Starting to Really Wonder. . . .

So today's column says new Leaf captain Dion Phaneuf is no quote machine or particularly media friendly, but that it doesn't matter. He'll be judged on whether he's a good player and how the team does, not by his relationship with the media.

Read the column. That's exactly what it says.

In response, there are some apparently offended by the column, twisting it to be criticism of Phaneuf for not being a pal of the media and thus turning thumbs down on his captaincy.

Never said any such thing. 

One thing you realize is that people will believe what they want to believe. If you write something they agree with, they think its great journalism. If it opposes their opinion, they think its horrible and undeserving of publication. Sometimes they twist things around. I included a Larry Murphy anecdote I thought some readers would find amusing, and one accused me of driving Murphy out of town. Such power I wish I had, but I don't.

So you shrug. The readers are entitled to their opinion, and more and more in today's interactive media world they are given an opportunity to make their thoughts and feelings known, which is a good thing. (Watch: Some reader will take issue and say I'm trying to shut everyone else up).

What I was pointing out in today's column, rather clearly I thought, is that it's the Leafs who are seemingly at odds with the captain's job description. They - not I - say a big part of the job is handling the media, then they go out and give the "C" to a player not known for his affability with scribblers and microphones.

Seems a bit contradictory. Me? I wouldn't factor media friendliness into picking a captain at all. I might measure how thick a guy's skin is, but in Toronto its not about public relations. There aren't tickets to be sold, so I don't know why the Leafs believe - or say they believe - they have to award the captaincy to a player with polished media skills.

Far from condemning the decision to give Phaneuf the captaincy, I said we'll have to wait and see, and he'll have to show individual personality skills he hasn't had to use so far in his career. Didn't say he couldn't do it. Said it's going to take some time. Said he's never done the job before so it's an open question as to whether he'll be able to handle it.

To re-iterate, I think Phaneuf has a chance to suceeed if he gets his game back together and if the Leafs win hockey games. He's a lousy interview, which means I probably won't talk to him a great deal, but that certainly doesn't mean I'll hold it against him. The guy's never turned me down for an interview since I first started dealing with him at the world junior championships in 2005, he's just almost never had anything to say and clearly would prefer not to be interviewed at all. Which is his prerogative.

What matters is what he says on the ice, not what he says or doesn't say to me. There's a fair number of players on the team and on other teams who are more than willing to share their insights and thoughts. Not everybody can be Chris Pronger or Patrick Sharp or Mike Cammalleri or Dominic Moore or Daniel Briere or Mike Komisarek or Ryan Miller or Martin Brodeur or Ilya Bryzgalov or even Sidney Crosby, and that's cool with me.

I do think Phaneuf has got to show up, win or lose. If things go well, he needs to speak. Same if things go terribly. Wendel Clark, Mats Sundin and Doug Gilmour always did that, and were respected by their teammates and members of the media. It's called accountability, and while the media end of its is just a small part, it's a part that many notice.

Fact is, the Leafs don't really know how Phaneuf will handle the captaincy. It might make him a better player, it might be a burden that detracts from his game. 

We'll see. It's not like there were any other viable choices, which is usually the case with young teams that have finished in the bottom of the league.

Comments

[B. M.]

Not sure why the issue with readers Damian, as per my comments yesterday - you're one of the few media members out there willing to give Captain Dion a chance. That's all we can ask for.
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But certain radio & web personalities are trashing him with unfounded speculation they're simply repeating from other media reports.

[MikeyMoney]

From your Spin...
"They - not I - say a big part of the job is handling the media, then they go out and give the "C" to a player not known for his affability with scribblers and microphones."

Perhaps MLSE feels that this is the best way to handle the media

From your Spin...
"Seems a bit contradictory. Me? I wouldn't factor media friendliness into picking a captain at all"

I don't believe "friendliness" was a factor perhaps they feel the best way to handle the media is to hand the C to a guy not known for his affability with scribblers and microphones.

[mike diver]

Damien.....you have written a million columns on the importance of being media friendly, you never miss a chance to tell us how media friendly Pat Quinn wasn't... The fans could care less....winning is all that matters period,,, the coach could push a photographer a week and dress down a radio comentator daily for all I care as long as he wins........and its far better than Paul Maurice putting us to sleep with a boring team and boring press confrences

[Dan de Souza]

It's about tone Damien. What's interesting is your readers understand tone as much as you do. We get it. Listing the players who are media friendly...all 10 of them...that's tone. You get. We get it.

