Shield laws and Bloggers: Earning the Protection
Let me begin my first blog post in nearly a year by apologizing for yet another non-baseball entry. Over time, I’ve begun to lose interest in writing and pretty much everything academic and focused on trying to figure out what I wanna be ‘when I grow up,’ keeping in mind that I turned 22 last week. That’s neither here nor there…this post was spurred on by a discussion that came up in a journalism class that I just got back from. It has me heated and wanting to get back on the soap box, so here I go…
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My professor, Tara George, brought up an excellent question: are bloggers journalists? More specifically, does anyone trying to blow a whistle on a blog, Facebook or MySpace page deserve the Constitutional protection rights that is brought to journalists in most US states by ‘Shield laws’?
In short, for those of you who don’t know, a shield law gives reporters the “right to refuse to testify as to information and/or sources of information obtained during the news gathering and dissemination process.” From Wikipedia. Yeah, I know…but the definition is correct and succinct so I hope you’ll let me slide on this one.
The issue at hand, nearly 2 years old, was brought back up by Brian Lehrer on his radio show at WNYC Radio in New York after attorneys representing the woman who you’ll hear about shortly spoke in court this past Tuesday. Lehrer and his guests consider the question, and both guests seem to lean towards any uneducated blogger getting protective rights. We’ll get to that later. LINK to the radio show.
Professor George showed us this blog post by Kelly Heyboer from the Newark Star-Ledger, which explains the situation pretty well:
http://blog.nj.com/jerseyblogs/2009/05/are_bloggers_journalists_too_m.html
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Shellee Hale doesn’t have a journalism degree. But
the Washington state mother of five has four blogs and a passion for
exposing security breaches in the online pornography business.
So, when a New Jersey software company sued Hale for slander when she wrote about an alleged security breach at their company, the blogger came up with a unique defense: She’s a journalist.
Hale argued in Monmouth County Superior Court she
deserves the same protections as traditional newspaper and broadcast
reporters under the New Jersey’s shield law. Under the law, journalists
are protected from having to reveal their sources in many cases.
But the company, Too Much Media in Freehold, is
skeptical. Their lawyers argue Hale wasn’t practicing journalism. She
was a mere blogger trashing a company on Oprano.com, an online forum,
citing “sources.”
While a Monmouth County judge sorts out the landmark case, bloggers
have been intrigued by Hale’s argument. If bloggers are reporting and
exposing corruption, don’t they deserve the same legal protections as
traditional journalists? Or would that allow every anonymous blogger at
home in their pajamas free reign to slander and libel people at will?
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That last paragraph is important. Do bloggers deserve the same legal protections as traditional journalists? To be blunt, in my opinion, absolutely ****ing not. Speaking strictly from the standpoint of a student who’s gone through the ringer of 3 different colleges, has sat in lecture halls, has done reporting and has interviewed people and has trained as a journalist to become a journalist for almost four years now, I think that Hale’s argument holds no water.
In Shellee’s world, I would’ve just started up a blog four years ago, blowing the whistle on any wrongdoing I could find and citing “sources” left and right, without ever having to fess up to them because I’d be protected by Shield laws. I would’ve saved myself a hell of a lot of money in tuition and financial aid and I’d be in the same exact position I am now — wanting to be a journalist.
It shouldn’t work like that. There has to be something that separates someone like me — someone who’s been studying for years, taking classes with professors who have degrees and professional experience in the journalism field, people who have done what I want to do and have done it well — from someone blogging from their basement. Otherwise, I can’t help but feel like these last few years have been a complete waste of my time.
It shouldn’t work like that.
And a New Jersey court agreed with me a few months after the Star-Ledger post.
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Courts are now being faced with the task of evaluating a virtually
limitless of people who claim to be “reporting” on issues, but who are,
many times, doing little more than shouting from atop a digital
soapbox. When New Jersey’s legislature enacted the Shield Law, it could
not have anticipated the instantaneity with which people now transmit
information.
There is no fact-checking required, no editorial review, and so
little accountability for the statements posted that it is virtually
impossible to discern the author or source of the posts. To extend the
newsperson’s privilege to such posters would mean anyone with an email
address, with no connection to any legitimate news publication, could
post anything on the internet and hide behind the Shield Law’s
protections. Certainly, this was not the intention of the Legislature
in passing the statute.
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Basically, the court ruled that since Hale was not currently working for an accredited, reputable news organization, that she was not granted the protection that the Shield law brings. Obviously, I agree with the ruling, however, I think that the limitations should be reviewed.
