We’re entering the home stretch on the “Open Forum” questions and answers. I believe I have now hit on all the main questions that had remained unanswered, but I will sweep through the other posts and see if there are any relevant questions that I can answer. So we’ll get to 10 parts, which might be a record!
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CB14 asked: Hey Rich, not sure if this has been asked yet, but has Dean said anything about his plans for Kevin Westgarth? Since all the Kings who played in the playoffs are coming back, there doesn’t appear to be room for Westy on the 23 man roster. Also, Darryl Sutter didn’t seem to have much use for him.
Answer: Westgarth is in the same position as a handful of other players. He’s going to be in for a very interesting training camp. There are no guarantees for him. On the positive side, for Westgarth, he’s the only real “heavyweight’’ in the organization. On the negative side, for Westgarth, Darryl Sutter didn’t seem to share Terry Murray’s philosophy in terms of the need for a heavyweight. Murray thought Westgarth’s presence was necessary in almost every game. Sutter likes to roll four lines, and it definitely didn’t seem as though he trusted Westgarth to play 8-10 minutes per game. It will be very interesting and difficult to predict.
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McCheese asked: Rich, will there be a consolidated list of the commemorative videos, books, etc re-capping the season that are referenced constantly? There seems to be some great stuff in the works and it would be nice to have a list of what you know about!
Answer: At this point, all I know about is the official NHL DVD, the soft-cover book put out by the Los Angeles Times and some other softcover book, of unknown origin (one that apparently misspelled a player’s name and liberally lifted many of the quotes I published.) Coming up will be the Kings’ official hardcover commemorative book. Included in that will be some “extras’’ still to be finalized.
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kingbosted asked: Thanks Rich, for all you do, especially in this longer Stanley Cup-winning season for the Kings. My question is about Dave Taylor. I know you had a picture from Bob Miller’s time with the Cup and Dave was there with Jim Fox and others, but has anyone been able to get him to comment on this Cup run? I know he’s with the Blues now but it would be great to get his thoughts, unless you have some already from him or others surrounding the team.
Answer: When the Kings reached the Western Conference Finals, I reached out to Dave to ask him about his thoughts on the Kings. He quickly, and very politely, responded that because of his employment with the Blues, he didn’t feel it was proper to talk about the Kings. Within a couple weeks, he was doing several interviews about the Kings. I have a great relationship with Dave, so I didn’t/don’t take his choice personally, but I don’t know why he chose to talk when he did. I believe a search of the archives will reveal a nice NHL.com piece on Dave and his contributions to building the Kings.
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rogiesbackup asked: Wondering if this site can number the post and or replies so that the blogger can find their threads or responds easier by making a mental note what number their thread is so it’s easier to find. I’ve seen the blog up 1000 bloggers and its hard to find my own post and if anybody responded to it.
Answer: I’m having a tough time getting a mental image of exactly what you’re asking for, but my suggestion would be to simply search for your name within a page. On a Mac, it would command-F, and then type in your name to see all of the references. I’m not aware of any way by which comments could be numbered.
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Buster asked: I was wondering how Nick Ebert could have fallen from a 1st round certainty to Mr. Irrelevant of the draft. I thought that he might fall a round or two, but SIX? How the heck did the Kings know he was still there for the picking?
Answer: Well, remember that a “first-round certainty’’ is only in the eyes of the beholder. Certainly he was a well-regarded prospect at one point, but that doesn’t mean that all 30 teams held him in the same esteem. Players can fall quickly, and when they are 17-20 years old, opinions of them can shift dramatically. In terms of the Kings picking him, that’s why scouts spend countless hours on the road, and that’s why folks such as Mike Futa and Mark Yannetti spend so much time making comprehensive lists. They drill for weeks, going over different scenarios and situations. The worst thing a scouting director can be is unprepared.
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KC23 asked: What do you like better about doing this blog than doing the old sports page paper? I think I already know what you don’t like about doing the blog … moderation. Who do you consider the most under-rated King. Which rookie is likely to be the most impressive this pre-season?
Answers: 1) A lot of things. The immediacy of it is great, as is the interaction with readers. That’s one thing you never used to get at a newspaper. Beyond that, it’s just a general ability to tell a story the way it should be told. Newspapers, by nature, are very formulaic. They’re built around deadlines and column inches. Doing things online allows for much more freedom and creativity. 2) That’s hard to answer, because whose standards are we talking about? If I say Justin Williams, there might be 60 percent of people who don’t consider him underrated at all. Anze Kopitar is underrated league-wide, but certainly not among Kings fans who watch him regularly. 3) I have no idea. That depends entirely on how they come into camp, in terms of mindset and preparation. Every single one of them has the potential to be impressive if they’re handling themselves the proper way. A guy like Toffoli will probably get the best opportunity to make an impression.
