04/26/24
September 15, 2003
Picking on the big boys....: Since the 'Shine Incident', critique of mass media has become the flavor du jour. The linked article is factually atrocious. See how many errors you can find. Supposedly, Lacroix did 3 years of work 'last season.'
I guess Kasparitis wasn't traded to Colorado “last year”. Is that what you’re talking about?
posted by Samsonov14 at 12:48 PM on September 15, 2003
Yeah. Blake was also acquired last year, despite the link with his name showing 2+ years of service in Colorado. In other news Ray Bourque retired last season. Embarassing.
posted by garfield at 12:54 PM on September 15, 2003
Actually they do have Ray's finale right. But still.
posted by garfield at 12:55 PM on September 15, 2003
I'm pretty sure by "last season" and "last year", the author means the 2001-2002 season, in which case all of his information is correct. I guess you could make a case for that, because the 2003-2004 season hasn’t started yet, and I suppose he considers 2002-2003 “this year” or “this season.” It would make sense of the sequential, year-by-year list of players acquired by Colorado – otherwise he’d be skipping a year. The guy definitely could have used clearer language though.
posted by Samsonov14 at 01:16 PM on September 15, 2003
I think they've fixed all the mistakes you wanted to complain about (assigning those trades mentioned at the end to just one year). Fleury = 1999, Ray Borque = another year, Blake = another year, Kasparitis = last year. I think their problem is that they are using the 1st year of a season (say 1999-2000) instead of the last year of the season, and then it seems the article is written as if the 2002-2003 season hasn't finished (so it's referred to as "last season" both correctly (Kasparitis) and incorrectly (Blake)). And I'm not sure that mistakes in articles should be considered front-page material, unless they are grevious erros in logic that completely invalidate the article itself. That said, the content of this article (Lacroix wanting an extension) is worth talking about. He's probably the slickest GM in the NHL right now, able to make deadline deals, off-season trades and sign/draft the right players when necessary. Adding Kariya/Selanne for cheap was a HUGE steal. I'm not sure that he's done though. If he thinks Aebischer is good enough to play net behind his powerhouse offence, then he might sit tight. If not, then I could see him making a move for an established goalie at the deadline in March 2004.
posted by grum@work at 01:17 PM on September 15, 2003
sammy, wouldn't 'last sunday' mean yesterday? and not 8 days ago? grum, I have no idea what FPP material is.
posted by garfield at 01:55 PM on September 15, 2003
"Last year he acquired defenseman Darius Kasparaitis from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for forward Ville Nieminen and defenseman Rick Berry." Supposedly written in September, 2003. In no way can you argue that 'last year' is anything other than 2002-03. The Avalanche acquired All-Star forward Theo Fleury from the Calgary Flames in 1999, got future Hall of Famer Ray Bourque from the Boston Bruins the next year and picked up All-Star defenseman Rob Blake from the Los Angeles Kings last season. I'm not sure why I have to spell it out, but this is obviously a copy/paste job taken from stock stories, not proof-read, and is presented in a professional calibre media outlet.
posted by garfield at 02:05 PM on September 15, 2003
I'm still waiting for the Associated Press to show up here and defend itself.
posted by Samsonov14 at 02:32 PM on September 15, 2003
Let's not be distracted from the 'real' story here: Why the Avalanche will be the New York Rangers of this season. Huh? Any takers?... Bueller?
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 02:36 PM on September 15, 2003
Fry? (drool) Fry? That is a point I'd like to see you make, Weeds.
posted by garfield at 02:39 PM on September 15, 2003
Well - colour me a shit disturber (and I believe the colour is 'burnt umbre') but despite having 2 of the best lines in hockey as your 1 and 2 - the 'Lanche has not shored up their issues on D and is basically hoping that Abeischer is good enough. However, they'll likely figure out a way to get Kolzig or Hackett or another goalie if the need arises. Maybe not the Rangers - but I do think they're not as good as the paper trail would indicate. Incidently - we need to start pre-season predictions. Try to pick the top 8 teams from each conference. It's fun.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 02:51 PM on September 15, 2003
Agreed. Predictions are a must! Well, they have Blake and Morris, so if they can pair those two with stay-at-homes, the D should be ok, but the tender situation is definitely not peachy keen. Abeischer has put up decent numbers, but is always good for an early softie, and then hankers down. His GAA could dramatically decrease if he got that kink out of his game. Who knows if that will, or even can, happen.
posted by garfield at 02:58 PM on September 15, 2003
I nominate Weedy to write the NHL preseason prediction column!
posted by lilnemo at 03:16 PM on September 15, 2003
I second that.
posted by garfield at 03:28 PM on September 15, 2003
Why the Avs haven't at least tried to pry Kolzig away is beyond me. The Caps lost ~$25 million last year...they'll take whatever salary relief they can. He could probably be had for prospects and draft picks. As for predictions, to the locker room perhaps? Anyone up for a bet? ;-)
posted by Succa at 04:05 PM on September 15, 2003
Doh!
posted by Samsonov14 at 05:29 PM on September 15, 2003
Right on - I'll write it - time to start contributing insteqad of just crapping out these pseudo-musings. Mmmm... Pseudo-musings....
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 09:50 AM on September 16, 2003
Instant access to information, old and new, is going to take fact-checking to a whole new level. Lazy journalists beware! In other news, I have no idea about anything in that article.