Wouldn't it be easier for a coach to just tell the truth?

Ah, the Leafs.

They are quite something, aren’t they?

The coach, who I may have spoken to or listened to three or four times in my life and really have no opinion on as a person, comes out Friday afternoon and says something to the effect that, yes, The Monster will be the goaler in Boston on Saturday because The Kid With Or Without The Concussion isn’t ready and will be the backup.

Kind of unequivocal, the coach was, and everyone trots off to do their work.

And Saturday arrives, Reimer (who did or didn’t have a concussion, only his Mom seems to know for sure) is, as they say, between the pipes.

So why would a coach lie?

Got me.

Anyway, it speaks to what I’m told is a rather tenuous and confrontational relationship between the media and the team, a fact that’s been discussed at length between colleagues from a number of papers, broadcast outlets and others. Unlike the goofy, petulant, petty Mayor, it’s not just us.

As you know, there isn’t much more intense that pucks coverage in our little burg, some dude breaks wind and we’ve got mains, sidebars, charts and video; heaven help us the days when something newsworthy happens.

So why on earth would the coach basically lie? Because he thought he wouldn’t be found out by the thundering herd of media that follows his team? Because he has such disdain for us that he doesn’t care? Because it’s fun? Because he can?

Look, in the grand scheme of things, knowing who’ll tend goal Saturday on Friday isn’t a big thing – it matters to teammates, maybe; friends, family and gamblers and I’m pretty certain it wouldn’t have an impact on the opponents’ preparation – but these are the Leaves, this was something of a special case and, well, these are the Leaves.

Why not do what most coaches do, which is obfuscate, or give some milquetoast non-answer that won’t come back to bite you in the bum.

You’d think that after all these years and all those scrums and all the scrutiny that comes with gig, the dude Wilson would know better.

Guess he’s either not bright or doesn’t care and both are rather sad.

This is a unique pucks market; I don’t imagine there’ll ever be any kind of transparency in the relationship between writers, commentators and the team, they don’t need us, some of us don’t care for them and times will often be strained.

But to lie? Probably intentionally? Bush league. Unprofessional. And beneath men who want to be treated with some level of respect.

-

Tell the truth.

Who among us heard that the iconoclast soccer legend Socrates had died (great piece here by Cathal) and immediately thought of this?

Or this?

I sure did.

Yeah, those Monty Python folks could do comedy, couldn’t they?

-

What a concept, seeing real, live NBA players in a real live NBA facility.

Yep, not a bad Sunday afternoon except by time I got there they were in the back lifting weights and we really didn’t see very much.

But I can dutifully report Ed Davis says he’s about 18 pounds heavier (told us he finished last season at 215, weighed in Saturday at 233) but that he’s still “bouncy,” which I presume is good.

James Johnson’s got some wild faux hawk hair thing going on and Jose figured it was about time to start looking for a job in Europe somewhere when the league and the litigants finally figured it was time to play.

“There was a lot (of initial interest from teams) but from the beginning I was clear for everybody, until the season was cancelled for sure, I didn’t want to play for a couple of months or one month. I was clear from the beginning so that’s why not so many teams were calling even just to check. I was 100 per cent sure about that.

“But when things turned out that it looked like the season might be cancelled we were asking a little bit to see what kind of options were out there. If the season was cancelled, there were 420 players who wanted to play in Europe or China or Spain, everywhere.

“We wanted to be ahead of those guys so we were asking what the options could be.”

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Did anyone notice that the Buffalo Bills drew an underwhelming audience of 56,463 for their game against Tennessee at home on Sunday.

It’s about 16,000 under capacity by my (bad) math and I guess all that palaver about fans loving The Ralph and the parties and the team doesn’t quite carry over when the team’s, you know, not going well.

Funny thing is, there’ve been times when the Bills have been way worse off than they are today, without the huge injury woes they’re struggling with, and fans have still flocked to games.

Sign of the times?

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Oh yeah, calm down everyone.

