Forum answers II

Keeping it going…here’s the second set of Open Forum questions and answers…

kiosku2 asked: Whats the routine on the road for yourself? I assume you fly on the team’s plane. Do you interact on the plane much with any of the players/coaches/staff/Bob,Jim,Nick,Daryl? Do you ever have dinner/interact with any of the players/coaches following the game? I believe you have some experience with this (traveling/covering a team) from former gigs. Is it tough being on the road, covering the team, especially on long road trips or is it pretty status quo?

Answer: Yes, you’re correct that I travel on the team plane, and for the most part, I use the plane for two things: working and sleeping. When we fly from one city to another, it’s almost always immediately after a game, and that’s when I’m busiest, trying to transcribe quotes and write the game story. There are some flights in which I do nothing but have the laptop open and the earbuds in. To the extent that I interact with anyone, it’s the group of broadcasters and TV staff that sit in my immediate area. After the games on the road, it’s straight to the airport and the next city, so there is no going out to dinner, etc. As far as life on the road, I’d have to be pretty ungrateful to complain about any of it. I understand your question, and it’s a good one. Certainly the road trips can get long, and there are days when you definitely can’t wait to get home, but essentially I’m getting paid to watch hockey and visit interesting cities, and I get to travel and lodge in comfort. When things start to grind a bit, I try to remind myself about how good I actually have it.

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Jonathan asked: Rich – I respect that you don’t “cheer” for the Kings as it is a part of your job to remain journalistically neutral to your best ability, but doesn’t the team’s start and relative position in the conference/league make your assignment all the more enjoyable especially this season? It would certainly be a different job if the Kings were skimming the bottom of the conference as they have been want to do in years past.

Answer: You’ve definitely got the right idea here. Covering a winning team…I’m not sure if there’s an exact word for it, but I wouldn’t disagree with “enjoyable.” It’s definitely easier. I covered the Dodgers for a couple seasons when they were essentially out of the playoffs entering the final month of the season. That’s rough, because the players are unhappy, they’re just playing out the string, and the last thing they want to do is answer questions every day from reporters. It makes everyone relatively miserable. When that goes on for a full mont (and sometimes longer) it’s brutal. So yes, it’s more fun, and easier, to cover a winning team, but the success of the team doesn’t really impact the way I approach the job, the hours I work, etc.

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DavHalt asked: Rich, Are the questions from external shifting at all? Last year you mentioned it was all about Doughty and the year he was having with the Kings improved play being secondary, but with him out on the last road trip and the Kings playing well what kind of buzz are you getting from the out of town media either on the road or as they come through Staples?

Answer: Yeah, that’s a good point on your part. The “buzz” is now much less about certain players and more about the team. Less of, “Wow, Doughty/Kopitar is really good” and more, “Wow, the Kings are really good.” Because you can look at almost any team and be impressed by one or two players, but there aren’t many teams that, in general, receive that type of respect. I think there’s still a little bit of “prove-it” involved with the Kings, but the fact that so many respected writers have the Kings ranked high in their “power rankings” suggests that people are taking notice of the team, in general.

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Nic asked: Any news on possible extensions for Johnson, Doughty, or Simmonds?

Answer: Have not heard anything concrete of late, no.

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uclaemt: I know TM doesn’t want to break up a hot line, but it seems counterintuitive that our #1 center, Kopi, isn’t centering arguably our 2 best wingers. Smyth and Williams have been on fire and I think juggling Kopi’s linemates– Loki, Parse, Richards– doesn’t do him any favors. He was the league leader in points at this point last season and while his game is picking up, his numbers are suffering for this decision. Why not experiment with your 2nd line and leave your best line intact? You wrote that TM thought we could have a 40 goal scorer on this team but the likely candidate, Kopi, wasn’t given the best linemates available. It seemed to be widely assumed that if we signed Kovy he would have been paired with Kopi as the best LW on the team, but our current best LW plays on the #2 line.

Answer: I understand, completely, what you’re going for there, and in terms of what makes sense on paper, you and I are pretty close to agreement. However, there’s no way that Terry Murray is going to mess with a 10-3-0 team that has one of the hottest lines (the Stoll line) in the NHL. There’s no way that I could justify taking a team that has 20 points in 13 games and shaking it up, simply because it might — might — improve the statistics of one player. How much better can it get than 10-3-0? Now, certainly, if a few losses in a row pop up, and if the Stoll line starts to lose its magic, I don’t think you’ll see Murray hesitate to make chances, but not when a team is sitting first in the division, first in the conference and first in the NHL.

