Flunky Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 Everyone knows that it's difficult to lure top quality players to Montreal, what with the high taxes, even higher fan expectations, and a rabid, merciless press corps (in both official languages). We can't do much to change the first two, but we can do something to affect the third. So, with this in mind, I propose we start a new thread where we, the REAL supporters of the Canadiens, maintain a regular watch over the Habs-crazy Montreal media. We will become an adhoc media scrutinizer. We will, in effect, "report on the reporters". The Hockey News' quote of Weeps recently attests to the fact that the national media reads our words of wisdom, so let's use our on-line soapbox to expose the bad apples in the Montreal media bunch. By name and by media source. No more hiding in the weeds, casting out baseless accusations and hearsay, and then slinking back into the Montreal media shadows with little or no reprocussions. No more! Let's shine a bright light on these cockroaches, and watch them scurry! Unfortunately, I live in Ottawa, and have limited access to Montreal's print dailies (particularly the French ones, "Le Droit and La Journal"?) or their local radio market. But I'm assuming, from having read so many of your (the real fans) posts over the years, that a good deal of the regulars on this site live in Montreal and many are bilingual, so I truly hope that you will actively participate in this thread. When you hear about excessive media coverage or rumour-mongering, please post it in here, along with all sources (correspondent, media outlet) connected to the story. Attention Mod Squad: Perhaps you could insert a poll/counter at the beginning of the thread that includes the names of Montreal's worst media offenders, and then we can keep a running count of their indiscretions. I cannot overestimate the importance of this endeavour. The reckless and unscrupulous behaviour of the Montreal media is a disgrace to the city, and has a very detrimental effect on the team's ability to land quality players (hell, most players). These people are ruining our team's chances for success, and they're doing it intentionally, just to line their own pockets. "If it bleeds, it leads" is their maxim, regardless of facts or consequences. They are not real fans. We are. In fact, I'd bet many of them aren't even Habs fans at all. They're just unwelcome parasites feeding off a host for their own personal gains. Hell, even if we don't "change the world", it's worth a try. If nothing else, at least it makes you feel better. So c'mon, let's hear some names! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stajan1 Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 its not just the media. lets face the facts here, the fans at the bell center booed a 21 year old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
357908_1475251331 Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 its not just the media. lets face the facts here, the fans at the bell center booed a 21 year old. booing wasn't the story. it was the razzing over an easy save that got the news, and somehow turned into a booing story, for what reason i'm still somewhat at a loss over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket-1 Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 its not just the media. lets face the facts here, the fans at the bell center booed a 21 year old. Who cares about the age? Once your a professional athlete your a professional athlete. Hockey is a religion here, even players like Lafleur got booed. Hell i remember a few years ago the guy with the Zamboni did a ***** job for the penalty shots, so he had to comeback and re-do it, he got booed too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-K-46 Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 Who cares about the age? Once your a professional athlete your a professional athlete. Hockey is a religion here, even players like Lafleur got booed. Hell i remember a few years ago the guy with the Zamboni did a ***** job for the penalty shots, so he had to comeback and re-do it, he got booed too. poor guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74Kos-yn-31Price Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 its not just the media. lets face the facts here, the fans at the bell center booed a 21 year old. I agree, its the media and the fans... do you think price is more upset with the media or fans at this point... and a fan that boos his team because they arent performing well is a bad fan... good fans cheer (at appropriate times) their team/player and support them through good and bad times... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket-1 Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 I agree, its the media and the fans... do you think price is more upset with the media or fans at this point... and a fan that boos his team because they arent performing well is a bad fan... good fans cheer (at appropriate times) their team/player and support them through good and bad times... What's wrong with being emotional ? Nothing. People boo their own team in every major sports, hell if you watched football in recent years you should remember the Dolphins horrible season and the Lions nightmare season. They got booed at every single game. Same thing happens in soccer or baseball. Fans are passionate about their sports so their emotional, people make a big deal out of this for absolutely nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtl_-lt-3emHabs Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 What's wrong with being emotional ? Nothing. People boo their own team in every major sports, hell if you watched football in recent years you should remember the Dolphins horrible season and the Lions nightmare season. They got booed at every single game. Same thing happens in soccer or baseball. Fans are passionate about their sports so their emotional, people make a big deal out of this for absolutely nothing. Good point. Being emotional is what makes sports fun. I think the point of this thread is the media. The media is where most fans get there info from. So if one reporter says Price will lead us to a Stanley cup and he doesn't what do you think happens. All