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Lessons In Losing Your Press Pass
by IwoCPO on 03/14/08 at 06:52 AM ET
Comments (30)
Updated at 1239 EST: Nice reaction to this ditty. Apparently, Ms. Engel has earned herself the nickname, “little ball of hate.” Naturally, considering her affiliation with the Stars and Stars fans it’s not original, but...baby steps. If you go below you’ll see a letter written by one of the A2Y 19 to the LBOH regarding her comments about our boy Ozzie. I think you’ll find her response interesting.
And, Ms. Engel? Don’t pick on our goaltenders. Only we can pick on our goaltenders.
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Whoa. I have a feeling Fort Worth Star Telegram reporter Jennifer Floyd Engel isn’t going to be exactly welcomed in the Stars room when they return to Dallas. Check this out.
DETROIT—Don’t be too upset about the Dallas Stars’ gutless-pig meltdown Thursday.
They aren’t.
In fact, players seemed pretty OK with gagging away a huge victory against a really good Detroit Red Wings team.
More?
What they appear to need is a good butt kicking. But coach Dave Tippett is not that guy and the next Star who comes into the locker room and kicks over the Gatorade cooler will be the first this season. After that gut-wrenching loss, captain Brenden Morrow was actually talking about the positives.
Uhm, Brenden, you do know the “C” does not stand for cheerleader?
A2Y staffers will be closely following this development.
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Update: An A2Y reader’s letter to Engel, and her response, is below.
Dear Ms Floyd Engel,
As a ardent Detroit Red Wing fan I find your description of our goalie as “Chris Flippin Osgood” to be offensive, flippant, and arrogant. Osgood is in the top 15 in lifetime wins in the NHL, led the NHL in goals against for much of this season, and most importantly he has his name on the Stanley Cup twice.
Please feel free to beat up on your own team but try to show a little respect for their opponent. You would never read such characterizations about an opponents player in either of the Detroit newspapers. While I am certain that you are an excellent hockey reporter and work for a respected publication, I am also certain that such disrespectful comments have no place in an article such has yours.
Whatever point you were trying to make it missed the mark. As I read your “editorial” I interpret it to mean that with Ozzie in goal you expected the Stars to waltz over Detroit. Since it did not happen you aren’t satisfied with slamming your team but you have to take a shot at one of our players as well.
You would do well to check out Marty Turco’s lifetime record versus the Wings and focus on that rather than attempting to belittle our goalie. While you are doing that you might want to look up Ozzie’s record against the Stars as well.
Best of luck to you and the Dallas Stars for the rest of the season.
Engel’s response:
Thanks for reading and taking the time to email.
If Chris Osgood had played for anybody except the Red Wings, he’d be out of the league. He is not a great goalie. He has had amazingly great teams in front of him.
And I am not a fan, I do not have a team. I am a reporter and thereby unencumbered by pom poms. Osgood is a beatable goalie and was just OK on Thursday but he was better than Marty Turco and that can not be good enough for the Stars.
All the best,
Jen
FWST
Was she out of line throwing Osgood under the bus in the midst of her pyschotic rant about the Stars? Maybe. Is her response above accurate? Partly. Chris Osgood would not be “out of the league” if he played elsewhere. The first half of this season proves she’s exaggerating there.
Part of me respects the fact that she says she’s not “encumbered by pom poms”. But that claim’s debatable considering her comment that the Stars were guilty of a “gutless-pig meltdown.” Sorry Ms. Floyd (no hyphen) Engel, but those are the words of someone heavily weighted down with pom poms.
It’s refreshing to see a reporter/columnist who writes what she sees and feels. Can our Diggers do that? Not their job, not in their game stories anyway. On their blogs? Maybe. Risky stuff though, considering the access they need to do their jobs.
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Comments
she is actually right..
Dallas is soft. Detroit didn’t have to pay the price last night.
Posted by Pharazon from England on 03/14/08 at 06:51 AM ET
I love it when the local press calls out a team! To me that shows someone cares, and it will certainly get the fan base blood bumping.. I say good move on her part!
