OK, now I don't normally condone sending e-mails to out of town sports writers that know nothing about the Thrashers, but I can't help myself sometimes. Take this douche bag for instance. He hints that the Thrash are only trying to please Kovalchuk, and that the moves of Antropov and Kubina are not upgrades...
Have at 'em boys.
His title of the article is,"Thrashers Shouldn't Put Kovalchuck Ahead of Team". So if we are taking our friend "Rory's" (Hey Pat, give me one more "R" in that first name if you don't mind) opinion, trading a beloved, but slow footed D-man for a BIG upgrade, and signing a nearly 30 goal scorer to fill a GAPING hole on the right wing is done merely just to, "please Kovalchuk"... GIVE ME A FU$#*NK break "RORY"!!!!!
Here is a glimpse into the great article "Rory" has written:
"Kovalchuk is a dynamic player whose caliber doesn’t come around often, but if he is unwilling to commit to the team, I’m not sure the GM should be committing the team to him. If Atlanta struggles again next year despite Waddell’s efforts, Kovy will be gone and the Thrashers will be a misfit team without direction."
BIG SHOOTER WILL BE THE FIRST ONE TO THROW THESE WORDS BACK IN RORY'S FACE WHEN KOVY SIGNS AN 8 YEAR CONTRACT IN ABOUT TWO WEEKS!!!!
Come on folks... the only way to stop this BS is to call them on it. Send an e-mail to our friend "Rory" and let him know how you feel. I can't find his e-mail on the site (I'm waaay too dumb for that kind of thing), but I will keep looking. A quick check of his hockey background says he is the following:
"With The Hockey News since 2007, Rory Boylen is the web content specialist of THN.com. A certified minor hockey referee for 10 years and a pesky center, he grew up with a rink in his backyard. His duties include editing and helping generate content for the site."
One look at his picture shows him to be a total Weenie.
Pesky, eh? Well, then he shouldn't mind our outrage if he is "pesky" should he?
Go get em...
***Update***
Another quick check of "Rory's" blog shows an article titled: "Islanders should explore trading Tavares"... Nuff said.
*** Update 2***
A second look at "Rory's" blog shows another article titled: "Feeling Sorry For Hossa"... perhaps this asshat isn't even worth the e-mail...
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42 comments:
The man's a ginger too. GROSSENING.
I read the article earlier today and my wife came into the room wondering why I had a puzzled look on my face and was cursing at the monitor. All of these sportswriters who don't follow the team don't have a fucking clue. They see what Hossa did and automatically assume our Czar must be like that heartless mercenary. They think that Atlanta is the stinky crotch of the NHL and anyone who is here wants to leave as soon as they can. Meanwhile, Kozlov signs here for less with a NTC, Reasoner resigned, Schneider enjoyed his time here, and Lehtonen said he doesn't want to leave. This team is going to surprise the world this upcoming season. Mark my words. And the newly resigned Czar will be leading the charge. Suck on that, Rory.
I posted a long retort in the comments section calling out the Toronto sports media bias.
I might add that I left a, shall we say, less that positive response and it was taken down. the dirty hag didn't even have the decency to respond... jack ass
Here I am...you have a problem with my opinion (based around the premise Waddell has to impress Kovy with his moves, which is fact) go nuts. But try and keep the childish name-calling out of it if you are capable.
Wow, so angry man... don't write something if you can't take the heat from people's responses. Its about that simple. Oh, and congratulations on reporting a fact, I bet you did a lot of research to find that one.
Not angry...take one look at the vitriol being spewed against me by a few people here and I think it goes the other way actually. You wanted to get in touch with me so here I am...and now you're complaining?
Fact is, it's been written in the Journal-Constitution through discussions with both camps that he does need to appease Kovy and I've talked to a few people in the know of the business and in the know of Thrashers business who have said much the same.
I'd just like someone to have some sort of an argument against what I wrote that I can shoo down instead of just calling me names because your bias doesn't agree with what I've written is all.
