News Article: Colorado Avalanche Media Coverage Part V

[Ararana]

Who's the best player not named Connor McDavid? The league's best coach? The Athletic's national NHL fan survey

Lots of Avs love here. MacKinnon and Makar were 1 and 3 in 'If you had to start your franchise with anyone not named McDavid'

 

[dionisus1122]

Peter Baugh tweets about 10x more swimming stuff then Avs stuf. Wish he would channel some of that into content for his beat.

 

[dahrougem2]

Peter Baugh tweets about 10x more swimming stuff then Avs stuf. Wish he would channel some of that into content for his beat.

He's not a hockey guy, he's admitted this himself. This job is just a stepping stone for him to different opportunities.

 

[Pokecheque]

I find it kinda silly to hold what a guy posts on his personal Twitter account against him. He gets to post whatever the hell he wants there--that feed is beholden to no one. If you don't like his actual content on The Athletic, that's totally fine, but this and the incessant bellyaching about Clark's dad jokes is pointless. If you don't like their Twiter, then don't follow them. There's plenty of other ways to get your Avs news fix.

I certainly liked Clark way more than Baugh thus far, but his coverage has been fine. I'm much more disappointed in the fact that The Athletic isn't doing much to fill the shoes of some other great beat writers they let go during the pandemic, like Alison Lukan, George Richards, and Craig Morgan. I get the feeling they're trimming the fat after that first foray armed with all that VC cash they splurged on top talent, and lot of them have now moved on. If I'm paying a yearly subscription, I want the best and the brightest, or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof.

 

[Pokecheque]

He's not a hockey guy, he's admitted this himself. This job is just a stepping stone for him to different opportunities.

Stop automatically assuming that's his M.O. People said that about Clark and they were wrong. I don't know why people think that if it isn't their dream job and final destination that they're just going through the motions.

 

[hawk30]

I don't know why people think "hockey guys" or even "fans" make better beat reporters. Every single amateur Avs news and analysis personality is awful.

 

[dahrougem2]

Stop automatically assuming that's his M.O. People said that about Clark and they were wrong. I don't know why people think that if it isn't their dream job and final destination that they're just going through the motions.

Where did I say he's going through the motions?

 

[Pokecheque]

Where did I say he's going through the motions?

You imply that when you assume he's using the gig as a "stepping stone."

I don't think hockey writers have to be avid fans in order to cover the sport properly. In fact, there are plenty of "Hockey Men" whose coverage is nigh-unreadable.

 

[UncleRisto]

People said that about Clark and they were wrong.

They were?

 

[dahrougem2]

You imply that when you assume he's using the gig as a "stepping stone."

I don't think hockey writers have to be avid fans in order to cover the sport properly. In fact, there are plenty of "Hockey Men" whose coverage is nigh-unreadable.

So I am implying this without directly stating them, which I shouldn't do, but you're assuming my thoughts on the matter, which you can do?

Which one is it?

 

[Pokecheque]

They were?

Yes. He's said repeatedly in interviews that covering the NHL was his dream job. So you can either believe him, or not, but that's what he said.

 

[Pokecheque]

So I am implying this without directly stating them, which I shouldn't do, but you're assuming my thoughts on the matter, which you can do?

Which one is it?

Let's make one thing very clear. I NEVER said what you could or could not do. Never. I simply inferred that it's silly to automatically jump to "This is just a stepping stone for them" if they don't already have a lot of experience in hockey to begin with, or they post a lot about a different sport, or you just plain don't like what they write.

You can say whatever you want. I can't stop you, nor do I have any wish to. But I can comment on it however I please.

 

[Balthazar]

I certainly liked Clark way more than Baugh thus far

Hell no!!!

 

[Pokecheque]

Hell no!!!

Yes I know, you didn't like Clark. I do however. We can disagree on that.

 

[Balthazar]

Yes I know, you didn't like Clark. I do however. We can disagree on that.

You may like him as a human being, and I don't disagree, but he REALLY sucked at covering the day to day aspect of being a beat reporter. He sounded like a journalist from Australia or something who was asked to cover a sport he never heard of.

Baugh isn't a hockey guy either, and it shows, but at least he's trying. Give him a couple more years and if he's sticking around he'll be real good IMO.

Clark has no intention of becoming a good beat reporter...he clearly has other, bigger, goals.

 

[Pokecheque]

You may like him as a human being, and I don't disagree, but he REALLY sucked at covering the day to day aspect of being a beat reporter. He sounded like a journalist from Australia or something who was asked to cover a sport he never heard of.

