> In fact, the web has allowed me to become much, much more knowledgeable both
> about college hockey in general but also about by beloved BU Terriers. Had I
> stayed in Boston (and probably stayed off the web...) I'd be relying on the
> Daily Free Press (BU's paper) and the Boston Globe.
 
This is certainly the biggest goal for us.  Surely, Hockey-L does a great job
in general, but you can't HEAR actual interviews with coaches, players, ADs,
referees, etc...  I think I was really inspired after seeing how many
Westerners were non-believers in Vermont last year, including coaches who admit
it (some still are).  Marcus Camby gets interview 4 times a week, and you can
see him on ESPN2, etc... -- How often has ANYONE in the west (or a lot of the
East for that matter), EVER heard the voice of Martin St. Louis?  And of course
the same is true in reverse with players like Mike Crowley or the emerging
Randy Robitaille.
 
> What the internet truly is missing however, is a sense of credibility. You
> won't see the Boston Globe or Sports Illustrated quoting someone who had
> written an article on the net (at least not for college hockey). The reason
> here is that currently, most of the media still treats such sources as
> newsgroups and listserves as "gossip pits," which is a real shame.
 
You can only hope to change this from the inside --- I do remember ESPNet
Sportszone being quoted once. Obviously they're huge, but it's a start.  You
are right, though -- convincing people that what's online is a viable media
source is a struggle.  You can only hope to keep pointing it out.
 
Already, in trying to get credentials from the NCAA I was told that on-line
services don't get passes.  I had to explain that we are not an on-line
service, but merely a medium like any other, whose content just happens to pass
through telephone lines as opposed to the US Mail or the air.
 
> Does Kevin Paul DuPont (of the Globe) read any Hockey-L postings? As an
> outsider, it would be hard to say. Just imagine though, if someday you're
> flipping through your local paper and read "...and Mike Machnik of the
> internet's Hockey-L feels that the strongest conference..."  Or what about
> watching ESPN2's coverage of the beanpot, and hearing that Adam Wodon is an
> on-ice reporter.
 
From your fingers to God's ears <G>.
 
> We need to encourage our local media outlets to start paying more attention
> to the net. In particular, we need to encourage the College Hockey "beat"
> writers to start reading Hockey-L. I for one, would be happy to compile
> weekly postings for local sports reporters looking for college hockey info
 
Don't be surprised to find there are many, including coaches.  People are
aware, but remember too, newspapers will poo-poo it off for a long time - even
after it's obvious - out of fear for going out of business.
 
> In other words, not only make traditional media aware of college hockey's
> presence on the internet, but encourage their involvement in it. Is there
> anyone at ESPN with a true love and respect for college hockey, now that Bob
> Levy (bless his soul) is gone?
 
Whoa --- Bob Ley would not be happy to hear that --- It was Tom Mees who passed
away.  And I think someone like Steve Levy and John Saunders still carry the
torch -- but if they really wanted experts, they should go on-line and find
them.
 
> How about Sports Illustrated? You can't tell
> me that major media outlets such as those don't have at least one employee
> devoted to college hockey.
 
Yeah, E.M. Swift, a goalie for Princeton in the early 70's when the Tigers had
1 win. If you see a college hockey story in SI, Swift probably wrote it.
 
At least places like the Bangor Daily News and Boston Globe are running the
Around the Rinks/USCHO poll.  Sure it's because AP is distributing it, giving
it credibility, and the may not even notice the origin of it.  But someday, it
will click ... what is this "Around the Rinks?"
 
AW
 
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