RIDERS and COREY PERRY
The Saskatchewan Roughriders named ex-Toronto Defensive Coordinator Corey Mace as its new head coach but the more interesting aspect of this announcement centers around which reporter told you so, which reporter was right, which reporter was wrong, who was first with the news, etc. I’m forever amazed at the fragility of people’s egos when it comes to this stuff. To me, the best way to approach something like this would be to say, “I’ve talked to people in the industry that I trust and they tell me Corey Mace will be the next head coach of the Roughriders.” That’s all you need to say until the announcement is made. You could then offer up what you truly know as far as who’s getting an interview, who you think would make a good choice, etc. and that’s really it. I find it childish for all when the fingers start pointing “You told me Mace was out of the picture” and replies from the reporter focus on hair splitting to try and wiggle out from being ‘wrong’. We live in very strange times where admitting a mistake seems to be a ‘no no’. Jerk critics really don’t have a leg to stand on if you say, ‘I heard earlier today that Mace was out of the picture but clearly that information was either false or the Riders and Mace got together and bridged the gaps.’ Fans love to be know-it-alls and in a Twitter (X) world where they can stay anonymous, it’s easy to be mean. But, there’s no retort if you just admit you are wrong or say something changed from the last time you tweeted.
I’m purely speculating but I wonder if what happened was that Buck Pierce was all lined up to be the coach, but something fell through with him and Pierce left the Riders at the altar and they had to, quickly, circle back and get Mace locked up because if you have a situation where Scott Milanovich, Buck Pierce, and Mace all turn down the job, then what? The local media person who tweeted that Mace was rumoured to be out of the picture can’t really say why he was wrong because the fact of the matter is that he can’t upset the Roughrider organization (if this is true, it would explain why certain things were tweeted and had to be walked back just a few hours later).
I recall an SJHL game on Access Communications many years ago where I was doing the play by play from North Battleford and a fan came up to me and said, “Hey, I’ve heard you do games and I think you suck.” I said, “Don’t you think I know that already? This isn’t the NHL here and if I was someone special I probably would already be in the NHL. You probably suck at something too but still do it because it’s fun. Have a nice night and thanks for the tip.” He left and never said a word. For whatever reason human nature is to tear down or ridicule and bully. I’m not sure why, but if you have a response that doesn’t feed the frenzy, it shuts things down quite quickly.
I have a different set of thoughts and questions when it comes to the hiring of Mace to be the Riders head coach, not the least of which being who or how many others turned the Riders down before they agreed to terms with Mace? Again, you don’t know what is true and what is not true, but there is a report out there that Milanovich was offered the position, but turned it down because he felt he was too handcuffed before he even got started. Did Pierce also say ‘no’ or was Mace always the intended candidate? I don’t know much about Mace at all, other than he has been part of a winning organization in Toronto and played a significant role in their success. I don’t think his hiring moves the needle at all as far as fan engagement or increased ticket sales are concerned but that may not be a priority for the Riders, who appear to be in very healthy financial condition despite dwindling attendance. Mace, probably, will have to prove that he’s on the right track to turning around the on-field product before fans start giving this organization their hard earned money again.
This issue with the Chicago Blackhawks and Corey Perry, which ended up greatly affecting Connor Bedard and his mother is wild and if I was Bedard I wouldn’t play another game for that team. First of all, it doesn’t matter if the rumours are true or not. The story had enough steam that the onus really falls on the Blackhawks to come clean as to why they let Perry go so that the online bullying and harassment can stop. Why is there a need for it to be a big secret? If you believe it’s to protect a ‘victim’, the reality is that you can give details on an incident and not reveal who the ‘victim’ is. But, also …there are two other victims here (the Bedards) who shouldn’t be at all and it’s not fair to make them stand in the line of fire while someone else gets protected.
Hockey teams, in general, are needlessly secretive and the more you hide the more people think you are covering up something major. All of the Blackhawks communication staff should be fired. If whatever Perry did was bad enough to be released, why come out and say he’s on an indefinite leave and be evasive about it? Just cut him right now. Then when the rumour mill hit a fever pitch, the Hawks announce he’s being released. That only puts further gas on the fire. When whatever happened was brought to light, the Hawks should have put out a statement indicating they are releasing Perry and they don’t need to offer any reason whatsoever. If asked, they can simply say that they are a young team and were hopeful of surrounding their young players with a few veterans but after taking 20 games to evaluate, Perry didn’t show to be a good fit and you wish him well but you want to open up a roster spot for a younger player. If further questioned, you can simply say you have confidence in the leadership group in place and while Perry’s individual production has been fine, there are other aspects that go into evaluation and the team is going in a different direction. DONE.
Some of you will say NHL players are entitled to privacy and yes I agree with that but Perry’s privacy doesn’t outweigh the shit being thrown at the Bedard family over the last three days. If the rumour is, in fact, true; the Blackhawks have dug themselves into a hole they can’t emerge from now because the insinuation has been heavily denied. To walk it back and say that it did happen would destroy any ounce of trust the team may have and this is a team that doesn’t really have any to begin with.
One of the more unsurprising aspects of the Perry matter is just how many media proclaim to know what the situation was not but don’t want to say what it was because they fear losing their media credentials. I saw a post from Frank Seravalli, who ought to be ashamed of himself with how he put out vague details on how the incident was ‘alcohol-fueled, included corporate partners and team employees’ but then throws in the ‘unclear what allegedly took place, who witnessed it, who reported it’. So basically Seravalli is bragging about his insider knowledge but also revealing himself to be a massive coward. Either say it, or shut up. He could have blown the lid off the matter and earned true inside scoops from the Bedards for the rest of his life. I was once one of these media people who worked closely with teams and people involved with leagues. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the SJHL, WHL, or NHL. If you are in the circle, you know what’s going on and for all these media people to just sit idly by and not do a single ounce of real reporting outs them all for being mouth pieces for the establishment and none of them are true ‘insiders’ and none of them will ever give the public any amount of information that isn’t meant to be leaked. The real heavy stuff that executive members need to be kept confidential and quiet is definitely kept confidential and quiet. Nobody working in the NHL media is ever going to break that code and if they do, they’ll be quickly removed from ‘reporting’ on the league.
Thursday update - Corey Perry issued an apology and while he won’t say what he did, he has acknowledged he’s guilty of something however it does not involve teammates or family members of teammates.
When I worked in communications with the SJHL years ago, we had a player who was suspended for 30 days for violating a substance abuse policy. There was no announcement but if someone asked, he was merely rehabbing an offseason injury and was expected to miss about 4 weeks. Yes, it’s a lie but sometimes you have to do that in order to protect your brand and, frankly, it’s not anyone else’s business. I also have a newsflash for you - the better organizations are already lying their face off on just about everything and most of it is very minor and serves no purpose to lie. Like when a player leaves the game in the first period because of injury and the coach says after the game that he hasn’t had a chance to talk to the medical people, he’s full of it. We all know that. The bigger question would be what harm is there in just saying he will be re-evaluated tomorrow but he twisted his ankle or whatever the case may be. There was another situation when I was in the SJHL where a player suffered a broken arm (I think it was arm) during the preseason and the coach, when interviewed on the radio, came clean and said the player was at a party and fell out of a tree. Everyone was stunned at the honesty but the player was the one who made the stupid choice so why protect him? It also prevented any rumours from getting started and after a few hours of hearing it on the radio, nobody even cared.