Pissing match: Post-Dispatch vs. The Athletic

Yeah, good luck getting anything extra out of Russ ever. Not gonna happen.

 

If the players are your only source on the beat, you don’t have “insider” access.

 

Sure, let’s pull a story on Russ’ historic accomplishment out of our asses without access to the principal figure involved. And let’s publish it the morning after, too.

 

And even if the writer was that tight with Westbrook, that sounds unrealistic.

 

It all depends on the individual writer and the access/sources they have.

Going back to the St. Louis market, The Athletic hired away Jeremy Rutherford, longtime Blues beat writer for the P-D. He was replaced by Jim Thomas, who didn't have a beat after the Rams moved. Rutherford has been eating the P-D's lunch ever since he left.

Take today: He has a story on the Blues GM, talking about how close he was to pulling the trigger on some major moves to rebuild when the team was last in the NHL in January. Now, they are one of the hottest teams in the league and many believe they are the most dangerous team in the West for the playoffs.

The P-D? Something on Ryan O'Reilly ready for the playoffs after not being there for 5 years, the Blues' anthem singer stepping down after this season, and them playing the Blackhawks tonight for the first time in 4 1/2 months. Very pedestrian, in comparison.

 

Depends on what the P-D wrote in January.

 

It may be, but all I’m asking is to give me something that I can’t get elsewhere. This is one example, and I previously mentioned that it may be an unfair one, but if you aren’t getting something that the newspaper or espn beat writer is getting, why am I paying for the subscription?

Telling me that no one is going to get this and that on the Thunder beat doesn’t explain why I should read the coverage of a publication claiming to have insider content.

 

After he recorded the second 20-20-20 game in NBA history -- posting 20 points, 20 rebounds and 21 assists -- Westbrook walked off the floor following a 119-103 win with a heavy heart, having dedicated the performance to his friend.

Russ honors slain rapper with 20-20-20 game

Lazy-ass reporting to hang that factoid out there and then not name the first guy to do it. Never leave readers wondering!

Answer: Wilt Chamberlain.

 

The answer is always Wilt Chamberlain.

 

Russell Westbrook is ridiculous. Waving off coaches, players missing free throws, all that. Guy plays for the 12th best team in the league.

 

This is it in a nutshell for me.

 

When I worked in junior hockey one of my game-day duties was to be one of the many eyes that went over our roster before it was submitted. Find it hard to believe something like that could happen in the NHL - especially with the size of coaching and support staffs these days - maybe Dotchin was a game-time decision and somehow his name fell through the cracks.