Burrows Vs Auger

[digitalmonkey 929]

I dont get why players, coaches and Gms would even consider talking to the media at all..They get fined for speaking their mind. In this case Burrows felt justified, he wasnt really slandering anyone. What happened to free speech??If I was a player, i would NEVER give a quote to the media.

Perhaps you should stand in the lobby of your bank and announce how the bank is ripping people off of their hard earned money by charging ridiculous fees for everything. And accuse them of colluding with other banks to maximize profits for all of them.Employees are free to speak but employers are also free to respond accordingly as long as they follow the law of the land.

[gruven 530]

I dont get why players, coaches and Gms would even consider talking to the media at all..They get fined for speaking their mind. In this case Burrows felt justified, he wasnt really slandering anyone. What happened to free speech??If I was a player, i would NEVER give a quote to the media.

Yes, serge, shut down the media. Good thinking. That ought to really help drive revenues, merchandising sales, and tv shares sky high. After all, it's not like the games are played for fans, are they? They're played simply for the players. No need to cater to the people that pay salaries. Good thinking. ALmost genious-like.

[MapleLeafpoker 1,462]

It might go the other way.... refs will know that Walkom and the NHL will be watching like hawks anything involving Burrows, so they may back off him a little...

I was thinking the same thing. Lets face it, Burrows is going to be watched VERY closely from here on out by everyone, and any call on him will be dissected from 7 angles.I feel bad for whoever the stripes are for the next few Van. games.

[MapleLeafpoker 1,462]

Yes, serge, shut down the media. Good thinking. That ought to really help drive revenues, merchandising sales, and tv shares sky high. After all, it's not like the games are played for fans, are they? They're played simply for the players. No need to cater to the people that pay salaries. Good thinking. ALmost genious-like.

I dont think Serge was saying shut down the media.All he's saying is that being outspoken, rightly or wrongly, doesnt pay. And I tend to agree with him.Personally, I think intereviews where the answers are absolutely nothing substantial are meaningless and a waste of time. "We gotta give it 110%""Take the game to them""Gotta come out harder next time"bla bla bla.I remember Bob McCowan saying this is why he wont interview atheletes and coaches, cause they have nothing important to say, or dont want to say it.If anyone says anything with controversy, and they get fined by the NHL or get raked over the coals by others/media.You can't have it both ways. (I mean all of us, not just media)Either accept that people will say things that are controversial (Roenick) or just accept the boring (name any NHL captain).Problem is, boring is exactly how you drive down the revenues you speak of.

[digitalmonkey 929]

I dont think Serge was saying shut down the media.All he's saying is that being outspoken, rightly or wrongly, doesnt pay. And I tend to agree with him.Personally, I think intereviews where the answers are absolutely nothing substantial are meaningless and a waste of time. "We gotta give it 110%""Take the game to them""Gotta come out harder next time"bla bla bla.I remember Bob McCowan saying this is why he wont interview atheletes and coaches, cause they have nothing important to say, or dont want to say it.If anyone says anything with controversy, and they get fined by the NHL or get raked over the coals by others/media.You can't have it both ways. (I mean all of us, not just media)Either accept that people will say things that are controversial (Roenick) or just accept the boring (name any NHL captain).Problem is, boring is exactly how you drive down the revenues you speak of.

Is $2500 really going to stop those that are outspoken from saying what they want to say?

[SBriand 4]

Is $2500 really going to stop those that are outspoken from saying what they want to say?

Not the first time. But I doubt it will be a $2500 fine if he says something again. I am sure he was told what happens when he spouts off again.

[LongLiveYorke 38]

Phantom Call

That video is pretty shocking. I'm starting to really believe Burrows.

Meh, Burrows is an idiot for handling it the way he did.

Well, if it's actually true, then I think he did the right thing. He needs the media to get behind him. The only way that actual consequences and changes come about is if the media makes a real stink. If he just quietly goes through the league, maybe the ref gets a talking to or a silent fine or whatever.If the ref did what Burrows accused him of doing, he should be fired. It would be pretty despicable.

[Mercury69 3]

I was thinking the same thing. Lets face it, Burrows is going to be watched VERY closely from here on out by everyone, and any call on him will be dissected from 7 angles.I feel bad for whoever the stripes are for the next few Van. games.

I don't. It's like that ********** cop who gave me a $180 ticket for being a couple of feet in front of a white line at an intersection AS the light was turning green. Anyone with that kind of manipulative power needs to be scrutinized. Just make the right ****ing call.And, for the record, I though BOTH calls on Burrows were bogus.

[Dream Team 0]

I don't. It's like that ********** cop who gave me a $180 ticket for being a couple of feet in front of a white line at an intersection AS the light was turning green. Anyone with that kind of manipulative power needs to be scrutinized. Just make the right ****ing call.And, for the record, I though BOTH calls on Burrows were bogus.

Well I was at the game and I have to agree with your last point. They were too close to call especially in a close game.

[digitalmonkey 929]

Not the first time. But I doubt it will be a $2500 fine if he says something again. I am sure he was told what happens when he spouts off again.

The collective agreement limits the amount of fine a player can receive. Anyway, Burrows (and anyone else) just has to be smarter when commenting on the officiating.

[serge 904]

Yes, serge, shut down the media. Good thinking. That ought to really help drive revenues, merchandising sales, and tv shares sky high. After all, it's not like the games are played for fans, are they? They're played simply for the players. No need to cater to the people that pay salaries. Good thinking. ALmost genious-like.

Like Arp said you mis understood my comments. If I was a player, and I know there is a lot of players out there, I wouldnt give anything to the media.There is NOTHING in it for me, thats why most interviews are a waste of time and its pointless...Whenever you get an interesting interview like Sean Avery, Jeremy Roenick or Brian Burke, the NHL is all over it and try to fine them for everything they say.