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Catcherman asked: What, specifically, gets players kicked out of the faceoff circle, and why is it happening more often than it used to?
Answer: It can be any number of things, but it usually centers around the placement of the stick and the timing of its placement. Even things such as head, feet and body placement can cause a linesman to give someone the hook, and it’s very subjective in terms of each linesman’s tolerance level.
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Mike Blazenski asked: Will Suter change the captain and alternate captains of the team? Brown, Kopitar and Green were all Murray picks.
Answer: I would be beyond stunned if any leadership changed after a Stanley Cup championship.
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LT21 asked: Why are the Kings signing so many defensemen? It seems we had a solid defense so it is confusing to see all the defensive additions in the off season.
Answer: I’m not certain to whom you are referring. Unless I missed something, the only defenseman brought in this summer was Andrew Bodnarchuk, and he is (potentially) a replacement for previous Manchester defenseman Patrick Mullen.
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Marty4Ever asked: Rich, I would like to get a DVD of season highlights, the playoffs, and/or the SC Final games. Are the Kings going to market any recordings? Also, if they do, would you please suggest adding Game #7 vs Toronto in 1993? And, if I were to really get my way on this, I’d like to see highlights of The Great One and McSorley as well. I closely watched the interview with Marty regarding the “stick.” However, nobody has said just how “far” that stick had violated regulations. I’d like to know. Especially if there’s any possibility the stick may have been altered w/o Kings’ staff knowing it occurred. Did DL hire additional security to guard Kings equipment during SC playoff run?
Answers: 1) Sunds like you’re looking for more of a history DVD than a season DVD. The NHL has already released its Stanley Cup Finals DVD, which includes a ton of season/playoff highlights, but there probably won’t be anything beyond that unless there’s some type of KingsVision DVD. If you’re looking for full games, I would suggest iTunes. For historical-type videos, KingsVision on LAKings.com is a good resource. 2) I don’t know the exact measurement off the top of my had. I would guess about a quarter-inch. 3) No.
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Martin Hoffmann asked: The 3rd line becomes Gagne, Stoll, and who else?? Lewis does not have the offensive skills to be a 3rd line winger. We need someone Doan-like. The Kings need to get someone in before training camp. I see Elkins as part of the active roster now, is he a possibility? A forth line of King-Lewis-Nolan would be terrific!!! This 3rd line right wing problem is the most serious problem the Kings forwards have.
Answer: I would caution you to be a little careful of terms of over-emphasizing offense and de-emphasizing defense. If you’re asking for a 20-goal scorer to be put on a third line, well, I understand the sentiment but that’s asking a lot. If I’m the Kings, I don’t have any problem with a Gagne/King-Stoll-Lewis third line. Yes, Lewis’ offensive potential is limited, but he plays a very strong 200-foot game. Don’t forget whose ridiculously effective backchecking caused a turnover in Game 5 against Vancouver, and the subsequent series-clinching goal. It was Lewis. There’s nothing wrong with two strong scoring lines, a “stopper’’ third line with some scoring ability (Gagne/King and Stoll) and an energy fourth line. Defense is always going to be the Kings’ hallmark.
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Buster asked: I wonder if the Kings will ber doing a “We Are the Champions” recording a la the Big Blue Wrecking Crew a while back, and who would be the main singers for this if it did happen?
Answer: Let’s hope not. Nobody is going to want to see that in 20 years…
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Mudfish4 asked: With all the news about crazy long, front-loaded contracts, bonuses, NTC’s, etc, my question goes back to when Jack Johnson negotiated his own contract. Is this something that is generally frowned upon by the NHLPA, other players, etc? Rich, do you ever hear any players, agents, media talking about it or does it not come up often since it doesn’t happen often? Do you feel players negotiating their own contracts is a good thing or bad thing?
Answer: Without question, the group of people who would frown upon that most is agents. When an agent negotiates a contract, he has one eye on that contract and one eye on the next contract. Meaning, for instance, when agent Don Meehan was holding the Kings’ feet to the fire about Drew Doughty, it wasn’t just about Doughty. It was about setting a new financial standard for top 21-year-old defensemen, so that when the next top 21-year-old defenseman comes along, there is a standard set and agents can try to push the monetary bar even higher. It’s almost an unspoken collusion between agents. They’re all working toward the same thing, to push salaries higher and higher. So when a player negotiates his own contract, and particularly when that player agrees to a contract that is (presumed to be) below value, it messes up the system. I personally don’t think it’s a bad thing at all. When players let their agents take control, the process becomes more about the agent and less about the player and the team. Even a player such as Jonathan Quick made things easy. He and the Kings quickly found common ground and he agreed to a deal. No drama.
