NYI Fan Central Comments:
I think what I object to most from so many of these articles is they can call up the Isles and be a part of these conference calls and get their own quotes straight from the club, but they cannot be bothered?
All due respect to Mr Kelly but I do not think he understands the Stanley Cup is expected for this franchise and it's fans, after four of them in a row for a generation it was taken for granted.
If they are not playing with the goal of winning the cup in it's plan every single year as they build up the core of the club (regardless of expectations) why bother at all?
Scott Gordon for me did say the right thing and given Philadelphia went from 30th with a rookie coach and inexperienced general manager in Paul Holmgren to an unexpected semi-final appearance with a team at times that looked helpless last season he does not understand how the NHL works. Brett Hull is an inexperience co-general manager in Dallas not receiving the same scrutiny Snow has and his club made a playoff run also.
The rest of the article for me just has the usual information gap between present day and the nineties or two summers ago because it's all the writer knows due to a lack of knowledge or information. When have coaches who interviewed for jobs and did not get them publicly object? Did we see this with any other club this year or ever in the past but for this job there should be public criticism by someone who was not hired?
Did Mr Kelly write this about half the clubs that have inexperienced NHL coaches at the helm now?
Again, a lot of franchises in this league that have not made four of the last six playoffs having the dysfunctional label slapped on them so quickly or freely. To be mediocre does not mean your dysfunctional, nothing to celebrate but nothing that merits the constant media lynching.
You would think the Blues were a first place team for all the free passes they receive in the media for another poor season along with the Hawks who again are still on the outside until they win but from a few writers are already a championship level club?
What has John Davidson done again not to merit the same public scrutiny Snow has received, how come Dean Lombardi got a free pass for firing his coach who was hired the same summer Nolan was let go?
It may well be hard to have optimism regarding the New York Islanders but you also have to be fair and have updated knowledge to do an article like this or at least point out here the Isles are not setting new standards.
Mr Kelly clearly in this case did a lazy, sloppy article nor does he note the man games lost to inury or the clubs place in the standing for most of the season.
Nowhere has an Islander team official said one word about bringing back Bryan McCabe, more sloppy reporting from Mr Kelly.
Yahoo Sports.com: Ross McKeon's article cites the trends of general managers over the last few years opting for rookie head coaches in talking about the Isles hiring Scott Gordon and notes the burnout factor in veteran coaches also.
NYI Fan Central Comments:
A lot of rookie coaches have been hired the last few years or brought in through a clubs system. That's the trend for now but trends change also and no doubt most of the men Snow interviewed will find another job if that's what they want when the trend goes the other way. Tom (John) Renney was not coaching anywhere when he was hired by Sather.
Brent Sutter a few years ago when he was rumored for this job was not criticized in the press.
Quick Hits:
* So the Francesa-Russo split got the full Newsday backpage Scott Gordon never received and more Newsday articles (four) than the Isles press conference? (three) I wonder if there was some controversy or an injury update if Mr Logan would have been around for the PC?
* No gang, I do not think it's Cablevision-related. When the season starts and Knick scrimmages start receiving backpages over baseball playoff games that's when you'll know.
* Speaking of our friends from Cablevision was this the enhanced coverage they promised a few months ago? A summer with one Islander-produced themed program and no current games or classic games? How nice of them to send Stan Fischler for a few web casted interviews with nothing on live television considering they own the broadcast rights, more like Msg minus.
* I guess only Mr Zipay can blog during vacation for his readers just to give the fans something to talk about? No way Mark Herrmann would have pulled that on another club in this town which shows everyone how poor Newsday's relationship is with the Isles.
Newsday knows it completely controls Islander perception, they write it and it goes straight to other outlets who throw in a few thoughts from a decade ago and move on quickly. There is no competition because there are no other regular writers, Newsday can now make or break Islander players, coaches, general managers and the franchise itself now by their opinion.
* Yes, I read Mr Botta's blog on Yahoo sports the other day and he did a good job for those wondering why I did not link to it. I have to be honest and tell my readers I'm still trying to decide if Mr Wyshynski's work despite his background in Virginia Newpapers and Sportsnet (I did some checking) makes the cut for coverage here as a member of the professional hockey media and have found myself on the fence about it at times. We spoke recently by e-mail about the Islanders (not this subject) because I commented on one of his articles about the club and he was very respectful even if we agreed to disagree on some things. I know Yahoo sports carries his work as does the feeder here. This is one I'm being a bit conservative on and perhaps I'm wrong here for the same reasons I did not carry an article out of the website that has the NY Sun very limited Islander coverage by Kevin Greenstein.
I did promise our readers when I started this blog I would be conservative at times when posting information, this was one of those instances.
* So the NY Times can get quotes out of Russia but not send someone to the Islanders press conference or find a writer to do an article? Instead we got a few blog updates with some links and nothing else? They send writers to cover goal judges or Kyle Okposo in Bridgeport and the new broadcasters in another language (all worthwhile features) but not when a new coach is hired?
Pathetic.
* I have to end this with something positive and for today that will be former Islander Craig Ludwig being inducted into the UND Athletic Hall of Fame. If you thought Brendan Witt made you wince when he blocked shots he had nothing on Ludwig who was down more than the goaltenders and had a memorable season for me as an Islander.