Rory,
You're right about childish name calling being uncalled for. My post, however, did not resort to name calling beyond referring to The Hockey News as part of the Toronto sports media and being biased.
I did argue my point and didn't make any personal attacks. I'm disappointed to see that it's been removed while the comment from another reader who shared your point of view remains.
Rory,
I won't call you names...your expressing your opinion, which is a right we all have. I think you have grossly underestimated the motivation of management and made it a one sided affair that these signings have nothing to do with anything other than keeping Kovy happy. The opinion of many people who follow this organization more closely would state that the moves were made to strengthen the team and a natural byproduct was it will make Kovy happy.
I believe one reason why you are catching so much flack is because it seems that Atlanta and most all hockey below the rust line is treated by northern and particularly Canadian media as worthless and nobody wants to be here and the fans are either absent or have no hockey knowledge...and well, we just don't like that down here...we love our team as much as any leafs fan loves Toronto.
Your opinion is just that..an opinion...and rather than write your story as fact...make sure to reiterate it's your opinion..and you may not draw the ire of so many...or don't...it's your column
Razor,
I can assure you that wasn't me who took down your comment. The way it works here is readers flag comments, which goes to a database and an editor removes the flagged comment if he feels it should be removed.
I see your point about the Toronto media and have heard it many times before, but what I would contend is that fans also have to realize their own bias. I know for yesterday's blog (and Toronto media in general does their homework and the fact is, those stories get read by everyone, even those who say they don't want those stories to be written) I did my research and formulated an opinion from that research...in no way did I attack the Thrashers and their organization, I would argue the same point for any team. I'm simply saying that before the team starts investing in a few guys to help improve them (marginally) quickly, the star who the team is being built around should ensure everyone he will be there by signing a deal first.
As someone who has watched Antropov play many, many times over the past years in Toronto, I can tell you that no Thrasher fan will be happy if Kovy walks and you have Antropov for $4 million and three more years. He is not a front-line player and, quite frankly, I can't believe he got that much cash.
The bottom line is I've made an opinion based on facts I've gathered and I think it's a fair assessment. I was directed to this blog by a friend and a co-worker and felt I had to respond. This blog can disagree with me all it wants (anyone can, that's sport) but by calling me names because your view differs (and I question how much effort and research was put into this blog) it's really the pot calling the kettle black.
Hopefully that clears up your concerns with your comment being removed and hopefully that helps make my point in my Kovalchuk blog a little clearer.
Daculafan- His column is a blog, just like ours, so it really should go without saying that it is his opinion.
Rory- You're catching a lot of flak because all of us here are tired of hearing the same vitriol from hockey pundits over and over again. The folks at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, with the exception of Rawhide, don't really know hockey and rely on what they can quickly read from folks like you in order to post their own columns and stories. We give them just as much flak. More, actually, since we should expect better coverage from the local paper.
Daculafan,
I'm not one of those folks who calls fans in smaller markets into question and in no way was my blog framed that was....sorry if you took it as such.
And about the Thrashers appeasing Kovalchuk, that actually is how it is. They know they have to improve quickly to keep him longer than one more year, but they are adding a few guys with hefty contracts before knowing if said player will be here at all.
My blog is an opinion, there;s absolutely no denying that, but it is based around facts I've gathered and isn't just me pulling crap out of nowhere.
Rory -
+1 for showing up and commenting here. Good work, and I mean that.
My question is: what if kovy really wants to stick it out here? Why wouldn't we want to build a franchise around him? Given current economic indicators, both Kovy's monetary value AND trade value are dropping; what if he really is willing to give a "hometown" discount to the team that drafted him, brought him up, and gave him a position of leadership? That's a side of the story we don't hear too often in the media: that he does seem to be a rather principled dude.
It's just the Kovy leaving thing is just so old to us. It's like Phoenix hearing about financial issues or Tampa with Vinny. We know we have problems, but when certain articles comes out it's like we are the geeks at a circus show. Then fans from northern Hockey markets just poke at us. I mean we are from the south, which is generally looked upon as backwards.
