A TRADE PROPOSAL FOR GREG LOGAN
In response to his “team-sponsored” jab
UPDATED, 5:45 pm:
Dear Readers: Just trying to have a little fun here with Greg after an exhausting and confusing Saturday. I see Greg just about every day and he is a friend. If I really had a problem with him, we would talk it out man-to-man. The purpose of my failed attempt at a light-hearted trade proposal was to remind everyone that Newsday derives tremendous revenue from the NYI…CB
4:55 pm, The Home Office in RVC - So Greg Logan goes out of his way to refer to Point Blank as a “team-sponsored blog” in a new item on his Newsday blog confirming my report that Rick DiPietro is out of tomorrow’s game.
With the carefully-worded jab, there’s no question Greg tried to undermine my objectivity, credibility and desire to work hard and get the story right while he was posting at 2:40 in the morning his theory that DiPietro was not injured.
The Islanders and I were up-front right from the beginning about what Point Blank was. The Islanders are a primary sponsor. This blog is independently-owned by me and all of the opinions and scoops - for better or worse, right or wrong - are mine. I’ve already done plenty to tick off about just about everyone I used to work with.
Anyone notice how I link Greg’s stories all the time and have a link to his blog on my site, yet until today he and his site had never publicly recognized that Point Blank exists?
So here’s my offer: if Greg would like to trade the dollars the Islanders spend on advertising in Newsday and on newsday.com in return for the support the franchise provides this blog, that’s a deal I’d do in a heartbeat.
And you’d probably read about the trade first on Point Blank.
36 Responses to “A TRADE PROPOSAL FOR GREG LOGAN
In response to his “team-sponsored” jab”
Please Wait
Chris you have done a heck of a job so far, how bout this offer? You post on every entry the Islanders sponsor your blog, and every Knicks/Rangers are the greatest, JD and straight shot are bigger then the Beatles or Directv/Verizon Fios stinks/Cable rocks article states that Jim Dolan owns the paper
Don’t hold your breath.
CB, I do not think he was not attacking you. There was nothing wrong with his mentioning that the team is one of this blogs sponsors. Greg is as frustrated as we (the fans) are.
CB:
I luv the blog and have posted on it numerous times, but I think you are being a bit sensative. The fact is the blogs primary sponser is the Isles. You had to know that these types of jabs were coming. Keep up the great work and ignore the pot-shots!
Say what needs to be said.
Beauty, Chris - and this is exactly what Blogs are for too - expressing your opinion, rant, whatever - it is YOUR blog.
Whether an intentional or preceived slight only - doesn’t matter to me, it is your blog and you can write about what you want. Period.
Hey, Botta:
I read his blog before I read your response to it and I must say I think your misinterpreting what Logan wrote. It can happen sometime but I don’t think he took a shot at you. You and Logan are our dynamic duo for Islander news (it certainley isn’t their own web site).
I think that you and Greg are both in frustrating positions regarding htis team and that will in turn make everyone feel a bit more edgy and on guard. I honestly dont think that he was taking a jab at you, but thats just how it looks to me.
While I really have enjoyed your blog, I also think you are being a bit thin skinned…..as someone else mentioned, Logan is just as frustrated as th fans are with this front office. I really don’t think he was taking a pot shot at you personally but rather that you blog is sponsered by the Islanders and they might be giving you misleading info. In this case, that seemingly didn’t happen but I wouldn’t put it past them.
can someone tell me where he shot him down?? i read it but couldnt findit. maybe im reading it wrong. you know the whole sponsor part
Hey Botta, if you are going to run a blog, you need to learn how to take criticism. You whine all day long when someone takes a shot about this site. Deal with it!! TAKE THE LINK TO THIS SITE OFF THE ISLES MAIN WEB SITE. IT MAKES YOU LOOK FOOLISH.
Chris, I have to side with Mr. Logan this time around. I think that Ricky is in no way injured at this time and I think he’s hurt in his head only. Ricky made more than one mistake in that game. Ricky was responsible for BOTH 1st period goals. I believe that Scott Gordon’s lying, Garth Snow’s lying and because of that Ricky has to lie as well. I’ve been watching and hearing about Ricky being this fantastic Goalie for more than 5 years now and since he’s been stinking it up there’s been other goalies coming out of nowhere like Lundquist and Mason & Price who’ve been carrying their teams on their backs and Ricky is always making bonehead mistakes & overplaying the puck, etc. I would think that if there was an injury to the Goalie whether it happened during warmup’s or during the 1st period, after the game the captain would know it! I think that this whole injury thing is a coverup for Ricky’s Mental problems that he has. He has terrible focus and concentration and because of this his game is hindered.