Baugh isn't a hockey guy either, and it shows, but at least he's trying. Give him a couple more years and if he's sticking around he'll be real good IMO.

Clark has no intention of becoming a good beat reporter...he clearly has other, bigger, goals.

He did what The Athletic asked him to do, and that was some longer-form pieces on the team. In that regard I think he was excellent. Again, this is my opinion. If he has bigger goals, I don't really care. He said the NHL is his dream. You either can believe him or not, but I choose to take him at his word there. There's very little in his work that implies otherwise.

You may disagree but all due respect don't try and twist my statement into something it's not. Yes, he's a nice guy, but I'm able to separate the person and his body of work.

 

[henchman21]

Clark clearly wants to be more of a Custance sort of writer than a day-to-day beat guy. Just to get to that point, you have to run beat for a while. His article on Falloon today was great... when he can lean into stories and flesh them out a bit he does a really good job. Ask him to report on lineup changes and what that will mean, he's out of his element.

 

[Pokecheque]

Clark clearly wants to be more of a Custance sort of writer than a day-to-day beat guy. Just to get to that point, you have to run beat for a while. His article on Falloon today was great... when he can lean into stories and flesh them out a bit he does a really good job. Ask him to report on lineup changes and what that will mean, he's out of his element.

And there are plenty of people who report on the latter (though some are not the most reliable of sorts) so I don't really feel jipped.

 

[henchman21]

And there are plenty of people who report on the latter (though some are not the most reliable of sorts) so I don't really feel jipped.

I wouldn't say there are plenty at major publications, but I don't feel a lot of writers actually understand hockey all that well. Even guys like Russo, who is one of the best in the business as a beat writer, is not great at evaluating the game. I have low expectations on enlightenment from major media sources, so I don't worry about it from guys like Clark and Baugh.

 

[Pokecheque]

On a side note, I am ashamed to admit there was a time when I thought Jason Whitlock was good. Now that he's dropped the pretense and gone full shitheel, I've learned the error of my ways.

 

[Avs_19]

I liked Clark better but Baugh is also solid. He usually asks good questions and writes good articles so that's good enough for me.

The twitter complaints are kinda weird to me and it was the same thing with Clark. It's their personal accounts so why are people are trying to police them? Not to mention that it's currently the offseason where nothing is going on with the Avs or the NHL.

 

[Pokecheque]

I think the thing I liked best about Clark was that he pretty much ran point on most pressers and that meant fewer super-awkward moments from Dater and Chambers.

 

[Balthazar]

And there are plenty of people who report on the latter (though some are not the most reliable of sorts) so I don't really feel jipped.

Such as? Chambers?

The biggest part of the problem is that we don't have a decent beat writer. If we had a Portzline or a Russo (or one of the many who cover Canadian teams) I wouldn't care who the Athletic hires to cover the Avs.

We basically have Chambers, Dater and the DNVR guys. Come on.

 

[dahrougem2]

Stop automatically assuming that's his M.O. People said that about Clark and they were wrong. I don't know why people think that if it isn't their dream job and final destination that they're just going through the motions.

Let's make one thing very clear. I NEVER said what you could or could not do. Never. I simply inferred that it's silly to automatically jump to "This is just a stepping stone for them" if they don't already have a lot of experience in hockey to begin with, or they post a lot about a different sport, or you just plain don't like what they write.

You can say whatever you want. I can't stop you, nor do I have any wish to. But I can comment on it however I please.

Uh huh.

 

[Pokecheque]

Such as? Chambers?

The biggest part of the problem is that we don't have a decent beat writer. If we had a Portzline or a Russo (or one of the many who cover Canadian teams) I wouldn't care who the Athletic hires to cover the Avs.

We basically have Chambers, Dater and the DNVR guys. Come on.

I dunno what to tell you, the Avs are notorious about not volunteering info about their lineup. Sakic likes to run things the way Lacroix ran things, which is annoying as hell but I'm not faulting the media for that.

That said, I'm rarely at a point where I'm clamoring for lineup info, it usually comes out at some point, and between DNVR, the DP guys, MHS, BR, and The Athletic, I get enough info. There's no All-Star in the mix per se but I also don't think there's this horrid gap in coverage.

I get that Portzline and Russo (and IMO, Civian is making a case with her artful carving up of the Canes) are the gold standard of hockey coverage. If the Avs get a person like that someday, I'll be thrilled. Until then, I'm fine with what we got.