Joe's Reaction of the Week: Larry Brooks

What do you say when the man you're writing about is the man who would normally be the one writing the story?

That's what Larry Brooks was for the New York Rangers: The man who had the story.

There was never a voice as loud as Brooks' was in the ecosystem.

When I came on the scene and Blueshirt Banter was a small thing crawling out of the blogosphere in 2007, the New York Rangers' media coverage was essentially a copy and paste of one another. The organization was notoriously tightlipped, and had no issues making their feelings known when stories were written that they didn't like. Most of the reporters simply played ball.

Larry Brooks did not.

Ultimately that was who he was—a true reporter from a seemingly bygone age, who cared simply about the story. You read what he wrote, regardless of what it was. Not just because he knew things—and, my God, did he know things—but because you wanted to see how he talked about them.

I never looked to another reporter for breaking news in those days. I never clicked another byline. It was Larry Brooks or it was nothing. There wasn't another writer who had anywhere near the sources (or the stones) to report the way that he did. And while things have gotten a little looser in terms of what is and isn't reported, it was still just Brooks for me.

He knew the game inside and out. And not just the game on the ice, the rules and regulations the game is built on. Brooks voraciously consumed the CBA, and understood small regulations that he reported on that was just another thing that made him different and better than everyone else. Brooks was always an inspiration for my writing—both in the way he wrote, and what he knew and wrote about. Small details weren't missed, and that's a remarkable thing in it's own right, let alone that he didn't miss anything while also being first. Every. Damn. Time.

Over the years we have had numerous interactions. We've met in person a few times, spoken behind the scenes much more. I don't think Brooks liked me very much, and he didn't really hide it, but when I had questions he was always there to answer them. Larry's messages to me we always a fun surprise, even when those messages were him telling me to re-read something he wrote, or pointing out how my opinion was wrong and here's why.

The man cared.

He cared about the game and he cared about the team. By all the interactions I've seen from those who worked with him over the years it's clear Brooks was the type of rough and tumble teammate in the press box he always advocated for on the ice. I'm sure that always made him smile.

The New York Post will never be the same. The coverage of the New York Rangers will never be the same.

Journalism is worse off with Brooks gone. Sports reporting is worse off with him gone.

And I don't think you need me to cite my sources for that.