the fans that read that story get mad and take there frustration out on a kid, who never said boo about leading this team to a Stanley cup. Price wants to win a Stanley cup just like all NHL players want to. But when the media (which in most cases are much more older then Price) start running stories of how Price will win a cup they show there only interested in selling papers. I think the media should be held more responsible and to stop floating up fantasy and only stick to facts. So ya I'm all for weeding out the bad apple repoters but at the same time incouraging the good reporters also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flunky Posted August 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 Booing, schmooing. First off, the fans (in attendance) have the right to do anything they want, short of physical violence. Tell me one of you out there who, in the privacy of your own home, has not stomped around and cursed a blue streak after watching something bad happen to your beloved Habs. I for one, find booing very offensive. In fact, I don't even like it when they boo Ex-Habs. But, bottom line is, they paid their hard-earned money and, unless the Canadiens institute a strict "No Booing" policy, the fans at the Bell Centre will continue to show their emotions, good or bad. But this thread is not about the fans and their improper behaviour. It is about the media. The fans spend money to attend games, and are the true supporters of the team, even if they often voice their passions in the wrong way. The media are not fans of the team, or of the sport for that matter. They do not SPEND THEIR MONEY to support the Habs. In fact, they actually MAKE THEIR MONEY off the Habs. The fans invest financially and spiritually in their team in hopes of future success. The media does neither. They get in for free, and then they bad-mouth the team. In fact, IMO, it would not be in the best interest of the media for Montreal to succeed, because with winning comes less controversy and less turmoil and hence, less papers to peddle. These guys are vultures that circle endlessly overhead, only landing when they spot a carcass. So if nothing's dead or dying, these buzzards have nothing to do, and then the only thing dying is their pathetic careers. So let's not compare the fans to the media in terms of maliciousness or motive. While the occasional Bronx Cheer from the peanut gallery may get under a guy's skin, it is the scurilous, "yellow" journalism that passes for media in Montreal that is the real danger. Most players can shrug off a cat-call or two, but how do you defend yourself against a media frenzy that will stoop to any level to make a buck? So again, I ask respectfully, that you "try" to limit your posts in this thread to issues relating to the media and not the fans. Afterall, there have been numerous responses to this new thread already, and yet not one has expanded on the media issue or even mentioned a single sleaze bag by name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellows_mtl Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 One of the worst journalists has to be Mike Boone off of Habs I/O. One minute he's harassing playes such as Kovy and the next minute he's praising them like they can do no wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtl_-lt-3emHabs Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 French journalist that complain that a certain player doesn't speak french. How is this sports related? Come now, it's a global economy and sports are global to. I could care less if the player speaks Russian, Fin, Polish or jibarish as long as he plays hard, scores a goal if he's a goal score, blocks a shot or sticks up for his teamates. Language should be a dead issue since I can speak to anyone all over the world using the internet. The players should respond to these foolish questions in there native tongue and tell the reporter maybe he should learn Finn before he asks another stupid question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74Kos-yn-31Price Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 In my opinion the fans can sway an UFA signing just as much as the media (how many people would sign without us picking up gomez first?)... I think the media is bull ___. But alot of the habs fans are too... If you don't see anything wrong with breaking your own goalies confidence and heart, then I guess I'll keep my opinions about whats really wrong with this organization... And say all you will about "they paid their hard earned money to boo them, they are athletes, etc", If i paid to come harrass and taunt you at work how would your performance be? except your company can probably throw me out for acting like an idiot... The bell center won't... French journalist that complain that a certain player doesn't speak french. How is this sports related? Come now, it's a global economy and sports are global to. I could care less if the player speaks Russian, Fin, Polish or jibarish as long as he plays hard, scores a goal if he's a goal score, blocks a shot or sticks up for his teamates. Language should be a dead issue since I can speak to anyone all over the world using the internet. The players should respond to these foolish questions in there native tongue and tell the reporter maybe he should learn Finn before he asks another stupid question. +1 ... I propose we start a new thread where we, the REAL supporters of the Canadiens... This is why i brought up fans... Just because you call yourself (not you personally) a fan doesn't make you a supporter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flunky Posted August 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 Sorry 74, but I have to disagree with you. A fan's boo and slander are two completely different things, and should be judged as such, not only in the interest of this thread's subject matter, but also in the court of public opinion. If you wan't to know what the real problem is, listen to the recent Tom Kostopolous interview on the Team 990 (the direct link is in the Carey Price thread on the second to last page. For those who haven't heard it, I strongly suggest you take a listen). In the piece, Tom calls out the Montreal media, even resorting to bleeped vulgarities in