The criticism of your column on Phaneuf seems like it hurt. I enjoyed it. The column, not the criticism...really.

[Gary]

Fair enough, accountability for the players and the team to the media is important, and the captain's role is critical as the focal point.

But what about accountabilty of the media to the readers and the players?

You, (the media) need to be called out in forums such as this one for columns that are not well researched, tell only some of the story , and omit facts that some readers may not be aware of.

Not saying the Phaneuf article falls into that category, but there have been many written by yourself and others that are biased, predictable and written with the attitude that Leaf fans are suckers who blindly pay to follow the team and drink the MLSE Kool Aid.

[Jeff M]

Solid points Damien. 2010-11 will be an interesting season no matter how the events unfold.

[Doug Beardmore]

just thinking that Mike Komisarek seems to be lost in leaf land, there was talk of him wearing the "C" also wonder how the dressing room will be with two alpha dogs in it for the season.

[other mark]

I admit, I read both the article and the blog yesterday and they seemed contradictory to me. However, I see your point now. The article was more about the Leaf brass and their spin on selecting Dion, despite some of their early assertions that might have ruled him out. Inconsistent messages from the brain trust of MLSE. Hold the presses!

[Chris]

It is the tone, your columns are such a downer and you always inject too much of yourself into them, just like this one. A good sports journalist should be in the background, like Paul Hunter. Toronto media forget that they are not the stars and we could care less about you. Its just your job, you have some insight, decent grammar and access, now just report what the interesting people do. The angle on Phaneuf is out of touch with the fan base, he is exciting and gives us a reason to watch. But the TO media has taken the Flames rumors as fact when Calgary was a ship on fire and everyone was getting tossed off to pay for Sutter's mistakes. Phaneuf made everyone around him taller, sounds like a Captain to me.

[Geoff Read]

I'm not a Leafs fan and I didn't read the original column you're referring to.

I will say this: the Phaneuf captaincy is a big gamble. He has the potential to be a great player and a hard-nosed captain who leads by example. But he also has the potential to be a liability defensively and a major irritant to his teammates who will tune him out if he's not getting it done.

[Bruce]

AMEN Damien!

In my lifetime the most popular Leafs captain was The Great Wendel. He did not seem to talk the ear off reporters or anybody else for that matter. Toronto fans love a captain who stands up for his team, his teammates, pulls a career-best game out of a hat when required, and who sacrifices himself. Wendel did all of those things from a hat trick against Wayne Gretzky's Kings, to fighting Probert (even when other guys on the team could have for him), to staying out of trouble off the ice for his entire time in Toronto, etc... Phaneuf has all the tools to do what Wendel did and become the most popular captain of his own era. For Toronto, like Wendel, he is a great choice in my opinion. Unless Burke can somehow swing Vincent Lecavalier down the road Phaneuf can be captain for years to come.

[Gene]

I met Phaneuf yesterday - and he was affable and chatty with all the fans who showed up. Great guy, great leader, great choice for Captain in my opinion.

[NoDummy]

I'll handle this one Damien...

Chris, Paul Hunter is a reporter and Damien is a columnist.

Reporters file stories on the game and include quotes from the players and coach. A reporter's is to give the facts to the readers, with quotes that support the general feel of the game (positive or negative).

Damien is a columnist. The entire job description of a columnist is for them to inject themselves and their opinions into the story. To dissect the team/game/player above the box score level.

So they're completely different kinds of journalism, so your point is moot.

[Cory]

Phaneuf was the right choice. he'll be as good a captain as anyone else could have been if they were picked....and the pick'ns were pretty slim. but if Dion were a smart man he'd call a meeting with the veteran players on the team and let them know that he's gonna be looking to them for support over the course of the season. one man being vocal in the locker room game after game gets tiresome, and will eventually get tuned out. but if you get a core group doing it, or even different guys from the group each night, then it has a better effect. this team is going to need a lot of leadership this year, and it can't just come from the captain. but he's a good start.

