Mr. Houston's Opus
by PPP on Apr 19, 2010 9:30 AM EDT
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Once upon a time, William Houston had a column in the Globe and Mail where he reported on sports media issues. I don't know what he did before because I was only seven and he's not interesting or famous. He was happily trudging along until, as so often happens in the newspaper industry, he hit the age where it made sense for him to be canned. Sorry, 'offered early retirement'. No doubt media companies lined up to hire a blue-chip stalwart of the industry but despite their best efforts William decided that he would kick off on his own. So armed with clip art in his banner and a nascent understanding of 'computers' he embarked on the path trod by so many people with opinions no one cares about: he started a blog.
For the most part, it didn't quite fill the gap in media coverage that was needed. Other than unloading on Damien Cox for daring to suggest that the Kessel was not one of the seven seals of The Apocalypse, it was forgettable; unlike his actions over the past two days. The funny thing is that what he wrote was superficially germane to a debate that we had on our site about anonymous sources. A lot of people had issue with Damien Cox lobbing a grenade at the departing Maple Leafs and his protection of his source. The next day James Mirtle did something similar and it apparently signaled the death of journalism and boy did Houston let him know it! Even Deadspin's interest in the craziness was piqued.
Needless to say, most people here were stunned at the ad hominem attacks on Zelkovich for his looks and James Mirtle for indirectly being the Santa Ana to Houston's Alamo. To give you a good sense of how monumentally random and unfair the hatchet job was: Cox Bloc came out of retirement. The second last comment by Kim Jorn gets to the heart of the issue. If a journalist has your trust, like Mirtle, then you'll give them more leeway on anonymous sources. If their name is Steve Simmons, then you wonder about his angle.
But the pinnacle of the reaction lies in all of the comments that it spawned on Houston's initial post! Oh, weird. There aren't any anymore. Wonder why...Well, after racking up almost 200 comments worth of "Are you crazy?" and "ummm you used anonymous sources on this very web blog!" he published a passive-aggressive response to his detractors which you have to read on that twitpic because our friend Bill decided to delete that entry and all of the comments. Somewhere along the line a lovable scamp started a William Houston Twitter account. I suggested on Twitter that it might be funny to drop William a line to welcome him to Twitter:
Hi Bill,
I gave you quite a bit of guff on your last two posts especially about being senile and bitter and kind of crazy and a hypocrite (all valid of course, don't be such a delicate flower).
However, I've noticed that you joined Twitter (www.twitter.com/BHTruthRumor) I wanted to congratulate you for coming into the 21st century. Sure, it's not statistical wonkery yet but at your age anything more than baby steps might break your hip.
Best Regards,
Not a fan.
I know at least a few other people sent in messages. SkinnyFish's was charmingly sweet:
Hey Bill,
Long time reader, first time commenter. Glad to see you've joined Twitter. I look forward to your tweets about your latest articles.
Needless to say, I didn't think that I would get a reply but what I got was so much more than just a simple reply:
From: William Houston
To: PPPHey, I love it. Is your site still up?
Well that's flattering. He's heard of this site. He's having trouble figuring out if it's still online so let me help him out.
From: PPP
To: William HoustonUnless you've contracted out to have it eliminated, it is.
If I've learned anything in life it's that people with juice can sometimes go to extremes. Better play it safe. Maybe he actually cares...
From: William Houston
To: PPPwho knew
Oh, he wasn't concerned :( Turns out he's a bit of a dick.
From: PPP
To: William HoustonLook at who's finally figured out how to be snarky! Good for you Billo. It'll stand in you good stead as an unemployed blogger.
Well two can play that game! Secretly, I like to think that 'Billo' is what set him off.
From: William Houston
To: PPPNo, you're just a moron. But sort of funny.
Why so serious Mr. Jerk Store?
From: PPP
To: William HoustonTut, tut, tut you delicate flower. It is so unbecoming for a Globe and Mail journalist to stoop to ad hominem attacks...oh...wait...
Only two words are needed here: Boom. Roasted. Then I noticed that there had been some creative editing done by William and was curious about what happened. It was mostly innocent.
From: PPP
To: William HoustonHey Billo,
Where'd today's column go?
Aaaaaand that set him off.
From: William Houston
To: PPPYou're just a loser, Julian. It is Julian, isn't it? And a coward. You're a frightened little man, a bit malicious, which is okay, but no balls. You won't attach your name to your attacks. Pathetic, but you're kind of funny. I've enjoyed this.
There's so much funny in there. Frightened? Of an old man? Sorry I can't come to your house but this is e-mail. Enough with the kid gloves...
From: PPP
To: William Houstonhahaha you have got to be kidding me. I know you're likely not too familiar with newfangled technology like e-mail but my full name is at the bottom of every e-mail. Maybe you can't find it but it's Julian [Redacted]. Now you don't have to struggle in vain to find it.
As for being a coward, that's pretty fresh coming from a guy that used his newfound editorial freedom to take shots at a friend of mine that you most certainly have never had the guts to say to his face. No balls? Don't make me laugh. I'll stand behind anything I write. Who's the one that took down his latest post? Gutless. But that's fine. You can keep your haughty sense of misplaced superiority.The funny thing is that you had been providing a lot of what people were looking for from someone in a Toronto media that is so rarely introspective but you, for reasons likely beyond my ken, decided to take the low road.
Congratulations and all of the best going forward.
Sincerely,
Julian [Redacted]
Alright old man. Let's see what you have.
From: William Houston
To: PPPOh, I've been taking shots at friends of yours. Oh noooo. I feel so badly. Truth is, you're a pathetic piece of shit who can't function as a real journalist so you operate that awful blog. Struck a nerve, didn't I Julian? Because you're a pathetic hack who can't write and will never amount anything. By the time I was in my 30s I'd written two best selling books. You? You're a nothing. Nobody knows who you are or cares. Good luck pal. You'll need it.
"I'M A MAN! I WROTE TWO BEST-SELLER BEFORE I WAS THIRTY!"
Now, this part actually made me laugh. If I ask 100 sports fans who the Globe and Mail media critic was before Bruce Dowbiggin, I am guessing 105 would have no clue who he was. Then SkinnyFish suggested I take a look to see if there was a way to judge each site's traffic and, wouldn't you know it, there is Alexa.com.
Let's look at Truth and Rumours: Alexa traffic rank 696,025 and 29,492 in Canada. Wow. Initially I thought that was awesome. Of course, I wouldn't have even mentioned it if I didn't already know how this ended. Pension Plan Puppets: Alexa traffic rank 395,171 and 12,001 in Canada. I just have one question for you Billo. But wait, there's more!
From: PPP
To: William HoustonHAHAHA Talk about small man's syndrome. Why not leave what you wrote up? What's the problem if everyone is beneath you?
I don't know whether to laugh or cry for you and your colleague's blinkered view that all bloggers are just j-school washouts that couldn't hack it in the lofty realm of sports journalism. Struck a nerve? More like my funny bone. My site's a hobby and not a last ditch attempt at relevance in an industry that has passed you by and sent you out to pasture. I think it's pretty clear what nerve's been struck.But congratulations on having written two best selling books by the time you were in your thirties. I am sure in the 1920s that was a spectacular achievement.
As for people not knowing who I am or caring, I think you're projecting.
After some quick replies Billo stopped replying. I'm glad you've read this far but if you just skimmed to the bottom then here is the result of the exchange in video form:
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Comments
PPP keeps his pimp hand strong for just such occasions
Bill Houston just got bitch slapped. Hard.
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
I’m intrigued by his assertion that he’d written two best selling books by the time he was in his thirties. That makes him 30 in like 1990, assuming his first two books were best sellers. That simply cannot be accurate.
Here are his books. I can’t find how old he is but those two best-sellers were about the Leafs. Real tough sell.
Not to mention, maybe somebody knows, but I believe the threshold to hit best seller status in Canada is ridiculously low.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
Is there a number figure for “best seller”? It always seemed like a vague term to me.
Article1: "I WANT HER TO BE A PRINCESS! THIS MAKES HER LOOK LIKE A SLUT!"
I remember reading that there is but that a lot of authors will buy their books in bulk to reach that goal especially in the US with conservative authors like Hannity, Palin, etc.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
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according to this
it’s 5,000 copies in Canada http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=24814403-0968-4dc5-9613-2f0fd00d7dac&k=19393 (It’s the best I can find right off)
Gee, getting 5000 copies of books about the Leafs sold?
Article1: "I WANT HER TO BE A PRINCESS! THIS MAKES HER LOOK LIKE A SLUT!"
and about 4000 of those are bought by people who are friends/relatives of leaf fans who buy them something Leaf related every birthday or christmas
see half my family for me
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 9:59 AM EDT up reply actions
I think it’s 5k a week but I have to imagine to be a bestseller you need to do it for at least two weeks right? Because books about the Leafs are guaranteed top movers
Brain: The irony of it all, Pinky. Years of trying to take over the world, and all I had to do was say "truculence".
