WNY media in the dark about Miller extension

[nfreeman]

Now that the dust has settled, I've been wondering whether the local media should have been expected to have had some inkling that Miller was about to re-sign. All we heard for months was that Miller was eligible to re-sign on July 1, was it going to overshadow the season, were the Sabres going to screw this one up too, was he going to wait it out and go to Detroit, etc. Then, seemingly out of the blue, he signs a big fat extension. No hints in the Buffalo News, WGR, or anywhere else that it was in the offing, that they were negotiating, they were close, what the numbers were, nothing.

 

It kind of makes me think that the local media essentially have zero sources inside the organization. If that's the case, are they adding any value whatsoever? Are they just watching the games and the press conferences the same way we are and then just reporting/opining on what they see the same way we are? Am I missing something? I mean, I'm glad that there is a newspaper and a radio station covering the Sabres, and I end reading most of the articles and listening to most of the interviews on the WGR audio vault (the ones with Lindy and the FO, anyway), but shouldn't there be something more?

 

I'm definitely getting more cynical about the media as I age.

[SwampD]

I work in the media. No way you're more cynical than I am.

[Bmwolf21]

Let's be realistic, how many times in the DR era have we been blindsided by something he has done, either a trade or FA signing? DR usually plays everything very close to the vest and usually shocks everyone with "the move no one saw coming."

 

Frankly, I'm not surprised one bit that he managed to keep the negotiations out of the press.

 

SwampD, where do you work or what area of the media?

[shrader]

The whole thing played out very quickly. If you're having these good conversations, why would either side turn around and let the media know? Its best to just focus and get the thing hammered out. Don't let any distractions filter in. Also, you're always far more likely to hear about the failures than the successes. I really can't think of the equivalent in this situation to all the "he would've accepted $5mil/5years" talk.

[RayFinkle]

Let's be realistic, how many times in the DR era have we been blindsided by something he has done, either a trade or FA signing? DR usually plays everything very close to the vest and usually shocks everyone with "the move no one saw coming."

 

Frankly, I'm not surprised one bit that he managed to keep the negotiations out of the press.

 

SwampD, where do you work or what area of the media?

Considering Quinn has cleaned house and they operate with a skeleton crew of a front office, I'm not surprised it didn't leak. Who is going to leak it? Darcy?

[Bmwolf21]

Considering Quinn has cleaned house and they operate with a skeleton crew of a front office, I'm not surprised it didn't leak. Who is going to leak it? Darcy?

True, didn't even think of that angle.

[nfreeman]

Here's a bit more on this from bfloblog (which is pretty good, btw): linkage.

So in the end, Ryan Miller has done yet another service for Western New York in exposing these phony experts for what they really are - nothing more knowledgeable than you or I when it comes to the local hockey team.

 

Also, in response to Shrader's post on this, I think other cities' media outlets often are more plugged into the behind-the-scenes situation than TBN is with the Sabres. For example, the NYC media was pretty clued into Lundy's extension -- see here and here.

 

Connecting the dots, my sense is that the Sabres management has no use whatsoever for TBN and has effectively frozen TBN out of any meaningful inside information. This may or may not have predated/been caused by Bucky's behavior at the July 2007 apocalypse presser. It's also quite possible that part of the reason TBN seems to have no meaningful inside info is that its hockey writers (or some of them, anyway) are lazy and/or incompetent and/or biased -- which may in turn be part of the reason why the Sabres have frozen them out.

 

Either way, it's kind of a bummer that we fans aren't getting much value added by TBN's Sabres coverage.

[tom webster]

Here's a bit more on this from bfloblog (which is pretty good, btw): linkage.

Also, in response to Shrader's post on this, I think other cities' media outlets often are more plugged into the behind-the-scenes situation than TBN is with the Sabres. For example, the NYC media was pretty clued into Lundy's extension -- see here and here.