Kovy has said again and again that he loves Atlanta, and his family loves Atlanta. When he was given the captaincy a whole new side of him was shown. I honestly believe he wants this to be HIS team. He's not a supporting character. Also, he is the price of admission. You just don't get to see that kind of talent all the time. Toronto doesn't have that right now to the point that you have to collect your jaw off the floor by the way someone like Kovy plays. I just don't see writers talk about pro-Atlanta quotes that come out of his mouth, which are quite frequent. Nor are there mentions of times like when he stepped into a STH meeting and addressed everyone that we all have to work together to push the team. I just don't know why people question his commitment to this team. All I know is if you came Tver, Russia, became the star of your team, and happened to live in a wonderful city on the rise, with culture, and great weather, why the hell what you want to leave? This is my biggest bias, but I just honestly don't get where certain comments come from.
In the end I just don't see how it is different when Washington tries to please Ovy or Pittsburgh with Crosby.
Rory,
I can't speak for the others, but my problems with your piece were:
1) You appear to contradict yourself when say that the Thrashers have a lot of promising young talent like Bogosian and Enstrom, but at the same time Kovalchuk hates everything and will almost certainly walk next year and the Thrashers will be "a misfit team with no direction." How can a team have no direction and promising young talent at the same time?
2) You don't appear to be familiar with several interviews Kovalchuk has given to the Russian press (and once to TSN if I'm not mistaken, it's quoted somewhere on this blog in a post from this past season) where he pretty much says he really likes it in Atlanta and wants to win as a Thrasher.
No doubt you organize your premise around facts--like the Thrashers have had a pretty bad history of losing, Waddell is trying to please Kovalchuk (no bad thing in my opinion)--but you don't put them into a larger context. It seems that you, like many many others in the hockey press, just assume that Kovalchuk wants to leave Atlanta and just run with that.
Rory,
Also, name calling is just something that happens in blog culture. It's a faceless medium. Honestly, if I were you I'd embrace it. I would.
Aaron, thanks I appreciate that. If Kovy does want to stick it out there (and I think he does) then there's nothing wrong with them building a team, but if he wants to stick it out there, he should show it by signing...my point is that the team shouldn't be built quickly by throwing money at guys if the star player ends up leaving, and until he signs on the dotted line that possibility exists...
French,
I never called his commitment to the team into question and the blog wasn't about him leaving at all...
Mortimer,
1) I didn't say Kovy hates everything..in fact, I didn't say he hated anything at all, that's just putting words in my mouth.
2) I'm familiar with those interviews, but again, this blog isn't about Kovy leaving. My point is the team shouldn't be spending money on an abrupt rebuild if the guy they are doing it for doesn't return...when he signs that deal we know he'll be around, but until then anything is possible.
Guys...nothing is about Kovy leaving, but if he did leave, don't you think last year's team should be doing more of a gradual rebuild than trying to piece something together quickly? Kovy staying or leaving is not what the blog was about, it was about not doing something for him before he commits to you.
One other thing, Rory.
Is there any circumstance you imagine where you could be convinced that Kovalchuk might not leave and the Thrashers aren't condemned to Loser Hell forever?
I mean, if you know about the Thrashers, you surely know that the Thrashers team that started winning towards the end of last season (which is more or less the same team as next season, plus the new guys) had plenty of skill--look at the number of 20-goal scorers and point-per-game ratios in the last few months of the season--but suffered due to a lack of size.
I would think any halfway-sensible person would say that the Thrashers needed to add some size, and Antropov fits the bill. How does this make things worse?
And on what planet is Enstrom-Bogosian/Hainsey-Kubina a poor top 4 defense that will drive Kovalchuk out of town?
French,
Name calling shouldn't be part of debating. Nothing good comes out of the argument "your opinion is different from mine so you are a moron." That's dumbing down of society and I will not embrace that.