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by blindfolded tank driver on Apr 19, 2010 10:07 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I think its an average too, l like sales have to average 5k a week, but I honestly have no idea
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 10:08 AM EDT up reply actions
Huh, I found a story about it. It puts the number at 5K and has one of the best openings I’ve ever read.
“David Lee isn’t surprised that his illustrated book on chainsaws now occupies the No. 4 spot on the British Columbia bestseller list.
A cultured man who runs a campus bookstore in Ontario, Lee wrote Chainsaws: A History (with help from B.C. chainsaw collector Mike Acres) because, at one point in his past, he lived on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast and made a living renting out power tools and repairing chainsaws.
Published late last year, the gorgeously illustrated, if rather unusual, coffeetable book flew out of bookstores, selling out its 3,000-copy first printing in the three weeks before Christmas.
From his home in Hamilton, Lee professed little surprise. “I knew there would be a huge chainsaw underground of people who are very interested in and involved with the machines but never get to read anything about them,” he said."
The Leafs are more popular than chainsaws right?
by Tyler Dellow on Apr 19, 2010 9:58 AM EDT up reply actions
Yes, and as we’ve been told time and time again there’s no easier way to guarantee something will be sold than to slap a Leafs logo on it.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
HA!
great minds think alike.
We clearly need Leafs chainsaws.
Article1: "I WANT HER TO BE A PRINCESS! THIS MAKES HER LOOK LIKE A SLUT!"
A book about Leafs themed chainsaws would almost certainly be a best seller, what with all the Leafs fans and closet chainsaw enthusiasts who “…are very interested in and involved with the machines but never get to read anything about them.”
by Tyler Dellow on Apr 19, 2010 10:04 AM EDT up reply actions
well....
there are Leafs hard hats, so why not Leafs power tools?
Article1: "I WANT HER TO BE A PRINCESS! THIS MAKES HER LOOK LIKE A SLUT!"
i have never had a need to own, or even rent a chainsaw, but if there were an officially sanctioned by MLSE Leafs chainsaw, I’d own 5.
I have nothing interesting to say.
by blurr1974 on Apr 19, 2010 10:07 AM EDT up reply actions
My favourite line:
A book is commonly acknowledged to be a Canadian bestseller if it sells 5,000 copies — but that normally takes months, if not years.
YEARS!
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
and he did it by his THIRITES! TWICE! What a man!!
Article1: "I WANT HER TO BE A PRINCESS! THIS MAKES HER LOOK LIKE A SLUT!"
maybe he ment it took 30 years for the books to become best sellers?
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 10:10 AM EDT up reply actions
PPP, you should put out two books of your own. I’d buy some copies!
by Love and Osechkin on Apr 19, 2010 3:17 PM EDT up reply actions
On Amazon you can buy all four books, including two hardcovers, for the total price of $7.33. The inside MLG book can be bought for 15 cents.
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
Im sure its worth every penny.
He raged at the world, at his family, at his life. But mostly he just raged.
How’d the annual sell?
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by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Apr 19, 2010 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions
Me neither
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by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Apr 19, 2010 10:28 AM EDT up reply actions
I ended up with 2.
"The only way out is in a body bag. Go Leafs Go." - Blinky
by Karina on Apr 19, 2010 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions
hahaha
Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)
by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Apr 19, 2010 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions
Did Houston send them to you?
He probably had about 4,999 extra to give away.
by Peter Raaymakers on Apr 19, 2010 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Insult fail. I meant Houston probably had an extra 4,999 of his own books lying around, so he sent them out to people.
by Peter Raaymakers on Apr 19, 2010 3:19 PM EDT up reply actions
No idea
But it was against some real juggernauts. If they sold 1000 I’d be surprised.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
Uh, they sent me a pretty nice check. If they sold 1,000 copies there’s no way they paid all of us what they did.
Pension Plan Puppets*
* Blog contains less than 2% puppet content by weight.
I bought one.
Have they figured out a way to put video in magazines yet?
by Bloge Salming on Apr 19, 2010 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions
i cant wait until they do
There is no "I" in team, but there is an "M" and an "E"
by Matt_Roberts on Apr 19, 2010 1:48 PM EDT up reply actions
i live in sauga and those were everywhere. Id be shocked if they DIDNT sell at least 1000 copies.
There is no "I" in team, but there is an "M" and an "E"
by Matt_Roberts on Apr 19, 2010 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions
oh yay! i have authority because i wrote 2 books over 20 years ago!
Nucks Misconduct's Ambassador, Squid Provider, and Chief Puck Bunny. Now making the NM publishing crew 10000000% less of a sausage party. Also on Twitter.
Bazinga
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 9:40 AM EDT reply actions
Reminds me of the time when me and a bunch of my asshole friends all emailed Jack Thompson to argue with him back when he was almost relevant. We were mostly seeing how long it would take before he threatened to sue us, since Lord knows that man wouldn’t know a valid argument if it smacked him upside the head. It was good times. =)
SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there). Link now 100% less broken.
Heh
I love that I can be about 95% certain that calling him ‘Billo’ is what set him off. I wonder if a bully editor used to call him that.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
Fired an email off to Deadspin.
Pension Plan Puppets*
* Blog contains less than 2% puppet content by weight.
Thanks.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
This story is on Deadspin now! Get the traffic cones ready
Brain: The irony of it all, Pinky. Years of trying to take over the world, and all I had to do was say "truculence".
Follow me I'm Boring!
by blindfolded tank driver on Apr 19, 2010 10:46 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
what I want to know, is he an expert?
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 10:00 AM EDT reply actions
Man
I wrote these e-mails and this post before that! Would have been hilarious to ask him.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
with his ego he would have totally missed the joke and said he was an expert
but then you could have used the
“Yeah, your an expert…and expert DOUCHEBAG”
and then we would have been all like “ooooooh snaps”
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 10:02 AM EDT up reply actions
how many copies did maple leaf annual sell?
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 10:05 AM EDT reply actions
heh
SkinnyFish just asked me the same thing. No idea. Alec Brownscombe might know. I’d be stunned if it was 5,000 copies though.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
well you have a few years till your 30
good thing its annual
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 10:12 AM EDT up reply actions
before I read this I asked the same above. Great minds
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by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Apr 19, 2010 10:27 AM EDT up reply actions
I would have thought it would have been a good bit more than that, just from the number of locations.
Leaf, the universe and everything.
I’m just basing that on the fact that there are so many annuals about the NHL with much more recognizable names.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
yes, but how many had the entire Bariklosphere going to their friends who like the Leafs and saying “HEY FUCKWAD, GO BUY THIS”
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions
Hmmm
I am going to try to find out now.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
please tell me there will be another maple leafs annual this year?
There is no "I" in team, but there is an "M" and an "E"
by Matt_Roberts on Apr 19, 2010 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions
If they’d like me to write for them again I’d be happy to see how far I can fit my foot into my mouth again
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I'd love another one
that was the best thing I’ve read all year.
"The only way out is in a body bag. Go Leafs Go." - Blinky
by Karina on Apr 19, 2010 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions
I assume you’re being sarcastic. I’m not terribly proud of what I wrote for the MLA and doubt they’d ask me back to be honest.
Pension Plan Puppets*
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What was the gist of it?
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by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Apr 19, 2010 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions
I was supposed to write about prospects and predictions for the future. It was written before the Kessel deal.
Pension Plan Puppets*
* Blog contains less than 2% puppet content by weight.
Ouch.
Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)
by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Apr 19, 2010 11:35 AM EDT up reply actions
Yeah in retrospect don’t make positive predictions.
Pension Plan Puppets*
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everyone was so positive.
It was strange.
"The only way out is in a body bag. Go Leafs Go." - Blinky
by Karina on Apr 19, 2010 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions
Obviously you don’t remember the offseason.
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by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Apr 19, 2010 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions
haha
oh I do, it’s just that in retrospect, now that I know these people better, the articles don’t match with what they write online.
"The only way out is in a body bag. Go Leafs Go." - Blinky
by Karina on Apr 19, 2010 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions
I have to admit, I found it very tough to write without being able to link other stuff.
Also, I think we might have let ourself get a bit more rushed than needed. I would definitely manage my time better next year.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
I would definitely manage my time better next year.
Saving this to throw in your face sometime in the future…
jrwendelman
The Artist Formerly Known as "Junior", who blogs at heroesinrehab.ca/blog
"But if someone so eager to engage into fist talk, we can always meet after season end in Minsk." (Mikhail Grabovski and a well-meaning but not particularly skillful translator)
well I’ll admit that the quality wasn’t up there, but frankly, I’d rather read what you and others write than what the other annuals have to say.