Posted by canesice on 03/14/08 at 07:23 AM ET
i’d love to know the last time the Detroit MSM called out the Wings…
i imagine the beat writers are too scared, and Albom won’t do it anymore because he doesn’t give a shit about hockey…
they write anything bad (or anything the Wings front office don’t want them to) and Hahn pulls their press passes faster than a .... well.... you know.
Posted by Pharazon from England on 03/14/08 at 08:00 AM ET
Don’t be too upset about the Dallas Stars’ gutless-pig meltdown Thursday.
I’d never thought of putting “gutless-pig” and meltdown together. I didn’t realize pigs could melt. Nonetheless, that is a lovely line, I’ll have to remember that one. Be better reading it in the OC Register though.
Anybody else notice tht Turco’s crease went from blue to lavender last night?? Shiny, wet, lavender!! 
Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Hockey Netherworld on 03/14/08 at 08:01 AM ET
There is a reason why Engel is referred to as “The Little Ball of Hate”.
Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 03/14/08 at 08:11 AM ET
That is one super hockey article. I love her fire! Kudos to her. Can we move her to Detroit?
“Gutless Pig Meltdown” sounds like a pig roast. I think they do that in Texas.
That term is almost good enough for the A2Y glossary
I said before, and Ms. Engel agrees:
Mike Smith was a Wing killer, and now he is gone to Tampa. We own Turco. 
Posted by w2j2 on 03/14/08 at 08:54 AM ET
In something completely unrelated, Mrs. Dater was on Team 1260 in Edmonton last night as the Oil were visiting the Dive. He said that had Forsberg played in the 70s/80s he would have been a 200 point/year guy for his entire season. Other then that, just mindless rambling five minutes. He comes off as intelligent on radio as he does in his column.
Posted by Jeff from Edmonton on 03/14/08 at 09:17 AM ET
they write anything bad (or anything the Wings front office don’t want them to) and Hahn pulls their press passes faster than a .... well.... you know.
That is just a little naive. It is more like their Newspapers instantly lose all the Tigers, Little Caesar’s, and Casino advertising.
Posted by HockeyTownTodd from upset when blogs don’t live up to my expectations on 03/14/08 at 09:48 AM ET
Geez, Sailor. How can you mention Jennifer Engels without mentioning this classic rant from when the Stars melted down against the Canucks in the playoffs?
Do check this out. So much fun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X-LXI-nYq0
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 03/14/08 at 11:04 AM ET
LMAO! This chick is a little out of control!
Is she related to John Tortorella?
Posted by w2j2 on 03/14/08 at 12:18 PM ET
With the Wings, Ozzie has a chance to be a HOF goalie.
Had his career followed any other path, his prime would’ve still been productive and really good, but only would’ve lasted for a few years, IMO.
Posted by Nathan on 03/14/08 at 12:43 PM ET
You know, for an unbiased, serious journalist like herself, she sure did take that Stars loss to Vancouver pretty harshly. I mean, would someone without pom poms really care that much if the team they followed won or lost?
Though she’s got a good sailor mouth on her, she’s still a liar.
Posted by Joe on 03/14/08 at 01:13 PM ET
Of course she’s a cheerleader. There’s no way she actually watched that game and doesn’t have Pavel Datsyuk as the #1 star instead of Franzen. Unless she’s really upset about how much Pavs just absolutely owns Turco.
Posted by Dave on 03/14/08 at 01:14 PM ET
She’s being a bit extreme about Osgood, but not entirely off. Osgood is a beatable goalie and always has been.
Posted by moore00 from the Ohio State University on 03/14/08 at 01:14 PM ET
Osgood is a beatable goalie and always has been.
I have a problem with that statement. No goalie is unbeatable. Everyone loses. I know she doesn’t mean literally unbeatable, but even in the figurative sense I disagree.
And the comments about Osgood having great defense in front of him - what HOF goalie in history didn’t? No goalie can post big numbers if he’s left out to dry night after night.
Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach on 03/14/08 at 01:48 PM ET
Paul makes a great point. Everyone acknowledges Roberto Luongo is one of the top goalies in the NHL. If the Nucks miss the playoffs that would mean he’s only been in the postseason once in his career.
Osgood has never missed the playoffs, even when he was playing for St. Louis and the Islanders. Luongo’s the better goaltender but Osgood’s never been given enough credit for being a very good goaltender.
Posted by Dave on 03/14/08 at 01:55 PM ET
Alanah, thanks for that little ditty. What a scream!!! I haven’t laughed so hard in a while.
I am a reporter and thereby unencumbered by pom poms.
Saying it doesn’t make it so. But what is it about “unencumbered by pom poms” that has the beginnings of a fantasy written all over it???
Posted by BobTheZee on 03/14/08 at 02:02 PM ET
That was great, Alanah…
A lot of RW fans don’t bother to watch other teams.
It should be pointed out that all 3 Dallas wins in that series were shutouts and there were 3 OT games.
(3) Vancouver vs. (6) Dallas
Vancouver 5 - Dallas 4 (4OT)
Dallas 2 - Vancouver 0
Vancouver 2 - Dallas 1 (OT)
Vancouver 2 - Dallas 1
Dallas 1 - Vancouver 0 (OT)
Dallas 2 - Vancouver 0
Vancouver 4 - Dallas 1
Vancouver wins series 4-3
Posted by HockeyTownTodd from upset when blogs don’t live up to my expectations on 03/14/08 at 02:34 PM ET
Oh man...I think I’m in love 
. Thanks Alanah.
Am I the only one that sees Baroque’s name on the bottom of that rational letter to Engel?
Posted by AndrewFromAnnArbor from the library, flipping the pages of Das Kapital on 03/14/08 at 02:36 PM ET
That clip of her after the Canucks game is priceless. Awesome.
I’d have to agree with most of you. Osgood’s okay. He’s an NHL goalie, regardless of the team in front of him. His stints with the Blues and Islanders prove that. But he’s not great, and couldn’t be trusted with carrying a team in a way like a Luongo, Giguere, or Brodeur. If Homer, Draper and Cleary are healthy and effective come playoff time, we’re okay. But I’m a little nervous if Hasek isn’t healthy and on his game…
Posted by TDeters on 03/14/08 at 02:36 PM ET
A lot of RW fans don’t bother to watch other teams.
Typically I don’t take the bait on that one Gramps, but I’m feeling feisty today.
Here’s how I roll. If the Wings are still in it, I’ll watch any game available, no matter the time or network. If the Wings have been eliminated I can’t bring myself to watch a game, read the sports section, watch sportscenter or even take care of the most basic of bodily functions.
It’s too hard on me. The intermission references to Wing failures, the previews of upcoming series’ the Wings should be playing in, the highlights of a team still playing who have defeated Detroit. Nope. I can’t take it.
If that makes me a “bad NHL fan,” I really don’t care.
Posted by IwoCPO from Washington, DC on 03/14/08 at 02:41 PM ET
Amen. I’ve no interest whatsoever in the NHL if the Wings aren’t involved; especially if it’s the playoffs and they’ve been eliminated. Without the Wings (insert your team if you’re from Boston, Montreal, Toronto, New York, Chicago, or Philly but that’s it), the NHL becomes a ridiculous league on par with Major League Soccer (curse your black heart, Gary Bettman). The Wings have been the center of my sports universe since 1983. The nadir was destroying all of my hockey sticks, a chair, and a couch after the 1995 devils sweep and the highlight the 1997-98 victory.
I think the Wings give the NHL legitimacy and without them it’s silly (disagree? try watching a Coyotes-Kings game on Versus).
Posted by TDeters on 03/14/08 at 02:49 PM ET
Alanah, thank you for that, that was fan-motherf&#*ing-tastic. But I have to say, good on her. A passionate hockey writer who doesn’t write as if she’s on the team’s payroll? Despite what she says in her rebuttal, she’s a homer who takes her team to task...and that’s excellent. She can chalk up one new fan.
