nivek_wahs
04-13-2007, 03:01 AM
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=f5adb132-cb68-43ec-922d-59461cd03a57
You have to take the bad with the good
Rob Vanstone, The Leader-Post
Published: Friday, April 13, 2007
The Regina Pats performed a delicate surgical procedure known as a C-section.
Pats employees removed Section C, which contains the sports pages, from copies of the Leader-Post which were distributed to fans who attended Wednesday's Western Hockey League playoff game between the Pats and the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers.
Was it something I wrote?
Evidently.
I have been informed -- although not directly -- that some Pats employees and fans were rankled by Wednesday's column, in which I opined that team needed to elevate its intensity level to the same degree that playoff ticket prices had been increased.
"I won't quote anyone, or even name names, but most everyone thought it was pretty unfair,'' Pats play-by-play man Rod Pedersen wrote on his blog Thursday. "That includes many fans whom I spoke to around the city on Wednesday. 'How come they're always so G.D. negative?' screamed one person in the press box last night.''
Well, it might have something to do with the fact that the Pats were coming off Monday's 7-2 loss to the host Tigers.
Hmmmmm. Perhaps I should have accentuated Troy Ofukany's glorious second-period goal, which pared Medicine Hat's lead to (gulp) 5-1.
Following that game, a television clip showed a visibly mystified Pats head coach, Curtis Hunt, who noted that some players -- veterans in particular -- needed to boost their intensity.
That was in tune with general manager Brent Parker's lament after Saturday's series-opening 4-1 loss in Medicine Hat: "Overall, I don't think our effort was good enough to beat a team of that calibre, especially in their rink.''
To recap:
The head coach feels more intensity is required.
The general manager would like to see more effort.
Noticing a common denominator, I build a column around the earth-shaking conclusion that (cue trumpets) more effort is required.
And the insanity begins.
Seriously, people . . .
Was Wednesday's column written in acerbic fashion? Absolutely. It was pointed out, none too tactfully, that Pats fans -- who are being asked to pay the highest single-game prices in franchise history -- would have every right to feel cheated if the team did not perform more energetically in Game 3.
The column proved to be more offensive than the team -- which erupted for two (2) shots on goal during Wednesday's dreary first period.
To the Pats' credit, they rallied from a somniferous start and made Game 3 more interesting than anticipated. They pushed a powerful Medicine Hat team to overtime before losing 2-1. After that game, the Pats' effort was commended in this space -- even though the defeat saddled Regina with a 3-0 deficit in the best-of-seven series.
I live by this credo: "Be as quick to praise as to criticize.'' One validates the other.
People who cover sports in this region have every opportunity -- should they choose to exercise it -- to praise and criticize.
Look around. The most-prominent sporting franchises in the greater Regina area are (dare we say it?) mediocre.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are coming off three consecutive 9-and-9 seasons. The Pats have a comparable winning percentage over the 12 years in which Russ Parker (Brent's father) has owned the team.
Given those teams' tendencies to gravitate toward .500, equal time and space are devoted to documenting success and attempting to explain failure.
The pendulum swings both ways.
If I like something, I will write that.
If I dislike something, those sentiments will also devour newsprint.
At all times, I will tell you exactly what is in my ample gut.
(A double Whopper, at last word.)
People are free to react as they wish. If they agree, fine. If they disagree, fine. If they find the opinions so abhorrent that they want to disregard -- or even discard -- the sports section, that is their prerogative.
In my world, only the mini-doughnuts are sugar-coated.
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007
You have to take the bad with the good
Rob Vanstone, The Leader-Post
Published: Friday, April 13, 2007
The Regina Pats performed a delicate surgical procedure known as a C-section.
Pats employees removed Section C, which contains the sports pages, from copies of the Leader-Post which were distributed to fans who attended Wednesday's Western Hockey League playoff game between the Pats and the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers.
Was it something I wrote?
Evidently.
I have been informed -- although not directly -- that some Pats employees and fans were rankled by Wednesday's column, in which I opined that team needed to elevate its intensity level to the same degree that playoff ticket prices had been increased.
"I won't quote anyone, or even name names, but most everyone thought it was pretty unfair,'' Pats play-by-play man Rod Pedersen wrote on his blog Thursday. "That includes many fans whom I spoke to around the city on Wednesday. 'How come they're always so G.D. negative?' screamed one person in the press box last night.''
Well, it might have something to do with the fact that the Pats were coming off Monday's 7-2 loss to the host Tigers.
Hmmmmm. Perhaps I should have accentuated Troy Ofukany's glorious second-period goal, which pared Medicine Hat's lead to (gulp) 5-1.
Following that game, a television clip showed a visibly mystified Pats head coach, Curtis Hunt, who noted that some players -- veterans in particular -- needed to boost their intensity.
That was in tune with general manager Brent Parker's lament after Saturday's series-opening 4-1 loss in Medicine Hat: "Overall, I don't think our effort was good enough to beat a team of that calibre, especially in their rink.''
To recap:
The head coach feels more intensity is required.
The general manager would like to see more effort.
Noticing a common denominator, I build a column around the earth-shaking conclusion that (cue trumpets) more effort is required.
And the insanity begins.
Seriously, people . . .
Was Wednesday's column written in acerbic fashion? Absolutely. It was pointed out, none too tactfully, that Pats fans -- who are being asked to pay the highest single-game prices in franchise history -- would have every right to feel cheated if the team did not perform more energetically in Game 3.
The column proved to be more offensive than the team -- which erupted for two (2) shots on goal during Wednesday's dreary first period.
To the Pats' credit, they rallied from a somniferous start and made Game 3 more interesting than anticipated. They pushed a powerful Medicine Hat team to overtime before losing 2-1. After that game, the Pats' effort was commended in this space -- even though the defeat saddled Regina with a 3-0 deficit in the best-of-seven series.
I live by this credo: "Be as quick to praise as to criticize.'' One validates the other.
People who cover sports in this region have every opportunity -- should they choose to exercise it -- to praise and criticize.
Look around. The most-prominent sporting franchises in the greater Regina area are (dare we say it?) mediocre.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are coming off three consecutive 9-and-9 seasons. The Pats have a comparable winning percentage over the 12 years in which Russ Parker (Brent's father) has owned the team.
Given those teams' tendencies to gravitate toward .500, equal time and space are devoted to documenting success and attempting to explain failure.
The pendulum swings both ways.
If I like something, I will write that.
If I dislike something, those sentiments will also devour newsprint.
At all times, I will tell you exactly what is in my ample gut.
(A double Whopper, at last word.)
People are free to react as they wish. If they agree, fine. If they disagree, fine. If they find the opinions so abhorrent that they want to disregard -- or even discard -- the sports section, that is their prerogative.
In my world, only the mini-doughnuts are sugar-coated.
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007