Fall of an Icon?
Yesterday, April 11, 2006, was a major news day. Besides the normal issues of Michigan and its one-state recession, oil prices continuing to rise, and more protests against U.S. illegal immigration policy, the Detroit Free Press decided that the biggest news of the day was this:
“McCarty files for bankruptcy”
Yes. This is the banner headline in today’s newspaper. This is the most important news of the day. Not, I don’t know, Iran announcing that it has enriched uranium! The terrorist state has shown that it has the ability to develop nuclear weapons that, by most accounts, would be used against Israel, and most likely the United States. But that’s not worthy of front page status. No, you have to go to page A6 to find that story, right next to a story about a poll of college students who say that morals matter (Poll stories are useless as well, but that’s for another time). Then again, the Free Press thinks that the biggest threat to the United States is President George W. Bush and the U.S. military, not a nuclear Iran. So I guess their story placement makes sense in their incredibly left-wing bias.
But even if the frightening news of the day from Iran hadn’t happened, why is ANY news about Darren McCarty, particularly of a non-hockey nature, worthy of print outside of the sports section – or even IN the sports section for that matter? People. He’s NOT a member of the Detroit Red Wings anymore. Even when he was, he was INCREDIBLY over-rated. He was, at best, a third line winger who NEVER played his role. He would carry the puck over the line instead of giving it up to one of the greatest passers to ever play the game (Igor Larionov) and go to the net, looking for a pass. He may be a great guy, personally. I wouldn’t know – I’ve never met him. But that doesn’t make his bankruptcy newsworthy. Let’s have some perspective, please. When the Detroit Red Wings released him as part of their salary cap purge, I heard one of the biggest, most idiotic things ever on sports talk radio. It’s not as good as cutting Kordell Stewart during Black History month, because that was just hilarious. This was just dumb. A caller called McCarty a sports icon in Detroit. How awesomely stupid is that? Detroit sports icon. Right now there’s only one athlete in Detroit who that could be said about, and that is Steve Yzerman. The next closest would be Ben Wallace, and he’s still a very long ways off from that level.
Is it sad? Sure. A millionaire going bankrupt is sad, just like it is if ANYONE has to file for bankruptcy. But is it a big enough story to be a front page, above-the-fold headline? Absolutely not. But if it was a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, the Free Press would probably celebrate that fact and still demand that they pay higher taxes. The news priorities of the Detroit Free Press are just appalling.
“McCarty files for bankruptcy”
Yes. This is the banner headline in today’s newspaper. This is the most important news of the day. Not, I don’t know, Iran announcing that it has enriched uranium! The terrorist state has shown that it has the ability to develop nuclear weapons that, by most accounts, would be used against Israel, and most likely the United States. But that’s not worthy of front page status. No, you have to go to page A6 to find that story, right next to a story about a poll of college students who say that morals matter (Poll stories are useless as well, but that’s for another time). Then again, the Free Press thinks that the biggest threat to the United States is President George W. Bush and the U.S. military, not a nuclear Iran. So I guess their story placement makes sense in their incredibly left-wing bias.
But even if the frightening news of the day from Iran hadn’t happened, why is ANY news about Darren McCarty, particularly of a non-hockey nature, worthy of print outside of the sports section – or even IN the sports section for that matter? People. He’s NOT a member of the Detroit Red Wings anymore. Even when he was, he was INCREDIBLY over-rated. He was, at best, a third line winger who NEVER played his role. He would carry the puck over the line instead of giving it up to one of the greatest passers to ever play the game (Igor Larionov) and go to the net, looking for a pass. He may be a great guy, personally. I wouldn’t know – I’ve never met him. But that doesn’t make his bankruptcy newsworthy. Let’s have some perspective, please. When the Detroit Red Wings released him as part of their salary cap purge, I heard one of the biggest, most idiotic things ever on sports talk radio. It’s not as good as cutting Kordell Stewart during Black History month, because that was just hilarious. This was just dumb. A caller called McCarty a sports icon in Detroit. How awesomely stupid is that? Detroit sports icon. Right now there’s only one athlete in Detroit who that could be said about, and that is Steve Yzerman. The next closest would be Ben Wallace, and he’s still a very long ways off from that level.
Is it sad? Sure. A millionaire going bankrupt is sad, just like it is if ANYONE has to file for bankruptcy. But is it a big enough story to be a front page, above-the-fold headline? Absolutely not. But if it was a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, the Free Press would probably celebrate that fact and still demand that they pay higher taxes. The news priorities of the Detroit Free Press are just appalling.
posted by One Man's Thoughts at 2:40 PM
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