"The only way out is in a body bag. Go Leafs Go." - Blinky
by Karina on Apr 19, 2010 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions
There will be another edition. That much I know for sure.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
Obviously I'd love to see the full time return of Cox Bloc
but I think you’re doing a pretty good job all on your own PPP.
Also, curious, is there a way to see how much of Houston’s traffic is generated from this sites FTB links?
I have nothing interesting to say.
by blurr1974 on Apr 19, 2010 10:06 AM EDT reply actions
I don’t ever link to him.
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
no
but Karina has. the only reason i knew of his site was from here.
I have nothing interesting to say.
by blurr1974 on Apr 19, 2010 10:09 AM EDT up reply actions
Oh no she didn’t!!!! She’s going to get a talking to.
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
haha
I find him hilarious.
"The only way out is in a body bag. Go Leafs Go." - Blinky
by Karina on Apr 19, 2010 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions
I've thought about it too
Maybe I should actually write on TOV, but turn it into a “gee there are bad sports writers in Toronto” space
by theothervatican on Apr 19, 2010 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions
So, let me see if I've got this straight ...
(1) Simmons drops the Kaberle – Wilson rumour, bloggers everywhere attack him for not revealing a source
(2) Cox drops the helicopter trip story, like Simmons is panned for no source
(3) Mirtle uses an anonymous source – no one says a thing
(4) As part of his attack on Mirtle, Houston includes mention of the anonymous sources – and everyone attacks Houston for doing the same thing.
Just wanted to make sure I had that right. A bit of “one of our own” syndrome going on?
Now, this is not in anyway a rip on Mirtle, who I thought was an excellent read all season. Houston’s post was unfair, inaccurate and an obvious hatchet job.
But that doesn’t change the fact that we should perhaps take a closer look at the way we choose to address some of this ourselves … if we are going to defend Mirtle’s anonymous sources, for example, we’d better be sure to address why we didn’t do so with Simmons or Cox. And if we’re going to address a writer for lobbing personal insults at another … perhaps its better we not do the same, and thus avoid painting ourselves with that same brush.
"One day, we'll be perfect." - The Tao of Stieb
The second last comment by Kim Jorn gets to the heart of the issue. If a journalist has your trust, like Mirtle, then you’ll give them more leeway on anonymous sources. If their name is Steve Simmons, then you wonder about his angle.
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
plus I hear Mirtle is like 6’5
I dont want him beating up my dad
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 10:11 AM EDT up reply actions
Don’t even think about recruiting Mirtle for the PPP pick up team.
I hate listening to people's dreams. It is like flipping through a stack of photographs. If I'm not in any of them and nobody is having sex, I just don't care.
I’m sure you guys could get Wysh
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions
Wysh isn’t quite 6’5" and we aren’t trying to put together a Habs knock-off team.
I hate listening to people's dreams. It is like flipping through a stack of photographs. If I'm not in any of them and nobody is having sex, I just don't care.
He may also be the only blogger alive who is skinnier than Mirtle.
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
I’ve never seen Mirtle but Wysh isn’t very big.
I hate listening to people's dreams. It is like flipping through a stack of photographs. If I'm not in any of them and nobody is having sex, I just don't care.
I’d just like to see those two face off against each other
comedy
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 5:09 PM EDT up reply actions
We have. Generally with drinks in hand, though.
Blogging on hockey at Globe on Hockey
by James Mirtle on Apr 19, 2010 11:40 PM EDT up reply actions
two men enter one mane leaves!
then later the other man leaves
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 20, 2010 7:39 AM EDT up reply actions
(3) Mirtle uses an anonymous source – no one says a thing
To be fair, some people here DID criticize Mirtle for doing the same thing.
Leafs Nation: A drinking team with a hockey problem.
by nhlcheapshot on Apr 19, 2010 10:09 AM EDT up reply actions
Yep, and I was one of them. And I stand by it.
That said, Houston went a lot further than just criticizing an anonymous source. That’s what raised eyebrows.
Down Goes Brown - Unapologetically nostalgic for the past. Brutally realistic about the present. Grudgingly optimistic about the future.
by Down Goes Brown on Apr 19, 2010 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions
Heh … after hitting ‘Post’ I thought of a few who did … should have really written it as ‘only a few said anything about it’ … ah well. The point stands, regardless.
"One day, we'll be perfect." - The Tao of Stieb
by GarrettBauman on Apr 19, 2010 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions
What gets me about these saying that you got info from an anonymous source is that were they just to rewrite it saying something like “….from a source who wishes to remain anonymous” then there is no argument there as it was the sources choice to remain without a name.
So who’s the one asking for/giving anonymity; the source or the author?
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
Great point. A simple re-phrasing re: sources would avoid a lot of headaches.
"One day, we'll be perfect." - The Tao of Stieb
by GarrettBauman on Apr 19, 2010 10:32 AM EDT up reply actions
There’s also a big difference between “refused comment” and “could not be reached for comment.”
Unfortunately that distinction is rapidly getting lost in the industry. I’ve had editors change that line just to make my copy fit.
Professional cusser causer.
by T is for Truculence on Apr 19, 2010 10:45 AM EDT up reply actions
Doesn’t change anything. No source: don’t report it.
Pension Plan Puppets*
* Blog contains less than 2% puppet content by weight.
authors dont give anonymity
unless its been asked for, so it seems moot.
when i write, the default is always to name and attribute. you need a compelling reason to not.
A good PK is Club Truculence's cover charge
#3
The second last comment by Kim Jorn gets to the heart of the issue. If a journalist has your trust, like Mirtle, then you’ll give them more leeway on anonymous sources. If their name is Steve Simmons, then you wonder about his angle.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
we arn’t recently ousted professionals trying to salvage what remains of our shattered careers
I have no problem sinking to his level
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 10:09 AM EDT up reply actions
Thank you for an honest answer. And I agree with what’s been said about Houston’s motives. What I worry about is one side of the mouth complaining about his use of personal attacks while the other side launches them itself.
And I think at times it’s a fair question to ask of ourselves, whether or not we are doing just that.
"One day, we'll be perfect." - The Tao of Stieb
by GarrettBauman on Apr 19, 2010 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions
That part?
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander I guess. If he wants to lob grenades some might come back at him.
Like Jared said, what’s the benefit to us in taking the high road?
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
I happen to believe there’s a right way and wrong way to go about these things. If you have to ask about benefits of taking the high road, there’s no point in me going any further with the discussion.
"One day, we'll be perfect." - The Tao of Stieb
by GarrettBauman on Apr 19, 2010 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions
lol
I get the benefit but in this case I frankly don’t care. Sometimes a bully needs to be put in his place and in a very small way I think I did that.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
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Fair enough
I understand where you are coming from. I may not agree with the approach … and am inclined to play Devil’s Advocate against it … but I get it.
"One day, we'll be perfect." - The Tao of Stieb
by GarrettBauman on Apr 19, 2010 10:27 AM EDT up reply actions
It's a fair point
It’s mostly mean-spirited. And by mostly I mean completely.
But I get your point and it’s a good one.
The anonymous sources one is good but the difference in approach is that I can talk to Mirtle and find out why he did it and when explained I can decide whether I agree with the decision (I did) whereas with the other two I just have their track record which doesn’t engender trust.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
You're right about that.
One of the reasons people respect Mirtle as much as they do (besides his writing – which is for the most part excellent) – is because unlike many of the more “established” writers, he will interact with readers as opposed to simply pointing out that he has been around the game a long time and is therefore (drumroll plz …) an expert.
"One day, we'll be perfect." - The Tao of Stieb
by GarrettBauman on Apr 19, 2010 10:36 AM EDT up reply actions
is therefore (drumroll plz …) an expert.
hahaha we’re going to have to be careful using that word for a while.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
Cox interacts with his readers all the time through his comments and his Q&A chats and mailbags. I don’t understand why he gets so much flak from this community. While his articles are sometimes sensational, I still find him to be an interesting read.
by unavoidable on Apr 19, 2010 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions
We’ve actually be begrudgiling complimentary of Cox this year.
Not Liking Nikolai Kulemin Means You Have No Soul
http://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/2009/11/2/1111044/welcome-back-leafs
“So, Damien, this isn’t personal unlike most of my puerile grudges. You seem to be writing great articles but if I stop hating you that all might go away.”
Pension Plan Puppets*
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He’s improved by leaps and bounds. The mailbag has moved away from just taking questions that agree with him, the Q&A just started this year, and his interactions in the comments are not as standoffish and arrogant/dismissive as they were in the past.
But keep in mind, this is all mostly new. Takes a while to change perceptions when you took so long in building them up.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
People have said this a lot about the Internet but it really is a generational thing. Mirtle is a product of the Internet, and is used to relating with other people on the Internet on an equal level.
