Welcome to Friday ... Outsider?
Might be where we're headed for the foreseeable future. And by we, I mean we who cover sports for a living.
Obligatory disclaimer I: I'm one of those. Same's true of everyone at this company and, thus, of the company's mission itself. So I'm hardly unbiased here, and I won't come close to claiming otherwise.
Obligatory disclaimer II: No one cares how hard our jobs are or aren't. The public perception, anyway, is that we're all pom-pom waving fans with our feet propped up on press box tables, munching on endless nachos and enjoying the game. So I probably don't even need to offer this disclaimer, but I will, anyway. People currently are having problems far more pressing than ours.
Still, in the interest of the openness we've always tried to achieve here, I'd be remiss if I didn't share what I can about how the coronavirus crisis might impact the sports journalism business, particularly the critical area of access to the people and events we're supposed to be covering.
Plain and simple, I'm worried.
I'll speak with one individual at a team or league, and the feeling is that, whenever sports return, reporters will be completely shut out. Not just out of locker rooms. Out of the buildings altogether.
I'll speak with another, and the feeling is that there's a reasonable way to get fair representation such as one reporter per media outlet. Again, this is referencing the building.
I'll speak with yet another, and the feeling is that the whole situation keeps changing so quickly, one way or the other, that we're either headed for a much more normal process sooner than we think, or another total shutdown will render all this moot.
I've had countless conversations like this in the past couple weeks alone, including with representatives for all three of Pittsburgh's teams. I'll keep the specifics to myself, but suffice it to say I'm confident -- and appreciative -- that all three are sounding supportive of our side. And through the various writers associations of which we're all members, there's been a similar sense from the leagues and players' unions. As one longtime union exec wrote in a letter to one of those associations, "Reporters have always been in our rooms, and we look forward to having you back."
Again, I know. No sports fan will lose sleep over this. But here's betting, if we were bolted out, that they'd notice before long.
Regardless of how anyone feels about a reporter's coverage or viewpoint after a given game, it's always been part of the fabric of sport to have a representative set of eyes and ears on the inside. To break the news. To tell the stories. To poke and prod and produce the kind of content that the various house organs never could or will. And those house organs are what'd fill the vacuum, by the way. Team employees asking questions of team employees.
So when Ben Roethlisberger turns a snarly eye toward his offensive coordinator, or Kris Letang's breakout pass right up the gut sets up an Alexander Ovechkin goal, or the Pirates and Reds attempt mutual multiple homicides on the same field ... no one will be there to ask the independent questions, free of affiliation with the team or player. And it's not just about controversial stuff, either. The teams will never invest the resources or people into diving deep into what makes a particular performer tick. They won't call the high school coach, the mom, the dad. They won't want to bring out the tears, the rawest of emotion.
In Taiwan and South Korea, where they're playing baseball, reporters are in the stadium. They stay in the press box and, afterward, they're conducting interviews via the Zoom-style video connections that are so common now. Seems reasonable. And safe.
In the highest offices of our own country, actual in-person press conferences are occurring, with safe distances maintained:
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's daily press conference Thursday in Albany, N.Y. - PERISCOPEThe Penguins can assemble one of the NHL's most imposing power plays, but it hasn't always been one of the most productive in 2019-20. When the league suspended operations March 12, it was converting 19.9 percent of its chances, good for 16th place in the league rankings. Mike Sullivan said Jake Guentzel, who had 20 goals in 39 games when he suffered a serious shoulder injury Dec. 30, will rejoin the No. 1 unit if the season resumes — that should help the unit — but Sullivan acknowledged that its lack of consistency has been a concern. "Power plays, they're challenging to coach because you're always trying to walk the line of giving the group a certain level of structure, but you don't want to give them so much structure that you inhibit their creativity," he said. "I believe strongly that the strength of our group is in their instinctive play, so we try to give them the latitude to act on their instincts. I do think we have certain combinations that have shown an ability to have success at times, but we can get away from it. One of the exercises our coaching staff has gone through (during the NHL shutdown) is trying to identify, 'What does our power play look like when it is successful versus when we're not?' And what characteristics can we share with the players, what examples can we share with the players to show them both, the contrast?' We have some ideas on how we think we can help them establish a little bit more consistency, but there's always a fine line. We have to be careful we don't over-coach." -- Dave Molinari
• Jim Rutherford has maintained for weeks that the Penguins will be prepared if the NHL decides to hold its draft in June, before the 2019-20 season would be concluded -- or maybe even resumed, depending on how and when league officials decide to proceed. Prospect evaluations are complete, he said, and the scouting staff has been working to finalize the rankings that will be used when the Penguins have a chance to add players to their organization. There is, however, one thing the Penguins -- and every other club -- will not be able to do if the draft is held in June: Make personnel moves designed to help shape their roster for the coming season so that it can fit within the confines of the salary-cap range. Such deals often involve draft choices, but with the cap parameters for 2020-21 still not determined, it will be impossible to craft trades with complete confidence that they will help a club meet its financial objectives. -- Molinari
