting industry.

Good riddance.

Tciso · Post by **Tciso** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 9:53 am

Mondi wrote:A lot of people are underselling our first round picks.

Who picks someone 9th overall with the idea that they are going to be a great third line centre.

Lets not squeeze the offensive upside out of our prospects before they play a few games in the NHL.

Fuck, if guys like Mason Raymond, CoHo, and Grabner can contribute in the NHL surely the five 1RPs in the cupboards can aim higher than elite checkers.

But, Mondi, that's where the fun is. And, why should we be bring logic into a good arguement. Most teams have a half dozen or more 1st rounders on their roster, and 1st rounders make up the majority of the top 6 forwards/top 4 defense in the league. But, it is a better story for the shleprocks of the world to assume our 1st rounders are all Stojanovs.

ESQ · Post by **ESQ** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 10:16 am

Betamax wrote:
Blob Mckenzie wrote:Pretty much everyone at the shitrag is brutal. Crotchford is almost as bad as the aids patient. Kuzma is a boozer but he isn't as bad as the other two. At the Sun the guys seem a bit more grounded and don't whine and cry like the hacks at the Province.
I don't know Blob .... you whine and cry like a hack when it comes to the guys at the Province, whom IMO, provide the best coverage of the Canucks when it comes to print media.

The Sun is okay but it's vanilla in comparison.

The Province sports section is among the most brutal publications in Canada. None of these "writers" have the stones to go full-Garrioch and make up hilarious BS stories and "rumors", yet they all have to rely on creating controversy to find anything to write about.

I actually think there are dozens of posters on this board with more hockey knowledge than the twits at the Province.

As far as Crotchford (love the nickname btw!) goes, I won't even click on one of his articles. He's great at coming up with the salacious titles to try to drive traffic to his posts, but I won't do anything that helps that idiot keep his job. I was so happy when the TEAM fired him, now we just need to sweep him out of the Province and the quality of media coverage will instantly improve.

ClamRussel · Post by **ClamRussel** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 10:30 am

I can't stand seeing his facial expressions as he waits for his chance to begin speaking on TSN.

herb · Post by **herb** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 1:23 pm

ClamRussel wrote:I can't stand seeing his facial expressions as he waits for his chance to begin speaking on TSN.

I can't believe he actually got a job on TSN. I can't the way he yells and twitches when he talks.

Betamax · Post by **Betamax** » Sun Jul 13, 2014 4:41 pm

ESQ wrote:
Betamax wrote:
Blob Mckenzie wrote:Pretty much everyone at the shitrag is brutal. Crotchford is almost as bad as the aids patient. Kuzma is a boozer but he isn't as bad as the other two. At the Sun the guys seem a bit more grounded and don't whine and cry like the hacks at the Province.
I don't know Blob .... you whine and cry like a hack when it comes to the guys at the Province, whom IMO, provide the best coverage of the Canucks when it comes to print media.

The Sun is okay but it's vanilla in comparison.
The Province sports section is among the most brutal publications in Canada. None of these "writers" have the stones to go full-Garrioch and make up hilarious BS stories and "rumors", yet they all have to rely on creating controversy to find anything to write about.

I actually think there are dozens of posters on this board with more hockey knowledge than the twits at the Province.

As far as Crotchford (love the nickname btw!) goes, I won't even click on one of his articles. He's great at coming up with the salacious titles to try to drive traffic to his posts, but I won't do anything that helps that idiot keep his job. I was so happy when the TEAM fired him, now we just need to sweep him out of the Province and the quality of media coverage will instantly improve.

Well, "Crotchford" was the first to break the JUMBO Joe locker room banter if he scored four goals. Something the old guard in the media would have just kept quiet. I like the edge he brings to his reporting.

Botchford still does a weekly segment on both morning and evening shows, so he's still a regular "contributor" to TEAM radio.

EDIT: Botchford is heard on the evenings, not afternoons.

Blob Mckenzie · Post by **Blob Mckenzie** » Sun Jul 13, 2014 5:59 pm

ESQ wrote: The Province sports section is among the most brutal publications in Canada. None of these "writers" have the stones to go full-Garrioch and make up hilarious BS stories and "rumors", yet they all have to rely on creating controversy to find anything to write about.

I actually think there are dozens of posters on this board with more hockey knowledge than the twits at the Province.

As far as Crotchford (love the nickname btw!) goes, I won't even click on one of his articles. He's great at coming up with the salacious titles to try to drive traffic to his posts, but I won't do anything that helps that idiot keep his job. I was so happy when the TEAM fired him, now we just need to sweep him out of the Province and the quality of media coverage will instantly improve.

I couldn't agree more. The Province is a joke of a paper all together. The Sports section is just part of the problem.

rikster · Post by **rikster** » Sun Jul 13, 2014 8:01 pm

I have sympathy for the sports writers…

First off, there are too many of them and they all have to write about the same team on a daily basis …

And most of them have been doing it in the same market for many years, so its normal for biasis and out right dislike to creep into their writing from time to time…

And the competition for readership is fierce, so they have to find angles or stories that will interest the customers…

That sometimes leads to exaggerations and assumptions finding its way into their stories, and from time to time maybe they are forced to just make things up to spice up their stories.

