Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Mike Brophy: God Complex
But when fans abuse the system, such as was the case with the push to get Fitzpatrick in the game, then perhaps it's time for the league to consider allowing itself the ability to veto certain picks.
And I thought Jim Matheson was out to lunch. Abuse the system? What system? You mean the popularity contest the NHL set up in order to make the game more appealing to fans? God forbid we actually do what we were supposed to do. Abuse? Are you effing kidding me? I guess us lowly fans should just hand over our bucks, keep quiet, and listen to the High Priests of Hockey. And people wonder why so many sports fans have a total disregard for mainsteam sportswriters. It's because of arrogant, Holier-Than-Thou bullshit like this. Note to print, television and internet editors everywhere: hire about five to ten of us, give us some money and support, and we'll put out a product a hundred times greater than the boring, illogical and demeaning junk being put out by Mike Brophy and others of his ilk.
Glove-tap to Mirtle for the link.
***Update*** Mike W. throws in his ten cents, and I like every penny. The most frustrating part is that people like Brophy actually think the All-Star selections have been legitimate for the past ten years, or however long ago they introduced the fan balloting system. The moment they started the fan balloting, it switched from being about talent to being about popularity. Yet the fans are the assholes for "tainting" the game, not the league. And certainly not the writers who sat silent on the issue all these years. No, no. Not them. I'm actually convinced that this furor has little to do with the All-Star Game and Fitzpatrick. It's about a bunch of people being choked that their dominance over the game is being eroded.
***Matt-Update*** Kurtenblog also takes a swipe at Brophy ("Gimmee a break!"), and Don Cherry too.
If there's one angle of this that hasn't been discussed to death, it's the implication that the hockey media's assessments are always tightly considered and strictly merit-based. These are the same guys who vote on most of the NHL Trophies, right? Maybe they won't go off on a complete lark a la Rory, but you can't tell me that most of them don't consider factors like, "Would this vote subject me to derision from my peers?"
I can pretty much guarantee that Rod Brind'Amour will get lots of Selke votes again this year despite the fact that he gets scored on more than Patty from Modesto on a Saturday night. He plays a lot, takes lots of faceoffs, and most importantly, he's extremely popular and few will object if he wins. The most sportsmanlike player will again be the guy who has the best ratio of points to minor penalties.
Would the fans do a "worse" job? Probably, but at least it would be obvious and acknowledged that the criteria was Who The Voters Want to Win, instead of the current scheme where that is still true, but dressed up as Who Is Most Deserving.
# posted by andy grabia @ 5:49 pm 
Comments:
Mike Brophy...where to start. IMO that's up there with Gino Reda blasting St. Louie fans for not going to Blues games. So when management destroys a team, and an inferior product is on the ice...you're suppose to come out in droves? Yeah, sold out games will really send a message to management. Sportswriters just make me laugh.
Important concept they fail to grasp--if there is a chance you won't like the answer, and can't deal with honesty, then don't ask the question in the first place.
Geez, if you are going to have to tell the ignorant unwashed who is a true all-star and who is not, then forget the farce of fan voting entirely. Just have the GM's and coaches get together, choose the appropriate players to be deemed "all-stars," and when the white smoke comes out of the league offices, Bettman can emerge and intone (in his best Darth Vader voice) who are the all-stars for this season.
--Baroque
What I don't get is the all stars are supposed to be the players lighting it up. Cheechoo is not exactly setting the world on fire. Rory was a good gag... hockey is entertainment much better than Snakes on a Plane I have heard. I have not seen it don't tell Samuel. The selections out east are puzzling too. But the talking heads seem to want to spoon feed the fans. Have they not caught on we can think and act for ourselves. I say next year we go a rampage and get Gordie Howe in the game. He could teach these whipper snappers a thing or two lol
Do Sportsnet sufferers in Alberta get the insipid simulcast of the Team 1040 drive-home show out of Vancouver with Don Taylor and David Fatt? Brophy was today's guest. If you think he's retarded in print, try listening to a 15-minute radio segment of his opinions. The only way he gets a job in print media, much less rises to editor of that worthless rag, is if the only interview question is: "Are you an inveterate jock sniffer?" Y or N?If you're a subscriber to that bird-cage liner, you're part of the problem, not part of the solution. When I was a kid in the 70s every issue was 10 days behind the news. They re-printed warmed-over columns of stolen material that guys like Matheson couldn't sneak past their drunk, lecherous, chain-smoking editors at whatever local fish-wrap employed them full time.
