Monday, June 23, 2008

How to: Write a hockey blog post

Jes Golbez just posted a blog post over on AOL Fanhouse about how average player salaries are going up. I think it's an interesting Case Study in hockey blogging. And with that, here is the first in what I hope is a series of "How To" items. After all, there's a long offseason ahead, and Eurocup only lasts so long.

Anyhow, here's the breakdown of his post:

Open with the subject of your post. Include snarky commentary if possible, and unless you're part of the Gawker network, link to the article to which you're referring:

Hello, my name is Captain Obvious, and I'm here with some news that will not leave you shocked, and/or appalled: The average NHL player's salary is going up ... WAAAAAAY UP!


If it involved more than one player's contract, or the Collective Bargaining Agreement, then the next step is easy: Crap on Gary Bettman.

While Gary Bettman and his evil council of rich bastards wanted cost certainty, I'm sure they didn't want to be certain that costs would just continue to inflate drastically each year.


Blockquotes: The master stroke of any post is the block quote. Choose the two most relevant paragraphs that are next to each other from the linked article. Mirtle is the master of this. It makes you look professional (hey, Wyshinski does it!) even if you aren't (see above blockquotes.)

Finally, you should ride out the end of the post with some opinion and commentary. If you can kick a southern team while it's down....GO FOR IT.

Now, if Jes Golbez actually reads this (Hi!), he may think I'm trying to say he's doing a bad job. I want to set the record straight: This is not the case. Jes is on Fanhouse for being a good blogger. They have a definite feel for their articles, which is comforting.

You can tell a professional blog and a less-than-professional blog by how quickly it ends, and if it does end slowly, how useful the last bits are. In fact, look at me ramble off into the sunset. See below:

The NHL is trying not to show weakness as the KHL is being turned into Russia's attempt at glory. They rewrote labor law such that KHL players can't give two weeks notice to leave for the NHL, and I believe I read somewhere that KHL players from the NHL will get paid tax-free, and won't take up cap space in the league. This is a WHA-esque threat, probably, and I agree with Jes: We should move teams north to protect them from the failing US Dollar.

Also, R.I.P. George Carlin.

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