Media clowns

For the record, coach John Tortorella said neither myself nor Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune were the clowns to which he referred after Tuesday night's 4-3 shootout victory over the Senators (go ahead, take your best shot). But his reference to at least one unnamed person in the Tampa Bay media, made for an interesting discussion. 

Here's the scene:

It was going to be an innocent question in Tortorella's postgame meeting with reporters. Erik wondered to Tortorella if he took the positive out of a victory or was concerned that the team lost another two-goal lead in the third period. Before the question was even finished, Tortorella cut him off.

"I'm not talking any negatives,'' the coach said. "We won a big hockey game. Let's go there.''

Fair enough, a confidence boosting win against the No. 1 team in the East, no need to run down the effort that, in total, the team should be proud. 

So, the conversation continued between Erik, myself and Torts, who admitted mistakes were made in the third period, but also added, "I'm not going to address them with you guys. There's a lot of sarcasm and I'm sick of it.''

As he said that, Torts stared right at me. Wasn't quite sure if he was just looking to me for the next question or was signaling that I was the culprit of distributing the sarcasm to which he was referring. I didn't really think so because I try very hard not to take cheap shots when I write. Criticism is fine, but I have to deal with these guys every day, so cheap shots do nothing but cause people to distrust you.

Still, the stare was pretty intense, so I asked if he was referring to me.

"No,'' he said. "Not at you. I'm not naming names.''

The interview finally wound around to how Lightning players were quite down on themselves after the game; glad for the victory but upset that they let the third period get away from them by allowing two goals in 36 seconds with under two minutes remaining.

Said Tortorella: "The team has always been that way,'' meaning good at self-assessment. "Some of the (media) clowns around here don't understand it. Not you two,'' he said of me and Erik.

Tortorella didn't say at whom he was upset. But something certainly got under his skin somewhere between the morning skate and the end of the game. No one around the team seemed to know the cause of his agitation, or at least they weren't saying.

Comments

[Sol]

Who's putting Quaaludes in the Koolaid on the Lightning road trips?? They're the joke of the league. STINKY!

[leo]

The State rests its case, your honor.

Leo, it won't work. Being civil is not allowed on the blog. Leo, I am officially adding you to the list with Lightning Rod, Sarasota Bill, Mbab, Satch and others. How dare you tell people they can not attack everyone and everything!! Hockey Chic you are on the bubble, so be meaner if you want to remain on our BLOG. I would sign my name, but I don't want to make the "hit list" I am taking my mean pills daily and one day I hope to be nasty enough to be an all-star on this blog.

[leo]

Thing is, even mentioning it, encourages those self-absorbed goofs who take pride in spewing their sarcasm. As if they held the real truth of things.
A quick trick question allowed me to ascertain that the coward, (he once dubbed himself as cretin and that's good enough for me), the cretin, WASN'T here to talk hockey at all.
He's here because, other than insulting people from the shadows, he has nothing else to justify his existence. That's what he does. That's ALL he does.
Let baby have his bottle. Most of his posts have been erased anyway.
Ignore him completely.
And let's talk hockey.
Carolina. Ouch. Gotta admit, I'm not as confident as I was against Ottawa.
Peace.

[Cleo]

Interesting, since it appears that one is only allowed to question the newspaper or the reporter, and not the other posters. Not a problem, now that the rules have been clarified.

[weezer]

The very few agitators, including the one who authored the above post, either do not sign their posts or use a one-time handle. It is highly probable that person was one of the wounded egos who said they were fleeing this blog. Unfortunately, they all haven't.

The difference between this year and last year is that now all viewpoints are welcomed and no one is dismissed for having a different opinion.

It seems unless you can bring either negative views about the team or wax vitriolic about another blogger's contribution you have no credibility here among the brilliant,all knowing, "I know more about hockey than you do, just ask me" crowd. Last season this blog had many different contributors, was informative and entertaining.Sadly it has now become the domain of four or five whose continual gloomy negative posts and constant personal criticisms make it dull and no fun.
......before the written assaults come, dont worry. I won't!!!
Go Bolts

[ignatz]

Go get your pom poms and megasphone. Stay out of the real world, Chic. You've got to be one of the player's life partners since the team can do no wrong in every one of your posts. You're just one rung away from Damian and Erik.

[Hockey Chic]

Wow you guys/gals are making me tired. It seems like we have so much to talk about so where do we start.

First, let me say that I think the clown reference is hysterical. The really funny thing is that I think Torts got the clown thing as well. He is a hot tempered coach and rightly so. We call for this head on this Blog at least once a day whether he needs it or not. So if he has the chance to strike back at Dc or Erik, I would expect him to do so.