After a sourced report surfaced on the weekend that Jonas Valanciunas may indeed be in Toronto this season, Someone Who Knows reports it’s 99.99 per cent certain he stays in Lithuania and that it’s just as good that he does.

So, I guess, yes, there is a chance he comes.

(I keed, I keed)

Thus endeth the HOTH news for today. If you missed it, here's what else transpired.

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I tell ya, if I could get Gus Johnson to do play-by-play of my life, it would be soooooooo much more exciting.

You know I love the understated style of a Vin Scully more than any other broadcaster but Gus might be my second favourite out there.

The guy could read a menu and make it exciting.

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Comments

[Ray]

Sorry Doug, we need a Raptors blog. Lots of people in Toronto covering football and pucks. We count on you for hoops. This just isn't cutting it.

Blogger's note: Sorry you feel that way; guess you'd rather I absolutely fabricate news or information? Not gonna do it. Sorry

[colin vollebergh]

"and I’m pretty certain it wouldn’t have an impact on the opponents’ preparation –"

This is about as erroneous a statement can get. Yes, teams, players, coaches (in EVERY sport) change how they prepare based on who their opponent is. That's not rocket science, Doug. Frankly, if that fact is READILY APPARENT to you, I posit you have no business discussing sports with anyone, let alone writing about them for mass consumption.

Blogger's note: Right. Okay, well I guess we don't have to worry about your insight here any more. Our loss

[john]

Doug, for someone who doesn’t care about pucks, and I share your disdain, they seem to be coming up more an more in your blog. I mean really, who cares what the coach said on Friday about who was starting? Who's life did it really change anyway? Maybe the kid felt better or got medical clearance? No matter what Wilson said, none of the reporters would have agreed with it and they all would have written something negative about the decision anyway. If the Leafs wins 7 straight, the headlines will be about some third line winger not happy with his ice time. It’s all a bunch of BS.

I would probably enjoy hockey a little bit but the media creates such a negative spin on pretty much everything it makes me sick. Some of the reporting on the Raptors is not much better. The NBA schedule is released a few days ago and the headline is "Toronto not a cool city" cause we don’t have a game on Christmas day. Really? Having travelled extensively, I can assure you that Toronto is considered a cool city so who is the Bozo writing this rubbish?

At some point writing stories filled with half-truths, ambushing politicians in their driveway as they are taking their kids to school and constantly hammering away to get someone fired is bush league in its own right and all the incessant whining and chest thumping about democracy from the media is slowly falling on deaf ears.

[Jay Eckert]

Seriously? Why does the Toronto media feel so entitled to this information? I love this city, but when it comes to coverage of the Leafs, the media here embarrasses me.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

If you like your college gridiron, and I certainly do, this was a hell of a weekend.
And here in Gruntland on a rainy Monty morning? Monty Python. Montee Ball. Monty quotes. This is one all-Monty fine blog!
Oh, and @lorie, further regarding the "starchy projectiles"?... I mean, all I did was to suggest that those buffalo wings tasted an awful lot like chicken... and the persian rug?... sorry, but it seemed like every time I turned around the dang thing was like right in my face... And @LeeZ, I think we'll need at least a train car to accommodate the mass migration of Irregulars to Gruntland from Stevieville.
Cheers. Go Raps!

[Stephen Graham]

For all the good news about the Leafs this season this silliness with the press and hiding simple, meaningless information at all cost just makes them look stupid. And enough with the Leafs and other NHL teams refusing to disclose injuries. Upper body, lower body...give me a break! Grow up and start acting like every other professional sports team and just say what it is.

[CC]

Morning Doug. if not Raptors news then any NBA/basketball story will do.. There are 29 other teams that could have some bits of news i would think.. We really don't care who's the goalie of the pucks for it does not really matter.. 90% of hockey goals are luck anyway....

[David T (Ottawa)]

Yeesh Colin, top-shelf or five-hole. End of prep.