But Houston is a product of the pre-Internet age when the only people who ever responded to his articles were the crazy yahoos who wrote in letters to the editor. Now, confronted with “email”, he’s using the same defense mechanisms he’s had for his entire career: namely to ignore criticism and treat it as crazy letter-writing.
Professional cusser causer.
by T is for Truculence on Apr 19, 2010 10:38 AM EDT up reply actions
yeah, I don’t have a problem with him calling Mirtle out on the whole source debacle, but in the way he did it.
I question his methods and motives more than anything.
Throw in the fact that Mirtle has been nothing but nice, helpful and informative to Leafs fans and is, in all, a journalism rookie and guys like Cox and Simmons are old hat veterans who have written numerous articles over the years ripping on us for the sole reason of being Leaf fans, Mirtle gets a wee bit more leway.
respect earns forgiveness and all that
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions
Don’t get me wrong, Jared. I agree with you.
My issue is the response to it – many of the reactions have been equally vitriolic as Houston’s own post – if not moreso – and I’m not necessarily sure that contributes anything to the debate other than what some people may construe as a basic hypocrisy (e.g. defend someone against personal attacks in a public forum by way of using personal attacks yourself … pot/kettle?).
And my point isn’t prevalent particularly to this post on PPP – this just happens to be the forum I commented in – but we’ve seen it all over the web.
"One day, we'll be perfect." - The Tao of Stieb
by GarrettBauman on Apr 19, 2010 10:21 AM EDT up reply actions
the internets, they are a savage place
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions
I think your basic point is well taken, Garrett.
Some of the responses to Houston’s post were disturbing, if you ask me. I know some people got some chuckles out of the “fuck you I want to fuck your face” entry, but stuff like that isn’t useful when confronting somebody about something they’ve written. It plays right into the stereotype that we are basement-dwelling anonymous children responding in a sort of mob mentality.
I can only speak for myself, but my response to Houston’s article was based on the ridiculously personalized rant against James (calling him a “stats wonk”? Really?). I pointed out that James’ use of the anonymous source was unfortunate, but also that his work represents a vast improvement over the garbage we’ve been force-fed for years.
I think PPP’s other points, made above, about Houston’s apparent unwillingness to stand behind what he’s written speak volumes about the petty personal agenda behind the posts in question, and that speaks volumes about the role that Mr. Houston can or should continue to play in any discourse about the Toronto sports media for me.
jrwendelman
The Artist Formerly Known as "Junior", who blogs at heroesinrehab.ca/blog
"But if someone so eager to engage into fist talk, we can always meet after season end in Minsk." (Mikhail Grabovski and a well-meaning but not particularly skillful translator)
"fuck you I want to fuck your face"
Honestly, I don’t think I’ve laughed harder at something that made so little sense since…well since Jose Canseco’s last tweets.
Excellent point about his back-tracking.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
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As for the rest, Houston got ripped for the personal nature of his attacks. The part about pointing out that he used anonymous sources was to highlight what a hypocrite he was.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
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I don’t like anonymous sources in sports articles regardless of who used them. No one’s going to murder James Mirtle in his sleep for revealing who didn’t like playing in Toronto.
That said if everybody’s using anonymous sources in reporting on the Leafs (and they are) it seems a little unfair to single out only one of them.
Pension Plan Puppets*
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Keeping sources anonymous has its benefits, especially if a journalist wants to build long term relationships with sources (this is very important in journalism). Why is it such a big deal?
by unavoidable on Apr 19, 2010 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions
Because what you’re describing can benefit the source and the journalist at the expense of the reader.
Down Goes Brown - Unapologetically nostalgic for the past. Brutally realistic about the present. Grudgingly optimistic about the future.
by Down Goes Brown on Apr 19, 2010 1:22 PM EDT up reply actions
Exactly
Mike Green gained a ton of weight last playoffs. That news didn’t come out until training camp. We all knew about the shoulder because we had been watching all year and knew it had been injured earlier, but nobody knew he had been on the Kyle Wellwood diet plan as well. Nobody has explained why it never came out until after the fact, but I think it was because Tarik and Corey were more concerned with protecting their access to the team rather than reporting. As a Caps fan, I’d have liked to know that Green put on like 30 lbs in the final months of the season.
I hate listening to people's dreams. It is like flipping through a stack of photographs. If I'm not in any of them and nobody is having sex, I just don't care.
I hardly think people are upset over some fair criticism for using an anonymous source.
Blogging on hockey at Globe on Hockey
by James Mirtle on Apr 19, 2010 2:35 PM EDT up reply actions
You know, in a strange way these e-mails don’t really bother me. Not as much as the blog posts, at least.
The attacks on Mirtle were completely out of proportion, the “basement” response was weak, and deleting the comments afterwards was just bush league. It would be bad form for some rank amateur, let alone a guy with all Houston’s experience.
On the other hand, if somebody pokes at you over e-mail and you decide to fire back… well, why not? Sure he comes across as cranky, but it’s a private conversation. It’s not like he’s representing a larger company and has to hold back. I don’t really think any less of him for it.
Down Goes Brown - Unapologetically nostalgic for the past. Brutally realistic about the present. Grudgingly optimistic about the future.
by Down Goes Brown on Apr 19, 2010 10:17 AM EDT reply actions
Good points DGB. On a related note, I kinda question the decision to publish personal correspondence – but that’s probably just me.
I don’t know what to make of this whole thing. I’ve always like Houston, but the last few days have been incredibly bizarre. It;s funny looking back to see what Till and I wrote the day Houston retired:
http://www.coxbloc.com/2009/01/everybody_goes_leaving_those_w.html
Were we wrong? Has he changed?
There’s part of me that has hoped all along that this was some elaborate prank, but that doesn’t seem very likely anymore.
Unless specifically requested to remain “off the record” anything you email or write to someone should be considered public.
Pension Plan Puppets*
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Hmmmm...
Unless specifically requested to remain "off the record" anything you email or write to someone should be considered public.
I think you’re applying rules for media inquiries to what may have been seen by one party as a private conversation. (Although even if Houston had requested something be “off the record,” that’s up to the interviewer to determine.)
As far as your statement above goes: That means every email a blogger sends to another blogger on any topic would be fair game for citation, unless specified as off the record. So if I shoot you an email talking smack about a team the Devils are playing, or you shoot me a snarky email about the Habs, that’s on the record? Slippery slope.
In the end, it comes down to courtesy. I’ve had email exchanges with other writers that I loathe and would have loved nothing more than to publish and torch their asses. But I knew the back-and-forth wasn’t one that they expected would be published, so it wasn’t — despite how juicy the content was, and despite what a complete hack Eklund is.
None of this changes the fact that Houston should eat a bag of dicks for taking out Mirtle like he did for no other reason than the Globe & Mail not giving him a nice enough gold watch. Whatever valid points he may have had about Leafs coverage, he pulled down his bloomers and shat all over them.
by Wyshynski on Apr 19, 2010 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions 8 recs
he pulled down his bloomers and shat all over them.
You should come here more often.
"The only way out is in a body bag. Go Leafs Go." - Blinky
by Karina on Apr 19, 2010 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions
As far as your statement above goes: That means every email a blogger sends to another blogger on any topic would be fair game for citation, unless specified as off the record.
Maybe this is a difference of opinions but I wouldn’t expect that if I acted like a jerk via email someone who didn’t like me wouldn’t publish it, especially if they started it.
Pension Plan Puppets*
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Yeah, I'm with Chemmy here
Anyone, but especially a journalist, should be smart enough not to e-mail something he wouldn’t want put in the public realm. If you don’t want people to know you said it, don’t say it.
Then again, he might still be wondering how you downloaded your e-mail onto this here blog thingie. Did you use the Facebook? All these different tubes…
by Peter Raaymakers on Apr 19, 2010 3:17 PM EDT up reply actions
And this perspective...
…is precisely why lawyers attach five-paragraph footers at the bottom of every damn email, thus mucking up the rhythm of otherwise humorous email threads.
Lighthouse Hockey: Playing the NHL Lotto
by Dominik on Apr 19, 2010 4:21 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Hey, I'm not saying it's something I routinely do
I’m just saying that if you’re going to call someone names via e-mail, don’t put your faith in them to preserve your good name. Just a bad idea, in general.
by Peter Raaymakers on Apr 19, 2010 7:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh, I know
It just reminded me of the email disclaimer that ruins the flow of good-spirited, mass-thread attempts to plan a trip to Vegas. Lawyers.
Lighthouse Hockey: Playing the NHL Lotto
But I knew the back-and-forth wasn’t one that they expected would be published, so it wasn’t — despite how juicy the content was, and despite what a complete hack Eklund is.
haha I knew it. I get the sentiment though.