The relationship while it is not new between the SPT forum and the SPT is not going away anytime soon and while at times it may appear that both reporters are not talking about things we (the bloggers) wish to talk about so what. Last time I looked it was a free country and we can talk about anything on this Blog as that is what make it a Blog helloooo...

Anyway off my soap box the only reported I cannot listen to is PK. He drives me nuts and what book does he get the questions from outer space?

Nan I loved what you said about Torts, "Torts is just being Torts again"! He is a character and while I do not always agree with his plans or plays at least he keeps it interesting and he is putting his all in this everyday.

I would love to put some of the people on this Blog in his shoes and see how well they do. Enuff of the torts love fest.

Anyway hope the players got a little rest after the game the other night. It was a w in the win column and we will take it. Lets build from there. See you at the game...

Go Bolts! Get er done.

[Leanmean43]

Ajax, everyone raves about ottawa's depth and yet the bolts second line hlavac, richards, and ouellet has produced more goals with a combined 17 goals, than Ottawa's second line of Vermette, Fisher and Eaves which only has a combined 13 goals. Most teams in the league have one big line, even Detroit only has one line, after datzuk, zetterburg, and holmstrom they don't have much either. The only team I can think of that isn't a "1 line team" is buffalo. Hopefully for the bolts darche will continue to contribute on Richards line so we will have a more balanced attack, if not maybe they can pick up a winger at the deadline if ownership lets us.

[leo]

The thing with Ottawa, ajax, is you never know what's up with that crazy team. They are capable of crushing any opposition for weeks on end, and then play like shinola for another stretch, same exact guys on the ice. Their lethargy won't last.
We accuse them of folding like origama in the playoffs yet consider that every year, they go progressively further. Humiliated in 1st round, 2nd round, 3rd round, finals. There's NOWHERE left to BE humiliated. God help us if they get a solid goalie. Emery? Gerber? To the showers! The East's only ray of hope right there.
Remember last year? First 20 games, Ott sucked. Fire Murray. (Was it Murray?) Trade Alfredsson, trade Spezza, remember? 20 games! I'm still shocked by that. 20 games. They finish 1st. No, second. Buffalo. Right. Still. 2nd! These guys are good. (Was it 2nd? Not sure. It was up there either way.) Point is: no matter what, we can NEVER take this team for granted.
Think about the first 3 teams they beat in the playoffs last year. I'm sure they said to themselves, "Ha, it's the Sens. They fold during the Dance. This is gonna be easy." Boom got lowered on those suckers, didn't it?
If they manage to dig a little deeper on a consistent basis? They'd be a juggernaut. The Patriots of the NHL.
That's why it's so sweet that we took advantage of their down-time.

P.S. I just saw a highlight of Recchi going end-to-end against the Rangers, like right now! Sound was off; don't know when it was, but I stand corrected anyway.
Still don't want him, though.

[ajax]

I was watching the Ottawa game tonight against Florida. Luke Richardson is playing defense ( I guess he played against us too, but I didn't notice.)
I saw where Ottawa has given up 3 or more goals in 7 straight games. No matter how much fire power you have, hockey is the true "team" game. Playing Luke Richardson 15 minutes a night tells me Ottawa does have some deeper issues. Ottawa has only 6 forwards averaging more than 12 minutes a night. As the season rolls on that will be an issue. One thing they have over us is that Redden and Phillips, their top 2 D are both logging heavy minutes and are 2 top notch Nhl'ers. Redden reminds me alot of Boyle and Phillips is a load. Their top 2 lines are very solid also, where as we really have only one at this point. Just a prediction, Ottawa in the next few years will have some tough roster decisions with their big line set to make even more than our big 3 next year. Redden is a free agent and no way can they afford to sign him again unless he takes less. On the flipside their owners look like they are willing to spend more than ours. RATS for us. If we spent the cap we might just have something. If If If, what a shame our owner doesn't have any money/passion to win.

[Lisa]

I will say that I just want things to be reported fairly and to this point, both Damian and Eric have been doing this. Hnnestly, digging constantly into the sale would not have helped anything and at best, we might have found out about the deal falling through a few days earlier. NOthin would have changed.

I prefer to see the media have good relationships with the team and the players, and part of the problem for players playing in certain other markets is the press that you have there. If this environment makes the players more relaxed and happier here, I am all for it. That doesn't mean that I think everything should just be smiles and roses. But I think that both Damian and Eric strike a pretty good balance in their reporting. But that is just my opinion.

