More on Enstrom Injury, AJC Death Spiral, and Something to Do Post-Hockey on Friday Night

- The diagnosis: facial fractures and missing teeth. But he's going to be fine!

He underwent surgery Tuesday, Waddell said in a statement.

“It’s not too bad,” Waddell said. “(Goalie) Johan Hedberg talked to Enstrom’s dad, and he hoped he would be able fly home in a couple of days.”

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- I assume some of you have seen the AJC's new design, so uncannily similar to a thin, demented Day-Glo version of the Guardian. The Chronicle has been covering the AJC's decline quite a bit recently, and new-Thrashers-beat-writer-but-not-really Chris Vivlamore's latest blog post is yet another fun symptom:

What are your thoughts on tonight’s Ducks-Sharks Game 6?

Weep.

Let’s talk the draft today.

It's your blog, dude.

My interview requests of owner Bruce Levenson have been declined, so we’ll keep working the phones and get to other issues facing the team at a later date.

Christ. Does everyone realize the Falconer just scored (already completed, actually) interviews with Waddell and Thrashers scouting overlord Dan Marr? Just saying.*

I must admit, I have to get up to speed on the draft. I know John Tavares and Victor Hedman.

Facepalm.

Until I get a chance to talk to Don Waddell and pick his brain about draft philosophy, etc., let’s just play general manager for the fun of it.

I can do that.

Anyone else think they go with an offensive player at No. 4? Got Zach Bogosian last year, that’s a big piece of defense. It’s no secret that the Thrashers need/want help for Ilya Kovalchuk.

The great thing about beat writers is that they can unearth all kinds of inside information and offer unique, interesting insights that you won't find anywhere else.

Here is my list of contenders in order:

Oh God just stop.

I don't mean to be a rude bastard (which I, alas, kinda am) but I think this is an early confirmation of my fears that Chris Vivlamore--a guy with a huge workload and tons of responsibilities apart from covering the Thrashers--isn't exactly going to deliver the goods as far as interviews, hockey knowledge, or detailed reports from morning skates, practices, and road trips. Not his fault, of course, but it's becoming more and more apparent that the AJC is running out of room when it comes to serious reporting on the Thrashers. For example: his report on Enstrom's injury wasn't a product of him speaking to Waddell; he simply read Kevin Allen in USA Today and quoted what he wrote. Almost like a blogger!

All this is just as well, I suppose, because--as the Falconer and James Mirtle have noted--the paper's readership numbers are in free-fall.

Just one more note on this AJC/interviewing business. The Thrashers' owners are as secretive as Waddell (whatever else you may think of him) is candid and available, and it doesn't surprise me that Bruce Levenson is declining interviews. The Atlanta Spirit has always been clueless about public relations. But this state of affairs is also partially the AJC's fault. Other NHL beat writers find ways to talk to team CEOs and owners: just yesterday David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News called up the Sharks CEO and asked him (of all things) whether GM Doug Wilson will be keeping his job. I can't imagine that level of access and aggressiveness at the AJC, and I think it has as much to do with the AJC's own timidity and lack of interest as it does with the Atlanta Spirit's secrecy.

For more Chronicle chronicles of this dying behemoth, click here and here. Especially that second link, because it features a photo of my trophy-winning Landseer, Boatswain. Did you know we take tea together every afternoon and peruse The Economist? We've developed a sign language system whereby he uses his tail and paws to read me the Bagehot columns. He's so smart!

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- So we all know the first game of the Boston vs. Carolina series will be on the TV machine Friday night. But eventually (unless it goes into overtime) it will end, and you'll say to yourself, "Now what? It IS Friday night, after all."

Well fella, you're in luck! LUCK, I tell ya! Those of you who live in the Atlanta area, anyway. Why don't you watch the Hockey at the Midway Pub in East Atlanta, a FINE venue for the Hockey-watching and beer-sampling, and when the game ends migrate a few steps down the street to the 592 to watch a Very Important Musical Event, as reported by Creative Loafing:

Life after Chainstereo has proven to be a productive time for the four fresh faces of CARNIVORES. After months of promises, they finally make good on their first LP/CD since reinventing themselves, All Night Dead U.S.A. (Double Phantom Records). The group's sound is a clutter of lo-fi tropicalia, lounge, psychedelic indie-rock dirges and death-afflicted collages that harness an array of influences touching on everything from the Pixies and the Replacements to Animal Collective and Abe Vigoda. For the record release party, fellow locals the Living Rooms, Balkans and the Louder Than Dreams DJs open the show. $7. 9 p.m. 529, 529 Flat Shoals Ave. 404-228-6769. www.529atl.com.

I'm sorry, but you literally HAVE to go to this. How can you deprive yourself of the opportunity to watch these beautiful music-making orphans in action? Just look at them!


Your editor is in possession of an advance copy of All Night Dead U.S.A. and let me tell you it's exceptional. These zoo children need your patronage!

*The first part of the Falconer's interview with Don Waddell is up.