Concerned In Commack!
CB…..look at Metsblog, the best sports team blog in NY. He takes heat and does not bitch and moan about it. Geez, you need to not take everything so personally.
CRY ME A RIVER BOTTA!!!!!!!!!
Could Greg have been citing a spot like Islandermania or IslanderFans or some other internet resource?
You might be over-reacting here CB - but - worthy of taking note of multiple jabs at you before pointing it out on this venue. Maybe Greg just does not like the competition. This guy was AWOL for the summer and camp. Bet he won’t be allowed to cover the team’s road games in March and April. Not that the Isles are the only thing Newsday covers - and I do think that they do a decent job. Could be doing better and covering the team better (like the 24/7 coverage they give to the Yankees) - but agree - the demand is not quite there either.
Maybe you need to build a thicker skin at this point of the season. I enjoy Logan’s work by and large. Newsday does give coverage to the team - in spite of being owned by the Dolans - and that could be a conflict for Newsday - but I would hope not Greg specifically.
Keep up the good work CB and Greg.
Logan is in the right here. The readers benefit from knowing that the team sponsors this blog. They can easily come here and find out more details if they like.
I hope that this is just a momentary lapse into oversensitivity because of all the drama surrounding the team these days. I would hate for this blog, which has so far been a great read, degenerate into a knee-jerk defensive posture. I stopped reading the initial version of Point Blank back when Chris was with the team because it started to get a little bit of that feel to it: overreacting to media reports, taking everything as a personal affront to the Isles and their fans…
Hopefully the team will start doing more things right and we can start focusing on them and looking past the distractions.
I hope CB can handle the criticism posted above.
I just think that everyone is just frustrated right now. Lets be honest, this team has not been good since about 1984. The 93 team was a fluke and everyone knows it. They have not won a playoff serious in 15 years. We have an owner who, while yes, has done good things to keep the team on LI, has been far to unconventional at times. A building that is 15 years out of date. Wang could renovate the Colesium tomorrow if he wanted to. He has already gotten permission from the town and county. But he refuses because he cares only about the real estate. a fan base that is almost ready to give up. now they won’t even tell us the real injury status of a player they gave a 15 year contract to, and if he has a long term injury, it will effect the franchise for years to come. Greg and Chris cannot do their jobs effectively right now because the organization is refusing to do things the right way. There is nothing but negative energy surrounding this franchise and they have no one but themselves to blame.
thanks for the responses everyone. I wrote an addendum at top of the post to try to clarify where I’m coming from. Everyone who wrote that my post could have been a result of a frustrating time, absolutely. Islesfan44: as we try to mend fences, any chance you can just stick to going by one name? Thanks…CB, aka the Thin-Skinned Sponsored Blogger
Kevin in #9, I couldn’t find it either. Suffice it to say that even if Logan did attack Point Blank in some way, he has every right to do so. Botta has gone out of his way to try to clear this up from the beginning because CB rightly knew that this “sponsorship” would be problematic for many potential readers.
However, I enjoy this blog because I feel that Botta has been extremely measured in his responses. Botta’s disdain for the injury report policy has been far more evident than Logan’s thus far. So, I believe Botta is being as objective as he can while still retaining his “sponsorship,” and this is good enough for me because the amount of other inside info we get more than makes up for the fact that Botta may be tempering his reporting for a variety of reasons. These reasons could range from anywhere from financial to personal ties to the organization and the desire to not want to burn the bridges he has built.
If Botta were to report everything he knew, including off-the-record stuff, he’d be burning the bridge which currently allows the crossing of many of the facts he has been able to report.
We know Botta’s info is limited because all blogs and journalism require the politicking of “on-the-record” and “off-the-record”, and we know the financial thing is there, and we know the personal associations and relationships Botta created over years and years may temper whatever information is released–however, to think this is not also the case with Logan or any other reporter is ridiculous.
The nature of the business of information requires that in order to get some information, other information must be withheld.
I’m not saying this is the case here with Botta and the DP info. I’m saying that we should always measure our acceptance of information based on entirely human factors–be it from Logan, Botta, McCain, Obama, Palin, Biden, whomever.
Unless we have a specific reason to distrust someone’s information entirely, we should accept it knowing that there is likely a much more complicated backstory involved. I think we have no reason, whatsoever, to entirely distrust anything Botta says. Should we read his information while understanding his past and present connections to the organization? Yes. Should these connections mean that he is untrustworthy? No.