Tough gig when you think about it…

I've suggested in the past that the newspapers should trade writers in the same way that players get traded…

Vancouver trades Botchford to Calgary for Francis and later trades Gallagher to Toronto for Cox….

Wouldn't that liven up the old print media and maybe reguvinate the careers of these writers …

Sounds like a goofy idea for sure, but with most of the papers in the country being owned by the two media giants, it seems to me that its becoming more of a when than if….

Take care...

Betamax · Post by **Betamax** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 9:51 am

rikster wrote:I have sympathy for the sports writers…

First off, there are too many of them and they all have to write about the same team on a daily basis …

And most of them have been doing it in the same market for many years, so its normal for biasis and out right dislike to creep into their writing from time to time…

Well, the thing I like about Botchford is that he embraces conflict. If a reader has an issue with him, they can chirp at him on twitter and he'll respond back. That's part of the entertainment package he offers. As for the fans ripping into him .... well ....... Botch ............. more times than not ........... make a Hell out of lot more sense than they do.

ESQ · Post by **ESQ** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 11:06 am

Betamax wrote:Well, "Crotchford" was the first to break the JUMBO Joe locker room banter if he scored four goals. Something the old guard in the media would have just kept quiet. I like the edge he brings to his reporting.

That comes down to a matter of taste - I'd prefer hockey writers to be writing about hockey, not a dirty joke they overheard in the locker room. I think it speaks volumes to Crotchy's abilities that he doesn't seem to mind alienating hockey players (y'know, the guys he's supposed to be interviewing and writing about) so that he can repeat a dick joke.

Crotchford is trying to emulate Pratt, which is the most asinine and ridiculous role model I could ever imagine.

That's why I loved the Kurtenbloggers - funny, intelligent, actually wrote about hockey from angles that the casual fan wouldn't always think of, not afraid to dig in to and explain advanced stats. Gary Mason was excellent too - his last series for the Sun on the Summit Series' Russian players and where they are today was a great piece of journalism.

Betamax · Post by **Betamax** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 4:23 pm

Mondi wrote:Unfortunately, Gary Mason is a journalist who now covers British Columbia politics for the Globe.

Botchford is a sports writer.

The two aren't really comparable.

Uh, what's the difference besides calling Mason a "journalist" and Botchford a "sports writer?" Was Mason just a "sports writer" when he covered the Canucks back when he was with the Vancouver Sun?

I have no idea why he bothered publishing Thornton's comments. On the one hand, I defend Botch because it is OBVIOUS that hockey players often crude people who say all kinds of "inappropriate" stuff and anyone with two ears can hear it if they listen closely. The only reason I didn't like that he printed was that it was so crude and unnecessary. It didn't add anything to the coverage save to create a buzz around Botchford. Put another way, you've never see another NHL write print something like that, but you have to know things like that are said all the time.

Well, it's very obvious that you have a strong interest in the sports media but it seems that you are oblivious to the changing landscape where as Torts said, "Safe is Death." Traditional print media is going the way of the Dodo bird ........ Botchford is a multi-platform writer .... in fact that quote only appeared on their online blog and not the print edition of the paper where he is allowed more "edigier" reporting and use of expletives is needed.

In fact, the blog article has accumulated 11.7K retweets, that's a LOT, btw, which is unheard of for a typical blog piece in that section, see:

http://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/10/10 ... e-learned/

As a point of comparison, a recent blog piece on the Canucks' drafting Russians (again), managed only 380 retweets:

http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/06/28 ... -huge-one/

Blob Mckenzie · Post by **Blob Mckenzie** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 5:02 pm

Mondi wrote:Unfortunately, Gary Mason is a journalist who now covers British Columbia politics for the Globe.

Botchford is a sports writer.

The two aren't really comparable.

Thats the understatement of the year. One has talent and the other one doesn't. It has fuck all to do with what they cover.

ClamRussel · Post by **ClamRussel** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 7:55 pm

Mondi wrote:Ergo, Botchford is more personality than reporter. That's fine for him, just not my style.

Like Gallagher, he's more op-ed than reporter, only younger & shinier. He's just focused on stirring up the dirt & making a spectacle of himself in hopes he'll get more tv time. Full on TMZ & Fox News. His Province staff photo w/ the headphones [ie a prop] around his neck spoke volumes.

Hockey Widow · Post by **Hockey Widow** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 9:38 pm

Mondi wrote:Yeah, he's a columnist. So I'm not terribly surprised he provides his own opinions.

But, as others have noted there is informed opinion and there is tabloid-style conjecture.

That's me!!

Boston Canucker · Post by **Boston Canucker** » Tue Jul 15, 2014 5:39 am

ClamRussel wrote:
Mondi wrote:Ergo, Botchford is more personality than reporter. That's fine for him, just not my style.
Like Gallagher, he's more op-ed than reporter, only younger & shinier. He's just focused on stirring up the dirt & making a spectacle of himself in hopes he'll get more tv time. Full on TMZ & Fox News. His Province staff photo w/ the headphones [ie a prop] around his neck spoke volumes.

The headphones pic is hilarious. I guess he actually thinks it looks cool or something. I just imagine him being an unsufferable person to be around, maybe not, but that's the vibe he gives off.