describing the baseless stories that the local scribes peddled as truth, and how it had such an adverse effect upon the team, particularly in regards to the psyche of youngster Carey Price. Tom sounded so emotional and angry that he sounded like he was still a Hab. Very intense. In fact, the radio interviewer actually asks Tom if he believes the Montreal media is partially to blame for the team problems, which is wild, considering the interviewer is a part of said group. Tom tactfully sidesteps the question, but you can tell what he'd say off the record. He even mentioned that the French and English media began to divide the room into two camps. And not once, my friend, did they discuss the Bell Centre's fan behaviour. Not once. Tom may have mentioned that Carey Price felt like he was "carrying the city on his back" at one point, but the only fan-related reference that Tom made was when he described the crowd reaction to Montreal's game seven win over Boston two years ago. It was Tom's first playoff series victory ever (actually it was his first playoff series period), and he described it as one of the highlights of his life. Tom loved the jubilance of the Montreal crowd, and could obviously handle its jeers. The press, according to TK, was another matter altogether. *Again, If you haven't heard the interview, I strongly suggest you do. And on the side-subject of "fans" versus "supporters", I understand your argument that some people do not show their enthusiasm in the proper way, but a fan is still a fan, even if they are a critical one. Afterall, there is no such thing as a die-hard Habs fan who is truly hoping for them to fail. No out there follows them religiously, while secretly praying for their demise. Even the crustiest, most pessimistic Hab fan alive still wants, in their heart of hearts, for the team to ultimately succeed. If you didn't, you truly would not be a Habs fan at all. By any definition. And that's what the difference is lad. We (you, me and every other idiot on this site) are all Habs fans, who vary in degrees of "support". The media is not a fan or a supporter of the Habs. It is a hinderence, if not an out-right barrier to our success. PS: Could someone with some degree of know-how (obviously not me) please put the link to the TK interview into this thread, so we can keep it as "evidence" for later reference. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZetPaul Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Well Flunky, you're having a hard time trying to keep this thread in line, aren't you? I agree with you 100% regarding the media issue. On the shmoooing issue, just read my sig... I would even further suggest that we keep an eye on the newspaper blogs. Most of the articles written in LaPresse and Journal de Montréal and such have well fed fans' comments column, which worsen the effect of those sensational news. Once in a while, knowledgeable fans could "shine their lights" on these things... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74Kos-yn-31Price Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Flunky, I have heard the interview, or atleast read it on this site... Never once did i say the media isn't to blame... I never even said the fans are worse than the media... That doesn't mean the fans aren't still at fault... And just because Kostopolous didn't go into any matters about fans doesn't mean he doesn't think it... That would be something, a professional athlete bad mouthing the fans, he would be hated league wide not just by Montreal fans... And even if he doesn't think its an issue it doesn't mean Kost's opinion is the determining factor... I just think its funny when people i work with that are Leaf, Bruin, and Sen fans tell me how we're gonna lose our STAR goalie because our MEDIA and FANS... And yes they refer to Price as a star... I completely agree that the media is at fault and should stop making up this garbage, but I also know that players can be driven away by other factors... By the way, your right Fans are Fans, But not all Fans are supporters... Montreal has some of the best supporters in hockey, but they also have a group of fans willing to rip apart the team at the smallest sign of failure... In conclusion, I have to agree with your stance on media, but not on Fans/Supporters (and this thread is about media, I get that, But I thought it people would be open to discussion about this, after all, without any kind of fan [good or bad] reading and believing all these stupid stories there would be no issue with the media). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frostyHAWK Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 French journalist that complain that a certain player doesn't speak french. How is this sports related? Come now, it's a global economy and sports are global to. I could care less if the player speaks Russian, Fin, Polish or jibarish as long as he plays hard, scores a goal if he's a goal score, blocks a shot or sticks up for his teamates. Language should be a dead issue since I can speak to anyone all over the world using the internet. The players should respond to these foolish questions in there native tongue and tell the reporter maybe he should learn Finn before he asks another stupid question. I would have a few words to say to those journalists if they ever interviewed me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiapo Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 One of the worst journalists has to be Mike Boone off of Habs I/O. One minute he's harassing players such as Kovy and the next minute he's praising them like they can do no wrong. Flunky has a great idea here, but I fear that this board will only serve to feed these journalist's enormous egos. Did you know that Mike Boone is an alcoholic and is always seen frequenting bars all over town? His sexual preference is also questionable. This is what I hear from my "source," who I am not willing to disclose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhljc Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 its not just the media. lets face the facts here, the fans at the bell center booed a 21 year old. <Edit> A bit more respect for the opinions of other members, please. -weepingminotaur Booing is a part of