Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Hey Feschuk. Stuff it.

I don't normally go this route, but would it kill Damien junior Dave Feschuk to not be so damn negative. Somewhere down the line Feschuck was taught the formula for writing a sports column--find the most bright eyed optimist fan. Crap on their dreams. Bonus points for doing it as condescendingly as possible.

We all get that some things have to go right for the Raps to have a breakout year. Can O'Neal stay healthy? Can Jose handle the minutes? Is there a small forward in there somewhere? Lot's of questions. But tonight when I sit down to watch Bosh and the boys it's really not about any of that. There is truth to that whole one game at a time sports cliche--even for us fans. I just want to cheer for the home team and enjoy watching a basketball game. And, if I want to believe that the Raps are going to win 57 games this year and the NBA title, so be it. It wouldn't make me a lesser person. Hell, I'd probably be happier.

So Dave, I have a column for you.

Shut. Up.

(48 wins, third seed, first round win against Washington, btw)

9 comments:

Mike Radoslav said...

Completely agree, I was just shaking my head when I read this article. I guess he's gone to the Charley Rosen school of basketball journalism - cut the Raptors NO breaks whatsoever, and that includes players who are on the team, and put them down as much as possible! Thought we only had to put up with Marty York but alas, it appears we have more pessimistic Raps journalists.

Navin Vaswani (@eyebleaf) said...

He really is Damien Junior. I bet he lives in Damien's basement. Feschuk is brutal.

sager said...

You know me, I don't go the bashing one high-profile writer ... I'd rather leave her/his name out of it, or put the focus more on the news outlet or the news media in general.

I have called Feschuk the Pen of Doom, but I got over it ... they're selling papers.

And tomorrow I will go down Grumpy Sam Road and say something completely different!

Tyler King said...

Wait, so his crime is not being a homer and daring to criticize?

Duane Rollins said...

No, it's mistaking criticism for insight.

sager said...

Tyler, is this you just digagreeing to disagree?

It was a pretty good column, until the end where DF mentions the possibility of the Raptors ending up in the draft lottery for the second time since Colangelo arrived.

He didn't even take over the team until there was a month left in the '05-06 season? You cannot lay that at his well-shod feet.

Feschuk was probably alluding to Andrea Bargani's supposed lack of progress, but again, he's had 2 years in the league.

45-48 wins seems to be the popular prediction ... you prepare for the worst and hope for the best, but to sit there and to list 7 potential calamities and one thing that might go right, that's a little cynical. Point being, though, people read it.

Tyler King said...

Yeah, I too disagree with the jist of the column. I just have a bit of trouble with the logic that we want to sit back and cheer for the home team. I mean, logically that could be a (poor) argument against legitimate criticism too.

But then I guess I'm just partial to the FJM style of itemized ownage rather than a general exclamatory defecation. Both have their charm.

As well as more credibility than most MSM sports columnists.

Anonymous said...

Never mind something so paltry as his negativity about the Raps et al. My friends and I maintain that his older brother is directly responsible for the disappearance of an issue of Penthouse during first year Rez (1986 btw). When confronted he was able to describe the cover model in detail, but, had "never seen it." Sacrilege.

Mike Radoslav said...

Well first of all the Raptors have NEVER actually been to the lottery under Colangelo's watch - unless of course you consider that the offseason he took over the team, the Raps the year prior had earned themselves a spot in the lottery. But that had nothing to do with Colangelo, that was all Babcock. So first and foremost there's sloppy journalism at best there.

My issue with Charley Rosen is not that he appears to be fundamentally against the Raptors, it's that he NEVER cuts them any slack even when they deserve it! It gets frustrating when others will praise a Toronto praise - like Vince Carter or Chris Bosh in their Olympics outings - but Rosen will simply say "well this player is still better!" Credit where credit is due sometimes!

To me it seemed this article was pessimistic for the sake of pessimism, a bit too much like an article on the Leafs (either really really hyped up or very toned down.