Following in the thread of discussion on the Boston Globe's recent (lack of)
college hockey coverage, coverage on the 'net, quality of coverage, some
things to consider:
 
 
When I moved out to Boulder, I thought for sure that my life as a college
hockey fan would be limited to a single page in the Hockey News and to the
"scraps" that I could pick up on-line.
 
But, as many people have pointed out, those "scraps" are, on the internet,
big, honkin' chunks of information. Hockey-L has been my ultimate savior,
but many other sources have truly kept me informed.
 
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.
 
Where the hell am I going with this drivel, anyway?
 
 
Someone commented that what the internet is currently missing from it's
college hockey content (as well as most other subjects of interest on the
'net) is a lack of "professional" or "skilled" writers, in addition to a
lack of direct information. I would disagree here, as I feel there are a
good amount of professional and skilled writers present, especially here on
Hockey-L. As many old professors have noted, if you've got a passion for
something, it'll always show through when you share it with others.
 
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.
 
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.
 
It's a bit of a stretch today, but should it be? Internet sports fans are,
for the most part, intelligent, thoughtful, and considerate of other
opinions. However, the view that many people have is that newsgroups and
listservs are full of all-out flame wars, and people making silly, juvenile
statements.
 
So how can we change this?
 
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
(weeding out the posts of people looking for tickets, the anti-[team or
conference here] setntiments, and the like).
 
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? 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.
 
So if any of you have the time or the resources, and want to see the media
give college hockey the "appreciation" that many of us feel it deserves,
contact your local sports media, both big and small. Help them be informed.
Help them learn.
 
 
Jason "hey, at least you've got the Globe -- I get the Denver Post!" Greene
 
 
greenie
 
S P O O N ! !
(go BU)
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.