Antropov himself said that Kovy was a big factor in why he signed here. Given their experience in international play, why wouldn't you trust Kovy when he says, "Hey Antro's a guy I'd really like to play with"? As for the Exelby/Kubina trade: in our situation, I'd be really hard-pressed to say that Kubina's not an upgrade from X on the ice. Even the secondary parts of the deal looked like a fair swap - if Stapleton gets a shot here and puts up some Rich Peverly-like numbers for even half a season, I'd call it a success and a trade worth making.
Outside of those two deals, we're looking at pretty much the exact same team as last year. I've been a pretty vocal Waddell critic, but one thing I can't say is that he's overextended himself here or made any seriously (Coburn-for-Zhitnik) moves here.
Mortimer,
I would actually be surprised if Kovy left Atlanta, I mean, all the stars seem to sign - like Nash in Columbus - but that team is set going forward and doesn't need to decide on a path of where to go from here, but Atlanta does and until the star they are doing this quick re-up for signs, I would be more careful. I won’t argue Atlanta could use size up front, but how much is size worth? Antropov isn’t a $4 mil player (especially if Kovy did end up leaving). I’m sure he wants to stay as he has stated before, he just needs to sign before I would build a team for him instead of re-building it with the promising youth I have coming up.
yes, (Coburn-for-Zhitnik) is the Official Thrashers Substitute for (Expletive Deleted)
Rory,
I know what the bulk of the article was about, but there were a couple of phrases that did indicate that like ..
'If Atlanta struggles again next year despite Waddell’s efforts, Kovy will be gone and the Thrashers will be a misfit team without direction."
I know this seems small, but if this kind of certainly says Kovy will be gone after this situation, it's just one of those things that gets Thrasher fans heated up. Sure there aren't as many of us as Leaf fans, but damn, we are fiery about our players and can be defensive. We're a sensitive bunch.
To you the article may just seem like a story on how it isn't right to build around him, but for some people, myself included, there are underlying tones that you may not mean but do appear to us in regards to Kovy.
I understand about doing something before he commits to the team and how that may be dangerous, but sometimes you just have to roll the dice. When Kovy came along we were on our way, but there were a series of tragic events that created a snowball going down a mountain that derailed us. I'm not going to get into that though. It's another headache that's not worth it.
Rory,
No idea how much size is worth, and I can see what you mean, but again the lack of context. Sure Antropov might be "overpaid" in some general sense, but you have to evaluate these things in the context of the market as a whole. Compared to Gaborik's contract, Gomez's contract, Hossa's, etc., I'm not bold enough to say that $4 million a year for 4 years is all that bad.
As for who to build around, I think the intention is to build around both Kovalchuk AND the younger talent. I understand that it's somewhat risky, but I'm not sure what else a GM could do given the situation.
Rory,
There was no debate in reality. The author of our post was pretty much venting. So you just got blindsided. What I'm saying to embrace is the fact that you managed to move people, maybe in a negative manner, but still provoked raw emotion. That should be embraced. I'm saying embrace the role not the language. Norman Mailer and Gore Vidal never tried to make nice. They were at it with each other and got in fist fights almost. I think once they did at a party actually they are seen as two of the 20th century's greatest literary minds. By no means are any of us comparable to that though. No offense they're a little out of both of our leagues.
Basically if some guy called me a dick-headed fuck-face online, I'd smile.
DICK-HEADED FUCK FACE!!!!!!!111!!!!1!!!one!!!!!
Antropov is no Gaborik, Hossa, Havlat or anyone else...
Anyway, I'm off boys...good chattin' with ya and best of luck next season.
OH and Mortimer, P.S., I'm brown haired...not a ginger...
Rory = good people.
Thanks for indulging us Thrasher fans.