What about all the unemployed journalists out there these days? Newspapers are a dying medium, and some professionals who no longer have credentials or a check with their name on it from an accredited news organization have no choice but to be bloggers. They have passion for writing the news and finding things out, and that’s what being a journalist is all about…but with the current state of the world of journalism, there just aren’t that many jobs out there.
There has to be some kind of middleground so that people who have done their time, done the work and gone to journalism school(like me) can separate themselves from someone like Shellee Hale or Perez Hilton. I’m sorry I’m not sorry, but they do not deserve the same protective rights as someone who has been educated on the history, process, art and inner-workings of journalism.
I’m not saying that bloggers aren’t journalists, because I don’t think that there is a solid, dictionary definition of what journalism is. That’s an inherent part of the artform in itself. I just think that you need to earn the protection that shield laws bring. The internet has blurred the lines between journalism and expressing your opinion, and I think it’s important that journalistic values continue to win out when it comes to situations like Shellee Hale’s piss-poor attempt at blowing a whistle.
I think blogs are great — hell, I’m writing in one right now — but I can’t help but ask myself…what the hell is the point of what I’m doing in school if anyone with a blog can get the same rights that I’m striving to earn?
More links:
- http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014162467_apnjbloggerprotections1stldwritethru.html
- http://twitter.com/shelleehale
- http://journoprof.wordpress.com/
“You were born to be hockey players”
And the United States and Russia were smack dab in the middle of the Cold War.
A mini-Cold War also happened to take place on an ice rink in Lake Placid, New York; the young, wide-eyed United States hockey team against the impenetrable big red USSR machine in the first game of the Medal round of the Winter Olympics.
The American kids couldn’t win. A few weeks earlier they were dominated by the same team at Madison Square Garden in an exhibition game by a score of 10-3. They didn’t have a chance.
But, do you believe in miracles?
Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks in ‘Miracle’(2004) – Pre-Game Speech
“Great moments are born from great opportunity.”
Now, I’m not saying that Coach Brooks’ speech was exactly like the movie’s incarnation, because the only people who know what that was like are the coaching staff, trainers and 20 young kids in the locker room before that game…but that quote has lived with me ever since I first saw the movie as a kid in high school, jumping out of my seat and cheering with each US goal scored, along with pretty much everyone else in the theater.
“That’s what you have here tonight, boys. That’s what you’ve earned here, tonight.”
Brooks took his team of kids on a grueling overseas schedule against some of the best competition in the world, building up their strength, building up their abilities, building up their confidence…all for this match-up against the greatest team in the world. And believe me, they were the greatest team in the world. I wasn’t alive so I never saw them play, but the numbers speak for themselves. Gold medalists in 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976. It was a predetermined outcome that the Soviets would once again take home the Gold.
“One game. If we played ‘em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight.”
And sure enough, David slayed Goliath. The inexperienced kids took down the monstrous favorites by a score of 4-3 and changed the landscape of American sports for the rest of time. America, the country as a whole, felt redeemed. We beat those Commie b*stards.
That was 30 years ago today.
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To make things worse for the Americans, the game is played in Vancouver — on Canada’s own home soil.
“Great moments are born from great opportunity.”
And what an opportunity it was for Team USA. Win, and take the first overall seed heading into the next round. Win, and not have to face Russia, Canada and possibly Sweden(the three medal favorites heading into the games) until the Gold medal game. Win, and beat the Canadian juggernaut on their own home soil. Win for America.
“That’s what you have here tonight, boys. That’s what you’ve earned here, tonight.”
They earned their way to being on the same ice with Canada, and not just purely because of the seeding and the pre-conceived matchup during the preliminary round. The USA hockey minds went with potential over credentials for this game, with the team having an average age of 26; guys like Keith Tkachuk, Bill Guerin and Mike Modano were replaced with youthful stars Patrick Kane, Ryan Malone and Ryan Kesler. The 2006 goaltending tandem of Rick DiPietro, Robert Esche and John Grahame were substituted with Ryan Miller, Tim Thomas and Jonathan Quick. The blueline was shored up by replacing Chris Chelios, Derian Hatcher and Bret Hedican with Jack Johnson, Erik Johnson and Ryan Suter.
To make a long story shorter, these kids are not American hockey legends — yet.
“One game. If we played ‘em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight.”
Inexperienced Americans, inexperienced even at the NHL level, taking on a dream team of Canadian rock stars, IN Canada. If these teams did play ten times, Canada might just win nine of them.
But they didn’t win last night.
