On Frozen Blog

The week commenced catastrophically: on an ad hoc assignment to cover the Caps, WaPost’s Amy Shipley, seemingly in over her head, filed an ignorant and nonsensical game account from Miami Monday night. However, the week improved appreciably thereafter, culminating with Christmas-morning-wrapped-goodies-under-the-tree kind of news relating to a geriatric hockey hating television news anchor at WRC announcing his retirement!

While Team OFB will acknowledge the news in predictable and appropriate fashion, on this sunny Friday keep in your thoughts the melancholy this moment enveloping the region’s rodeo fans.

Ms. Shipley’s colleague, Caps’ regular beat reporter Tarik El Bashir, has developed his WaPost blog ‚Äî initially a trifling three- or four-paragraph morsel ‚Äî into something approaching a reasonably rich narrative culled largely from the team’s morning practices. In fact, Capitals Insider on Wednesday offered readers what WaPost’s print version subsequently refused to: a reckoning of that day’s visit in the office with NHL commish Gary Bettman.

The Gary Bettman visit to 15th St. Wednesday represented a bit of MSM breakthrough insomuch as the commissioner was admitted past reception there and subsequently, according to Mr. Bashir’s account, wasn’t immediately shuttled by van to Ashburn, Va., for a tour of Redskins’ Park. Still, it’s worth noting: you don’t hear about the commish making special visits to the editors of the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, or the Montreal Gazette. Or the Miami Herald.

More from Ground Zero: in what appears to be a trend forming, WaPost’s print sports section again transferred the hockey thoughts of in-house blogger Steinberg to its copy. On Thursday, readers were greeted with a page 2 profile of the artwork on backup goalie Brent Johnson’s mask. The account included color photos (plural) of the mask. This means that WaPost ran two hockey-related stories in its print section on the same day. To commemorate, hockey loving executives in the government briefly considered offering liberal leave to Caps’ fans laboring below them.

Bettman lunched on Wednesday, BJ gratuitously showcased Thursday. It’s a revolution, I tell you!

Also on Wednesday, the Times’ Dave Fay thought it clever and novel to suggest that after six weeks of play the Caps’ 20 man-games lost to injury represented cable news headline worthy copy. Naturally, the Caps lost two-thirds of their first line that night. Here’s a novel thought: truly young hockey teams aren’t supposed to be as brittle as Maple Leafs or Red Wings.

There was no MSM coverage this week of genuinely startling news that a 23-year bench-hand for the team, and one of his assistants, had been dismissed. Clearly, there’s a sensitivity to this issue that is disarming, and it may well be that the matter involves legal aspects making comment and coverage all but impossible. Still, Doug Shearer’s service to the organization was of a duration wholly atypical in modern sports, and his career was decorated by honorable calls to serve as equipment manager for various U.S. national teams at the highest levels of international competition.

Forty four days and counting without a single local MSM print column on one of the NHL’s most pleasant surprise stories of the new season: the winning Washington Capitals. As is the norm, the best feature coverage of the team occurs outside the Beltway, and this week it came from Wes Goldstein at CBS Sportsline. Beyond commending the Caps for their fine play, Mr. Goldstein honed in on the man who in D.C. to date has received precious little kudos for his work: Coach Glen Hanlon.

Then came the head-to-Gordon-Biersch-instead-of-your-office, even-early-in-the-a.m., moment: WaPost’s John Maynard this morning informed readers of the quasi-retirement of WRC’s George Michael. What is it with high-profile TV talking heads, seriously past Medicare qualification, that they can’t ride off in golf carts to 4:00 buffets in south Florida like the rest of the American workforce? Michael, Maynard informs us, while departing the nightly sportscast at WRC, will in Rather-like fashion continue in some emeritus presence and continue his hockey-exlusionary bloviating on 30-minute programs like Deadskins Report.

Any ideas on who should replace George?