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Pobo asked: How are the Doughty negotiations going? Will he be signed by training camp? Do you think Kovalchuk is going to sign with New Jersey, or here?
Answer: Hard to say, but I’m pretty sure Jason Allison will be back before Christmas.
Thanks for all your work answering these questions Rich it is much appreciated.
I have a question, and hopefully it’s something you can easily answer.
Where can we as fans purchase or somehow acquire the playoff games? I have found the Stanley Cup Final Games on Youtube and maybe one from each series. We’re celebrating the Kings 16 wins in the playoffs it would be nice to have each one on DVD or video file or something because each one was so memorable in it’s own right. Do you know where we could get the full entire games from the playoffs, including Vancouver, stl, phx, etc…? Thanks again Rich.
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tornado12 Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 8:50 pm
@TheAcaciaStrain, If you get NHL gamecenter all games are archived. I watch througb my ps3 in high def. Probably not the answer you are looking for but it’s how I see them…for now
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Is their any inclination, now that the Kings have won the Stanley Cup, that Bob Miller might consider retirement sooner than he had before?
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Kings Win, Ducks Lose Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 3:31 pm
@Reality, Step off with that kind of talk!
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Gustavo Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:36 pm
@Reality,
As Carnac the Magnificient used to say: “May a sick camel make bubbles in your bathwater”
Please leave the planet the next time such thoughts cross your mind.
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Gustavo Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:38 pm
@Gustavo,
Correction:
Carnac said “May a 1000 sick camels make bubbles in your bathwater”
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Gustavo Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:57 pm
@Gustavo,
More Carnac the magnificent quotes, lol
May your Perrier water be secretly bottled in Tijuana.
May your platform shoes fail you in a camel pasture.
May a love-starved fruit-fly molest your sister’s nectarines.
May a desert weirdo lower his figs into your mother’s soup.
May the Shah of Iran seek refuge under your sister’s skirt.
May a diseased yak squat in your hot tub.
May you get your first French kiss from a diseased camel.
May your prize bull hate cows.
May a crazy holy man set fire to your nose hair.
May your only daughter take up with a yak of another faith.
rumpa #19 Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 7:47 am
@Reality, while doing an interveiw on XMs Home Ice ,he was asked how long he would. He said if Vin Scully can go as long as he has, that he can to. BM will go as long as healthy.
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@McCheese, So far I’ve bought 3 different soft-cover publications. The “official” NHL one has it’s share of typos and incorrect assertions. I was disappointed. I mentioned one the other day as stating that DS replaced Bryan Murray. Another one said something about the high stick that Nolan took from Salvador, when it was King. And then in the recap of all the various playoff series’ they list 5 game scores in the WVF yet it says Kings win the series 4-0!!!??? WTF??? Who proofreads this stuff? I have yet to finish reading the 3rd one…
As far as DVD’s go, I got the one that came out last week on Blue-ray. It’s cool. Gives a brief history of the franchise and then a run down of the 3 western series and then it breaks down each game in the SCF. it’s cool, but it just never feels like enough. I’ve put the DVD on about 5 times already. I’ll watch a different series each time, or just let it play through before I crash for the night… STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!!!
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Bob Bobson Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 3:55 pm
@Stuart, What are the names of the books you bought? Which ones had bad info?
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Stuart Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:12 pm
@Bob Bobson, there is the LATimes/Triumph publishing house one called “Crowning Glory.” Then there’s one put out as the official NHL book… and I’ll have to look at the other one later when I get home… The official NHL had bad info and the other (I think the LATimes one) had Bryan instead of Terry as the coach who was replaced…
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Optomistic Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:31 pm
@Stuart, Crowning Glory is now at Costco for 9.99
Stuart Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:36 pm
@Optomistic, I couldn’t wait on it…
Stuart Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 8:15 pm
@Bob Bobson, Ok, along the spine of the first says stanley cup kings and RYLIN media and has quick lifting the SC. Next is the official NHL one and then the latimes book.
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EmptyTank Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:56 pm
@Stuart,
In an attempt to lay out the entire season, beginning-to-end, the LA Times’ softcover book titled “Crowning Glory” has a season pre-view article which some dope pulled from before the 2009-10 season. DOH!! And they used a picture of Quick coming out through the gimmicky castle door which was (thankfully) not used this season.