Wearing the jerseys of the 1960 Gold medal-winning USA hockey team, the last USA team to beat Canada in the Olympics, the Americans pulled off a gritty, hard-working 5-3 victory to send the entire country of Canada into a depressed state. Brian Rafalski continued his torridly surprising play, scoring the first two goals of the game, making it four consecutive goals by him for the team.
Chris Drury, called the team’s “13th forward” and a surprise addition to the roster by many, continued his amazing play by netting the third goal of the game, all the while playing absolutely stellar on the penalty kill with New York Rangers teammate and fellow American Ryan Callahan.
Rafalski would then contribute again on the game-winner with a slapshot on the power play, deflecting off of Captain Jamie Langenbrunner’s skate between Marty Brodeur’s five-hole. Perhaps my favorite goal of the night, however, was Ryan Kesler’s incredible effort to ice the game, reaching around Corey Perry with his left hand on his stick and somehow batting the puck into the vacant net.
Enough cannot be said about goalie Ryan Miller. He stood on his proverbial head all game last night, stopping 42 of 45 shots. He carried USA for most of the game, and without him, the Americans would’ve been dominated on the scoreboard, much like they were dominated on the ice for the majority of the game. He was an absolute brick wall.
One last fun fact: in 1980, Bob Suter manned the blueline for USA wearing the number 20. In 2010, Ryan Suter, Bob’s son, mans the blueline for USA wearing the number 20. It’s not exactly eerie, but it’s definitely very cool.
Different worlds and 29 years and 364 days separate the two games, but they sure seem to have
quite a lot in common.
You must be Jokinen!
Everyone’s favorite GM Glen Sather(LOL) delivered a timely birthday present to yours truly, and pulled off yet another lop-sided trade this evening. Sent packing were useless wingers Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins to Calgary, in exchange for center Olli Jokinen and tough guy Brandon Prust. Jokinen’s overrated and his best years are behind him, but at this point ANYONE is an upgrade over Kotalik’s $3 million dollar salary sitting in the press box every night. Higgins came over in the Gomez trade and never found his niche in New York, and I wish him well in Calgary.
Jokinen put up some big points in Florida, but has been traded around the league the last few years. He should fit in nicely on the first line with Marian Gaborik, and hopefully the two can build some chemistry and put the puck in the net. The best part about Jokinen, though…is that his $5.5 million dollar cap hit will be off the books this summer. That’s right, he’s set to be a UFA. This is easily my favorite part of the deal. If he works, great, if not, so what, use the $5.5 mil wisely(something Sather has failed at in past years, but oh well).
I wonder if the newest Rangers will be suiting up tomorrow night in LA. Hopefully Olli and Brandon can give a shot of life to the Rangers and propel them out of mediocrity.
Name-game over, Yankees Winn!
Curtis Granderson. Johnny Damon. Mark DeRosa. Reed Johnson. Rocco Baldelli.
There’s been a carousel of names that have spun around the sports pages and internet forums as to how the Yankees would fill their “hole” in left field, and today Brian Cashman pulled someone way out of left field(haha?) and signed him to a one-year contract: Randy Winn.
Randy. Winn.
“Wait, what?” – the reaction of most Yankee fans.
The deal is pending a physical at this point. I personally remember Winn from his days with the Mariners and Rays, and specifically as being part of the deal that brought Lou Piniella from Seattle to Tampa Bay. His stats and seemingly his abilities have diminished over the years, but I still consider him to be an extremely serviceable 4th/5th outfielder. I see Winn getting some playing time in both LF and RF, being a defensive replacement for Swisher in late innings, and also pinch-running and pinch-hitting at times.
I for one am glad the Yanks didn’t give in to Johnny Damon’s salary demands. I loved Johnny during his time in New York and he was pivotal during this past October’s playoff run, but enough’s enough. I got sick of watching him flail his arms as he went to the wall in death valley to track down a fly ball, only to slam into the wall, lose his hat and fall on his *** as the baserunner ended up on 2nd or even 3rd.
Believe it or not, folks, the Yanks don’t need an All-Star at every position. Better yet, they don’t need someone who’s capable of hitting 20 home runs at every position. The lineup is completely fine without Damon, and defensively, they’re 10x better today then they were yesterday. Here’s a possible opening day lineup for New York:
1. Jeter – SS
2. Johnson – DH
3. Teixeira – 1B
4. Rodriguez – 3B
5. Posada – C
6/7. Granderson – CF/LF
7/6. Cano – 2B
8. Swisher – RF
9. Gardner/Winn – LF/CF
Overall, I’m pleased with the deal. I commend Brian Cashman for sticking to the Yanks’ offseason budget. Contrary to popular belief, the Yanks are not a bottomless cash pit, and they just signed a serviceable player who fits their budget. Good job, Brian.
