Michael Russo: The Downfall of Paul Fenton

[Spurgeon]

Who is going to sue him for Libel? WTF?

Obviously Fenton??? This guy's reputation is being destroyed right now. Do you truthfully believe that Russo is making shit up and attributing it to fake sources? Do you understand how insanely idiotic of a move that would be for someone like him?

 

[Spurgeon]

In hindsight, after being contradicted by Waddell and himself, yes I think that's clear. At the time he was making the rounds with it? Even if one took it as hyperbole it painted a different picture than Waddell did, and that case was the exception because we don't usually get detailed, first-hand accounts to compare notes against. In most cases it's just Russo's version.

Going back to how Fenton was handling leaks. Giving out more details like, "Fenton didn't even send scouts" or "Staal wasn't even asked for his opinion" would have narrowed down the people that Fenton could look towards. That's why I could see Russo being vague about the situation.

 

[2Pair]

Obviously Fenton??? This guy's reputation is being destroyed right now. Do you truthfully believe that Russo is making **** up and attributing it to fake sources? Do you understand how insanely idiotic of a move that would be for someone like him?

Do you understand that he has actually already been caught doing exactly that?

I'm not saying that Russo is making all/any of this up. I'm saying that nothing he wrote today proves that he's any more credible than he was yesterday. It makes no sense for people to come and say "Gee I guess Russo was right all along".

 

[Bazeek]

Going back to how Fenton was handling leaks. Giving out more details like, "Fenton didn't even send scouts" or "Staal wasn't even asked for his opinion" would have narrowed down the people that Fenton could look towards. That's why I could see Russo being vague about the situation.

I'm not ragging on him for protecting sources, but sometimes protecting them means not airing the info. It's a reason to not name names, not an excuse for shoddy reporting.

 

[Spurgeon]

Do you understand that he has actually already been caught doing exactly that?

I'm not saying that Russo is making all/any of this up. I'm saying that nothing he wrote today proves that he's any more credible than he was yesterday. It makes no sense for people to come and say "Gee I guess Russo was right all along".

How?

 

[2Pair]

How?

He flat out made up the story about the Nino trade

 

[TaLoN]

Go back and watch Eriksson Ek, Kunin and Tuch's drafts. Look at Flahr's expression.

Which is besides the point... I was just talking about perfect image placement based on the content in the article at that point.

 

[Spurgeon]

He flat out made up the story about the Nino trade

He exaggerated, he didn't make shit up. Fenton didn't send scouts to watch Rask. He didn't ask for opinions from somebody that played with Rask. The trade was done in 2 seconds in the sense that he literally didn't do anything that a normal GM would do before committing to a trade.

I'm done wasting time on this. You were wrong, but even despite evidence directly contradicting the shit you've been spewing about Russo for months, you still try to defend yourself. Going as far to claim that the sources dont even exist. It's ridiculous lol.

 

[TaLoN]

So yeah, he's as good a source of Wild rumors as anyone, but unless it's published we still don't have a good idea of how reliable it is.

Exactly. What is published in writing, you can pretty much take to the bank, what he says on pod casts, you have to take with a grain of salt, as not all of it is vetted to the same degree. He can get a bit hyperbolish on podcasts etc.

His writing though (when reporting facts, not providing speculation), absolutely top notch!

 

[2Pair]

He exaggerated, he didn't make **** up. Fenton didn't send scouts to watch Rask. He didn't ask for opinions from somebody that played with Rask. The trade was done in 2 seconds in the sense that he literally didn't do anything that a normal GM would do before committing to a trade.

I'm done wasting time on this. You were wrong, but even despite evidence directly contradicting the **** you've been spewing about Russo for months, you still try to defend yourself. Going as far to claim that the sources dont even exist. It's ridiculous lol.

So now you're disregarding the 1st story but believing the 2nd one?

Show me the evidence that proves me wrong about Russo?

 

[Spurgeon]

So now you're disregarding the 1st story but believing the 2nd one?

Show me the evidence that proves me wrong about Russo?

He didn't write a story about the Rask deal being done in 2 seconds. It was mentioned in a podcast. The evidence is the article in this thread. You couldn't understand how Russo could possibly know the details of the Granlund trade. And you legitimately tried to claim that Russo was making shit up, but are backtracking now that you realize how f***ing dumb it sounds.

I'll just save us both time and put an end to this for good.

 

[2Pair]

He didn't write a story about the Rask deal being done in 2 seconds. It was mentioned in a podcast. The evidence is the article in this thread. You couldn't understand how Russo could possibly know the details of the Granlund trade. And you legitimately tried to claim that Russo was making **** up, but are backtracking now that you realize how ****ing dumb it sounds.

I'll just save us both time and put an end to this for good.

You're making zero sense now. How am I backtracking?

It's also obvious that you're failing hard when you continuously say that the argument isn't worth having, right after you try to make your point in the argument.

 

[JP Flow]

Do you understand that he has actually already been caught doing exactly that?

I'm not saying that Russo is making all/any of this up. I'm saying that nothing he wrote today proves that he's any more credible than he was yesterday. It makes no sense for people to come and say "Gee I guess Russo was right all along".

I think if you look at what he reported this season—Dvorak/Domi, Granlund/Fiala, Coyle to Boston, Parise’s knee—a lot of that came to fruition. And a fair amount of what he speculated about on the podcast or hinted at in his stories, was borne out in this piece. He didn’t get everything right, he missed on some details, but I think by and large he had characterized the narrative of what was going on within the organization pretty accurately.

Also, I apologize for my snark earlier. Just because this is an anonymous message board doesn’t mean I should be a dickhead. “Fake news” hits a little close to home, and I get riled up. Apologies.

