Mark Madden: NHL, NFL restrictions changing media coverage for now, possibly the future

The NHL didn’t allow any media into its two bubbles except those working for its member franchises and for NHL.com.

The Professional Hockey Writers Association protested. I get that. But I also understand what the NHL did. The league wanted to keep the bubble tight and under its control. There have been no positive tests for covid since the teams entered the bubble. How could anyone complain?

But make no mistake, the NHL and its teams want to control the dissemination of information not just now, but moving forward. Same goes for all big-time leagues and teams.

The job of reporting sports is changing drastically and will continue to do so.

Jackasses like John Tortorella don’t make things any easier.

The Columbus coach acted like the low-rent spoiled baby he’s always been during his Zoom press briefings in the bubble. His answers rarely cracked double digits in words. His contempt for having to talk to the media always has been evident but never more obvious. His face was contorted as if something smelled bad.

To be fair, his Blue Jackets did just that in the first round proper, losing to Tampa Bay in five games.

Actually, Columbus played OK. Perhaps poor coaching blew it.

After his team got eliminated Wednesday, Tortorella took two questions, didn’t really answer either, then walked off. The NHL shouldn’t want or allow that. Neither should the Blue Jackets. If you’re a beat reporter who covers the Jackets, it gives you zilch to work with. If you’re a columnist from a Columbus outlet, it pushes you to cover something else.

Tortorella reads and hears everything. He’d deny that. But he obviously does.

So, one option is to report every one of Tortorella’s perceived mistakes as if it caused the Hindenburg disaster. That’s easy for a columnist. A beat reporter has to get creative.

No need to lie or even exaggerate much. “Amplify” might be a better word. Many of Tortorella’s players hate playing for him. Off the record works just fine. “Ex-Jacket” is OK, too.

You want to make our job harder? We’ll make your job harder.

Obviously, I would never do that. (Ahem.) But when Tom Barrasso waged war on the media as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ goalie, he paid the price in certain circles when he leaked in bad goals in crucial situations. Like, for example, the goal Florida’s Tom Fitzgerald netted from a different zip code when the Panthers beat the Penguins in Game 7 of the 1996 Eastern Conference final.

See what I did there? “Different zip code.” “Different area code.” “From behind the 3-point line.” “From Station Square.” These phrases were all friends to a vengeful writer in the Barrasso era. One actually got used when Fitzgerald scored. (Not by me. I wish.)

Would Tortorella be bothered? Was Barrasso?

Who cares? Sometimes you have to make your own fun.

NFL reporters, meanwhile, can watch practice but can’t say or write what they see beyond warm-up. Notes from actual practice are compiled by a rotating crew of media, then put in a pool report that is edited by the team and redistributed. So, every media member has exactly the same censored info and observations.

“Edited by the team.” Yuck. Is the redacted info really that sacred or important?

One Steelers beat guy was admonished recently when he reported quarterback Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t following through on some throws, because that’s actual news. (Some of the other media complained, which is being a kindergarten-level tattletale.)

That’s silly. But Green Bay is taking things one step further. The media is being told it can’t project the lineup.

The Packers want to prevent speculation. That’s not just controlling the flow of information, that’s putting opinion in check. (BTW, Aaron Rodgers likely will start at quarterback.)

If there were ever a time for the NFL’s media to rebel against such lunacy, it’s now. Lack of coach and player access except for the generic soundbites everybody gets via Zoom has reduced NFL coverage to bland pablum. One veteran scribe told me he’s already out of material.

So why not reveal everything seen, get banned, become a media celebrity and bring the whole policy into widespread debate? That would be fun. (The Steelers eventually would let you return. Heck, the media can commit assault on those premises and keep working.)

Plan B: If you don’t want chucked out of the facility, start an anonymous Twitter account that divulges all the facts, sidesteps the censorship, creates a stir and drives the franchise involved nuts. All the media could pitch in, retweet and make it a sensation.

But it’s a lot easier to roll over, sit up, fetch, beg, be good and get your paycheck.