Pre-game, post-game coming shortly.
First, I wanted to direct everyone to this post over at covered-in-oil. Here's a teaser:
As of this writing, I could still theoretically return to the job (I have a feeling that situation might change after I publish this) but that brings me to the second reason for this: I'm pretty much done with the Oilers organization in any capacity for the foreseeable future. Up until this point, I was nothing but cooperative and apologetic for what happened, and was met with nothing but irrational hostility at worst and condescending patronization at best.
Some background - the author (DMFB) was granted a press-pass to cover an Oilers game and decided to do a liveblog while he was in the press-box. The Oilers found out he was a "blogger" (nooooo!) and all hell broke loose. read the whole thing for a more thorough explanation.
There's going to be the word "luddite" thrown around a lot after this incident, which is generaally appropriate although not overly accurate: I dont think it's necessarily fear/misunderstanding of the "new" that drove the Oilers to react with hostility to a blogger in their midst. Rather, I think they understand perfectly what blogging is - a media beyond their grasp to manage and control, ie; not another arm of the marketing department. This also gives you a peak into the difficult world of the mainstream sports reporter: how guaraded teams can be about "access" and how they jealousy manage that access, no doubt to the benefit of the team & company. Of course, bloggers aren't (usually) subject to the pressures of press pass, so they're treated like an unwelcome pathogen. This is why I forgo the sports page of the daily fishwraps these days...the coverage is sanitized and bland.
It's also the main reason I've never personally lusted after "access". My interest in blogging is providing honest, pointed criticism and has little to do with getting game-day quotes from players or Keenan or Sutter. If I was unable to call a spade a spade (by my own standards and estimation) then I doubt I would bother writing about sports anyways (although Im sure the press-box is a great place to watch a game).