Wait, you don’t have to let them keep something off the record if they ask for it?
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
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Nope, it’s the reporter’s choice whether something is on the record or off.
Heck in Canada you don’t even need permission to record a phone conversation.
Professional cusser causer.
by T is for Truculence on Apr 19, 2010 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions
Well, yes and no. “Off the record” can’t be retroactive… if at the end of the discussion he decides he wants it off, you can say no.
If he asks in advance, you can also say no — but of course then he may end the conversation.
If they ask to be off the record and you agree, then you’re off the record. Ethically speaking. No idea what the law says.
Down Goes Brown - Unapologetically nostalgic for the past. Brutally realistic about the present. Grudgingly optimistic about the future.
by Down Goes Brown on Apr 19, 2010 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions
There is actually no legal standing for “off the record.”
If a reporter ever has to go to trial over something they’ve written, the court can compel the reporter to reveal their source. It is then up to the reporter and their editor and the source to decide what to do. if a reporter refuses, they will be considered in contempt of court and put in jail until they break. This is what happened in the Valerie Plame case.
There was a good example of this in Canada about a decade ago involving the Hamilton Spectator.
Professional cusser causer.
by T is for Truculence on Apr 19, 2010 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions
dont think there is much "law" to it
its an ethical discussion. What i’ve read here jibes with everything i was taught in j-skool and use in my career — going OTR is not done retroactively. It’s negotiated in advance. You can’t just blurt something out and then say “oh you cant publish that”. Quite often, people’s instinct is to want to be able to go OTR, but i find with some negotiation, you can work backwards to deal with whatever they’re afraid of.
Ultimately, a reporter can publish anything he or she wants from your conversation, legally speaking. Whether they do or not is an ethical debate where the main risk is that you’ll never talk to them again.
And yes, under Canadian law, you can record any conversation you want, without permission. You just cant’ record a conversation between two other people
A good PK is Club Truculence's cover charge
From what I remember from my j-skool ethics class (mind you I was hungover for the vast majority of it) as long as one of hte two participating parties in a conversation agrees to be recorded, then the conversation is recordable. Naturally the reporter is one party so there you go.
Professional cusser causer.
by T is for Truculence on Apr 19, 2010 12:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Most definitely
However, if you are the one requesting that another keep something you are about to say or write “off the record”, you better assume it may become public. Don’t want to see it made public? Don’t write it. This goes for memos, emails, cards, notes, letters, etc.
I kinda question the decision to publish personal correspondence – but that’s probably just me.
Not just you.
Down Goes Brown - Unapologetically nostalgic for the past. Brutally realistic about the present. Grudgingly optimistic about the future.
by Down Goes Brown on Apr 19, 2010 10:34 AM EDT up reply actions
I couldn’t keep my sources on the story anonymous. Bill Houston would have hated that.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
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by PPP on Apr 19, 2010 10:35 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
On a related note, I kinda question the decision to publish personal correspondence – but that’s probably just me.
Yeah, I thought about it but there’s nothing there that is private in nature. He’s not revealing anything other than he has a large amount of contempt for my needling.
As for what changed, I never read him much other than to note the ratings he provided in which, like you, I liked seeing where the CFL lined up. I can’t judge what has changed or whether he has changed.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
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there’s nothing private or sensitive about this correspondence at all, and there’s nothing wrong with posting it. this isn’t like your best friend or your sibling telling you something in confidence, this is a stranger teeing off on you. if he doesn’t want the world to know he’s a fucking dickhead, then he shouldn’t send e-mails like that.
Yesterday is dead, but not my memory.
On anonymity
A few thoughts on the whole anonymity issue…
The rule of thumb that most journalists follow is that anonymity is something to avoid, and you only grant it if two criteria are met:
- The story is really important
- You can’t get the story sourced in any other way
(You’d hope for a third – “you’re sure the source isn’t just planting the story for his own benefit” – but that seems to have gone out the window these days.)
In Mirtle’s case, I think he failed at #1. Wilson “lost the room”? What does that even mean? Without any more meat to the story, all we learn is that some player somewhere doesn’t like Wilson. So what? No coach is loved by everyone. That doesn’t seem worth using an anonymous source for.
In the case of the Simmons story, maybe you could argue it was worth it. The idea that one of the Leafs best players in unhappy and wants to leave it a much bigger story than Mirtle’s vague scoop. I’d argue Simmons was OK.
Now with Cox, it was a different deal altogether. Cox wasn’t just protecting a source — he was protecting the actual people involved in the story. He left out a critical detail — who were the players? — and turned it into a blind gossip item. Why? To protect reputations? To protect his own access? If revealing the names makes his life more difficult, then don’t report the story at all.
(Later, some people mentioned the possibility that Cox legitimately didn’t know who the players were. That seems unlikely to me, but it’s a possibility that I missed.)
Down Goes Brown - Unapologetically nostalgic for the past. Brutally realistic about the present. Grudgingly optimistic about the future.
by Down Goes Brown on Apr 19, 2010 10:33 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I feel like if Cox didn’t even know who the players were, that just makes him look even worse in my eyes. Why the hell is he reporting stuff like that when he doesn’t even know the most critical detail?
Professional cusser causer.
by T is for Truculence on Apr 19, 2010 10:42 AM EDT up reply actions
In the case of the Simmons story, maybe you could argue it was worth it. The idea that one of the Leafs best players in unhappy and wants to leave it a much bigger story than Mirtle’s vague scoop. I’d argue Simmons was OK.
Is it ironic if I base my reply on rumour? Alanis Morissette ruined that word. Anyway, this one, based on who I have heard the sources are, definitely stinks of your third option ["you’re sure the source isn’t just planting the story for his own benefit"].
As for Cox, I think, based on some of the stories he has writted, that it was to protect his own access AND it was for # 3. It sure looks like someone wanted him to get the rumour out there and smear the guys that left.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
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It sure looks like someone wanted him to get the rumour out there and smear the guys that left.
Yeah. This is part of what drives me crazy about anonymous sources. If there’s a report that “sources say” that negotiations are going badly between a player and a team, it’s almost impossible to interpret the story without knowing where the source is. The player’s side? The team? Another team that may be looking to cause problems? But we rarely find out.
Like I said, I’d be mad about this, but it’s so common now that I’ve pretty much given up.
Down Goes Brown - Unapologetically nostalgic for the past. Brutally realistic about the present. Grudgingly optimistic about the future.
by Down Goes Brown on Apr 19, 2010 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions
Contract negotiations are the best example. Unless the player pulls a Havlat and takes to Twitter you don’t know the deal and even then he has his own motives.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
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30
Other than a certain fossil who shall go unmentioned – oh, and blurr, too – is not the entire “staff” here several years short of seeing 30?
Leaf, the universe and everything.
I don’t plan to write one book let alone two.
Pension Plan Puppets*
* Blog contains less than 2% puppet content by weight.
Just fill it with pictures of tractors and no text. Put a Leaf logo on the front. It’ll be a best-seller.
Leaf, the universe and everything.
hell, just print out some PPP archives and slap a hardcover on that badboy
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions
Hmm. Should try that.
Five years of “Leaf of the Day” in handy “reading-on-the-potty” format!
Leaf, the universe and everything.
or one of those internet fad books like lolcats or thisiswhyyourefat with best of PPP comments!
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 10:54 AM EDT up reply actions
Page-a-day calendars. Book it.
Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)
by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Apr 19, 2010 10:54 AM EDT up reply actions
Jan 31 better be Martin Skoula.
Leafs Nation: A drinking team with a hockey problem.
by nhlcheapshot on Apr 19, 2010 10:57 AM EDT up reply actions
Wait. I meant trade deadline day.
Damnit.
Leafs Nation: A drinking team with a hockey problem.
by nhlcheapshot on Apr 19, 2010 10:57 AM EDT up reply actions
either way, use a cone for the picture
Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)
by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Apr 19, 2010 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions
why would we use a picture of Aki Berg?
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions
Or Hal Gill?
Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)
by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Apr 19, 2010 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions
Haha!
True story. Mom had a stroke in February and couldn’t move her left arm or leg. Around my sisters she jokingly referred to them as Useless 1 and Useless 2.
Around me, they are referred to as “Aki” and “Hal”.
Fantasy = Berezin - Grabovski - Moi
by Sergei Puckizin on Apr 19, 2010 12:49 PM EDT up reply actions
Not really. Still in the rehab ward at Pbo General. Was out the week of the 5th to visit.
Tough couple months. Her mind is running fine, but she can’t move her arm or leg still.
Fantasy = Berezin - Grabovski - Moi
by Sergei Puckizin on Apr 19, 2010 2:07 PM EDT up reply actions
Sorry to hear that, hope she recovers.