Terry Jones, that worthless fat piece of excrement, hasn't written anything more than a one-sentence paragraph since he worked at the Journal in the 70s. I'd be willing to bet he wrote 300 columns a year on Gretzky alone in the early 80s after the Sun poached him.
As for Rod Phillips. The only reason I don't pray that he dies on air is that we'd probably get stuck with Bryan Hall doing the games.
You have to give credit to Brophy for joining Sportsnet and immediately unseating Nick Kypreos as the most clueless and asinine member of Sportnet's hockey coverage. That is no mean feat.
Congratulations Brophy!
I listened to that show today. Brophy indeed didnt have a clue for 15 minutes.
Speaking of the all-star voting campaign. I'm shocked that the Dallas fans couldnt vote any of own into the game. Even the Pittsburgh Pirates got Jason Bay into their all-star game. Was there a good campaign or are there not enough Stars fans around to 'rig' the voting! :)
I suppose it would be too cruel to point out Hockey Hall of Fame selections. When was the last time you ranted about that on primetime, Mr. Cherry?
I'm surprised no one's brought up the fact that statements coming from would be a lot more interesting if they weren't quite so covered in crap; statements from the 8th greatest Canadian ever apparently according a rigorous, totally scientific popularity contest by a national newspaper.
The selection process is a joke. Fitzpatrick in the all star game may have been a travesty, but Ryan Smyth finishing 14th in fan voting is a much bigger one. There have been a lot of guys I respect (Gretz, Cherry, Hrudey, Brophy) who've just been plain wrong on this subject.
When every paying fan at the games got a ballot, the system was fair since each hockey city had the same amount of ballots available (although some arenas sold more tickets than others).
Voting online skews / abuses the system because non fans get to vote vote they are bored.
I will admit I was part of the crew that elected a dead guy (Pelle) but we did attend the games....
I have no idea why I have a Hockey News subscription.
Speaking of which, someone gave me a subscription as a gift a few years back. I then cancelled it before the lockout. Then I moved to another state. Yet all of a sudden once the lockout ended, they found me and started sending it again. I figured they were just going to send out a few freebies to get subscribers back after the lockout. But here we are two years later almost and I still get it free every week. Even at that price though it is hardly readable. I'd cancel/move again, but that wasn't enough.
What, exactly, was wrong with the one-ticket-one-ballot system? I remember baseball doing this.
I can think of a few problems, notably that voting is restricted to those who can get seats etc, but surely it's at least more reasonable as a way of picking a team?
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Mike Brophy...where to start. IMO that's up there with Gino Reda blasting St. Louie fans for not going to Blues games. So when management destroys a team, and an inferior product is on the ice...you're suppose to come out in droves? Yeah, sold out games will really send a message to management. Sportswriters just make me laugh.
# posted by 
: January 10, 2007 7:29 pm
: January 10, 2007 7:29 pm Important concept they fail to grasp--if there is a chance you won't like the answer, and can't deal with honesty, then don't ask the question in the first place.
Geez, if you are going to have to tell the ignorant unwashed who is a true all-star and who is not, then forget the farce of fan voting entirely. Just have the GM's and coaches get together, choose the appropriate players to be deemed "all-stars," and when the white smoke comes out of the league offices, Bettman can emerge and intone (in his best Darth Vader voice) who are the all-stars for this season.