 

Connecting the dots, my sense is that the Sabres management has no use whatsoever for TBN and has effectively frozen TBN out of any meaningful inside information. This may or may not have predated/been caused by Bucky's behavior at the July 2007 apocalypse presser. It's also quite possible that part of the reason TBN seems to have no meaningful inside info is that its hockey writers (or some of them, anyway) are lazy and/or incompetent and/or biased -- which may in turn be part of the reason why the Sabres have frozen them out.

 

Either way, it's kind of a bummer that we fans aren't getting much value added by TBN's Sabres coverage.

 

I think you are all putting way too much into this. There are two reasons and two reasons only that there was little to no advance word on the Miller signing;

 

1) It happened in two weeks.

2) The Sabres operate minus all the added layers of management of other teams. Its the same reason that other then Ecklund, the Sabres are rarely part of the rumor mill.

 

Finally, WGR is as connected as anyone. Chris has an inside man that feeds him info on things like the third jersey (even Larry acknowledged that Chris has seen it), Mike has an inside guy that feeds him little tidbits mostly relative to ticketing and other scuttlebutt and yet, they had no clue till one hour before everyone else that the deal was done.

[shrader]

To be fair, most cities medias won't come anywhere near the level of NYC, let alone Buffalo.

[Goodfella25]

I think they do a decent job on WGR, although I wish the morning show stayed a little more on topic after the 9:00 hour, which is when they usually go off about something ridiculous. I could also do without Schopp's attitude--he's like a stuck up sports fan, if there is such a thing. I think the Buffalo News coverage is bad, but what do you expect from a dying media like print journalism.

 

The biggest gap in coverage I see around here is the fact that we have no local sports network since Empire went down. It becomes even more of an issue during the season. Now that the Sabres are carried by MSG, we get literally no pre-game show. I miss the days when I could turn on Empire at 6:30 and see Brian Blessing and Robitaille setting the scene for the game at 7. That is gone now. We get absolutely no coverage on MSG because it isn't even our channel. That's a crap situation right now.

[nfreeman]

I think you are all putting way too much into this. There are two reasons and two reasons only that there was little to no advance word on the Miller signing;

 

1) It happened in two weeks.

2) The Sabres operate minus all the added layers of management of other teams. Its the same reason that other then Ecklund, the Sabres are rarely part of the rumor mill.

 

Finally, WGR is as connected as anyone. Chris has an inside man that feeds him info on things like the third jersey (even Larry acknowledged that Chris has seen it), Mike has an inside guy that feeds him little tidbits mostly relative to ticketing and other scuttlebutt and yet, they had no clue till one hour before everyone else that the deal was done.

 

Regarding point #1 -- I think the fact that it happened in 2 weeks is not an excuse. Just the opposite -- given the compressed time frame and the fact that Darcy and Quinn stated explicitly and repeatedly that they were going to try to re-sign Miller ASAP, shouldn't they have been all over it? i.e. there wasn't a long time in which the story could get stale -- and for that matter there was nothing else going on in the local sports scene.

 

Point #2 is valid -- without a bunch of other guys in management, there are fewer potential sources of inside info.

 

As for WGR, I'll agree that they are as connected as anyone in the WNY media -- but that doesn't mean they are as good as they should be.

 

To be fair, most cities medias won't come anywhere near the level of NYC, let alone Buffalo.

 

This is fair and a good point. But media outlets from smaller NHL markets also seem like they are more on the ball than TBN. Would you agree that Pittsburgh is a fair comparable? Their local media was all over the Malkin extension: check it out. Or maybe Tampa? Their media knew what was going on with Vinny.

 

For a group of hacks journalists that accuse the Sabres of being reactive and continually caught by surprise, the TBN crew doesn't seem to measure up to its counterparts.

[shrader]

For a group of hacks journalists that accuse the Sabres of being reactive and continually caught by surprise, the TBN crew doesn't seem to measure up to its counterparts.

 

I wonder who heard about it first though. Those are two of the highest profile players you'll find. Did someone like TSN break that story first? Malkin is also a unique situation thanks to the Russian league throwing around those huge offers. Pittsburgh had to get things out in the open quickly on that one. I don't know how much pressure came down on them from the local media, but the international media (TSN) had to have been breathing down their necks.