Pension Plan Puppets*
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Merci.
Fantasy = Berezin - Grabovski - Moi
by Sergei Puckizin on Apr 19, 2010 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Hope she can pull through. It can take a long time so don’t lose hope.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
Yep, that’s the consensus. Lots of work and baby steps. Literally! :)
Fantasy = Berezin - Grabovski - Moi
by Sergei Puckizin on Apr 19, 2010 2:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, my cousin’s mother-in-law is in a similar situation although not as serious and it’s been tough on him and his wife because they see her so often but the incremental change between my visits has been huge compared to where she was.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
That’s already been positive. I went there in mid-Feb about a week after it happened, and compared to 2 weeks ago, there’ s a huge improvement.
Just nothing yet for her re: arm and leg. Keeping the faith!
Fantasy = Berezin - Grabovski - Moi
by Sergei Puckizin on Apr 19, 2010 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions
so would I
"He'll be fine, he grew up by a nuclear power plant"- Alexander Mogilny
Twitter: Tales of Low to Moderate Interest
oh yeah
So in theory, we have time left especially because he said in his 30s not just when he was 30. Although I don’t know that I’ll never write a book.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
39
could be considered in one’s 30’s.
I have nothing interesting to say.
by blurr1974 on Apr 19, 2010 10:44 AM EDT up reply actions
I’ve got even more time!
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
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And now for a video reenactment of everything involving Mr. Houston
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1933158
"He'll be fine, he grew up by a nuclear power plant"- Alexander Mogilny
Twitter: Tales of Low to Moderate Interest
since we're talking about writing books: blatant plug
I wrote a book. Help make me a bestseller (‘cept I’m over 30 and it sold 80 copies of a limited run of 150. That’s actually not bad for poetry)! It’s not about the Leafs though, sorry…
Thank you for this post, it was highly entertaining. I feel sorry for the guy. You made him look like a real ass. Or at least he made himself look like one.
by Leaf in Habland on Apr 19, 2010 10:54 AM EDT reply actions
The solution to everything, for sure.
I don’t think there are any hockey references in the book. The same publisher did do a hockey poems book though. It should be in there. Also, I won the National Post’s hockey poem contest in 2005 or so. I won a trip to Winnipeg to watch a Moose game.
by Leaf in Habland on Apr 19, 2010 2:47 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
sick
Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)
by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Apr 19, 2010 2:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Who doesn’t love a trip to Winnipeg?
(enter Travis Hair)
by Leaf in Habland on Apr 19, 2010 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Free trips are cool.
Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)
by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Apr 19, 2010 4:43 PM EDT up reply actions
I took a hit because I’m sure some people will think I’m the jerk but oh well.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
yeah but no one reads this site anyway, so Billo shouldn’t care, right?
by Leaf in Habland on Apr 19, 2010 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions
I think it’s pretty clear who had the embarrassingly over-the-top responses in that exchange. As for posting private conversations, he knew who you were. I can’t imagine he didn’t assume you would post it. You’re a blogger. To me it would be worse if there was some kind of expectation of privacy (like if I had emailed him—I am not a blogger, let alone a well-known one in this particular field). With you there could be none.
As for attacking Cox/Simmons and defending Mirtle, others have said it but I’ll repeat it and broaden it beyond journalism. Credibility, in all parts of life, is earned. Mirtle has it.
by The '67 Sound on Apr 19, 2010 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions
I think the rule is basically any correspondence you receive is yours to do with as you please (unless there is a disclaimer on it like you’ll see in many professional emails), and if you keep copies of letters you send, well, they are yours as well. So it’s not like there is any privacy to be protected there.
by Leaf in Habland on Apr 19, 2010 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions
ps that last post does not constitute a legal opinion.
by Leaf in Habland on Apr 19, 2010 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions
The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics
Journalists should:
— Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.
…
— Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources’ reliability.
— Always question sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Clarify conditions attached to any promise made in exchange for information. Keep promises.
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
Granted, this is an American society and Canadians can hardly be expected to follow our high level of ethical standards.
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
I was talking about PPP posting Houston’s emails. I think DGB summarizes the issues best below.
by Leaf in Habland on Apr 19, 2010 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions
There’s three issues here…
Legal: No idea on this one, but my guess is PPP is fine here.
Ethical: Grey area. This all feels a little like gotcha/Deadspin-bait, to be honest.
Realistic: If Houston really thinks as little of PPP as he says he does, I doubt he had much expectation that this would stay private.
Down Goes Brown - Unapologetically nostalgic for the past. Brutally realistic about the present. Grudgingly optimistic about the future.
by Down Goes Brown on Apr 19, 2010 11:10 AM EDT up reply actions
Ethical: Well, to be honest, it was just needling him until he blew up. I wasn’t e-mailing to get a rise to try to get a post or get him to pull a Jerry Jones. I agree that it’s a grey area (at best likely) but I figure if in my life the least ethical thing* I do is post someone’s e-mail rants…well…I can sleep at night.
*uhhh it’s definitely the least ethical thing btw
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
You can put his comments behind you
Once he puts it in writing to you, you can do with his messages what ever you please. I heard one story recently of a certain writer who had pre-printed reply letters to his critics: “I am in the smallest room in my house, and I have your letter in front of me. Soon, it will be behind me”, or words to that effect. It’s either that or publish them for the enjoyment and laughter of your readers. Actually, nowdays you can do both.
It’s probably not the most ethical thing Julian’s ever done but Houston’s a jerk so I doubt PPP loses any sleep over this.
Pension Plan Puppets*
* Blog contains less than 2% puppet content by weight.
also I emailed Deadspin with a tip, PPP’s not that clever.
Pension Plan Puppets*
* Blog contains less than 2% puppet content by weight.
Overlords: They get shit done
"He'll be fine, he grew up by a nuclear power plant"- Alexander Mogilny
Twitter: Tales of Low to Moderate Interest
three issues
1) legal? no, absent a specific agreement that their emails were confidential. then what would the damages be? that his character was revealed? he already did that. yeah, there’s nothing there.
2) ethical? if someone is antagonizing you, calling you names etc., I don’t see any ethical requirement to keep this secret. It’s his bad treatment of you. His words, which presumably he stands behind. I don’t see anything there either.
3) realistic? yeah, I agree.
Wait till this year.
I don't know
the more I think about it, this whole thing is just kind of sad.
The guy posts a cranky pants blog post and pulls some well-deserved flak for it, but now we’ve got PPP needling him via email, him getting irritable back (lets face it, who among us hasn’t sent some cranky emails at some point), and now we’re all trashing on his life’s work, and rubbing in the (no-doubt sore spot) that he got laid off from a job he put 15 + years into… That’s a pretty low blow when you get right down to it. Maybe it doesn’t seem so when you’re in your 20’s, but I think the older you get the more you start to realize that sometimes there but for the grace of god go we all…
I mean, nobody has done anything illegal here, but nobody has exactly covered themselves in class or glory either.
eh, fuck’em
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 20, 2010 6:55 PM EDT up reply actions
If someone is an ass
they are an ass – whether someone points it out or not is moot.
I don’t have sympathy for someone having a bad day or being in a grumpy mood etc etc. there isn’t any justification for his attitude and actions.
I cut him no slack for being fired or being old, if you are an ass at 21 or 51, you are still an ass.
The only difference from some average joe being a shit in public compared to this is Bill here decided to trade insults with PPP via email. Not only do I question his actions as far as calling out Mirtle (and being a complete hypocrite while doing it) but I also question his judgment.
Erasing posts on your blog because they are negative is a weak and pathetic thing to do. I understand wanting to get rid of the haters and the flamers (hey, I am a Leafs fan) but getting rid of honest criticism is sad.
Summing up, none of this would have happened had he taken the high road and not wrote that piece of vitrol-laden garbage on his ‘blog.’
If he can’t take criticism than maybe he should get out of the Journalism business. For a more brief description of my attitude, see Jared’s comment below.
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
Albert Einstein
by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Apr 21, 2010 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions
erm
above
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
Albert Einstein
by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Apr 21, 2010 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions
wait…..are we saying PPP is a cloud?
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 10:58 AM EDT reply actions
This explains everything.
Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)
by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Apr 19, 2010 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions
does that mean he can bring the thunder?
"He'll be fine, he grew up by a nuclear power plant"- Alexander Mogilny
Twitter: Tales of Low to Moderate Interest
ppp?
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions
yes, possibly Thunderdome style
"He'll be fine, he grew up by a nuclear power plant"- Alexander Mogilny
Twitter: Tales of Low to Moderate Interest
Two men enter
PPP leaves
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
Go Leafs Go!