I can understand using an old picture but using a 2 year old article is pretty bad editing.
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Stuart Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:58 pm
@EmptyTank, LOL!! Good catch.
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Kopi Bryant Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 5:08 pm
@EmptyTank, Actually the castle was used during the 1st half of the season (I also did not like it) but after Sutter took over I noticed it was gone. I wonder if he had anything to do with it.
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kylek Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 5:36 pm
@EmptyTank, not to mention calling Dustin Penner Dustin Brown in photo captions on the Game 5 winning goal pics. Maybe if someone who actually knew and understood hockey got the editor’s gig on those books…maybe someone like that Rich Hammond guy. I think he has a blog or something…
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Ari Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 10:11 pm
@Stuart, Is the DVD the official NHL version?
Does have Bob Miller doing the call on Game 6?
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Stuart Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 8:36 am
@Ari, it’s called Team Marketing Los Angeles Kings 2012 Stanley Cup Champions Blu-Ray + DVD Combo Pack…
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@kingbosted, wrt to DT, I would imagine he was smarting pretty good after his current employer got ousted in 4. I wonder if he had taken any light-hearted ribbing from his co-workers about how he would have mixed emotions when his new team eliminated his old team, which I would guess would’ve led to him downplaying his feelings for the Kings (whether they are good or bad). I would also think it would’ve been in bad taste had he commented right before the WCF. This is all speculation of course since DT is not my grandpa and I don’t know how he feels about things, but I would imagine that the “celebrating” he did with BM and JF had more to do with his respect for them than anything else… I’m sure he wasnt too thrilled to be there.
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Duncanz Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 11:42 pm
@Stuart,
Granted, but then why would DT show up and expose himself to the media at all?
It seemed there was a lot of natural disappointment on his part when he left and it was a particularly thoughtful gesture from Tim Leiweke to invite DT to LA for the celebrations..
But the whole thing just seems kind of and out of place.
After all, JMFJ didn’t get a call to join in for all his contributions, nor Larry Robinson, nor Terry Murray.
Ok, DT has his number retired, but just like the others mentioned he no longer really represents the Kings.
After all, how would Kings fans feel I would feel if we found out that Richards went back to celebrate a Philly success, or DS a SJ, Calgary or Chicago one?
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Duncanz Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 11:45 pm
(Please just self correct my uncorrected incorrections)
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Osaka Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 12:44 am
@Duncanz, But after playing 18 years in a Kings uniform and serving as GM for the Kings for some 9-10 years I can think of him as anything but a King.
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So many have already forgotten that it was Lewis’ defense that led to Stoll’s OT and series clinching goal during the playoffs.
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TheAcaciaStrain Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 3:15 pm
@DesertKing, he also had a pretty nice wrap around goal too
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DesertKing Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 3:22 pm
@TheAcaciaStrain,
He played extremely well throughout the playoffs and Finals. He displayed a lot of speed and was very phyiscal. It had to be pretty disheartening for our opponents to see Brown go to the bench, think you are not going to have to worry about getting slammed into the boards, and then getting hit by Lewis.
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Kings x Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 3:58 pm
@DesertKing, Lewis is one of those guys that will never be flashy but will be a fixture on the team like a draper, McCarty
tim chaney Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 3:38 pm
@TheAcaciaStrain, scred two goals in game six… his forecheck\backcheck skills lead to turnovers, his speed allows him to get back quickly. may never score twenty, but EVERY team needs a guy like that.
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Stuart Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 3:42 pm
@tim chaney, yup! The role players we’ve always seen other teams have on their way to the SC!
luc20rules Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 7:28 pm
@tim chaney, +1, Don’t forget his great work on the PK.
Stuart Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 3:40 pm
@DesertKing, TL, was the unsung hero throughout the PO’s. The only thing he could’ve done to make his run any better was bury that semi-break on Marty… Otherwise, he was exemplary! I was so glad he got that stuff to end the 5-minute major in game 6! I’m more than satisfied with the little 1st-rounder that could!
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Osaka Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:26 pm
@DesertKing, I’ve said all along, Lewis could be the next Mike Peca or Guy Carbonneau in a couple years.
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Gustavo Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:40 pm
@DesertKing,
The Cannots fans have not forgotten. They’re still whining that it should have been called a minor on Lewis (eye roll)
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bmova Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 6:22 pm
@Gustavo, If anything it should have been a minor on Hamhuis for holding TL’s stick!