Besides, she’s partly right about Osgood, although we’ve seen a few mediocre goalies look great because they’ve had the good fortune of seeing number 5 between them and the league’s top scorers. I’m a huge fan of Ozzie, just as I was Cujo and Regular Season Manny, but truth be told, he played god awful last night. He gave up more open holes than date night between Thomas and Darren Ga...well, you get the picture. But we’ve always known he was an underrated goalie, so it should come as no surprise that the MSM expects more from their teams against him.
Whether or not he’s HOF-worthy doesn’t matter to me. He’s stolen a game or two this season, he was amazingly consistent before signing his extension, and he’s had a stellar attitude about being second to Mr. “Voices In My Head” Hasek. I don’t know how many other back-ups are sitting behind the bench with a clipboard, but it sure says say volumes about always showing up to work. I think Dallas could take a few pointers.
Posted by Gabriel from San Diego, CA on 03/14/08 at 03:03 PM ET
I watch EVERY televised Wings game, including preseason.
Outside of those, I probably make it a point to actually watch another game per week, no matter what teams they are.
And whenever a game is on NHL Network, Versus, or NBC, I at least have it on while I’m doing other things.
I’m partially with the Chief on this one… in the playoffs, if the Wings lose, I get the same feelings he does. But, the soft spot in my heart for HNIC warms me, and I usually end up back watching the playoffs a week later. And I never miss a Finals game.
Posted by Nathan on 03/14/08 at 03:54 PM ET
About Osgood, he doesn’t have that aura of invincibility that goalies like Brodeur has and Roy had. That’s not to say that Osgood hasn’t been very good over his career for the Wings, but other teams don’t fear him like they fear other elite goalies.
I usually need a half of a playoff round after the Wings lose to get back into the games. I shut everything off for a week and a half before I get interested again.
Posted by Hap from Grand Rapids, MI on 03/14/08 at 04:24 PM ET
Am I the only one that sees Baroque’s name on the bottom of that rational letter to Engel?
You’re just hallucinating, sweetie.
Those are my sentiments, but not my words - I can’t take credit for the efforts of another. Although I do agree with her that if Osgood had to face Datsyuk regularly, he might look just as flustered as Turco.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 03/14/08 at 04:26 PM ET
Personally I would feel comfortable with Osgood playing any game, especially this season. Sure Osgood may not be the best goalie ever in this league, and maybe he does have great players playing in front of him (of course he does), but that doesn’t take away from the big saves he makes regularly, and IMO he gets shafted out of a lot of credit.
Posted by C3091 on 03/14/08 at 08:33 PM ET
I’m with Iwo in that I pretty much live and die with the Red Wings. I can have a crappy week but if the Wings play well, all’s right with the world.
On the other hand, when Stevie retired, I had to check the skies about every ten minutes, while wishing I had some kind of bunker to crawl into. Just in case.
As for the Oz, if I had the money I’d buy a jersey with his name on it. He has saved this team countless times on their bad nights and he’s proven himself over and over throughout his career.
And Ms. Engel can take her pom poms and insert them, sideways and rotating. And if anyone can do it, she’s the one.
Posted by Vladifan from Texas on 03/15/08 at 08:03 AM ET
You’re just hallucinating, sweetie.
I musta gotten into that mezcal, mon chou. At least I was on the money with the thoughts if not the words.
As for Ozzie, not to sound like a politician, but I agree with everything said.
Posted by AndrewFromAnnArbor from the stump, making an electioneering speech on 03/15/08 at 09:21 AM ET
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If they haven’t gotten upset with her before, they have no reason to now. I’ve read a few of her pieces, and Ms. Engel doesn’t pull her punches.
If they get upset, it’s only because she’s right and they don’t like it. They haven’t done that well in the playoffs recently, and so far they haven’t shown solidly that this year is likely to be any different.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 03/14/08 at 06:24 AM ET