It’s my Parting Shot to be “pissy” at the people who are being “pissy” at a Hockey Hall-of-Fame reporter who questioned why a millionaire hockey player was being “pissy”…..
First of all, I will stand up for Jim Matheson anytime, anywhere, no matter what. He comes from media royalty in my humble estimation, being the offspring of the man who hired me for my first full-time job in sports media, the late great Jack Matheson at the Winnipeg Tribune away back in 1979!
Jim Matheson has been covering the exploits of the Edmonton Oilers for as long as I can remember…going back to the franchise’s days in the World Hockey Association! He knows how to get a story and he has interacted that way with all the Oiler greats of yesteryear, including Gretzky, Messier, Fuhr, Coffey, etcetera.
He has interacted in the same manner with Leon Draisaitl in the past…just not in a very public, ZOOM call setting that went viral because the average Joe or Jenny Blow doesn’t have everyday access to professional athletes like the mainstream media used to have!
Could Jim Matheson have cajoled Draisaitl into being specific when answering what’s wrong with today’s Oilers in a less confrontational manner? Sure, and I’m willing to believe Matty would agree. Could Leon Draisaitl have been less cryptic in his answer? Absolutely…just by saying, “you know Matty, we’re going through a tough time now, but I’m not going to throw anyone under the bus because we win as a team and we lose as a team. You go ahead and write what you think is wrong, but I won’t be quoted being specific.”
Done and done, but the situation played out as it normally would in a private, one-on-one locker room setting. And, before you start with the notion that those old ways are passe, remember that those are the ways you get the real goods on your favourite teams…during the good times and the bad. Today’s media availabilities are best described with one word.
Boring!!
Keep on challenging the Oilers when they are being “pissy”, Matty. Gee, I got to say “pissy” five times in about 90 seconds!
That’s my Parting Shot. I’m Les Lazaruk…..
