The sports morass

They say you can’t be “a little pregnant,” but if you could it would be an apt parallel for sports journalism. The media types who wave tape recorders in the faces of adults to get their reactions to kids’ games are sometimes hardened news hounds, sometimes fawning entertainment reporters, but mostly we’re a breed unto ourselves. We often toe a tightrope, trying to get the scoop, but not wanting to isolate sources we cover on a regular basis. We’re given extreme latitude to editorialize, criticize and analyze; to spread trade rumors; to sometimes run with stories based on the word of one “credible” source. At the same time, various media outlets have partnered with those they cover, contributing stories to their websites, spending sponsorship dollars on their venues; some reporters become friends with…

Business as usual

This was supposed to be the season the rest of the NHL caught up to the Detroit Red Wings. The salary cap was expected to make life difficult for the spendhappy Wings, who in the past simply threw money at any problem. Instead, it has been, as Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood describes it, “business as usual.” The Wings entered the Olympic break with an NHL-best 39-13-5 record. Only three teams have scored more goals than the Wings’ 208 – and only Ottawa (137) has surrendered fewer than Detroit’s 142. Detroit owns the NHL’s best power play unit (24.1 per cent) and are the league’s third-best penalty-killers (86.4 per cent). So how have they done it? “I think the reality is guys really want to play here,” said defenseman Mathieu Schneider. That’s one key reason for Detroit’s…

Hair apparent

Having a bad hair day? Be thankful you’re not Montreal goalie Jose Theodore. Theodore, already in the throes of a nightmarish season, found more controversy Feb. 9 when Canadiens team doctor David Mulder announced the 29-year-old puckstopper had tested positive for finasteride, the active ingredient in Propecia, a hair-restoration product. The drug potentially can be used as a masking agent for nandrolone, a muscle-enhancing steroid banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The test, part of a pre-Olympic screening procedure, was conducted Dec. 12 by Hockey Canada. Ironically, the test was conducted after the final roster – which didn’t include Theodore – was announced. Theodore has appealed the positive test. Since the substance isn’t banned by the NHL, Theodore won’t face any sanctions when play resumes in late February. “The drug, on its own merits,…

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