sports. When you play poorly, you deserve to get boo'ed. I don't know too many people who are huge fans of losers, except the guys over at the TML forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB655 Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Booing is a part of sports. When you play poorly, you deserve to get boo'ed. I don't know too many people who are huge fans of losers, except the guys over at the TML forum. *Face palm*... So...You deserve to be boo'ed for that comment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry-Launstein-Jr Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 What's wrong with being emotional ? Nothing. People boo their own team in every major sports, hell if you watched football in recent years you should remember the Dolphins horrible season and the Lions nightmare season. They got booed at every single game. Same thing happens in soccer or baseball. Fans are passionate about their sports so their emotional, people make a big deal out of this for absolutely nothing. The Lions have not won the National Football League championship since 1957, a full decade before the first Super Bowl. They have never made a Super Bowl appearance. And guess what? They are staring down the barrel of another 0-16 season! These guys have not improved very much, and I just don't see them winning a game at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74Kos-yn-31Price Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 <Edit> A bit more respect for the opinions of other members, please. -weepingminotaur Booing is a part of sports. When you play poorly, you deserve to get boo'ed. I don't know too many people who are huge fans of losers, except the guys over at the TML forum. Where do you work? I wanna show up and start harrassing and taunting you for every little mistake you make... We'll see how you handle that... Oh and hopefully the media is there to catch it on tape and rip you apart for your reactions too... Thanks have a great day and see you soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhljc Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Where do you work? I wanna show up and start harrassing and taunting you for every little mistake you make... We'll see how you handle that... Oh and hopefully the media is there to catch it on tape and rip you apart for your reactions too... Thanks have a great day and see you soon Theres a person who boo's me when I make a mistake - its called my boss. Also, I'm not making millions of dollars playing a sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSD Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Where do you work? I wanna show up and start harrassing and taunting you for every little mistake you make... We'll see how you handle that... Oh and hopefully the media is there to catch it on tape and rip you apart for your reactions too... Thanks have a great day and see you soon im not saying youre wrong, because i didnt agree with the way the fans handled price...but, this is professional sport...the people who pay to watch the games feed into the montreal organization which in turn pays the wages to the players on the team...so really, the people who show up to games and those who buy the season seats are investors of this franchise...if they boo a player they have a right to, they paid a ridiculous amount of money to watch a game and see their team win...if they stop going to these games then the habs fall into financial troubles and the players wont be able to get paid etc. etc. so the people who show up and boo (even though its poor in taste) have every right to do so... now, as for your example of showing up to peoples jobs...if you were paying my wages, you would be my boss and you could scrutinize me all you want, thats fine...investors in gm they dont like the way to company is performing and what did they do? they said get it right or else...then they started selling their shares, the company lost more money found it hard to pay their workers who are now all sitting home on lay off...so really, even in the working world it happens...are people going to be able to perform if they dont know where their next pay cheque will come from? i dont think so...and while its, once again, poor form to go in and criticize and scrutinize workers in gm saying "they get paid too much" or "they have too many benefits" etc. as an investor in the company if you are not getting the results/profits you want, you have every right to do that and then if you still dont like it, you pull your investment...so yeah i think it does happen in the working world at normal jobs, just in a different way... the biggest difference is, that someone making 40-60 grand a year is basically just able to survive while someone getting paid in the millions is living very comfortably...and to top that off...its the people making the 40-60 grand a year who are paying the wages of these millionaires who play professional sports...if they want to boo them, then let them...me? i dont boo...i also watch games free online...so...lol... the people who boo may or may not love the team...they may be idiots, they may be very passionate and very frustrated/upset that their team which was once so dominant cannot seem to find itself in the finals anymore...you cant sit there and pass judgement on the fans who boo...because you dont know why they are doing it...but, they paid to see their team win and if it doesnt then they are going to hold someone accountable and the first person they see is a player...might be right, its probably wrong, but thats life in professional sport... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flunky Posted August 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Ok folks, let's tey to stay on topic here. The media-bashing is starting to get drowned out by booing again. Booing is bad. We all acknowledge that, even those (myself included) who defend the action. But booing has been around since the dawn of times. FYI, fans of the New York Yankees, the most successful team in MLB history, invented the "Bronx Cheer" (AKA "the razz-berry") to chide their team when they under-achieved And obviously, the negative fan reaction really hurt the Yankees. (See "Sarcasm") On a personal note, I attended game one of the '79-'80 final between the Habs and Rangers. Montreal not only lost the game, but Ken Dryden was booed off the ice after the 2nd period and did not even play the third period. What was the end-result of the fan's outburst, you may ask? Dryden started the next game, unfazed, and Montreal won the next four straight to win their fourth straight Stanley Cup. Again, the booing obviously had a very negative effect. (See "More Sarcasm") Hell, we could start up another thread called "Fanning The Fire", which deals specifically with fan-related abuse. But this thread is designed to specifically deal with abuses by the media, and so I digress.... Good start Bellows, naming names. I like it. We should be discussing Boone, not booing anyways. Good to have a left coast perspective. 3M, good point on the French media attitude. Hopefully, we can get some specific "noms" and add them to our Wall of Shame. I see that you and 74 both hail from the Big Nickel (Go Wolves!), so I'm assuming you two won't be our pointmen for the local French section of the Habs Media Watch. Just a hunch. And speaking of 74, let's agree to disagree on our specific definitions of a "fan", but agree that the media has a negative influence on the team. ZPaul, great sig, and great to have you actively participating. Being a Quebecer (and hopefully blilingual?), I believe your input will be invaluable to this thread, particularly in relation to the French Blogs. Like the title says, let's "Put Another Blog On The Fire". And last but not least, another Boone blot from Chiapo down in cactus country. Un burracho maricon? Ay Caramba! I like the fire in your belly lad, but let's try to stick to "professional" faults. Perhaps you should put a little less Peyote in your Fritatas next time. Vaya con Dios, mi amigo. Anyways, great start folks. So keep up the chatter, and let's boo some media bums out of town! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngnv Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 im not saying youre wrong, because i didnt agree with the way the fans handled price...but, this is professional sport...the people who pay to watch the games feed into the montreal organization which in turn pays the wages to the players on the team...so really, the people who show up to games and those who buy the season seats are investors of this franchise...if they boo a player they have a right to, they paid a ridiculous amount of money to watch a game and see their team win...if they stop going to these games then the habs fall into financial troubles and the players wont be able to get paid etc. etc. so the people who show up and boo (even though its poor in taste) have every right to do so... now, as for your example of showing up to peoples jobs...if you were paying my wages, you would be my boss and you could scrutinize me all you want, thats fine...investors in gm they dont like the way to company is performing and what did they do? they said get it right or else...then they started selling their shares, the company lost more money found it hard to pay their workers who are now all sitting home on lay off...so really, even in the working world it happens...are people going to be able to perform if they dont know where their next pay cheque will come from? i dont think so...and while its, once again, poor form to go in and criticize and scrutinize workers in gm saying "they get paid too much" or "they have too many benefits" etc. as an investor in the company if you are not getting the results/profits you want, you have every right to do that and then if you still dont like it, you pull your investment...so yeah i think it does happen in the working world at normal jobs, just in a different way... the biggest difference is, that someone making 40-60 grand a year is basically just able to survive while someone getting paid in the millions is living very comfortably...and to top that off...its the people making the 40-60 grand a year who are paying the wages of these millionaires who play professional sports...if they want to boo them, then let them...me? i dont boo...i also watch games free online...so...lol... the people who boo may or may not love the team...they may be idiots, they may be very passionate and very frustrated/upset that their team which was once so dominant cannot seem to find itself in the finals anymore...you cant sit there and pass judgement on the fans who boo...because you dont know why they are doing it...but, they paid to see their team win and if it doesnt then they are going to hold someone accountable and the first person they see is a player...might be right, its probably wrong, but thats life in professional sport... While I can't argue that fans don't have a RIGHT to boo, because that comes along with freedom of speech. But my question is: why would you want to boo? Let's look at your employer / employee example. Yes, as the person paying your wages, your boss has the right to criticize your work and let you know when it is not up to par. But I think we can all agree that there are good bosses and then there are bad ones. The good ones will give criticism tastefully and will always encourage their workers in a more positive manner. Booing the players on the ice is the same thing as a boss yelling and berating an employee. It's just not the way you treat people. Respect must be earned. Even a boss must earn the respect of his/her employees, and yelling and berating them is not a good way to do that. So, I say, go ahead and boo if you want, but just realize that by doing so, you may lose the respect of the players. We have a hard enough time signing players to this team already. Do you want to make it worse by creating an aura of negativity about Canadiens fans? As the people paying the wages, we should cheer and encourage our employees through ups and through downs. Booing them is only going to make them want to quit. If we remain positive, so will they, and they will want to work harder and play better. Let the coaching staff do the criticizing, that's their job, and most of them know how to do it tastefully. The bottom line is that booing doesn't help. It makes things worse for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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