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Oh Rich, reference the really bad book that lifted your uotes but you don’t know who wrote, please disregard any nacho cheese stains you find on the pages….
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Is it hockey season yet?
Thanks Rich for all that you do really do appericate it!
Go Kings Go!
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“Let’s hope not. Nobody is going to want to see that in 20 years…”
Heck, I can’t imagine wanting to see that now.
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Buster Reply:
August 3rd, 2012 at 3:23 pm
@DougS,
All right, that one let my presence as a poor man’s Dr. Demento show a wee bit.
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“Wondering if this site can number the post…”
For an example of a blog with numbered posts, see badastronomy “dot” com and its comments. However, those numbers are to help with replying to comments. I like this blog’s method of replying to comments much better.
In that same website, though, when you make a comment, you have 15 minutes to make edits to your own post. Once the 15 minutes are up, no more edits allowed. I know many have asked for edits; I’m thinking two minutes to make edits is good enough, as I usually catch my errors right after I click Submit Comment.
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Stuart Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 3:41 pm
@AliCali, +1 on catching them right after clicking submit! I hate that!!!
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Kostamojen Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:06 pm
@AliCali, Or instead of the ability to “edit comments”, how about the ability to “preview comments before posting”. Many blogs have this ability, it allows you to edit/correct your posts before before they are published.
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Kostamojen Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:07 pm
@Kostamojen, see, previewing would have helped right there… I typed “before” twice…
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:37 pm
@Kostamojen, or you could just read your post over again before clicking the submit button…just a thought. IMO errors really arnt that big of a deal and anyone who points out miss spellings and punctuation errors and doubling up on words without being sarcastic or joking around really arnt worth your time anyway.
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Stuart Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:59 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, aren’t
AliCali Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 5:34 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, miss spellings (wink)
Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com) Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 6:01 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, ‘errors really arnt that big of a deal’ it’s not just about grammar mistakes. often an error can change the meaning of what you’re trying to say.
luc20rules Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 7:32 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, Although I am guilty of not doing that. How dare you ask for acountability from a blogger! How Dare You!
Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com) Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 6:04 pm
@AliCali,
There’s also another system where you can edit your comment at any time BUT your original comment is there for anyone to click on and see. It’s just hidden beneath your revised comment. That’s the best way IMO.
Also, if you use your real name, I believe you should have the ability to even delete your comments if you wish. Same as with facebook or twitter.
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just curious ………. but where are the lakers going and why did they leave fox sports west ….. i had no clue …….. if it increases kings coverage that would be great
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Hey Rich! Hope I’m not too late to submit a question: Now that the Kings will have a championship banner, don’t you think it’s time that Staples Center revamp the currently hanging “banners” (in my opinion they look more like flags) to a more proper size and actually hang them from the rafters instead of on the wall? With the Kings’ upcoming dynasty, they’re gonna run out of room on the wall pretty quickly.
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Stoked to hear Allison is feeling better!
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puck73 Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 6:01 pm
@JumboJack, Oh? Did he finally find his car keys?
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Kingsfanone Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 7:54 pm
@puck73,
Yeah, he found them, but he’d sold the car 5 years ago…….
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Kingsfanone Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 7:58 pm
@JumboJack,
And I’m stoked to maybe get to see that LAPD Line make acomeback!
Oh……..never mind……..forgot about Deadmarsh.
Damn. I really loved that line!
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Question about Kopitar.
In the middle of last season, when everything went wrong and Kopi was in the middle of his usual slump, was there any concern within organisation about Kopitar ability to be no.1 C of Stanley cup champion team and maybe even any thoughts within organisation about any trade involving Kopitar?
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:26 pm
@likid, ABSOLUTLY NOT!!!!! Who in their right mind would ever trade the #1 point producer on the team for like the past 4 or 5 years? never a thought in anyones mind except yours apparently.
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Stuart Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:27 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, I thought DB was the leading point producer for the last 20 years???
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:29 pm
not to mention that he is one of our best 2 way forwards if not “the best”. DL would be crucified if he traded Kopi.
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Deke'r Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:46 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, ….hahaha…”I can’t believe you fell for it man…that’s the oldest trick in the book!…..
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TF Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 1:10 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, They traded Dionne for Laidlaw when he was leading the team in scoring. Stupid happens.
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Hire extra security to watch the Kings Equiptment? I just can imagine Westy hiding in a locker near the Equiptment Bags hoping to get some action.