--Baroque
# posted by : January 10, 2007 9:05 pm
: January 10, 2007 9:05 pm What I don't get is the all stars are supposed to be the players lighting it up. Cheechoo is not exactly setting the world on fire. Rory was a good gag... hockey is entertainment much better than Snakes on a Plane I have heard. I have not seen it don't tell Samuel. The selections out east are puzzling too. But the talking heads seem to want to spoon feed the fans. Have they not caught on we can think and act for ourselves. I say next year we go a rampage and get Gordie Howe in the game. He could teach these whipper snappers a thing or two lol
# posted by : January 11, 2007 12:35 am
: January 11, 2007 12:35 am Do Sportsnet sufferers in Alberta get the insipid simulcast of the Team 1040 drive-home show out of Vancouver with Don Taylor and David Fatt? Brophy was today's guest. If you think he's retarded in print, try listening to a 15-minute radio segment of his opinions. The only way he gets a job in print media, much less rises to editor of that worthless rag, is if the only interview question is: "Are you an inveterate jock sniffer?" Y or N?If you're a subscriber to that bird-cage liner, you're part of the problem, not part of the solution. When I was a kid in the 70s every issue was 10 days behind the news. They re-printed warmed-over columns of stolen material that guys like Matheson couldn't sneak past their drunk, lecherous, chain-smoking editors at whatever local fish-wrap employed them full time.
Terry Jones, that worthless fat piece of excrement, hasn't written anything more than a one-sentence paragraph since he worked at the Journal in the 70s. I'd be willing to bet he wrote 300 columns a year on Gretzky alone in the early 80s after the Sun poached him.
As for Rod Phillips. The only reason I don't pray that he dies on air is that we'd probably get stuck with Bryan Hall doing the games.
You have to give credit to Brophy for joining Sportsnet and immediately unseating Nick Kypreos as the most clueless and asinine member of Sportnet's hockey coverage. That is no mean feat.
Congratulations Brophy!
I listened to that show today. Brophy indeed didnt have a clue for 15 minutes.
Speaking of the all-star voting campaign. I'm shocked that the Dallas fans couldnt vote any of own into the game. Even the Pittsburgh Pirates got Jason Bay into their all-star game. Was there a good campaign or are there not enough Stars fans around to 'rig' the voting! :)
I suppose it would be too cruel to point out Hockey Hall of Fame selections. When was the last time you ranted about that on primetime, Mr. Cherry?
I'm surprised no one's brought up the fact that statements coming from would be a lot more interesting if they weren't quite so covered in crap; statements from the 8th greatest Canadian ever apparently according a rigorous, totally scientific popularity contest by a national newspaper.
# posted by : January 11, 2007 11:00 am
: January 11, 2007 11:00 am The selection process is a joke. Fitzpatrick in the all star game may have been a travesty, but Ryan Smyth finishing 14th in fan voting is a much bigger one. There have been a lot of guys I respect (Gretz, Cherry, Hrudey, Brophy) who've just been plain wrong on this subject.
When every paying fan at the games got a ballot, the system was fair since each hockey city had the same amount of ballots available (although some arenas sold more tickets than others).
Voting online skews / abuses the system because non fans get to vote vote they are bored.
I will admit I was part of the crew that elected a dead guy (Pelle) but we did attend the games....
# posted by : January 12, 2007 2:31 am
: January 12, 2007 2:31 am I have no idea why I have a Hockey News subscription.
Speaking of which, someone gave me a subscription as a gift a few years back. I then cancelled it before the lockout. Then I moved to another state. Yet all of a sudden once the lockout ended, they found me and started sending it again. I figured they were just going to send out a few freebies to get subscribers back after the lockout. But here we are two years later almost and I still get it free every week. Even at that price though it is hardly readable. I'd cancel/move again, but that wasn't enough.
# posted by : January 12, 2007 7:51 am
: January 12, 2007 7:51 am What, exactly, was wrong with the one-ticket-one-ballot system? I remember baseball doing this.
I can think of a few problems, notably that voting is restricted to those who can get seats etc, but surely it's at least more reasonable as a way of picking a team?
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