[serge 904]

Perhaps you should stand in the lobby of your bank and announce how the bank is ripping people off of their hard earned money by charging ridiculous fees for everything. And accuse them of colluding with other banks to maximize profits for all of them.Employees are free to speak but employers are also free to respond accordingly as long as they follow the law of the land.

I dont think its the same thing..The goal of the media is to stick a microphone in front of a coach/player or gm and hope they mess up and say something controversial..I just feel that a player in the NHL shouldnt talk to the media, because they have NOTHING to gain . 90% of interviews like Arp said are useless, and the interesting personalities are shut down by the NHL.

[serge 904]

Yes, serge, shut down the media. Good thinking. That ought to really help drive revenues, merchandising sales, and tv shares sky high. After all, it's not like the games are played for fans, are they? They're played simply for the players. No need to cater to the people that pay salaries. Good thinking. ALmost genious-like.

How is it catering to the fans?Please explainThere is only a handful of people i will listen to interviews from..The rest is garbage..The media knows it, the players know it, the fans know it...

[gruven 530]

How is it catering to the fans?Please explainThere is only a handful of people i will listen to interviews from..The rest is garbage..The media knows it, the players know it, the fans know it...

If every player simply said -Im just happy to help the team-it was a big win for us-we're just taking it one day at a time Then fans would become disinterested in the players, and have no connection to them. NASCAR does a great job of connecting the fans to the drivers, and a lot of that is accessibility...

[serge 904]

If every player simply said -Im just happy to help the team-it was a big win for us-we're just taking it one day at a time Then fans would become disinterested in the players, and have no connection to them. NASCAR does a great job of connecting the fans to the drivers, and a lot of that is accessibility...

Yes you are correct..But the players that speak there mind get fined, suspended or reprimanded.

[gruven 530]

Yes you are correct..But the players that speak there mind get fined, suspended or reprimanded.

only if they criticise the league. They can say anything else they want....

[Zach6668 513]

I'm ok with that. How many places can you publicly criticize your employer, fellow employees, etc, and not have to pay for it?

[serge 904]

I'm ok with that. How many places can you publicly criticize your employer, fellow employees, etc, and not have to pay for it?

thats fine..What I am saying is why talk at all..As a player I would never ever make a statement to the media..Good example:Pat Quinn's team is in a long losing streak, his team gets blasted and right after the game the media sticks a microphone in his mouth and he loses it and says something against the refs( i dont have the quote exactly). He gets fined.If I was Quinn I just shut my mouth and not say a word.

[Orcasgt22 0]

thats fine..What I am saying is why talk at all..As a player I would never ever make a statement to the media..Good example:Pat Quinn's team is in a long losing streak, his team gets blasted and right after the game the media sticks a microphone in his mouth and he loses it and says something against the refs( i dont have the quote exactly). He gets fined.If I was Quinn I just shut my mouth and not say a word.

thats a fairly recent example. He's been fined for that this year already, Katz paid it for him naturally.As for the not speakng part; NBA fines players who are not made available to the media unless said players a a good reason. NFL does too. I couldn't find any NHL fines so maybe they do not fine players for not talking, or I just couldn't find it

[Zach6668 513]

I think it's required to be available to the media, but I think Serge is saying he'd just 'no comment' every single question, no matter how docile, or harmless it is.

[troyomac 0]

I'm ok with that. How many places can you publicly criticize your employer, fellow employees, etc, and not have to pay for it?

People don't publicly criticize their employers because they aren't forced into publicity like hockey players are. It's easy to never criticize your employer publicly if you're never in front of a camera. But realistically, a large % of the population criticizes their employer constantly, I know I used to quite often. Shove a camera in my face, and yeah maybe 99% of the time I'm all lovey dovey, but you're eventually going to catch me on a bad day and I'm going to verbally rape someone.

[gruven 530]

People don't publicly criticize their employers because they aren't forced into publicity like hockey players are. It's easy to never criticize your employer publicly if you're never in front of a camera. But realistically, a large % of the population criticizes their employer constantly, I know I used to quite often. Shove a camera in my face, and yeah maybe 99% of the time I'm all lovey dovey, but you're eventually going to catch me on a bad day and I'm going to verbally rape someone.

Sure, you would verbally criticize your employer as a regular employee. But you would do it to co-workers, or friends, or whatnot. It's highly unlikely, however, that you would criticize your employer to that employer, i.e. your boss. Why? because if you did, you would probably jeopardize your job, or at the very least face some repercussions. Athletes criticizing refs, etc, happens on a non-stop basis, on the bench, in the dressing room, on the plane, etc. But if you do it in front of a camera, you know that your employer (the NHL, in this case) is going to hear it. No different from a regular guy.

[LongLiveYorke 38]

Why are we trying to pretend that being a professional hockey player in the NHL is in any way the same thing as being an employee at a generic company?

[serge 904]

Why are we trying to pretend that being a professional hockey player in the NHL is in any way the same thing as being an employee at a generic company?

exactly..

[troyomac 0]

Sure, you would verbally criticize your employer as a regular employee. But you would do it to co-workers, or friends, or whatnot. It's highly unlikely, however, that you would criticize your employer to that employer, i.e. your boss. Why? because if you did, you would probably jeopardize your job, or at the very least face some repercussions. Athletes criticizing refs, etc, happens on a non-stop basis, on the bench, in the dressing room, on the plane, etc. But if you do it in front of a camera, you know that your employer (the NHL, in this case) is going to hear it. No different from a regular guy.

The Refs aren't your employers though, they are co-workers. I'm sure people complain about co-workers to their employer all the time.