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Link to most recent CBA snag. Westy is mentioned. The NHLPA wants the independent Audit of all NHL clubs which was not part of the 76,000 pages of documents provided by the NHL. Bettman took offense that the NHLPA doesn’t trust the NHL provided data is not the same, and the NHLPA basically says with a requested 24% roll back in salaries who wouldn’t want to see the outside companies audit of the NHL teams, before making a counter proposal.
http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/8223735/nhlpa-waits-information-requests-league-issuing-counterproposal
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FKA PakiFro Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:30 pm
@luc20rules,
Every company the size of an NHL team already has audited statements. This shouldn’t be hard to produce. The league dragging their feet gives some merit to the players concerns of the numbers being different than an independent auditor would find.
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Link to most recent CBA snag. Westy is mentioned. The NHLPA wants the independent Audit of all NHL clubs which was not part of the 76,000 pages of documents provided by the NHL. Bettman took offense that the NHLPA doesn’t trust the NHL provided data is not the same, and the NHLPA basically says with a requested 24% roll back in salaries who wouldn’t want to see the outside companies audit of the NHL teams, before making a counter proposal.
http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/8223735/nhlpa-waits-information-requests-league-issuing-counterproposal
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DesertKing Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:30 pm
@luc20rules,
Trust Bettman? Whats not to trust about a commissioner who condones and actuality encourages cheating?
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:39 pm
@DesertKing, Buttman is a Douchbag! sorry…couldnt think of anything else to say
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DesertKing Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:43 pm
@BrokeKingsFan,
Nope, you nailed it.
Osaka Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 4:49 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, Not that I’m a Bettman fan, but why the hate? He is lightyears better as a commissioner than John Ziegler was.
Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com) Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 5:57 pm
@luc20rules, Here’s the Westy excerpt… http://bit.ly/Mdgdsk
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On Nick Ebert from Hockey’s Future website. http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/nick_ebert/
Great shot, good skater, but no hockey sense.
“Talent Analysis
Ebert, once a top-rated 2012 draft prospect, fell out of favor as the 2011-12 season progressed. The positives for Ebert are his skating ability and his booming shot, but he doesn’t seem to use either effectively. Ebert seems to lack the hockey sense necessary to be even a middling defender at this point, although there is still talent there that could develop into something. But he has to be better in his own zone and learn to make better use of his strengths.”
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luc20rules Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 5:13 pm
@Osaka, Sounds like JJ? But, JJ had some hockey instints, but not enough to reach anywhere near his full physical potential which is still off the charts. I still wish the best for JJ and even though he is not part of the Kings. JJ was always a good guy hope the hockey light comes on for him and he is a true #1 Dman one day.
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Buster Reply:
August 3rd, 2012 at 10:41 am
@Osaka,
When I originally wrote the question, I knew that was a factor. Could you imagine if this was something on several teams mistakenly believing that he was actually drafted earlier on and prematurely crossed his name off their lists? I remember hearing some strange noises coming from severl tables when his name was called, and could it have been that factor having some truth in it?
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@Martin Hoffmann
Corey Elkins is in the Ducks organization now.
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Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com) Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 5:40 pm
@Quisp,
Corey Elkins Signs with Ducks… Quack, Quack.
http://kingsnewsdaily.com/corey-elkins-signs-with-ducks/
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Michael J. Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 9:02 am
@Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com),
Let the name of Elkins be stricken from every book and tablet, stricken from all pylons and obelisks, stricken from every monument of the Kingdom.
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Dominick (defrim65) Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 3:06 pm
@Michael J., “I will erase the memory of the Spartans from the history books” King Xerxes of the Persian Empire.
First time poster here. I started reading this website at the beginning of this season
and I am addicted to it! LOL Rich you are awesome! I live in Orange County and have heard rumors that the cup will be at Knotts Berry Farm. I bought a season pass just for this reason. Have you heard any info on this? Thanks and keep up the great job!
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Cruiznblue Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 5:37 am
@Bones,
Well what took you so long to post???
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Bones Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 1:39 pm
@Cruiznblue, cuz you all ask the questions I have or say the responses I have before I can even form them LOL.
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Rich,
do you know if the video released by the NHL or the Kings contains all the kings playoff games, or is it just highlights? will there be a set release that does have this?
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Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com) Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 5:39 pm
@snerry, The DVD that was just released? It’s about 1 1/2 hours long so yeah, just the highlights. No DVD can hold nearly all the Kings playoff games. That would be a major DVD set.
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puck73 Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 6:07 pm
@Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com), The DVD is just “OK”. I have alot of stuff that was recorded in HD on my DVR, and it is way better then that DVD. To me, I agree with you. This DVD is not long enough, and doesnt go into enough detail for the price they charged,
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408kingsfan Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 7:40 pm
@puck73, ugh I just bought it
TeamJMFJ Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 12:17 am
@puck73, amen . Not worth the $25
Kingsfanone Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 8:04 pm
@puck73,
And as you and I have already discussed……Kompon is on it way too much.