[Clearfocus]

One of the major problems in dealing with the press is the lack of a factual presentation of the story. Once upon a time (seems like many years ago) a story was reported facts only. The few editorial columns would make personalized comments on the facts. Currently every story is "personalized" and very few stories are facts only. Because the original stories are not factual only, when they are read and then commented on by other reporters and columnists, the story easily can get stretched and twisted into something that never existed. One always had to read about stories from as many sources as possible to figure out the truth and it is even more important today, to acquire as many different view points as possible to be able to try to figure out the truth.
A further complication to the truth is the task of fitting a 2000 word story into a 1700 word space in the paper. While this problem does not happen too often, it does occur enough to have the removed 300 words change the story's perspective.
No one will like this 'opinion', especially the writers and editors of the newspapers.

[Dan]

As a long time leaf fan I don't care whether Dion gives a good interview. The vast majority of media interviews with professional sports figures are so replete with cliches that they are a complete waste of time.

I want a captain who works his tail off every night, who plays the game with passion, who hates losing, who carries himself as a professional and sets a positive example. Dion, if you can demonstrate those attributes consistently there's no telling what our beloved leafs can accomplish.

[PVH]

Only in Toronto would there be such a major kerfuffle about the naming of a team captain on the listless Leafs. The Leafs truly are the New York Yankees of Ontario in terms of fan adoration, minus the on-field/ice success of course.

[Adam]

Damien, why does it seem that every other week you are writing a rhetorical column to the readers? I take two things from this: First you need to get some thicker skin because it obviously bothers you too much to read our comments. Second: You should probably get the hint, since your the only columnist that needs to do this sort of thing, that your opinions are far too prevelent in your columns. Perhaps you should learn to make your points with a little more subtley, or move your column to OPINION section of the paper. I like reading your actual columns but this rhetorical BS has to stop.

[Cindy]

Typical response from a member of the media who thinks that the world revolves around them.

[drew]

you are absolutely right Damien! But don’t take it personally. As you say, people will see what they want to see ... which also explains why people are so blind to the crappy hockey team they have been watching for almost all of the past 44 years! they look at mediocre players and see stars ... sane people who question the quality of the players are considered idiots, non-hockey people, or far worse. I trust that there are some sane Leaf’s followers, and it is a shame that they get lumped in with the kinds of dimwits that regularly write complaining about anything and everything you say. Almost as if you too are contributing to the team’s crappiness! Most knowledgeable hockey fans in the world? not by what I read or hear in the “comments” of this and any other Toronto media! By the way, the son of a good friend played on those Phaneuf teams in Calgary. If he is to be believed, there is not much in the way of “leadership qualities” in Mr Phaneuf ... so “media” may not be his biggest challenge anyways ...

[drew]

well said "no dummy"!
and you could add, that for all you Damien haters - or any other columnist who does not follow your exact line of thinking - once you notice who the article/column is written by, don't read it! That way you will live longer and lead a more stress-free life! It is pretty clear that some people are angered by other opinions or perspective, even to the point that they will inject something that is not there. Enjoy your life with your head buried in the sand! Watch Leafs TV, listen to Joe Bonehead and Jim Ralph, and shout down anyone who dares suggest anything negative about your Leafs. As they say - ignorance is bliss, and there must be many, many blissful people in Leafland (with apologies to all sane Leaf's fans)

[wrightted49]

I wish I had the power to drive Larry Murphy out of town. I would've done it a lot sooner than it actually happened.

[Chi of Steel]

What is TML's obsession with filling the captaincy void with newly aquired defensemen from the Calgary? It happened back in 1989 with the infamous Rob Ramage. I still contend that Eddie Olczyk should have been made Captain, but the Leafs never treated him fairly. But I digress. I don't know enough about Phaneuf, but surely it can't be mere coincidence. Let's hope he doesn't flame out like his predecessor two decades ago.

[RockyRacoon]

He had to read a pre-scripted response for the media regarding his being named captain. Sounds like we got the right man for the job as far as the Leafs go.
Go Leafs, Go!
RR

[OL]

Dont take the comments of morons too seriously. I personally love a columnist who gives his opinion. I Damion and Rosie, the Star has 2 of the best in the biz.....now if only they would hire me, those two could relax while the Ostrich Lover takes the heat.