The Unknown Poster

I think Thorbs plays harder than Stafford Helle should play as often as a legit starter would. He's our starting goalie. He plays on Sat.

If you want to see an amazing match, seek out this one. Okada vs Omega. Incredible. Very proud of Kenny even in defeat. It's setting up something even bigger.

You better believe it! we are 2 for 2 with Kenny winning titles in New Japan and bringing them to PCW in Winnipeg. I'm hoping for 3 for 3 Lots of reasons they should put Kenny over but many to put Okada over too. Should be great! also if you stream New Japan world you can choose English commentary by Kevin Kelly and Winnipeg's (and former world champion and former PCW champion) Steve Corino.

Except Comrie is in net. No wait, that's Helle!

Maurice's coaching has been below average. When will Chevy come out and say that?

Jimmy Snuka today had his murder charges dropped due to mental incompetency. Once a worker, always a worker.

Im pretty sure I heard the "below average" remark BEFORE that game. When he was trying to explain his decision to start Hutch against the Jackets for no good reason other then "feeling" which, as it turned out, was just gas.

I bet there is more to the story. But perhaps they pushed all print media away so as not to look like they were targeting one reporter or one newspaper. But realistically, if Chipman looked at the box on Day One and said "those reporters will be able to hear every conversation in the owners suite, move them away" so be it. But he took for granted his relationship with media would mean a certain level of privacy in his own box. And it seems everyone respected that..until recently.

His play against Chicago?

Keeps his VIP's away from us riff raff in the suites.

He's probably pondering July 1st. He's gonzo.

Although he did seem more effective under Noel.

I almost think he must be a great actor because he was so bad it had to be on purpose.

Now you tell me!

The 38 games he played? With the 2.39 GAA and .914 Save %? Helle is better than Hutch. I mean I guess we could just say well we dont have a goalie and rotate them every period. Or we could accept that Helle has the talent to be a starter, accept that he is the starter and treat him like one and let him develop. Im not sure publicly calling him below average and benching him against the best team in the league after a great performance against Chicago is the best coaching method. But what do I know.

I would play Helle in every game until its a back to back or he looks particularly bad. Treat him like a starting goalie.

That makes sense then. So Chipman's box is separated from the press by walls (open on the rink side ofcourse). Now, did he yell something so loud a nearby reporter just happened to hear it and couldn't believe his good fortune or was that reporter "eavesdropping" on the owner?

When I've seen video of Chipman at games, it looks more like a suite. So I'd suspect the area on the far right would be his box. And if so, it doesnt really seem "in the middle" of the press box unless there is more press on the other side as well. It would also bring up the point that there are walls...and even though it's "open", where does the expectation of privacy begin? If an executive walked in and asked Mark something about his family would that be fair game? Im not a journalist but to me, hearing Mark say something negative would instinctively make me refer to it in more general terms. Or try to leverage for more info.

In this Freep story, they refer to Chipman having been vocal about his displeasure "over the years" and the writer goes on to insult Mark if he thinks that its "off the record". But how many articles have there been reporting on Mark's "vocals" during games? If the answer is none, then Chipman's sense that what he says in the box is off the record might not be correct, but his perspective might be justified. Journalists are going to protect their own (especially when they're suffering the consequences) but maybe this writer handled it wrong. Also, regarding Tait, wasn't he let go or otherwise offered a buy out from the Free Press? At the very least he saw the writing on the wall and got a job. Is he a jerk for getting a job with some security rather then being a starving unemployed former staff writer? I would think the power used to be in the hands of the journalists who were often the sole marketing for sports teams. Not so anymore. But there is a way for the journalists to fight back...except the print media keeps laying off its best reporters so they lose power. We've heard reporters be critical. We've heard their own broadcast be critical. Lawless has been critical. This particular reporter did something to personally irk the owner that he had to know would be considered over the line. Did he do it to be a martyr?

There seems to be some decent journalists out there. They should form their own company, online, and continue to cover sports. Im not sure if it works financially, but personally, I click on news that looks interesting or sources I like and if it costs a few cents to read it, I pay.

Hmmm that's a tough one. What Would Gary Do? I bet Lawless would make a cryptic remark on H&L about management at the top being unhappy. It would be true without hanging it on anyone. He would leverage that knowledge into more inside info (giving Chipman the chance to "off the record" explain his position) which Gary would then use for more cryptic coverage. Eventually he'd write a great piece about upper management wanting to see progress and the "5 year plan" not coming to fruition fast enough. Eventually, changes would be made and months later, Gary would admit to what Chipman had said a year earlier. Or you could just print it verbatim, get one story that doesnt tell us much and get yourself and your colleagues banished. In UFC Dana White does this stuff because he's emotional and childish and often walks it back. Chipman should contain his emotions while watching the game or watch it in his office. If the reporter heard Mark at Tim Horton's remark about how shitty the goaltending is, would he not report it? Isnt everything on the record unless otherwise stated? And how did Mark not expect this to become a bigger story? A phone call to the reporter saying gee I wish you hadn't of done that and in the future, give me a call first, might have been an easier way to handle it.

A lot of responsibility falls to the coach. That's why bad teams often fire the coach (or two or three) before changing management or making blockbuster trades. Its easier to fire the coach. There is always the thought that a team is better than they seem so it must be the coach's problem. And ultimately, if it comes down to coach vs players, players will back each other and coach goes. The schedule was an issue for the Jets this year. Coupled with injuries. But there are leadership issues with Maurice as a coach. They've come out flat and seemingly unprepared in some games. In more games then not, they have a lousy second period. They play poor team D. Someone here (cant remember who) pointed that Maurice using the schedule as an excuse publicly gives the players an out. Was that a bad decision or an effort to protect his team? What he did to Helle last week was awful. Maurice always seems like a hockey genius when he speaks. He might have a future as a TSN analyst. But sometimes it seems like he tries too hard to prove how smart he is and it backfires. The Jets seem like a solid locker room. They seem to play better when the chips are down (injuries etc). But they are too inconsistent. And that will fall on the coach. Now watch them rattle off three wins on this road trip because Jets.

Admittedly I thought Burmi could be a Frolik-ish defensive forward. He has that talent. He just cant put it together. I was wrong.

He is an NHL caliber player. Or at least he has NHL caliber talent. Not every player works out in every city. We'll see what happens. He might find a fit somewhere. He might bounce around for the next ten years. Who knows.

That's a pretty poor look for the Jets. Granted, it's Mark's team so he can do whatever he wants but to move print media away from him...maybe he should move his own box away from the print media if he can't control his emotions. Im curious as to how the owner's box is set up (True North as a suite at centre ice but that obviously not the box they're talking about).