Buster Reply:
August 3rd, 2012 at 10:20 am
@puck73,
I only had to spend $2 of my own money on it. One of my regulars gave me a Christmas card at my Salvation Army kettle this past year that had a $25 Best Buy gift card in it (but I didn’t open it up until an hour after the shift was over). It stayed in my wallet until I could find something worthy of getting. The DVD was it.
Could someone tell Helene to get some different makeup. She looked like Emperor Palpatine in that video.
Stuart Reply:
August 3rd, 2012 at 10:24 am
@Buster, LMFAO!!! totally scary looking! I thought she’d been dead for a month and then reanimated!!!
Regarding the stick. This is the story as I understand it.
Montreal had some idea that MeSorley’s stick(s) were illegal but they did not want to risk a penalty if they called for a measurement and proved to be wrong.
On game day McSorley’s stick, along with all the other Kings’ sticks were kept in King’s dressing room. The door to the room was guarded by a Montreal policeman with instructions to let no one in.
The Canadians talked the cop into allowing someone into the Kings dressing room and the stick was measured in advance of the game. It was a no lose deal for Montreal.
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luc20rules Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 7:10 pm
@USHA#17, Thats the facts I remember. The police officer told Luc years later that he felt terrible about what he had done and exactly what happen.
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Sancho Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 7:44 am
@luc20rules, that’s why no Canadian team as won the Stanley Cup since! Ha!
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Would love to see a thumbs up or thumbs down on every post!
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toemas_sandstrom Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 7:28 pm
@neil,
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Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com) Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 10:03 pm
@neil, Thumbs up
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Duncanz Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 10:12 pm
@Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com),
Boo, @neil.
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Cruiznblue Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 5:35 am
@neil,
Well you can’t do thumbs down cuz Facebook doesn’t. They said so.
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This comes into play when the Kings games are going on, I would love to see new post without refreshing my screen if at all possible. A hybrid of comment post and chat box.
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Anyone know how face off stats are kept? Some times there is no clear “winner” of the face off yet players get a “won/lost” score for face offs.
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tornado12 Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 8:54 pm
@Cortex949, I believe it’s the team that gets control of the puck.
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Cortex949 Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 9:41 pm
@tornado12, Yea but quite often it pops out and becomes a 50/50 battle for a extended period of time.
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Cruiznblue Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 5:33 am
@Cortex949,
My guess is whoever “eventually” wins possession gets the cap. Or maybe the stat guys just flip a coin.
now that the Kings play at Staples and not the Forum…shouldnt this feature be called “Staples answers V111 ???
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Duncanz Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 9:20 pm
@neil, I was thinking exactly the same thing.
But wisely I thought better of posting it for fear of being considered puerile!
So how could you do such thing to yourself?
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neil Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 9:30 pm
@Duncanz, Iam too childish or immature to understand the word “Puerile” such rubbish!!!! LOL!!!!
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Duncanz Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 9:53 pm
@neil, Ha ha, whatever your wife says!
on twitter….priceless…
Dustin Penner @Dustinpenner25
Watched olympic fencing today and all I could think of was “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die”
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Kings Fan In Temecula Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 9:36 pm
@Real 7,
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Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com) Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 10:04 pm
@Real 7, Inconceivable!
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Cruiznblue Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 5:31 am
@Real 7,
Haha love that guys personality
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Crown city simtom Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 12:47 pm
@Real 7, Awesome, thanks for that.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 8:09 pm
@Real 7,
LOVE that movie!
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To Martin Hoffman: I would have gagne stoll and king, trust me on this one, King can EASILY be a 20 goal scorer last year, he had like 9 last year and 5 in the playoffs. He’s worth more than a 4th liner, as for the 4th line, bring in Pearson!!!!! or Toffoli!!!!
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Duncanz Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 10:34 pm
@PlayMaker1077, Yeah but is Toffoli a 4th liner?
Especially if you feel that a 4th liner must inherently possess grit and grinding power.
Totally agree about Dwight King.
If he commands his own trajectory he ought to realize as much upside as any player considered in his realm at the moment.
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Cruiznblue Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 5:29 am
@Duncanz,
“commands his own trajectory”
Well said!
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Harry Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 10:37 pm
@PlayMaker1077,
Well, Clifford did the same the previous year, and had a drop season. Let’s HOPE NOT!
