Denver Post Hockey Writer Wins Stanley Cup!

No, he shoulda just not done it. Journalist. Impartial observer. Fly on the wall. Period.

 

Shoulda TikToked it.

 

God forbid anyone have fun around here. The amount of lame “yeah buts” from the fun police on Twitter makes me love this guy even more. I’m guessing he got into sportswriting in party to cover a Cup run. Who cares, this industry sucks so much and it’ll be extinct by the end of the decade, have fun with it

 

Somehow, he managed to Tweet it twice:

 

A million years ago, I covered a team that won a pro title. The PR guy asked if I wanted a championship ring. I said no. All the beat writers said no. He didn't understand why. We didn't understand why he didn't understand.

 

Assuming most of these beat writers left the industry at some point, do any of them regret getting on their high horse about not taking a ring now that the cat’s out of the bag on this whole industry being a glorified Ponzi scam? Rings are forever, man.

 

Have some pride. That guy didn't do shit to get the trophy.

 

It is a gross violation of ethics. But I kinda get it. In a profession where you could be out on your ass any day in favor of some software package posting press releases, it would be hard not to feel like a schmuck looking back and saying you passed up the chance. And if he already has his way out of the business lined up …

 

As a guy who has worked in hockey for 20+ years I am firmly in the "Don't touch it until you win it" camp when it comes to the Cup. But beyond the optics of the whole thing (and no, he didn't win it) I didn't think anyone other than members of the team were allowed to hoist it over their head.

 

I covered the Dodgers when they won in 1981. Some of us were discussing if we would accept rings, if offered. The flippant answer was, "If it helps you pick up girls in a bar, hell yes." The real answer was no, do not accept. They were not offered, but they did give us a bat with our name engraved on it and a small brass plaque on the barrel.

 

When the Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007, I was freelancing for SportsTicker. In the locker room postgame a colleague told me the Cup was on the ice, so I went out just to see it. It was being passed around and Josh Brewster, who hosts the Ducks postgame on radio, said "give it to him." The Cup was handed my way, so I grabbed and lifted it. It happened so fast, and I was only thinking, "don't drop it." I was sent a photo of me holding the Cup, which I have shared on my personal Facebook page.

I don't think I would have taken the Cup if I was there in my fulltime role with my daily paper, even though I wasn't a sportswriter and didn't cover the Ducks in print. I certainly wouldn't have just grabbed it in either role.

 

The editor is probably the one behind the camera.