HockeyRhetoric

At one point during the Blogger Summit I asked Ted Black a question on the possibility of a team relocating to Hamilton, Ontario. He looked directly at me and spoke for about three minutes in response. After giving what sounded like the closing words to his answer, he began scanning the room for the next question. Then something unexpected happened: Black turned back to me and redacted some of what he said regarding Hamilton. I can only assume he was concerned he might take some heat in the future for commenting on something that is, at present, a theoretical league matter. » Read the rest of this entry «

Robyn Regehr will be taking his talents to Buffalo’s inner harbor. (Sorry; I couldn’t resist.)

I guess I’ll first say I love the trade. Regehr is exactly the type of defensemen the Sabres need: a big, strong, veteran shot-blocker who will check the body and be a reliable presence in the defensive zone. » Read the rest of this entry «

My name is Paul Bluhm and I’ll be your blogger for the next five to ten minutes. I’m hoping the disclosure of my full name will serve as evidence for how much I believe in what follows. I want this to be totally answerable.

Last summer I wrote a handful of posts about sports fans and the media. I got a ton of feedback from those entries, particularly the first one. While there were certainly people who could sense the bulk of my rant was on point, I walked away from the issue feeling frustrated because I could never really pull it all together in the way I wanted. Looking back, I don’t think I was totally ready to write those posts. I’m about to give it another try; but before I go in on the fans and the media again, I need to clarify something in the interest of preventing a basic and very common misunderstanding. » Read the rest of this entry «

You’ll have to excuse me for asking such a poorly worded question to Ted Black on youth hockey. I am not a reporter. Besides, I was a little intimidated by all the lights and cameras. It’s a lot darker in the basement.

Yes, I was in attendance at the Sabres Blogger Summit. Ted Black sat and answered our questions on media and the Sabres organization for over two hours. I left feeling impressed with Black but also a little shocked by how quickly this — whatever this is — appears to be moving in the right direction for once. » Read the rest of this entry «

I spent the morning reading about LeBron James and the Miami Heaters. For the most part, James has been portrayed as somewhat of a fraud — a star athlete who has made a habit of fading in the brightest moments. It was amusing to see writers take advantage of the chance to include some language not typically found in sports analysis. Wojnarowski, for example, used the word warped to describe James’ psyche and then about a hundred words later used it again to describe his principles. Anyone care to guess how often warped will appear in columns having to do with the U.S. Open this weekend? » Read the rest of this entry «