What I would like to see more of would be Jay Feaster taking questions from the fans, whether on radio or on a blog and answering them. We can ask what we want, and if it is live on radio, it would put him on the spot to either answer or provide a different kind of answer by refusing to answer the question. He used to do that on the radio but I haven't heard one of those in a while.

[patti]

I think the players, coaches, and management read the local hockey blogs. Maybe not all of them but a lot of them. How much stock they take in them is anybody's guess.

[harvey]

And by the way, in case anyone was napping, torts has always done his best to hold the upper hand. Now it's not just with players, he's trying to hold reporters hostage?

See ya dude, times up!

[harvey]

Maybe the negativity torts is hearing comes from here. After all Damian and the SPT allows this blog. The general attitude of this blog has changed. It's all doom and gloom which is much easier to comment on. Doesn't take a brain.

Naw..........torts has too much sense to concern himself with us arm chair gm's. All I see is a coach who's feeling the heat. Welcome to the kitchen torts, we all live here.

[wiggy]

Omigosh. You just haven't grasped what we're saying here. The SPT shouldn't be involved with sponsoring or subsidizing anything they cover. It's a basic journalistic tenet they are ignoring.

And, since this blog is the SPT one, you will read more about Damian's perceived negligence on the sale than you will Erik E. I believe both have come in for criticism, Mrs. C.

[Mike13]

Cleo, to which RP are you referring?

[Cleo]

Are you saying the St. Pete Times shouldn't be covering the Lightning because they are a sponsor? What purpose would that serve? Do you honestly think that the Tampa Trib 'scoops' and reports stories about the Lightning that the Times doesn't? Seems to me they attend the same pressers, get the same quotes, and report the same stories. I've seen a lot of vitriol directed at Mr. Cristodero recently for not reporting the so-called 'truth' about the Lightning sale. Since the Trib didn't report it either, don't you think the possibility exists that there wasn't anything to report?

Again, I believe Tort's comments were directed to a certain loudmouth radio personality who won't quote anyone or name his sources, but is very good with spouting an opinion regardless of the facts.

[wiggy]

Sorry, that's not how it works, Cleo. Alabaster Cat has it correct about the symbiotic relationship between the team and press. But believe me, when push comes to shove, the press has the upper hand. Ever hear the expression, "Never argue with a man that buys ink by the barrel?"

More importantly, there is another point brought up by AC that Damian can't broach: the SPT's sponsorship of the team and ownership of the naming rights to the Forum. This defies every canon of journalistic ethics. It compromises complete and unbiased coverage. It may not make a mockery of the Poynter Insitute but it sure undercuts its credibility.

[Cleo]

It's pretty obvious to me who Torts was referring to. Why all the negativity and sarcasm toward Damian? He's reporting on an incident as it happened. Erik did the same in his game story. And since we're not in Toronto or Montreal, it makes no sense to alienate the individuals upon whom the reporters depend for their jobs. If the coaches, players, etc won't talk to the reporters, that reporter is going to have a pretty short career.

[Alabaster Cat]

Wiggy and Phil seem quite correct to me.

The relationship between the media and team is always potentially adversarial. Toronto and Montreal are shining examples. Yet, there is a mutual dependency that exists. Publicity (and, even controversy) sell tickets. Most people agree that hunting successfully for accurate and interesting copy (and, where appropriate, not of the sugary variety) lies at the core of good reporting.

It seems that Damian is obliged to protect his relationship with the coach, the players, and the team management. One might speculate about the degree to which 1) he may be influenced by the Times' sponsorship of the Lightning, and 2) the fact that the Times pays dearly to have its name affixed to the Forum itself. He could possibly be dealing with pressures therefrom that play with the tumblers of his subconscious and influence his perspective. So, unknowingly, his stories and his approach to reporting could be altered.

Johnny T. is another matter. He has the responsibility of treating the media representatives with respect. This almost definitionally part of his job as a spokesperson and ambassador from the Lighting. The nature and quality of the reporting (so important to the Bolts and the NHL overall) is affected by the character of his relationships with the media.

I think we all are feeling a sense of Damian's frustration in dealing with a personality who can be, at times, very surly and crude. There is no excuse for alienating reporters (who are just trying to do their jobs); humiliating referees (even if they did deserve it because Torts got fined, AND those stripes will find a someway to further persecute the Lightning later on); and, creating unnecessary tensions and distractions which might hinder the performance of his players. The players are now trying
to bounce back from a losing streak; adjust to the apparent instability of the ownership situation; and, deal with a pattern of nonsupport from the front office in areas that desperately need improvement. Surely, there can be no player benefit derived from having to deal with a coach who flies off the handle and starts further straining his relationships with the press.

[ajax]

Anyone notice the Bolts are 11th as of this morning with a "bullet" next to their name. I hope!!