"He'll be fine, he grew up by a nuclear power plant"- Alexander Mogilny
Twitter: Tales of Low to Moderate Interest
On Best-Selling Books
From someone helpful in the industry:
The line has been that it takes 5000 in Canada to make it onto the bestseller list. There are many books that sell way above that number (Harry Potter etc.) and many other types of books never make it onto the bestseller lists (self-help etc. – especially in the 80s – books people are snobs).
And no – he probably can’t get sales figures. Believe it or not – there’s isn’t a central system that tracks things like that.
And the real scoop is that in the 80s – books editors would phone around to major bookstores (chains and independents) and ask them what sold that week – not figures just titles. So you have to trust that the book store owners were actually naming titles that sold well, and not stuff they wanted to move out the following week.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
Music sales were the same way (horribly inaccurate) until SoundScan came along.
by stormshadow on Apr 19, 2010 11:22 AM EDT up reply actions
you could reverse engineer the numbers (ballpark) from royalty (or residual, if you're in the movie business) payments
provided of course that you know what your % is.
Wait till this year.
Well played PPP. Quite the enjoyable read. Seems like the man can’t take any of his own medicine. Though it was pretty funny by itself that his entire piece on his blog could have been taken as a satire of his whole career. I think he burned himself and made fun of his whole life way more than you could’ve done in those emails. Nevertheless good to put him in his place.
I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS!
A good PK is Club Truculence's cover charge
by pevans on Apr 19, 2010 11:19 AM EDT reply actions 7 recs
Oh you better believe that’s a rec’n.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
i always loved that quote, especially when i actually drove a dodge stratus
There is no "I" in team, but there is an "M" and an "E"
by Matt_Roberts on Apr 19, 2010 1:03 PM EDT up reply actions
I don’t really care about the morality issue surronding this whole thing, but doesn’t this feel more like a Chemmy move than a PPP move?
Not Liking Nikolai Kulemin Means You Have No Soul
I’m thinking of turning heel.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
Turning heel means you’dhave to hit Chemmy with a steelchair and join the Habs or Sens.
Can’t you just be a Stone Cold Steve Austin anti-hero?
Resident Capologist
Sounds good. Basically, that comment should highlight just how much Houston bothered me.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
Better: super-kick him through a mirror.
Fantasy = Berezin - Grabovski - Moi
by Sergei Puckizin on Apr 19, 2010 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions
THE ROCKERS ARE OVER!!!
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
I cried for Marty Jannetty that day.
Fantasy = Berezin - Grabovski - Moi
by Sergei Puckizin on Apr 19, 2010 2:07 PM EDT up reply actions
every time i go bowling, i put my name in as Marty Jannety, in his honour
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions
I’ve always cheered for the heels. Isn’t that ironic?
A Nation of Masochists Don't blame me. I voted Blurr/WAC.
We will really get the last laugh when this blog gets made into a full length motion picture – just like Julie and Julia!
The entire movie is just 2 hours of an over the shoulder shot of PPP typing on his computer.
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
can we insert a cute girl pinching his cheeks? You know, for the ratings.
"The only way out is in a body bag. Go Leafs Go." - Blinky
by Karina on Apr 19, 2010 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions
Me too!
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
I’ll stand behind PPP and yell at him.
Pension Plan Puppets*
* Blog contains less than 2% puppet content by weight.
Funny, I thought that’s what he did with you?
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
Boom.Roasted.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
I saw a guy in a Wellwood Canucks jersey at the game on Saturday.
I wanted to throw things at him.
"The only way out is in a body bag. Go Leafs Go." - Blinky
by Karina on Apr 19, 2010 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions
#ThrowTheSnack!
Down Goes Brown - Unapologetically nostalgic for the past. Brutally realistic about the present. Grudgingly optimistic about the future.
by Down Goes Brown on Apr 19, 2010 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions 24 recs
You win
Cheers, Complaints, homerism and bashing of mediocre pop musicians in 140 Characters
"DO NOT get stuck behind Kyle Wellwood in the buffet line. This isn't really etiquette, but it will prevent you from starving to death"- Down Goes Brown on Etiquette for Jason Spezza's wedding
by Kevin Sellathamby on Apr 19, 2010 1:27 PM EDT up reply actions
This was some interesting and entertaining reading. You definitely gave Houston his.
Thanks, if for nothing else than helping me waste some late morning/early afternoon time instead of doing actual work.
leaf fan stuck in ottawa, a localized black hole that will suck everything in that area to oblivion.
You nailed him Coach!
Right in his mind! – he deserved it!
by john ogrodnick on Apr 19, 2010 12:31 PM EDT reply actions
Hero!
Follow me on Twitter!! I even say some relevant stuff sometimes
I wish I could quit you, Tyler Sloan! - Co-founder of the Tyler Sloan Fan Club
And before all of this began, I thought Jay Mariotti was a total asshole.
Guess I was wrong. William Houston fits the pants here.
Comparatively, Mariotti is somewhere around “crescent moon” or something.
“I LIKE SCREAMING FROM ROOFTOPS FOR NO REASON!”
St. Louis Game Time . . . I need another beer.
Houston would have to keep this up for several years straight before he would even be in Mariotti’s ballpark.
Down Goes Brown - Unapologetically nostalgic for the past. Brutally realistic about the present. Grudgingly optimistic about the future.
by Down Goes Brown on Apr 19, 2010 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions
If Houston ever thanks me for making him more famous I’ll agree but Mariotti’s got a big body of work.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
It’s schedule for deletion at 3pm.
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
About that lawyer’s letter we got…
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
EPIC
I am the commenter formerly known as Belligerent Burkie
Follow me on twitter @CoolJ90 or add me to XBox Live - CoolJ90
http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/04/19/suttons-hit-on-leopold-hurt-is-own-team-not-pittsburgh/
Pension Plan Puppets*
* Blog contains less than 2% puppet content by weight.
This kids, is what you call back pedaling.
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
Also, what's worse;
not naming a source, or using Pierre McGuire as one?
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
At least it wasn’t Doug MacLean
I am the commenter formerly known as Belligerent Burkie
Follow me on twitter @CoolJ90 or add me to XBox Live - CoolJ90
Well, Houston does enjoy Doug Maclean’s work. @Doug_Maclean, not so much
Cheers, Complaints, homerism and bashing of mediocre pop musicians in 140 Characters
"DO NOT get stuck behind Kyle Wellwood in the buffet line. This isn't really etiquette, but it will prevent you from starving to death"- Down Goes Brown on Etiquette for Jason Spezza's wedding
by Kevin Sellathamby on Apr 19, 2010 7:02 PM EDT up reply actions
ugh, wow.
"The only way out is in a body bag. Go Leafs Go." - Blinky
by Karina on Apr 19, 2010 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Good thing Pierre is in Sid’s brain.
Is it really the hit that cost them the chance at a playoff upset, or the fact that they are an inferior hockey team with weak goaltending? You be the judge!!
Fantasy = Berezin - Grabovski - Moi
by Sergei Puckizin on Apr 19, 2010 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Oops, missed the relevant part at the end. Very interesting.
Fantasy = Berezin - Grabovski - Moi
by Sergei Puckizin on Apr 19, 2010 2:15 PM EDT up reply actions
does it really matter if people include their real names in the comments section? whats he gonna do anyways, find out where each of them live and egg their house?
There is no "I" in team, but there is an "M" and an "E"
by Matt_Roberts on Apr 19, 2010 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions
i think he's grasping at straws with that
the anonymity of the Internet irks me too, but ultimately, he’s using that as a cover for over-reacting in the first place.
He called someone a hack for doing something he himself has done hundreds of time in his career. He knows perfectly well when and why anonymous sources are used, and above all, the whole thing reeked of jealousy and pettiness. The hackneyed references to MAD Magazine and basement-dwelling bloggers was vintage “old writer lashes out at thought that the game has changed”
A good PK is Club Truculence's cover charge
Like in Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back?
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
Bill Houston is quote “Fucking Clown Shoes”.
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
And, if required, they will be edited or tossed in the trash bin.
Edited? Really? I can see deciding not to put it up, but I hope he doesn’t mean anything beyond xxxing out the fxxk yxxs.
by Leaf in Habland on Apr 19, 2010 4:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, I would expect he means edited in the same way letters to the editor are edited. For length and not so much for content.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
The day Houston found out he was retiring
Globe &Mail : If the buzz is any indicator, that Mirtle makes a great blog.
Billo: What buzz?
G&M: The Internet buzz.
Billo: What the fuck is the Internet?
I now wish his deleted response had been more over the top so it could have ranked up there with Jay’s response when they are in Mooby’s.
Welp, Billo apologized. Bet you feel like a jerk now PPP.
Pension Plan Puppets*
* Blog contains less than 2% puppet content by weight.
I see him apologising to Zelkovich and kind of to Mirtle. Although I am not sure I’d accept that if I were him because it’s half-hearted at best.