(And that's the extent of my pucks knowledge)

[ian]

"but these are the Leaves, this was something of a special case and, well, these are the Leaves."

No, they're not. They're the LEAFS.

Leaves? Really?

[cms]

I thought this was pretty simple. Wilson (rightly or wrongly) shielded a young kid coming back from an injury that may be affected by stress from a relatively intense media onslaught. He knew he would be skewered for it and thought it was worth it to protect a player. Your post treats it as if it was just a regular Saturday game with no extenuating circumstances--thereby suggesting petulance as only reason he might have lied. I think your opinion is valid but it must be weighed against the real reason he chose to obfuscate. I think he chose to lie in service of one of his players. I think coaches do this all the time when they know they won't/can't really be called out for it.

[CamCrunch]

There's really no need to lie about who's starting in goal.
Why not follow the example of Claude Julien (yes, him who won the big upside -down cup last June) and simply maintain a policy of not announcing your starting goalie, ever. The media understands why he doesn't (whether they like it or not) and at least your showing them enough respect not to lie to them.

Umm, go B's!!!
-camCrunch

[kvon]

wow everyone so negative today... whats going on?!

[Andre the giant]

It is one thing to have a series of charts when someone breaks wind. It is a whole lot worse to have sharts.

[Greg Frankson]

Not quite sure why people think Boston is going to radically alter their preparations to take on one goalie or the other at this stage in the season, especially when the Bruins have owned the Leafs no matter who was on the ice. I find much of what coaches say and do in the NHL to be questionable. Why is this fiction of the "upper/lower body injury" garbage allowed to persist? The lack of honesty to fans about the goings-on of local hockey franchises is epidemic in the NHL. It's just that we have particularly talented magicians on Bay Street in this regard.

[David in Oakville]

Well said Doug!

Man, some people sure are testy all things considered.. like it's Christmas, we live in one of the greatest cities in the greatest country in the world and in a few short weeks Santa delivers NBA basketball. Why all the griping?

However, if you were to start making up NBA stories to fill your blog I would be a just a little curious to see where you might start... Bargnani grew 2 inches over the summer and added 25 lbs of muscle, Bosh reports that he misses CBC Metro Morning, Turkoglu reportedly in town stocking up on Turkish Delight before heading back to the Magic Kingdom, Colangelo seen having dinner with Steve Nash and Grant Hill, Dwayne Casey asking Dear Sam about tips for talking to Canadians and crossing the boarder.

The possibilities are endless and probably quite entertaining.

[Bernie Finebaum]

Yes, it's a blog and not an article actually published in the newspaper. But you'd hope members of the mainstream media would at least keep fighting the good fight and still pay lip service to grammar and punctuation.

Or is that what your stories look like before an editor salvages them?

Lazy effort. And takes away from the message.

[Peter]

Ok... here's your Gus moment. "Smith.... scrambles out of the smelly Ford Focus... enters the ACC PRACTICE FACILITY!!! HE SEE'S ED DAVIS!!!! AND DAVIS HAS PUT ON 18 POUNDS!!! --- SMITH WRITES IT!!!! INCREDIBLE!!!!!!

Or perhaps more appropriate for the day...

Smith... scrambles through the lack of HOTH news... writes a GREAT OPINION PIECE on the leaves coach! The crowd gets anxious... HE RECOVERS WITH THE NEWS THAT ED DAVIS HAS GAINED 18 POUNDS!!... AND EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS WITH THE MONTY PYTHON REFERENCE!!!!!! OH WOW!!!!! WHAT A BLOG!!! WHAT A BLOG!!!!!!!!

[thewolfshead]

I'm sorry, you can't comment on unprofessionalism while not talking about the fact that a lot of this surrounds the anger of Damien Cox. He's as unprofessional as they come - baiting Leafs fans forever now on Twitter, and when he prematurely, and inaccurately, posted about Pat Burns' death on Twitter - he offered no apology for doing so. Other members of the media, such as ex-player Ray Ferraro, apologized profusely for reporting it after the fact.

