Why You Shouldn't Be Mad About What Colin Cowherd Said
The biggest reason? He's an uninformed fool who likes to hear himself speak.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, an employee of ESPN recently ripped into hockey writers, calling them young and cheap. You can read the story here.
Here's the thing, this bothers me and I'm not even in the atmosphere of people he's talking about. I'm not paid to cover the New York Rangers, I'm not allowed in the locker room, I'm not permitted to speak to the players. We have a growing relationship with the team thanks to John Rosasco, and I appreciate every opportunity the team has given me thus far in my short blogging career. It's been a blast, and I think we've done a hell of a job and I'm so happy with the opportunities we've gotten.
The people Cowherd did insult, however, I have had the pleasure to interact with on multiple occasions. Andrew Gross was one of the biggest supports Jim and I had back when we started Blueshirt Banter, and helped us figure out where the pieces were on the board and who the major players were when we entered this world. Every time I have come into contact with Andrew Gross he has been a gentleman and always willing to offer his help. He also does a hell of a job for The Record, and is one of the nicest people in the business.
Join me after the jump for more.
The same goes for Steve Zipay of Newsday who I have also had the privilege of meeting a few times during my time with The Banter. Zipay and Gross have not just always been helpful, they were there to help answer questions and come onto the radio show back when Jim and I were getting hundreds of views a day, not tens of thousands.
Throw Rick Carpiniello into the category of awesome people who do awesome jobs as well. Rick has also been a very helpful force for Blueshirt Banter, and he too does fantastic work.
Larry Brooks of the Post might not be loved, and his opinions might not be popular, but he is also a fantastic beat reporter. Go back through the year and see how many news stories he's broken. Is he young and cheap? And while I couldn't help but notice the smirk on his face when he saw my press badge at the Winter Classic, he was still polite and helpful when we had a moment to talk.
Are they all young and cheap?
I'm only mentioning Rangers beat reports because they're the only people I've not only gotten a chance to meet, but also they're the people who's work I'm the most familiar with.
My bet is that Cowherd hasn't read a hockey story in his entire life. Want to know why I think this? He insulted all hockey writers when he works for a network that covers hockey. Read that sentence again. He insulted his own company. The best part? ESPN doesn't care.
ESPN represents a lot of what is wrong in sports. And, for the record, they have some fantastic hockey writers over there as well; writers who should be pissed off at a member of their "family" insulting what they do and why they do it. It's disgusting. But, then again, it's ESPN; whose coverage of hockey is like a bakery owner only buying enough ingredients to make 10 cupcakes a day and then wondering why they don't get more customers and telling people, "Oh, people just don't like cupcakes."
Just know this. In a good network, the entire group is united. I don't have a bad thing to say about SB Nation and the people who work here. Every single hockey writer is informed, intelligent and hard working. Yes, we have our spats, everyone does. But you will never, ever see a member of this network make a blanket statement like, "Oh, there are no good baseball writers out there." I don't know any of the baseball writers at SB Nation, but I know if they are a part of our community they do a hell of a job. And if I was going to pass judgement, I would make sure I had evidence to back it up.
So what I'm trying to say is: Don't let it get to you or upset you. He's just a guy who likes to hear himself talk, even if he doesn't know what he's talking about.