And he most certainly didn’t apologise for calling me a ‘pathetic piece of shit’ :(
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
Pathetic Piece ofshitPoo
Maybe that’s what he thought the PPP stood for?
by WendelMadeMe on Apr 19, 2010 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
wait
it doesn’t?
Damn, I only came here because I thought it was a site dedicated to poo.
"The only way out is in a body bag. Go Leafs Go." - Blinky
by Karina on Apr 19, 2010 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions 16 recs
If this doesn’t turn green you’re all in bad form.
Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)
by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Apr 19, 2010 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions
I rec’d it out of peer pressure.
Leafs Nation: A drinking team with a hockey problem.
by nhlcheapshot on Apr 19, 2010 9:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Billo was spot on in his assessment of you.
Pension Plan Puppets*
* Blog contains less than 2% puppet content by weight.
That he was.
I’ve seen PPP’s mom’s basement, and he does in fact live there and sleep on a Cheetos stained mattress.
I've always wanted to be a PPP Princess. You see kids, you can be anything you want to be; so long as Jay Leno doesn't also want to be that.
should use chopsticks for those cheetos
Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)
by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Apr 19, 2010 3:07 PM EDT up reply actions
The dude didn’t write “hockey books” – he wrote Ballard Porn.
That’d be about as hard as running a popular website named Pension Plan Porn.
Wait a minute….. Genius!!!
by not norm ullman on Apr 19, 2010 2:41 PM EDT reply actions
this
this is what I wanted to say, but couldn’t come up with
"The only way out is in a body bag. Go Leafs Go." - Blinky
by Karina on Apr 19, 2010 2:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Mattblack is probably pretty good looking undressed.
Pension Plan Puppets*
* Blog contains less than 2% puppet content by weight.
We actually get about one search a month now looking for “Pensioner Porn” or some variation of that.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
It’s Chemmy.
Gets lost on the site from time to time. Wanders around, teeth out, mumbling about Teeder Kennedy.
by not norm ullman on Apr 19, 2010 4:42 PM EDT up reply actions
I think it's 'crystal clear' that someone had too much sugar
Yeah, that’s right Houston, CRYSTAL CLEAR! CRYSTAL CLEAR! CRYSTAL CLEAR!
by Peter Raaymakers on Apr 19, 2010 3:11 PM EDT reply actions
My god, that hackneyed piece of twaddle was worn out and over-used decades ago.
And now on to Alfred E. Neuman
I am the commenter formerly known as Belligerent Burkie
Follow me on twitter @CoolJ90 or add me to XBox Live - CoolJ90
I like alfred e. newman
Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)
by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Apr 19, 2010 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions
what me worry?
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 3:38 PM EDT up reply actions
the lack of teeth is oddly fitting for hockey
Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)
by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Apr 19, 2010 3:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Old man angry spittle and Rocky IV
Yeah, I’d call this a win. Well done PPP.
'Nucks Misconduct - Housing Swedish Millionaires Since 2000.
#TossTheDanish?
There is no "I" in team, but there is an "M" and an "E"
by Matt_Roberts on Apr 19, 2010 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions
#CHUCKTHECHAR!!!
The Guess Who sucked, the Jets were lousy anyway
by Plea From A Cat Named Felix on Apr 19, 2010 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions
#whipthechip(and dip)
jrwendelman
The Artist Formerly Known as "Junior", who blogs at heroesinrehab.ca/blog
"But if someone so eager to engage into fist talk, we can always meet after season end in Minsk." (Mikhail Grabovski and a well-meaning but not particularly skillful translator)
Enjoyable read
Haha this was awesome. Well done PPP. It is hard as a Flames fan to show kindness to you Leafers after you fleeced us in the Dion trade (Although I do gotta say, it’s not your fault we won’t be able to sign White, Sutter is the one who acquired Steve Staios and his 2.7M cap hit) but all in all this was a hilarious exchange between you and Billy.
by Rod Blogojevich on Apr 19, 2010 5:50 PM EDT reply actions
I disagree that we got fleeced, but that’s for another debate on another blog. ;)
Anyway, bravo, PPP.
Funny thing is, I’ve only been to Houston’s blog twice now in my life – and both times were because he was caught behaving like a jackass.
‘Fleecing’ is such a strong word. It was more of a heavy trim – depending on how Dion does going forward this may be upgraded to a ‘buzz cut’
But definitely not a fleecing
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
Albert Einstein
by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Apr 19, 2010 7:46 PM EDT up reply actions
A fleecing would be what the Caps did to the Habs tonight.
by BlindSight on Apr 19, 2010 9:52 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Thanks!
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
That’s what shocked me. I figured the goal of the trade was to keep White but now that’s going to be tough.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
We’ll take White back straight up for Jeff Finger.
No, seriously.
Leafs Nation: A drinking team with a hockey problem.
by nhlcheapshot on Apr 19, 2010 9:45 PM EDT up reply actions
we’ll even throw in one of our 7ths
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 19, 2010 9:47 PM EDT up reply actions
and the rights to talk to XLB
Leafs Nation: A drinking team with a hockey problem.
by nhlcheapshot on Apr 19, 2010 9:56 PM EDT up reply actions
Haha
If he dies, he dies…best lundgren line ever.
by blueandwhite89 on Apr 19, 2010 6:03 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Thanks!
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
You're a class act PPP
Keep up the good work.
No, I still won’t cheer for the Leafs. ;)
Can't watch the thinkspeak. Always sarcastic, barely ever mean. Just me.
Thanks and you’ll come around.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
This was as good as...
Chuck Norris and the re-animated corpse of Bruce Lee fighting on the backs of unicorns. Nice work PPP.
Nucks Misconduct's Grumpy Old Man
WAACH Blog/Podcast- The 38th best Canucks blog on the Interwebs
That might be the best compliment I’ve ever received. Thanks!
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
You boys do the lord’s work.
I understand why you, PPP, and many others have decided to take Houston on here and I’d be wrong to say I haven’t enjoyed the reading. But in some ways I disagree with publishing anything to do with Houston’s post as much as you’d have to bite through your tongue not to. It was the puerile ad hominem attack of a bitter, irrelevant old man. Flocking to his post with comments makes him feel relevant again. All of this attention does. Again, not that I really blame you; James doesn’t deserve that.
re: the anonymous source issue; the little personal experience I’ve had in the field tells me that it’s the best sources you’ve got anonymize.
At least Houston actually said something that wasn't more of the same.
I can’t think of the last time I heard any voice in the Toronto media say anything the least bit controversial.
Remeber Howard Berger’s ‘Loserville’? I do. Still an asshat.
Leafs Nation: A drinking team with a hockey problem.
by nhlcheapshot on Apr 20, 2010 9:18 AM EDT up reply actions
welcome to loser city!
My Fan Base Can Beat Up Your Fan Base
by JaredFromLondon on Apr 20, 2010 9:20 AM EDT up reply actions
loser city!
There is no "I" in team, but there is an "M" and an "E"
by Matt_Roberts on Apr 20, 2010 10:14 AM EDT up reply actions
Welcome
Thanks for joining.
He can be controversial without being an asshole. When he called out the media for fawning coverage of Brian Burke early on in the year that was different without being a jerk.
There’s definitely a niche there for him to do that.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
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Too much safe writing in this city
And Sports writing is the last to become controversial in any city. Add Toronto’s penchant for safe writing and topics with the generally conservative sports writing world and you get one big snoozerama. It’s too chummy, too buddy buddy, and there is nary a bad word spoken about anyone.
Well what if you think that there isn’t a pregame show in this city that shouldn’t double as therapy for insomniacs?
And does anyone call out that ridiculous trade day show that the networks put on?
Just saying. A little written asshattery wouldn’t hurt.
Jesus Hussein Christ... this is friggin' hilarious...
Gotta admit, as a Blues’ fan,. I first looked at this because I thought this was Judge Houston, the Lou Lamoriello-fellater that screwed my boys out of Scott Stevens’ services in his prime. But that’s Edward Houston…
This stuff, though, this is great. Comedy Gold. There’s a guy here in St. Louis named John Hadley, “The Mouth That Ate… Well, Everything That Would Stand Still Long Enough,” who has similar opinions about hockey bloggers.
And he’s just about as relevant to the sports audience here as this Houston character is to the TO sports audience, apparently…
Love this site, and the Leafs (don’t tell anybody about the last part), even though y’all traded Dutchie Stempniak for… what, exactly? Thanks for ’Splodeybones and Steen, though… :)
Give ’em hell, brothers.
B.
"If we do not prepare for ourselves the role of the hammer, there will be nothing left but that of the anvil."
-- Otto von Bismarck, 1851
http://futurenotes.blogspot.com
by Tomorrows Blues on Apr 20, 2010 3:09 PM EDT reply actions
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