Actually it isn't really a battle. Just a succession of events between a triangle of the NY Islanders, Isles Beat Blogger and former Media Relations VP Chris Botta, and Newsday Beat Writer Greg Logan.
As you all know, I am a Contributor and Guest Editor over at Botta's blog, IslanderPointBlank.com. So suffice to say I know him well from my experience with the Islanders as well as post-Isles.
I also know Greg Logan, even having him a guest at my apartment Blogger Cocktail party just last season. I happen to think that Greg Logan, in my humble opinion, is one of the better beat writers we have had for Newsday.
Thirdly, I am also a member of the NY Islanders Blog Box program. I am credentialed through that since last year. I know all players involved from that end.
So, within this triangle, I have connections to all three venues.
So in the last few days there have been a few things going on between all three that have carried over to the blogosphere that I'd like to offer my unique perspective.
The Islander organization went through some changes this summer. Sure we all know the coaching change. But internally, one of the biggest changes was Chris Botta, a steady hand over 20 years resigned. This was something that reverberated in other areas. For us of the Blog Box lost our founding father and biggest supporter. For anyone dealing with the Isles Media Relations, they lost a blunt, straight-shooter who was a highly respected resource.
Thereafter this summer, we had changes. For example, the lack of injury and surgery info. This was a startling change, and a strong undercurrent to a rift still there between the press and the team due to the league coddling GMs thinking they are protecting players by being nebulous and/or borderline duplicitous.
So we were all surprised by finding out about surgeries and injuries long after the fact, comes rumors of a rift between Snow and Nolan that has carried through the summer. All three of us had pieces on this....Logan, Botta and yours truly.
When Logan first reported on this and the rift between DiPietro and Nolan as well, he was vilified by some with homeristic perceptions that a strong investigative press was somehow bad. Nothing could be further from the truth. A strong, maybe annoying to team cheerleading perceptions, press is what exactly the job that needs to be done. Botta then launched a hugely powerful piece on his older blog later this summer that laid the Nolan/Snow rift out for all. Then all of us began really analyzing to a much higher extent. In fact, Botta's addition helped pursue the story. Though some fans had issue with that at the time as well, some going as far to question Botta's intention. (see the pattern here?).
Now that Chuck Dolan and MSG now owns Newsday, some fans and fans with blogs have alluded to that Greg Logan is on another side now. This perception is simply dead wrong and an insult to the journalist. He is doing exactly what he supposed to. Writing articles and now actually blogging more, which gives more of his personal opinion. In fact, with Katie Strang providing live blogs, and others like Mark Herrman and Jim Baumbach on the scene already this season, they have exceeded their coverage from last year quite a bit.
So as Greg Logan markedly took on the Islanders injury policy
in his blog the other day, he made a leap into a fray others like Chris Botta and even myself have blogged about. He wondered aloud what many in the press have wondered...what is happening with Rick DiPietro. The whole DP handling and info has been a fog since the start of the season.
You see, with no honest pact with the press thanks to the NHL and GMs, it is our right to question and assume as we will due to the fact they don't need to tell us. Since it was Logan's blog, it was a pretty fair place to present such a thought.
Chris Botta, soon after,
broke the story that Rick had re-injured his knee. This of course rendered Logan's musing on the injury awkward...or perhaps someone released such info due to the heat that was suddenly on them due to Logan's blog? Whatever the case, whether Botta and Logan play good cop or bad cop, in the end, they are getting us key info for fans. This is important and seems to be forgotten in all of this. The information, truth, is paramount.
When Greg Logan made
a new blog about the injury and doctor appointment for Ricky, he did mention that Botta's blog is team sponsored.
Now does that mean if a team promotes the blog somehow makes them paying for it? Or was it an jab that Botta is a team flunkie? Or simply that Botta is reaping the reward of his long years and key access to the team by having that info?
Botta replied citing if that the former was the allusion, then
he jibed that Newsday takes tons of ad dollars from the Isles, and the same argument could be made.
So thereafter, some fans took sides and accusations were made. So I felt the need to post independently and rip both allusions to be dead wrong.
FACT: Botta's site is an independent site where the Isles have zero say in what Chris writes and certainly what I write.
FACT: Newsday's ownership is not making Greg Logan any less of a professional. Logan's blog is no different than my or others blogs where it can provide personal feelings and opinion.
My Opinion: Drudge-like conspiracy theories by some peanut gallery players out there who know none of the players involved, just using material to support their own drum-beat is simply unprofessional and discourteous.
In fact, the Islander's coverage by Chris Botta, Greg Logan and hopefully you consider my own work a substantial part of this fabric, is far more solid these days. We also have The Isles Blog Box, Mark Hermann, Jim "I still love baseball more" Baumbach, Katie Stang from Newsday. Dan Martin from the NY Post. Brad Kurtzberg of InsideHockey.com. And many more.
The central point to all of this is the NY Islanders. Ok, so many of us don't like the NHL injury policy, and we will continue to harp on it. But moreover, perhaps some of the reverberations and issues stem that the internal structure of the Isles is still in flux and nobody has really allowed them a learning curve. Perhaps this is why the surgery info was slow to come over the summer and why a injury report didn't come down on Ricky back on Saturday in the Press Box. I am sure the post-Botta Media Relations has been inundated and is trying to get up to speed.
All in all, sure we still question the wackiness of why DP was a backup when reports of his knee swelling hit TSN. Something he denied. Yet, here he is out and with some sort of knee injury. So it all gets very sketchy to take anyone at word or non-word as the case may be. A valid argument could be made that is there was none of this silly non-disclosure injury policy, things would be a lot clearer for everyone. Fans, reporters, bloggers, and I bet, even the teams.
My humble opinion,
- BD
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