Sorry for the long post after yours, CB. I wrote it, ate something, came back, and posted without checking if anyone else had posted in the meantime. So, I missed that clarification at the top.
Chris:
Off topic: Do you have an idea of what the full season ticket base is for this year? How does it compare to last year?
Thanks
WE SUCK … YES I KNOW
CB, As a long time (I will not say suffering) Islanders fan, who has been rabid for reports on this team, I have been voraciously reading your blog. Greg has performed a good service to Islanders fans with his blog, but (here’s where I kiss some a*s) you outreach his output not only in volume, but with informed reports. I’d take it as compliment that he mentioned you three times in his blog. I’d almost think he is jealous that he does not get the scoops that you get. That is my “Sunday after drinking and watching football commentary”. Looking forward to Gabriella’s on 11/6. I may even bring my lady. Watch out if I do. She’s a handful.
I don’t know, I think Greg Logan was just a little ticked he couldn’t get confirmation on your information, CB.
He’s probably jealous that this site gets more traffic…Don’t lose sleep over it. It’s mostly die-hards that pick up the paper to read about the Isles anyway. CB is just pissed cuz it was a shot to the credibility. I could see how its frusterating. Frankly, I just want up-to-date Isles news when I come here and that’s what I get. Logan is on vacation 80% of the time.
Our base ticket holders must be low, we had a BOGO promo Thursday. tickets remain for the rangers and had a huge family plan discount last Saturday and could not get close to 12,000 fans total.
chris …great work on the blog keep the scoops coming.. greg logan is obviously jealous and insecure
If anything, Logan’s current employer is the company that has subsidized the Islanders from the very beginning. And even moreso now with that 20+ year cable tv contract. Without Cablevision’s dollars, the Isles would moved on to greener, or snowier pastures.
greg never writes anything interesting in my opinion. it’s lifeless and just standard structure. unless things changed, but i gave up reading a while ago.. never any insight.
My interpretation of Logan’s mention of “team-sponsored” was to note that the Islanders had perhaps given (or more likely leaked, or had it unearthed by Chris’ now investigative hands) more info about the injury than they had to the beat reporter of the only paper that regularly covers the team.
Essentially…
_Logan implies_: They gave more info to the team-sponsored blog.
_Botta counters_: Hey, they sponsor your pub way more than mine.
_End Result_: The club doesn’t give a hoot about sharing injury info with either of their sponsor recipients, and we as fans all lose, because we cannot get basic (until this year) information about the product that we are buying. Completely bush league. Alas, completely NHL.
Islanderspointblank.com, a team-sponsored blog written by former vice president of media relations Chris Botta… Douche put it in print! I would be having words at this point.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/ny-spisles275899827oct27,0,6072027.story?track=rss
Logan is a putz. He covers the Islanders when it’s convenient to do so and then gets mad when they don’t give him full disclosure? What a jack ass. Greg, you are a writer for a mediocre paper, please stop taking yourself so seriously. My cat works harder than you.
Why is everyone sticking up for Logan? His articles aren’t very creative and seem to be thrown together at times. He is passionate about being lied to but not very passionate about covering the team. I don’t care if he’s a suffering fan, SO AM I and I don’t get paid to watch them! The injury thing is ridiculous. Yes they should disclose the timetable for how long a player will be out but who gives a crap what the injury is? How would knowing that help you in any way? Why would they give specifics of an injury when it could be used against them?! Talk to Belichick about this because he does the same thing to protect his players. Oh by the way Dipietro is on his way to get examined so Logans little hissy fit was a waste of paper.
I also agree with people who say this is the place to get real information. Chris is doing an awesome job and this is the first place I go to when I turn on the computer. You will not find a more objective blog about a team anywhere on the net. Chris gives us insights and perspectives that no one else can match. I have learned more about the Islanders from Chris (in the short time that Bottas blog has been up) than I have from YEARS of reading Logans “articles”. Greg is so busy being a fan that he forgets to ask real questions and to write interesting stories. “Last night the Isles were beat by the ,,,, and they had 60 shots on net” blah, blah, blah. Hey Greg, we know, we watched the game too.
I have to disagree pretty strongly with those claiming that the Ricky injury is a fake. I watched that game on TV with my girlfriend (who is not an Isles fan), and we both remarked that he looked hurt. His skating was off, he was slow to get-up and he was leaning on the net a lot. I wasn’t surprised to see him on the bench in the 2nd.