Dale Loudenback writes: >Earlier this week, Brian Farnell posted a report on the Clarkson vs >St Lawrence game on Dec 11. In that posting, Brian cited a local >newspaper (Watertown Times) article on the game. Some of the information >in the article was based on rumor (i.e. that SLU had a late night skate >following the previous weekend's game against Clarkson). Farnell assumed >it to be true, causing negative feedback for both Clarkson and St. Lawrence. Hold on...I can't let this go by. According to WHO did Brian assume it to be true? SLU? I went back and re-read the original post made by Brian, and neither yesterday nor today did I get the impression that he was suggesting the rumor was true. In fact, he specifically said today that he did NOT believe it was true. I'd say I am pretty objective in this matter, not having any interest in either school other than a general interest in the game, and I did not take any of his words to be an assumption on his part that Marsh did indeed skate his team. Therefore, I must challenge the statement above. Even if Brian believed it in his mind (which he says he didn't), he gave no indication of that in his post. >Coaches Morris and Marsh enjoy a good relationship and friendship. They >have discussed the matter and Coach Morris apoligized for the spin Farnell >put on his comments. Let's hope that matter can be put to rest... No, not yet. Why should Mark Morris have to apologize to Joe Marsh for Brian's attempt to find out if a rumor published in a paper was true? Since when does Brian speak for anyone but himself? Just because he posts from Clarkson does not mean his messages are the opinions of the Clarkson coaching staff. I see a very dangerous precedent here. Are HOCKEY-L readers going to have to verify on their own that anything they read in a paper and are about to post here is true? Let's remember that 1) this rumor was published in a local paper - Brian did not make it up - and 2) Brian sought further information and thought this would be a good place to get it. I'm not suggesting that any random rumor should be publicized, but this was fair game for verification because it appeared in a newspaper. It would have been different if Brian assumed it to be true and then criticized the SLU staff based on that assumption. On Morris's apology: Is everyone who posts from a school with a team considered to be posting the opinions of that program? Since when are the opinions posted by anyone here NOT the sole responsibility of the individual posters? (Aside from those who are actually part of a program.) I'm glad that the rumor turned out not to be true, but there should be more of a concern with the paper that published it in the first place. I get the impression SOMEONE (I can only guess who) put the heat on Brian for repeating it on HOCKEY-L and trying to find out if it was true. We're all intelligent people here, so I expect a lot of other people got this impression, too. Perhaps the matter with the rumored skate is put to rest, but the way this *seems* to have been handled opens up a whole new can of worms, IMO... --- --- Mike Machnik [log in to unmask] Cabletron Systems, Inc. *HMM* 11/13/93 <<<<<< Color Voice of the (7-7-1) Merrimack Warriors WCCM 800 AM >>>>>>