[Bmwolf21]

As for WGR, I'll agree that they are as connected as anyone in the WNY media -- but that doesn't mean they are as good as they should be.

This is fair and a good point. But media outlets from smaller NHL markets also seem like they are more on the ball than TBN. Would you agree that Pittsburgh is a fair comparable? Their local media was all over the Malkin extension: check it out. Or maybe Tampa? Their media knew what was going on with Vinny.

Way different situations, IMO. With the Pittsburgh market is probably pretty close to Buffalo in terms of size, the Tampa market is much bigger, and both of those markets have at least two local newspapers -- Pittsburgh has the Post-Gazette and Tribune-Review, while Tampa has the Tampa Tribune and the St. Petersburg Times, and as shrader pointed out, you're talking about two of the bigger names in the league. As much as we want to think so, the rest of the league wasn't holding their breath to see if the Sabres signed Miller, but if a guy like Vinny or Malkin were to hit the market there would be a lot of teams calling their rights-owners.

 

I will concede that obviously competition would likely push TBN to establish better contacts and get more of an insider's view, but I still have trouble finding fault with the News on this one.

[nfreeman]

I wonder who heard about it first though. Those are two of the highest profile players you'll find. Did someone like TSN break that story first? Malkin is also a unique situation thanks to the Russian league throwing around those huge offers. Pittsburgh had to get things out in the open quickly on that one. I don't know how much pressure came down on them from the local media, but the international media (TSN) had to have been breathing down their necks.

 

 

Way different situations, IMO. With the Pittsburgh market is probably pretty close to Buffalo in terms of size, the Tampa market is much bigger, and both of those markets have at least two local newspapers -- Pittsburgh has the Post-Gazette and Tribune-Review, while Tampa has the Tampa Tribune and the St. Petersburg Times, and as shrader pointed out, you're talking about two of the bigger names in the league. As much as we want to think so, the rest of the league wasn't holding their breath to see if the Sabres signed Miller, but if a guy like Vinny or Malkin were to hit the market there would be a lot of teams calling their rights-owners.

 

I will concede that obviously competition would likely push TBN to establish better contacts and get more of an insider's view, but I still have trouble finding fault with the News on this one.

 

I can't disagree that Malkin and Vinny are higher-profile than Miller, but Miller is still a pretty high-profile guy in the NHL. Also, while Tampa is a bigger market, I'd assume WNY is more hockey-crazed and thus I'd expect more hockey coverage than in Tampa and at least as much as in Pittsburgh (this is admittedly a guess).

 

Having said that, I'll devote a bit more time to finding media outlets for comparable hockey markets that published inklings (are those the same as baby inkmen?) of resignings of not-quite-as-high-profile free agents. Not that I'm obsessed or anything.

[Bmwolf21]

I can't disagree that Malkin and Vinny are higher-profile than Miller, but Miller is still a pretty high-profile guy in the NHL. Also, while Tampa is a bigger market, I'd assume WNY is more hockey-crazed and thus I'd expect more hockey coverage than in Tampa and at least as much as in Pittsburgh (this is admittedly a guess).

 

Having said that, I'll devote a bit more time to finding media outlets for comparable hockey markets that published inklings (are those the same as baby inkmen?) of resignings of not-quite-as-high-profile free agents. Not that I'm obsessed or anything.

Overall I guess I just don't see the point. You have a one-paper town, a GM that plays everything close to the vest, and as tom noted, less management (read: leaks) and you're surprised that no one broke the story? Who is going to scoop the News? The Niagara Gazette or the NF Reporter? The Sabres' official mouthpiece and PR team at WGR?

 

I don't know, I think I have to agree with tom - sounds like much ado about nothing.

[nfreeman]

Overall I guess I just don't see the point. You have a one-paper town, a GM that plays everything close to the vest, and as tom noted, less management (read: leaks) and you're surprised that no one broke the story? Who is going to scoop the News? The Niagara Gazette or the NF Reporter? The Sabres' official mouthpiece and PR team at WGR?