I'm not ragging on him for protecting sources, but sometimes protecting them means not airing the info. It's a reason to not name names, not an excuse for shoddy reporting.

I thought what he said about Andrew C. Thomas’ future endeavors on this week’s podcast was pretty shitty. He plays faster and looser on air than I would feel comfortable with if I were his editor or producer.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Either you think he’s a liar or you don’t. Nothing he wrote today will change that.

 

[2Pair]

I think if you look at what he reported this season—Dvorak/Domi, Granlund/Fiala, Coyle to Boston, Parise’s knee—a lot of that came to fruition. And a fair amount of what he speculated about on the podcast or hinted at in his stories, was borne out in this piece. He didn’t get everything right, he missed on some details, but I think by and large he had characterized the narrative of what was going on within the organization pretty accurately.

Also, I apologize for my snark earlier. Just because this is an anonymous message board doesn’t mean I should be a ********. “Fake news” hits a little close to home, and I get riled up. Apologies.



I thought what he said about Andrew C. Thomas’ future endeavors on this week’s podcast was pretty ****ty. He plays faster and looser on air than I would feel comfortable with if I were his editor or producer.

Again, I'm not sitting here saying that Russo does nothing but make shit up. I am saying that nothing he wrote today proves that we should take everything he says as fact. I only entered this conversation because someone said something like- I guess this proves that Russo does have all of those sources and connections- Quite frankly, this story doesn't do that at all.

 

[ThatGuy22]

Exactly. What is published in writing, you can pretty much take to the bank, what he says on pod casts, you have to take with a grain of salt, as not all of it is vetted to the same degree. He can get a bit hyperbolish on podcasts etc.

His writing though (when reporting facts, not providing speculation), absolutely top notch!

This. If he puts it in writing as fact at the Athletic, i take it to the bank. his speculation and podcasts giant grain of salt.

 

[W75]

Holy shit f***.

Can't read the actual article, but these details already..

 

[Drewcifer]

An organization like the Athletic isn't going to let their reporters expose them to libel. For an article this inflammatory, any editor worth their salt makes sure that their reporter has verifiable sources point by point even if those sources want to remain anonymous in the article. They do that to make sure they can defend themselves if they are sued. Either the Athletic is a tabloid with an incompetent legal department or Russo is writing the truth.

 

[Minnesnota]

Again, I'm not sitting here saying that Russo does nothing but make **** up. I am saying that nothing he wrote today proves that we should take everything he says as fact. I only entered this conversation because someone said something like- I guess this proves that Russo does have all of those sources and connections- Quite frankly, this story doesn't do that at all.

You think anything that was in that article was exaggerated or false?

There isn't a chance in hell that article gets published if it isn't 100% accurate. To think otherwise is foolish.

 

[BagHead]

I'd like to say I'm surprised by the content of the article, but I'm really not. Some people are really great at what they do, and get promoted because of it, only to find out they're not great at the new job. Almost any one of the odd personnel moves he decided to make, taken by itself, could be ignored (the exception being the Nino trade), but by the time he had claimed Bitteto off waivers, it was clear he wasn't doing a good job. I am a little surprised that his version of not doing a good job is basically just 'not doing the job'. Some of the quotes by Boudreau as the season went on made me think there was some strife between him and Fenton. Before anyone asks, no I don't remember the specifics of those quotes, nor do I desire to look them up, so take it with all the salt you want. I am a little surprised that the discord between Fenton and Bruce was actually discord that went through the entire organization, though. That is a massive impact he had, for the worse.

Fourteen months ago Leipold made a terrible decision. A few days ago he made a great one. Let's hope his next one is the latter.

 

[Digitalbooya]

He lied to Zucker. Do not lie.

If Stranger Things has taught me anything...

 

[57special]

Count me in as someone who applauds Leipold for recognizing his mistake, and taking quick action to fix it.

I have no problem with him wanting to have a winner here in MN. We all want that. What I do have a problem with is trying to take shortcuts to that goal, and not being realistic. He is by no means a loose cannon, but he has to understand that everything he says will be dissected, and create consequences. He has to be very circumspect ...sorta like being the chairman of the Federal Reserve, where one misspoken phrase can cost the country billions.

 

[Fremitus Borealis]

Haha, holy shit.... so it was definitely worse than we hoped, and as bad as many suspected. Ah well, at least Leipold did something about the problem. Eventually. Too bad he didn't act sooner, but, ya know.

 

[Bazeek]

Count me in as someone who applauds Leipold for recognizing his mistake, and taking quick action to fix it.

I have no problem with him wanting to have a winner here in MN. We all want that. What I do have a problem with is trying to take shortcuts to that goal, and not being realistic. He is by no means a loose cannon, but he has to understand that everything he says will be dissected, and create consequences. He has to be very circumspect ...sorta like being the chairman of the Federal Reserve, where one misspoken phrase can cost the country billions.

Shortcuts as in not wanting to spend 2-3 years being bad? Or not trying all that hard to be competitive, anyway.

Not necessarily arguing, but I'm not sure what other shortcuts one could say he's taken.

 

[57special]

Spending draft picks in order to get help now is a classic, as well as not valuing draft picks in general. Signing aging FA 's in order to " look" competitive, when it is painfully obvious that you will not win a Cup with your roster. Impatience, in general.

Fletcher was the worst in that regard. I believe he was egged on by Leipold. I don't know what Fenton's direction was...something about accumulating LH shot players?

It's interesting that Hextall was fired for being too patient, and was replaced by Fletcher, who promptly made a couple of questionable signings such as Hayes( yuck).