Avs beat writer suffers Twitter meltdown

I think the single tweet merited the suspension. Taking it several steps beyond that merits being fired.

 

I agree with RecoveringJournalist here, the responses posted with the Deadspin story were way out of line and I do recall the ESPN rant and its aftermath here. Dater may have a long history and be good at covering the sport — I really haven't read him in a while, but presume that's the case for him to have that kind of longevity — but he crossed the line a few times here and there are many other damned good reporters out there looking for work.

 

The Post also has a veteran hockey writer (Terry Frei) covering one of the college beats. I don't know how that happened, maybe it was by choice, but it seems curious when a writer as well-respected as Terry, who has logged time as a national NHL writer and was a backup columnist is now on a secondary beat. Maybe that's a story in and of itself, but I tend to doubt it. I've always had an extremely high opinion of Terry, as a person and as a writer.

 

Never forget.

http://deadspin.com/what-the-hell-happened-with-this-bruins-column-1572867533

 

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the earlier ESPN rant. So you have a private conversation with another journalist, and in the course of that conversation, that journalist says some smug things about how people on camera at ESPN are at the top of the profession, and this private conversation so enrages you that you fire up your laptop and just rage, rage, rage against the dying of the print, throwing flash grenades at Bill Simmons of all people (who at that point wasn't even on TV, so it's unclear how he fit into this initial conversation) and a bunch of journalists who all came from newspapers and continue to do a lot the same kind of reporting you claim you're doing and keeping it real.

There is nothing wrong with being angry about stuff. We all get angry at stuff. But my word, have a filter.

 

I think Dater is one of the 10% who averages 74 drinks a week.

 

After reading this thread, and the two meltdowns that inspired it, I am vowing to never lose my temper again. Seriously. Wow. That's how one looks. It's ugly.

I hope the writer pulls it together. He has to be doing something right to stay on a major beat at a major metro paper for this long. I'm guessing he knows his hockey.

 

Or he knows where the bodies are buried.

 

Love Terry Frei. Interesting, kinda funny guy. Gave me an autographed copy of his book "Horns, Hogs and Nixon Coming." Fine dude.

 

I think it's more union than anything else.

There are also a few markets where the NHL beat becomes a bit of a secondary one or at least the professional sport that gets the least attention, particularly if the team is mediocre. They were good last year, but missed the playoffs four of the previous five seasons.

I have a few friends who have covered hockey over the years who got that gig at their paper because nobody else wanted the job.

 

In Chicago, there was always some puckhead on staff that wanted the beat. I imagine that's not always the case in the southern and western markets.