[wiggy]

Actually, this "paper warrior" was a journalist and a thorough and fearless one at that. Don't go try psychoanalyzing people you know nothing about simply because you are not well versed in what constitutes good reportage. If you expect less, you will get it.

And I notice you wouldn't publish your name. Who's being a paper warrior?

[boltcc]

I watched the game on NHL center ice, ...Canadian feed..and they werent too bad on the team I thought, but they did go NUTS on the goal with Lecavalier standing in the paint in the crease, that upset Emery real bad.But every team does it and never says anything when thier team scores that way, only when a goal scores on them.They also showed Scotty Bowmand and Pat Burns in the box and made an interesting comment about how there is talk about making the nets bigger and Scotty Bowman said they outta make the pipes at a 45 edegree angle so shots that hit the post would go in

[Nan]

This falls under the category of "Torts is just being Torts again"! This is what he does best! Only he knows why he goes off and says or does things. Ignore that side of his nature and concentrate on his coaching abilities, that's where it counts.

Exciting game last night in spite of the Ottawa comeback. Watched it on Center Ice channel with Ottawa feed. Congrats to the team on getting the win. That is all that matters in the end.

Go Bolts!

[leo]

Excellent comment, Justin.
I totally agree. Did the coachie-coach hurt your wittle feelings, Damian?
Be happy you're not Larry Brooks, first of all and secondly, be happy you're not in a die-hard hockey-market cause the OTHER journalists would be looking at YOU going, what the heck is with THIS brown-nosing sissy?
Seems to me, if Torts was REALLY that peeved last night?
You got off easy.
Consider that, maybe phrased differently, the coach gets the SAME questions every night. Compound that exasperation to the anger he feels towards his team for surrendering a point to Ott and you just might incur a Tort-nado.
Approach him after a 7-1 barn-burning victory and you'll be telling us what an open and friendly, congenial individual he is, I'm sure of it.
Peace.

Damian, you have a tough job. Most of the bloggers wouldn't be so brave if "their" paycheck was on the line. The internet is the perfect place for the paper warriors. On the sale of the club, not one reporter for this paper or the Trib or any other paper got any scoop. Either they all are lazy cowards or just the simple fact that no news was coming out of Channelside Drive. Damian, I don't always agree with you(We need more defenseman than we need goalies) but I do know you have to walk a tight rope with egomaniac players and ooaches. thanks. P.S. I would like one question asked, someday, "Jay, what do you think about the Brad Richards contract, now that it has been two years" then run and duck.

[wiggy]

Since I criticized Damian ealier, I'll defend him now for inserting this item in the blog. It gives fans an insight into Tortorella's mindset. Looks like he's feeling a lot of pressure. It also gives us an insight into the guy we depend on to give us all the news about the Lightning.

[Justin]

Well Damian, I have to say I don't understand why this is on your "Lightning Strikes" blog, seems more of an after work day conversation to be had with sommeone over a beer.
We all have people we don't get a long with in our respective work environments and relationships. Of course it can be frustrating. This seems like a very minor thing, maybe take a step back before posting something like this?

And is far as Torteralla is concerned - Is a suggestion, inference, or "reference" really the worst Torterella can do!? I think you got off easy.. (if this reference even was about you)

[Phil]

Agree with Wiggy. Being such a small media market and the "Criticism is fine, but I have to deal with these guys every day, so cheap shots do nothing but cause people to distrust you." comment... it shows you guys can't ask tough questions or you'll be shunned and not get any inside 'scoop'. If this was a Canadian market, you guys would be much more challenging in your questions.

Regardless, GO BOLTS!... an much-deserved win! A loss would have been absolutely gut-wrenching.

[wiggy]

Interesting...I don't think Torts ever has to worry about you and Erik. I don't think either of you ask enough tough questions to Torts or the management (Feater, Wilson, etc.). This can be done without being adversarial or as you say "taking cheap shots." If an interviewee gets pissed off, so be it. At least you guys were doing your jobs thoroughly.

[keith]

Any sports pro or coach who has to deal with media each and every day is going to have his peeves whether credible or not. Throw Tort's post game abrasive and impatient disposition into that mix and you have what obviously transpired.Of course he could have just been blowing off steam too. He looked like he was ready to pinch off someones head after the tying goal. Dont blame him there. I would much rather hava a fiery coach than the philosophical "Bill Walsh" type. Makes it much more entertaining!
Lets not forget the W,(against the top team in the East) take the 2 points and move on to the next game. Would love to see Darche repeat his effort playing with Richie. Is he the catalyst for the second line. Plays a little like Mo, doesn't he?