Newsday: Staple to The Athletic - Andrew Gross to Isles Newsday Beat
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Lame Lambert
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Le Grec
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- Jun 28, 2011
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Nassau Revisited
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doublechili
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Yeah, in the flood of Islanders' news coverage Staple was really just a distraction. Now we can focus on the countless multitude of other legit news outlets.
MatthewBarnabysTears
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- Mar 18, 2013
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I dunno, I think people are in for a rude awakening. Say what you will about Staple, but he's an old pro--he's been on the New York hockey beat for at least 15 years plus that I remember, and he's reliably circumspect about passing on good information. I think people will notice a distressing difference if his replacement is someone new (remember how much people here disliked going from Greg Logan to Katie Strang?). This isn't like Brendan Burke replacing Howie Rose--established contacts and rapport are key to being a good beat writer.
That is, if we even get a true full time replacement. Not a guarantee any more, given that lots of NYC area papers barely even give the rangers full time coverage any more.
The Athletic is a great site full of good reporters who write real stories. I think they are making a huge mistake with Staple since he's a hack whose value comes from access to the team and not from any ability to write.
I'm happy that the Athletic wants Islander coverage but sad that they chose Staple. Hopefully Newsdays keeps an Islanders beat and we get a better reporter on that front at least.
EDIT: I'd be shocked if Staple is going to do anything else but cover the Islanders full time for the Athletic. They have similar arrangements for a ton of other teams and have been poaching beat writers from local papers.
I'm happy that the Athletic wants Islander coverage but sad that they chose Staple. Hopefully Newsdays keeps an Islanders beat and we get a better reporter on that front at least.
EDIT: I'd be shocked if Staple is going to do anything else but cover the Islanders full time for the Athletic. They have similar arrangements for a ton of other teams and have been poaching beat writers from local papers.
- May 17, 2011
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It’s more likely in my opinion that he’ll cover hockey in New York, not full time for the Islanders.
This sucks though, Staple was always my go-to.
This sucks though, Staple was always my go-to.
Yeah I have my issues with Staple but he's def good at his job, old pro is a good way of describing him. People here always hate whoever gets the Isles beat and that's not going to change with whoever ends up replacing Staple. The job stays the same. My guess is it'll be Laura Albanese, who is a delight on twitter but will probably be less so after she gets a steady heaping of #islestwitter.
Too many people forget that the beat writer's job is not to "hold Garth Snow accountable". He can't make Garth Snow talk to the media, apparently no one can. He was also the only one who mentioned that Jon Ledecky would only answer questions that he pre-submitted. Staple was the only MSM outlet regular presence in the Islanders locker room, practice, games and post games. What he gave us was more than you'll get from the next Newsday reporter assigned to the Islanders.
He also tweeted virtually the entire game and picked up on some things I miss being at the games, like if someone goes off to the room with the trainer. That will be missed.
He also tweeted virtually the entire game and picked up on some things I miss being at the games, like if someone goes off to the room with the trainer. That will be missed.
PK Cronin
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I think most people don't understand what Staples job actually is, so they think he's bad at it. I'm in the camp that hopes he continues to cover the Islanders.
No one was expecting Staple to hold Snow accountable, or extract information from him.
However, he has access to Weight after every game. Instead of saying things like, "Was it frustrating when you let in the 2nd and 3rd goals?", "How was Jaro's game?", "What do you think of Tanner Fritz?", he could ask:
"With additional 1st and 2nd round picks, do you anticipate Garth adding a defenseman to the roster, considering your struggles on D?"
"With 53, 44, and 86 out long-term, would you welcome an addition to the PK via trade?"
They're respectful questions, but they force Weight to acknowledge that this isn't a playoff roster unless Snow acts...
However, he has access to Weight after every game. Instead of saying things like, "Was it frustrating when you let in the 2nd and 3rd goals?", "How was Jaro's game?", "What do you think of Tanner Fritz?", he could ask:
"With additional 1st and 2nd round picks, do you anticipate Garth adding a defenseman to the roster, considering your struggles on D?"
"With 53, 44, and 86 out long-term, would you welcome an addition to the PK via trade?"
They're respectful questions, but they force Weight to acknowledge that this isn't a playoff roster unless Snow acts...
PK Cronin
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Except Weight doesn't have to answer and likely wouldn't. If he did it enough to the point that the Islanders thought he was being obnoxious, he'd lose his job.
Here are the answers you'd get:
To the D struggles: We're confident in the guys we have here in the room.
To the PK struggles: We're confident in the guys we have here in the room.
You may get a little bit of the old, "we have to be better" or "Snow is always looking to improve the club if it makes sense for the team." The last one is unlikely though.
You have to realize that Weight isn't going to throw his GM under the bus answering questions like that unless he's super frustrated. As far as asking questions like how was Jaro's game, I've heard him or Compton or Stan ask those questions. One benefit of driving to the home games for me is that I listen to the post game wrap up and hear Weight's post game with the reporters, not what he says to Shannon Hogan on TV.
Staple had some good stories at the Puck Talks he did with Compton, helped illuminate how he works with the players and management.
Kevin27NYI
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- Aug 5, 2009
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Agreed, I love Staple. If we are looking at another Katie Strang we are in trouble.
PK Cronin
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Weight, and Capuano, have both gotten annoyed with questions and refused to answer them too. Didn't Weight recently say something to the effect of, "You know better" to Staple when he asked him something?
Staples job isn't to be another ESPN idiot just yelling about things but having no real connection to the team. He works with these people every day and they have most of the leverage. Keeping a good relationship is important.
Richie Daggers Crime
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MatthewBarnabysTears
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I mean, Katie Strang wasn't awful (she could write well enough, seemed smart). But it was a big difference going from lifers like Alan Hahn and Logan to a rookie reporter.
macleod50
Registered User
It's not even about not asking tough questions, it's his complete attitude toward the fanbase. He's supposed to have a relationship with the fans and he constantly trolls them. We went out of his way to tweet about "good" plays Brian Strait would make every game just to antagonize the fanbase. I hope whoever replaces him is more professional.
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