On paper, I don’t quite think the Yanks are a stronger team today than they are when they won the Championship nearly 3 months ago, but that’s to be expected when you lose your number-two hitter and your starting DH. Then again, with the additions of Johnson, Winn, and of course Javy Vazquez, maybe the Yanks are a stronger team today? Only time will tell.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on Winn? What about Damon? Are the Yanks done, or will they sign a right-handed bat to balance this heavily-lefthanded lineup? Stay tuned, folks.
~Scott
A Bright Future
As everyone knows by now, the Jets lost to the Colts in the AFC Championship game. Was I upset? Yes. Was I angry? Sure. Was I disappointed? Absolutely. But I got over a big loss like that as quick as I ever have, for any of my teams. The Jets had an unbelievable season, surpassed all expectations, and have nothing but a bright future ahead. Here’s 5 quick reasons why:
1. They have a franchise quarterback. The progression that Mark Sanchez made this season was unbelievable, culminating with an awesome run in the playoffs. This loss cannot be pinned on Sanchise. He did everything in his power to move the team down the field and win the game. The fully-expected rookie mistakes earlier in the year disappeared as the postseason came along as Mark began to play within himself and the team’s strengths. He’ll only get better from here on out.
2. They have a franchise running back. Shonn Greene showed the country this year what Iowa fans had known all along — he’s legit. His rare combination of sheer size, power and breakaway speed is a true gift. Group him with Thomas Jones who still has some yards left in him, and Leon Washington, and the Jets have a 3-headed monster coming out of the backfield that is impossible to match.
3. The defense is here to stay. The secondary will most likely be revamped this offseason, because outside of Darrelle Revis, Peyton Manning picked apart the Jets defensive backfield last night. Nothing to be ashamed of from a future Hall of Fame QB, but the Jets secondary just did not get the job done. The Jets also need to look for a pass-rusher to go along with Sean Ellis(aging) and Kris Jenkins(coming off of an injury), either in the draft or in free agency(only possible if the Jets lose a FA to another team. Yikes). The New York Jets’ defense could be this decade’s Baltimore Ravens.
4. The offensive line. Three Pro Bowlers on the left side of the line including D’Brickashaw, Faneca and Mangold, and vets Brandon Moore and Damien Woody on the right side. These guys have been together for two full seasons now and have blossomed into a top-3 o-line in the NFL.
5. Rex Ryan. Coach Ryan brought an attitude, a swagger and a shot of life that can only be described as unbelievably bold. I’ve never seen a coach make such an immediate impact on a team. The Jets took on Rex’s bold personality and ran with it. The team adopted his predictions of the Jets being favorites in every game they played, and went out and played like it.
Honorable mentions: Red Zone monster Dustin Keller, tackle machine David Harris, pass-rusher-extraordinaire Calvin Pace, and Bart Scott and Jim Leonhard(two huge additions).
The future is bright, folks. These aren’t your “same old Jets.” Not anymore.
Goodbye for now, Classy Conan
For as long as I can remember, Conan O’Brien has hosted a show on Channel 4 very late at night. As a child, I remember watching the show with my mom when I was sick or couldn’t sleep, and then not watching it with her again for years thanks to Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. Conan’s friendly smile and wild red hair have been a staple in my life for seemingly forever, but not anymore. Tonight was his last Tonight Show, and he went out the same way he came in — with CLASS. (I’m looking at you, Leno.)
Admittedly, I enjoyed Late Night a bit more than The Tonight Show, but Conan was still Conan. He didn’t really change. His opening monologues ALWAYS made me laugh. His unbelievably hilarious sketches and just plain ridiculous things that he used to do made me laugh. The string dance made me laugh. Conando made me laugh. Ugly Celebrity Babies made me laugh. “In the Year 2000/3000″ made me laugh. His reactions to when he knew he said a bad joke made me laugh.
There is nothing better in this world than laughter.
For now, though, for a while…there will be no laughter to be had at 11:35 or 12:37 at night. Letterman does nothing for me. Leno does nothing for me. Ferguson does nothing for me. I’ll attempt to continue to give Fallon a chance, but no one will ever, EVER replace Conan O’Brien.