 

I don't know, I think I have to agree with tom - sounds like much ado about nothing.

 

You're certainly right that it's not a big deal. I guess for lack of any real hockey news, I'm just beating the anti-TBN drum that I've beaten periodically before -- and I brought it up again because I stumbled on that post in bfloblog. My point wasn't so much that someone else should've scooped TBN, it was that TBN should be better. As you pointed out, they don't have any competition, so they probably don't feel any urgency.

 

I'd much rather be posting about a new center, but I guess that will have to wait until Darcy gets someone to take Max in trade.

[Bmwolf21]

Honestly, I didn't think too highly of that blog entry. It basically came off as "why don't Sully (as ignorant a hockey "writer" as I've read anywhere) and Bucky know this was happening before it happened?" and I just don't see the point. It seemed like an excuse to beat up on the TBN writers for no reason, so I didn't take it too seriously.

[Taro T]

You're certainly right that it's not a big deal. I guess for lack of any real hockey news, I'm just beating the anti-TBN drum that I've beaten periodically before -- and I brought it up again because I stumbled on that post in bfloblog. My point wasn't so much that someone else should've scooped TBN, it was that TBN should be better. As you pointed out, they don't have any competition, so they probably don't feel any urgency.

 

I'd much rather be posting about a new center, but I guess that will have to wait until Darcy gets someone to take Max in trade.

Ever since Kelley moved on, the Snooze's hockey coverage has been adequate. (Not top notch, but usually not HORRIBLE either.) Too bad they can't find a way to get him to reprise his old weekly "Inside the NHL" column while still maintaining his on-line and FAN 590 gigs.

[shrader]

I can't disagree that Malkin and Vinny are higher-profile than Miller, but Miller is still a pretty high-profile guy in the NHL. Also, while Tampa is a bigger market, I'd assume WNY is more hockey-crazed and thus I'd expect more hockey coverage than in Tampa and at least as much as in Pittsburgh (this is admittedly a guess).

 

The nationality of the two players you mentioned played a major role too. The Russian league doesn't make that offer to Malkin if he's American. That drew a ton of attention his way. Lecavalier being probably one of the top 3-5 Canadian brought TSN and the rest of the canadian press to his story. Since there is no American hockey media, no one major jumps in on his story.

[tom webster]

I can't disagree that Malkin and Vinny are higher-profile than Miller, but Miller is still a pretty high-profile guy in the NHL. Also, while Tampa is a bigger market, I'd assume WNY is more hockey-crazed and thus I'd expect more hockey coverage than in Tampa and at least as much as in Pittsburgh (this is admittedly a guess).

 

Having said that, I'll devote a bit more time to finding media outlets for comparable hockey markets that published inklings (are those the same as baby inkmen?) of resignings of not-quite-as-high-profile free agents. Not that I'm obsessed or anything.

 

Free, the other thing you are missing is with regards to the motivation to leak the story. In Malkin and LeCavalier's cases both teams had their own reasons for leaking the story whether it be to let their own free agents know, let their fans know or let free agents they targeted know.

In Miller's case, you have a negotiation going smoothly, a 97% season ticket renewal and a team that has none of their own players at risk and a team that had no intentions of pursuing any high profile free agents.

[stenbaro]

Sabres handled this smoother than any they have negotiated in 10 yrs..Give em cudos even if you dont agree...

[ExiledInIllinois]

Why is everyone talking about this? I am shocked... Didn't read the whole thread, but don't people remember the thing that TG (I think it was him?) said a long time ago? Went something like this:

 

"Watch how we handle Ryan Miller."

 

They telegraphed this move along time ago... I was just rolling my eyes all along biting my lip when all the "sky is falling" talk then surfaced...

 

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[ExiledInIllinois]

Sabres handled this smoother than any they have negotiated in 10 yrs..Give em cudos even if you dont agree...

 

 

Agree. And like I said above, it was telegraphed eons ago!