Cox? No such thing. The media need to get off their high horse. A member of your own paper (who I am told has even linked to this blog right now) failed the basic tenet of journalism - to confirm your sources, and did it in the reporting of a person's death, no less. To him, just an 'honest mistake'.

Sorry, I have a hard time siding with the media over unprofessionalism - it's a two way street and you can't only drive one way.

Blogger's note: Every bit of it stems from the coach not telling the truth. End of story

[Nick]

NBA attendance numbers should be interesting this seasion. A lot of barns won't need the 5 digit when reporting. On another note, you should thank Mr. Wilson for giving you something to whine about today. Your column would be mighty thin otherwise.

[Lorie]

@Peter: I picture Doug amble-ing not scrambling as befits his vintage and stature. Within the industry. And @D-Mac: that "Wings Away!!!" game you insisted on playing with my dog would've been more of a decorating crisis if my walls hadn't already been painted Paprika Patische. Small mercies. But I take 'em where I can. And great idea for Irregulars From The Land Where The Doofi Dwell to travel via VIA. Imagining all of you in one vehicle debating rules of the road, pit stops points and basic directions made me fear for @sportchick's sanity and your very arrival.
And last, but never, ever least, Doug. Please, please please will you consider including not just one, but TWO, Monty Python skits in your blog every Monday? What a brilliant way to start a week. Thank you! Cheers!

[Nasko]

OMG, Doug, why do you put up with half of this crap? I mean, seriously, why do you? I enjoy the blog, used to enjoy the comments section as well, as there was insight, smart questions/comments and over all a lot better then most of the other forums... But now, holy ...., I mean, there is the guy that got offended by the Leaves, the punctuation and grammar guru, the "only basketball" guy.
I honestly admire your patience. Good luck

[Adrian]

Yawn. If you or your friends don't like it, you need to find another team to cover. This team will not change its policy because there are people with microphones- who don't play a second on the ice, mind you- standing in front of them begging for meaningless sound bytes. If you need it that bad, you need to find something else to do because this is sports, this is entertainment, this information will not make-or-break the Earth and you should be happy with what you do get. If you don't enjoy what you're being offered, again, stay home. Find work elsewhere. It's more your problem than theirs. They will continue doing things the way they have, as they should.

Blogger's note: Again, it's like crack to you, isn't it? Guess you're not a man of your word, either

[jc]

Wow! You make it sound as if this was the first time a coach in any sport has ever mislead the media. It would seem to me that nearly every coach and every GM give BS answers to you guys. Has a GM ever been open and honest about player acquisitions or trade rumours? You may call it bush league and it may sting as a media guy to be mislead and it may not be a great example of integrity ... but it seems to be modus operandi for all sports.

[Jane Arquipway]

"Kind of unequivocal, the coach was" from above article

How is Wilson saying "more than likely it's going to be Gustavsson" and "I'm not being definitive about anything" (direct quotes from that media scrum relating to the starting goalie for the Boston game) being according to you "unequivocal".

Unequivocal means "leaving no doubt" or "unambiguous". Clearly, Wilson left room to change his mind with the media.

Jonas Siegel (TSN) and Michael Traikos (National Post) who reported on that media scrum also understood the coach accurately when he said that as their reports show - that there was some room left by Wilson to change his mind on his starter.

The problem here is that some media didn't listen very carefully to Wilson while others did. Wilson did not lie.

[Mel Preston]

I really had no problem with what Wilson did. He's trying to win hockey games and protect his players from being hounded by the media before a big game. Remember when Tom Brady was 'probable' for a whole year with a supposed shoulder injury...and he ended up playing every game and having one of his best years ever....this happens all the time....has happened before and will happen again....some in the media here are so sensitive....Coaches have the right to play whatever mind games they feel can give their team an edge.... and change their mind if the wish to....Suns will dump Vince....Please don't say he's coming here :)