His deal with NBC states that he can’t come back on the air on a new TV show until September 1st. I wait impatiently for the day that the pasty-white, hilariously funny redheaded Irishman graces my TV screen again.
Thank you Conan, thanks for simply making me laugh. I can’t wait ’til you come back stronger and funnier than ever. I can’t wait.
A Fist-pumping Farewell
So the season finale of Jersey Shore came and went last night, and I must say I was disappointed. It contained only one sloppy hook-up between The Situation and Snooki, NO FIST-FIGHTS and no one cried at the end when everybody left. What a letdown. As a whole, though, the first season of Jersey Shore(all common sense points to MTV bringing back the original cast for a second season) was a hilarious revelation. I was relatively unaware about Jersey Shore until I noticed a few people on Twitter talking about it the day of the premiere…so I figured I’d give it a try. I have no regrets.
Jersey Shore is one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen on TV. Guidos, guidettes, the party lifestyle, all of it is hilarious to me. I cannot bring myself to root for any of these bronzed buttheads to have success in life, and watching their haplessness occur on national TV was one of the greatest joys I’ve had in recent memory.
So, in closing, I’d just like to say thank you to The Situation, Snooki, Ronnie, Sammi Sweetheart, DJ Pauly D, J-Woww, Vinny, and even Angelina(who was kicked out of the house in the third episode), for brightening up my Thursday nights and even bringing my parents and I closer together. That’s right, my nearly-50-year-old parents are just as obsessed with the show as I am. If that’s not an indication of Jersey Shore’s awesome ridiculousness, then I don’t know what is.
- Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino
Other than fist-pumping through farewells, last night the Rangers did nothing but prove me right. 14 goals in two games this week — and they get shutout by RAY FRIGGIN’ EMERY and the Flyers, 2-0, in a fight-filled disgrace. The Broad Street Bullies dominated the neutral zone in every way, shape and form and the Rangers did not sustain anything that can be called offense throughout the 60 minutes of play.
Not only did the Rangers get beat on the scoreboard, but Philly manhandled the Blueshirts physically. There were a total of four fights, two including Sean Avery and one each for Aaron Voros and Marian Gaborik. The Rangers wer — wait, WHAT?! Marian Gaborik?! That’s right, folks. A post-whistle shoving match with ultimate goon scumbag Daniel Carcillo of the Flyers erupted into a fistfight for New York’s only real goal-scoring threat.
Gaborik vs. Carcillo [YouTube]
As a Rangers fan, watching Gabby get walloped three times in the face and dropped to the ice was a heart-stopping situation. It’s bad enough that the man’s knees are held together by paper clips and masking tape, so fighting must be out of question for the future. I admire Marian’s bravery to drop the gloves with Carcillo, but sometimes it’s better to be smart than bold. The Rangers’ next game is on Saturday in Montreal, a team they beat 6-2 on Sunday, and I’m fully expecting another lacking effort.
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Today was a long day for yours truly. I woke up at about 8:30, which is almost an hour before I set my alarm, and I was not able to get back to sleep again. This screwed me up for the rest of the day. At 10:30 I had my first day of volleyball class, and let’s just say that my soreness right now could only be worse if I had competed in a triathlon. Mother of God, am I out of shape. My legs and arms are killing me. I gained a brand new appreciation for volleyball players today.
Once I got back to my room to try and drop a class that I signed up for on accident(Hip Hop dancing. Lol, uh, no) and sign up for another(‘The Ancient Epic’ where massive books like the Iliad and Odyssey are read), to no avail. I keep getting **** from people at financial aid, saying that my bill hasn’t been paid. Sallie Mae is taking forever to confirm the my loans, and I feel like I’m missing out on spots in the class I want to take. The issue still hasn’t been resolved, and I gotta wait for my mom to file some paperwork or some crap. Whatever.
I got some lunch and licked my wounds and headed to my other new class at 2:30, Broadcast Writing. I have never in my life experienced writing so difficult. It is unlike any other writing I’ve ever experienced in my life. The extensive vocabulary it takes to be able to condense an entire news story into 30-45 second readings by a newscaster is unfathomable. It took me over an hour to write a 30-second clip about the text message donations being made to Haiti. The class is fun and challenging, but good lord…it’s difficult.
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Tonight’ll be slow for me. I feel like I’m about to pass out, and that doesn’t sound like too bad of an idea. Conan’s last Tonight Show is tonight and I won’t be missing that, but other than that there’s not too much I wanna do. I’m too tired. I might catch the Haiti telethon, but I feel like that’s too depressing…plus I already donated $20. That’s the least and most I can do, ’cause I’m a friggin’ unemployed college student.