I'll buy a Hamilton Thrashers jersey in 2015 just because of you. :)
****Antropov is no Gaborik, Hossa, Havlat or anyone else...*****
Not...really...What. I. Meant...but you're right, he isn't a Gaborik or Hossa or Havlat. Obviously I was unclear, so let me spell it out: The Thrashers had to overpay for a secondary scoring non-megastar like Antropov because Antro was demanding something like FIVE million at the start of free agency. He isn't a Gaborik or a Hossa. Therefore, we didn't give him a Gaborik or Hossa contract.
****OH and Mortimer, P.S., I'm brown haired...not a ginger...******
DISGUSTING.
We only like blonds here.
Deutschland, Deutschland üuuuber alles...
A fine young fellow, that Rory is. Doesn't know shit about the Thrashers, but a nice young man, nonetheless. I liked the Antro signing, even for $4M. People say he's only a 20 goal scorer, but has he ever played on a line with a talent like Kovalchuk? I think not. Kovalchuk-Peverley-Antropov could be a very high scoring line. Peverley seems like he has eyes in the back of his head. Antro is going to be a 30 goal scorer this upcoming season. I do have to give Rory props for coming on here. All joking aside, I don't agree with his opinion, but he has earned my respect.
Jay-
Yeah, it's not often a mainstream hockey writer deigns to visit our blog and actually engage with us. He does deserve credit.
Ben Wright actually addressed the article as well
Damn, I missed all the fun... work gets in the ways these days you know. That guy was respectible in his arguments and knowledgeble about the league.
Wow... Big Shooter here. First off, to Rory...
You are absolutely right. Name calling is for 8 year olds, which sometimes late at night I resort to. 4 min double minor for name calling to Big Shooter (that tool). I'm sure you are a very nice man, and as funny as the word "Weenie" is, I shouldn't have used it. We do like to kid here at the Chronicle, though. I'll try to do better in the future, but sadly this probably isn't the last time I get in trouble for calling someone a Weenie or thereabouts!
Thanks for posting. My main problem with the article is I got the feeling you thought Kubina and Antropov were not an upgrade for a team that finished 4th worst in the NHL. Here in Atlanta we have to put up with the same old "hockey doesn't belong in the south Kovalchuk is going to leave at the very first chance my God the Thrashers suck and always will suck" attitude of the "Big" media.
Perhaps I jumped the gun with you. Again, apologies all around. Not my intention. Just trying to have a little fun.
I haven't gotten to read all the comments due to work, and I have yet another meeting to go to, but I will read them tonight.
Rory, don't be a stranger. We have different hockey views, and even though I call people a Weenie every once in a while, I really am an agree to disagree kind of guy!
Just remembered I also used the term "asshat". Again, a funny term used for a cheap laugh.
I apologize for that one as well. Now, I think that covers it. Cheers!
Class act or not, he's still a dumbass that doesn't know what he's talking about. In the context of the free-agency feeding frenzy, Antropov's signing, while perhaps not ideal, was not really overpaying. We addressed a need for both the team and for Kovy. If we don't plan on building around Kovy, we might as well buy-out Kozlov, White and Hainsey, trade Lehtonen and promote every prospect we have "for the future". His argument is utter crap and does not take into account the financial difficulties experienced by this franchise thanks to the pending Belkin litigation. We went "all-in" in 2006-07 and we paid the piper dearly over the next two seasons. However, drafting Little, Bogosian, Kane, Machacek, Paquette, Klingberg & Morin will certainly help the franchise regardless of what Kovy decides.
Oh yeah, one more thing (directed to our "ass-hat" friend from Toronto(?), Kubina has one year left on his deal so how does that make the XLB trade "risky"?? We've got a load of good prospects (Postma is the real deal) in the pipeline and Kovy should know that.
Kovy wants to win now and who can blame him? He's tired of seeing the likes of AO and Malkin having all this success when he's just as good a player. We got him some help, JA's system can work so now it's time for Kovy to put his money where his mouth is.
But I agree with the many sentiments expressed above regarding the character of our beloved "Czar" and my gut tells me he will re-sign no later than Casino Night in 2010.
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