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Stuart Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 8:42 am
@Harry, KFC was also 19…like in Vietnam.
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Osaka Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 12:35 am
@PlayMaker1077, King and Gagne are both LW’s.
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Deirdre Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 10:14 am
@PlayMaker1077, It’s more likely that since Gagne’s a more skilled winger, has excellent history with Mike Richards and is healthy (thanks to tennis ball sized growth removed 6/18 from his neck) for the first time in 3 years, he’ll will be playing with Richards and Carter where he belongs. Stoll, Penner and Lewis would be the third line. Penner was only on the 2nd line because Gagne was out. Gagne’s a lot better and with MR will put up goals (Major fail on TM’s part waiting 22 games to have them skate their 1st shift together , only to have MR get a head injury 2 games later).
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Rich, When does training camp start? So I know until when the kings have to trade bernier the time he is expecting. and one more, Are they going to show pre season games like how the kings did when schenn was a rookie in 2009, they showed the jumbotron vision of the game
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Penns is so good he’s pricelessless!!
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Duncanz Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 10:09 pm
(To @Real 7)
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Hey Rich,
Thank you so much for the hard work. I am not sure if I can still get into the last installment of the open forum, but here goes:
1. While watching the SC rally, I noticed that at the end, they showed a video on the jumbotron which is a lot like the one they showed at game 3 of the SCF (except with new stuff about winning the whole thing added in), would that be available to see on Kings Vision?
2. Do you know when the DVD of “Bob and Jim calling Game 6″ is coming out?
3. I wanted to buy a customized alternate jersey (purple and black), but the team store does not offer it, do you know why?
Again, much much thanks for your hard work!
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LAPD line Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 8:46 am
@TGoldSpud, I’m sure I will buy the DVD of Bob and Jim calling the game, but I can’t get over the feeling that it’s going to be lame. If they had put them in the press box and recorded their comments / game call at the time, that would be great. I don’t believe they did that though, so we will be hearing a scripted, rehearsed, multiple take, all polished up, call of the game.
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Rich Hammond Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 9:02 am
Bob and Jim recorded it live.
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LAPD line Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 11:27 am
@Rich Hammond, Very glad to hear that, thanks for the info…
Rich Hammond Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 9:03 am
1) I believe that is on KingsVision, yes. It was called “How We Got There,” or something like that. 2) Nothing official yet. 3) No, I don’t know.
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TGoldSpud Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 9:22 am
@Rich Hammond,
Dear Rich. I know you heard it many times, but again, thank you so so much for your answers! I really appreciate it!
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Kingsfanone Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 8:16 pm
@TGoldSpud,
You do know that we all bow to Rich all the time, and always speak his name in hushed whispers, right?
And if we ever see and recognize Rich, go out of our way to say hi to him.
(and of course……..the whole bowing thing!)
Amazing job as always Rich..you’re the first words I read in the morning (other than the ticket the cop handed me
) and the last I read at night. Thank you for all you do!
My 1st question pertains to you and your job.
When news breaks and the players/coaches are away from the arena, can you contact them immediately for comment or do you have to wait until they get to the arena to speak with them?
2nd question..what happened to those awesome videos of the Kings in the locker room after a win? Those were so cool, but I didn’t see many of them last season.
Thank you!
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neil Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 8:34 am
@nykingfan, dont text these questions while you are driving and you wont get a ticket!!! LOL!!!
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nykingfan Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 8:54 am
@neil,
How did you know? LOL
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Rich Hammond Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 9:01 am
1) It depends on the player/coach. Some are easier to get in touch with away from the rink than others. Management members are generally the easiest to get in touch with, but there are no guarantees. 2) I don’t know for certain, but I suspect that certain a certain former coach was a little more lenient about having cameras in the locker room than a certain new coach.
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nykingfan Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 11:51 am
@Rich Hammond,
Thanks for answering Rich..if you can just as a follow up..do you have all of the players/front office cell#’s?
I don’t know whether that would be something that’s commonplace..sorry..that’s why I ask.
you mean that coach we no longer speak of? lol
Thanks again Rich..best in the business!
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hmmm will 99 get a Complex from his daughters complex spread?
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neil Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 8:35 am
@pr0cess, ask Stoll his thoughts….
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Question: Have you ever heard a comment from someone you are interviewing and, perhaps they said something they should not have, do you ask them “Do you want to take that back” or “Is that off the record”? Or is anything they say during a interview quotable unless they state otherwise.
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Rich Hammond Reply:
August 2nd, 2012 at 9:02 am
I can’t envision a scenario in which I would suggest that an interview subject “take back” something they said.
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