One of the worst examples of lazy journalism I have EVER seen with regards to the Bruins comparisons.
1. His Juneau comparison is not valid. Juneau wanted a one-way contract (meaning he makes as much $$$ playing in the minors as he would if he were in the NHL- great deal for the player, because he's locked in at a guaranteed big league rate regardless of whether he earns a spot on the team) before having ever played a single game at the NHL level. Harry Sinden, who had been burned by awarding just a single one-way deal to an impending rookie in his entire career as GM (Wes Walz) wasn't about to do it. Juneau had zero leverage as a college player and Olympian who had never so much as sniffed an NHL suface when his agent demanded he get a guaranteed deal or he'd go to Switzerland to play. The yodel remark was classic Harry- and he was totally in the right.
For Longo to compare the Branch situation to that one is ludicrous. It's the clear-cut example of a clueless reporter who doesn't take the time to find out the entire context of a story and merely repeats the one snippet he heard, which in Sinden's case became legendary.
But it holds no merit here, whether it happens to be "Bruin-esque" or not, because Juneau's demands were unreasonable. And, for the record, he signed with Boston and went on to help get the last B's team to reach the NHL semifinals to the cusp of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The following year, he set the rookie record for points. Although eventually traded to Washington, he got his dough, and then promptly went on to become one of the bigger underachievers in the NHL given his fat contract. Duh...bad analogy, Hector. If you're trying to play up Branch's justification of a bigger deal, that is.
2. He then holds up "Mike Milbury"as the Bruins coach who benched Cam Neely and "Craig Janney." He refers to it as a "mid-game defrocking," so I'm really not sure what Longo is talking about. Milbury revered Neely and Janney- never did anything of the sort. So, it is interesting that he even brings up Mike Milbury in this debate if he's insisting that Milbury was the B's coach who shamefully sat a future Hall of Fame player in Neely.
Oh, really Hector? Try STEVE KASPER. Milbury surrendered his post as Bruins Assistant GM in 1994 and was working for ESPN when Kasper benched Neely. And the guy who was benched along with Neely was former Pittsburgh Penguin star Kevin Stevens, who was acquired by the Bruins almost three years AFTER Janney was dealt to St. Louis for Adam Oates.
Shoddy, horrible reporting- Longo and his editors should be absolutely ashamed. That this is the paper that the great Russ Conway once wrote for, and if this is the kind of person that the Eagle Tribune is going to employ, then rest assured I will never spend another cent on the rag.
Hector Longo- At the risk of sounding like one of the cavemen in the Geico car insurance commercial, I'd say that you need to wake up and start doing a little research. Right now, you've shown yourself to be a misinformed, lazy hack who couldn't lead a starving rat to cheese let alone even begin to approach the professionalism of one Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe.
It isn't too much to ask that you actually take the time to research the examples you use in your stories. In this case, you used two completely bogus examples, and showed yourself to be a total embarrassment to the field.
Clean up your act!
In the meantime, I'll have the roast duck with mango salsa...