That’s all for now. I’m yawning as I finish this. Stay tuned for future posts involving the Yanks. I have a lot to talk about when it comes to them.
Throwing out the first pitch
Hello all, welcome to my blog. This is my first stab at this whole blogging phenomenon, so bear with me. I’ve been contemplating signing up for a few months now, and when I found out today that blogging was required for my new journalism class this semester, I decided now’s the best time.
My name’s Scott, I’m a 21 year old journalism major and sports fanatic born and raised in Long Island, New York. I’m currently a junior at a SUNY school in Westchester. I have four main loves in life: the New York Yankees, the New York Jets, the New York Rangers, and my family. If you mess with any of these four things, you better watch your back. I eat, sleep and breathe my teams and my day-to-day emotions can be directly correlated with how my teams are faring.
For example, right now, I’m feeling fantastic. I’m still basking in the glory of the Yankees’ 27th World Championship. I was really young when the Yanks reeled off 4 Championships in 5 years and I absolutely took them for granted. I expected success from the Yanks and they delivered. In the 2000′s decade, though, the Yanks struggled to come through on their yearly success stories, culminating with an absolutely unheard of result in 2008 when they missed out on the playoffs entirely.
This last playoff run was something special. I didn’t take anything for granted, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I went to Game 1 of the ALDS when the Yanks beat the Twins and started their journey to 27, and it would only get more and more exciting from there. Teixeira’s walk-off home run, A-Rod’s ultimate comeback, CC’s dominance, Pettitte’s veteran savvy, Rivera’s ridiculousness, Jeter’s steadiness, Damon’s heads-up baserunning and finally, Matsui’s monster Game 6 against the Phillies. Whew. Just thinking about it gives me the chills.
I’m also pretty happy right now because my Jets are set to play in the AFC Championship game on Sunday in Indianapolis. What a whirlwind this season has been. Starting off 3-0, struggling to 3-3 and then 4-6, and then finishing the season strong at 9-7 has left my stomach in knots. The J-E-T-S charged into the playoffs with a 37-0 slamming of Cincinnati, and followed it up against the Bengals with a 24-14 win in the Wild Card round.
This past Sunday, they defeated the heavily-favored San Diego Chargers 17-14, and earned their way into the AFC Championship game in Indianapolis for a rematch of the Week 16 game that the Jets won 29-15. As usual, Coach Ryan and other players have been talking some smack during the week, and have to once again back it up bigtime on the field. Led by the quiet confidence of rookie QB Mark Sanchez, the dumptruck rookie running back Shonn Greene(pictured below), the loudmouthed linebacker Bart Scott and the big-man himself Rex Ryan, I see no reason why the Jets can’t win on Sunday. It’ll be a challenge for sure, but that’s what the playoffs are all about.
Now, onto my Rangers. The 2009-2010 incarnation of the Blueshirts has to be one of the most dreadfully inconsistent pro sports teams I have EVER laid my eyes on. The same team that got shutout in two consecutive games last week, have scored 14 goals in two games this week(6 goals against Montreal on Sunday and 8 goals against Tampa Bay on Tuesday), and they must try to continue their offensive success tonight in Philly against the rival Flyers. But, as always with this team, they’re extremely liable to get dominated in every facet of the game until we see a more consistent product on the ice.
Throughout all the inconsistency, though, there is one constant for the Rangers — goalie Henrik Lundqvist(pictured below). The Swedish goaltender who will go on to defend his Gold medal in the Olympics next month has to be considered one of the best, if not THEE best goaltenders in the entire world. If you take King Henrik away from the Rangers, they are without a doubt a mediocre team that spends their season battling for 13th place in the Eastern Conference. With Hank, though, the Blueshirts are a perennial playoff participator. Add in some help for prolific scorer Marian Gaborik, constant pest Sean Avery, and blooming blueline superstar Marc Staal(also pictured), and the Rangers SHOULD be a clear Cup contender.
I could go on and on about my teams(as you can see), but this is just an introductory post to see how it all feels. I like it so far. I just hope someone’s reading this…
Currently, I’m watching a Jersey Shore marathon on MTV. Oh yes. The first season of the greatest show in television history sadly comes to an end tonight, so MTV is airing the season in its entirety. Oh God, what an absolutely beautiful trainwreck. More on this in future posts.
That’s all for now. Stay tuned for more updates in the near future. Feel free to comment about anything and everything, so then I’ll at least know that someone’s reading this.
~Scott
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