Do the players see you as a reporter and someone they can spin their side of a story or as working for management? Onetest I could see coming up this year is the Frolov contract situation. If Frolov has a stellar year and Dean is jerking him around on the contract is Fro going to vent to you the same he would if you were working for a newspaper.

This brings up the heart of the matter. How will this newly forged relationship, that is currently in the honeymoon phase, survive once the novelty has worn away?

The questions that this new position raises are vast and profound from my perspective. As well as highly fascinating. What happens if Rich finds out damaging information about the Kings? What if he suspects he is being kept in the dark about a certain closely guarded issue within the organization? Or many issues for that matter? There must be insane compartmentalizing of info within such a corporate monster.

The light is currently shinning so dimly on the Kings league-wide that there is really nothing to lose as far as the Kings organization goes. Things will get much more interesting once we have some success and more attention is paid to us.

There is no doubt in my mind that there will come a time when something potentially damaging will be learned or discovered and Rich will question whether or not he should report it.

This is the fatal flaw of the plan to stay independent. You are hired knowing there may be a time you become a whistle-blower. That is bizarre to me.

As for PR, damage control and being short-sided… one would be a fool to think they won’t play hardball if need be.

It shows the dinosaurs are realizing the potential of the internet and that the true power of it comes from being the source of honest information.

The more you fight against the fact that anyone can/will discover the truth of any situation the more it hurts you and your organization.

Going along with it shows you’re authentic and sincere. People can connect with that and find something to be loyal to in that.

Where we fans are starving for original content about our team. Especially in Los Angeles, where the Lakers pre-season practice will get more notice than King’s current 4 game win streak.

I am sure in Canada and the North East US, there are so many entities covering the local hockey teams, there will not be a lack of hockey news, whether good or bad for the team/league.

I think the smart teams, not just NHL teams, will follow Kings lead and hire their own beat writers, to feed their fans, and provide contents that differs from the AP feed.

The other three can;t handle the unsponsored version of unbiased reporting, how many would complain if their respective leagues were paying for it?

Now in reference to your A vs B question Rich:

A- It is interesting.

B- It’s only self-serving if it doesn’t need to be mentioned. You’re a new (and hopefully) emerging medium. Honest reporting would dictate, in this case, that you talk about yourself.

Besides, I wouldn’t care if it truly was self-serving to a point as long as overall it serves a greater purpose than your own. To me, that’s the case here.

Rich’s employer may have changed, but his end customers haven’t. The value he provides to the LA Kings and the NHL stems from his credibility, and they will do well to remember that if they are ever tempted to sway or muzzle him in a short-sighted effort for PR damage control.

Of course, not a word of mention regarding this blog, and what I assume is a pretty unique situation with a team hiring a blogger to independently (if possible) cover the team. Seems like it would have added something to their story, but I suppose you’re out of luck getting noticed unless you were covering a Canadian team.