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Alternate Jersey asked: As was observed yesterday, Smytty has played in a LOT of NHL games. What an amazing guy. Do you have any idea what his plans are after this contract is up? I know he is only a young 34 years old, but as was also discussed yesterday, he has been beaten up a lot more in his 1,000 games than most other individuals who reach that mark. Do you think that wear and tear will make him think twice about signing another contract? Secondly, do you think he loved being with the Oil enough that he would want to retire in their colors? Finally, do you think we have another guy, on the current roster or otherwise, than can come anywhere close to Smytty’s ability to screen the goalie and tip in pucks?

Answer: That’s a really thoughtful question/comment. You never know what can happen between now and the end of next season, but as of now, I don’t think Smyth has any intention of retiring. The other day, I joked with him about getting a couple hundred more under his belt before he’s done, and he seemed to be thinking along those lines as well. I agree with you, completely, that he has taken far more than his share of bodily abuse at age 34, but Smyth is true rink rat, and I think he’s one of those guys who is going to have to have the stick pried out of their hands. In terms of net ability, Michal Handzus is the player who comes to mind, particularly on the power play. Good in front of the net and willing to sacrifice his body, but I believe Smyth’s hands are superior.

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Who Knows? asked: What are Dean Lombardi’s thoughts on Jersey’s horrible start?

Answer: If I had to guess, I’m thinking he wishes the Devils would have won their games against Dallas, Colorado, San Jose and Vancouver. The Devils’ losses don’t help the Kings. The Devils beating Western Conference teams does help the Kings.

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Niko asked: Rich, I know you have stressed the importance of not becoming a fan in order to maintain full objectivity. This objectivity does help make this the best NHL team blog out there. However, you have now been employed by the Kings organization for quite some time. You are becoming part of the LA Kings family, don’t you feel the slightest bit of pride in this team? At what point do you become a fan? Having invested so much into this franchise, it’s gotta happen sooner or later…

Answer: I appreciate that this might be difficult for people who haven’t been in the industry to understand, but I’m not a Kings fan. My role is to cover the team, and what I take pride in is trying to do my job to the best of my ability. That’s my sole focus, each and every day. How can I be a better writer? How can I be a better reporter? I’m in my 30s, and I have my teams. God knows I don’t need another one. The ones I have, they drain enough life out of me as it is. I respect what the Kings do, and on individual levels, I certainly would never wish any ill will on them, and in fact I wish them all the best. But in 15 years of writing, I’ve covered the Dodgers, Angels, Lakers, Clippers, USC, UCLA, Galaxy, the Riptide (lacrosse), the L.A. Stars (ABA), the Anaheim Bullfrogs (RHI), Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine and about a dozen other teams, and you simply don’t become a fan just by watching games. As Jonathan noted in his question/comment, the success of a team often does make things marginally easier for a reporter, but that doesn’t translate to cheering.

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Michael J. asked: Rich, can you give us a little more insight into what happens on road trips? Do the Kings charter all their flights? Does the team have to go through customs every time they cross the border? What is the typical daily schedule for the team on foo days? What does the team do for pregame meals, prep, etc?

Answer: Yes, they do charter flights, and yes, everyone does go through customs. You had a little typo there, so I’m not sure what you intended to say instead of “foo,” but in general, yes, the team has its pregame meal at the hotel before the bus to the arena. As far as what they do, specifically, for warmups, I’m not in the locker-room area so I couldn’t give you a detailed rundown, but for the most part it’s different for every player. There’s almost always a group of players kicking around a soccer ball in the hallway before a game.

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The X Factor: Hindsight being 20/20, should we have taken Jacob Voracek at #4 rather than Thomas Hickey?

Answer: Maybe? Respectfully, I don’t really understand the point of “Should Team A have drafted Player Y instead of Player Z?” I mean, that’s why every team has scouting staffs, right? There’s never universal agreement on how players will turn out. Luc Robitaille was the 171st pick in 1984. He was passed over by 20 teams. In hindsight, you could bet that all 20 of them wish they had taken him.

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kingrussell asked: Any ratings info yet on last night’s channel 13 game? Did it do a lottle better than the typical saturday night FSW telecast?

Answer: Too early for over-the-air ratings. I believe I sometimes see those in Tuesday’s newspapers, but I’m not certain of that.