There comes a certain time in a writer’s shelf life that he takes a look and I mean a real look at how far he has come and where he or she wants to go. The beauty in this profession of sorts is the following quote ironically taken from yes, a movie. I will reveal the movie in a bit but people should know this one hopefully.
“Who is Keyser Soze? He is supposed to be Turkish. Some say his father was German. Nobody believed he was real. Nobody ever saw him or knew anybody that ever worked directly for him, but to hear Kobayashi tell it, anybody could have worked for Soze. You never knew. That was his power. The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. And like that, poof. He’s gone.”
Why a quote from a movie some may ask? It is prophetic of life and any sport in a way. This way may seem bizarre to some but this will get all tied in. The play on words we will use for our purpose is as follows. First, the quote is from The Usual Suspects ladies and gentlemen. Second, I have been called a devil by far too many people in the last sixteen months to even count anymore. There comes a time when a person gets fed up with what is being tossed out there as lies and just fires off. This is that time to just fire off and fire away. It is often said that the best way to express what is there is by looking at what is not there.
I would have never been in this position of strength had it not been for so many people. They know who they are in this business and without them, I would not be where I am today. I am a better person for literally every valley I have hit and yes some have been lower than others. There still however are a few things that need to be said.
For all the people who have burned me in the past, the time is coming for your professional comeuppance. It will come and go and one will not even know it occurred until it is too late. That is the beauty of life. Some things are just never seen, they just happen. I will admit that I just do things a certain way. I try to do them the right way and when I err, I admit my mistakes like a person should. Also, I have come clean with any of these professional mistakes and will continue to do so when I am not correct on something. There is something to be said about those who come clean and that is my promise to every reader.
I make it a secret to reveal what I know to the hockey fans because this is my true first love. Hockey has never burned me though those few fantasy leagues that really stunk could have bruised some. In this coming season, within reason, we will divulge most of our hockey secrets and even how some stories get broke. We only get a certain amount of time in this world and this is our time because no one knows what this sport of hockey will go thru in the coming years, even decades, THIS TIME IS NOW.
There is no more tomorrows and there are no more second chances. The Program and Whats Brewin will be around for a long long time. People will just have to deal with it. I have personally come too far along from a depths that I cannot describe to let this thing go without a fight. I cannot say what is happening at the moment but I can tell you this. There are no tricks here ladies and gentlemen. Some amazing connections have been formed by us in the past three years and we will never sell out the fans. NEVER!
We will now take things a step further. The greatest trick THIS Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he may be down and out and just like that he appeared gone but in a poof, he was back better than ever. I was told that I have 666 lives once and hell that person may just be right. So over the summer, we will be gearing our coverage more to some of the funnier yet finer things in hockey life. Yes there will be more training videos, along with yes eating tips, and just what the hell you do in the offseason to stay in good hockey shape. There will be some suprises along the way too.
What I want people to realize, especially the hockey fans, is that no matter our disagreements, we are one voice. If there is anyway and anything I can do to help this sport out, I will. That has always been the goal but now it has become even moreso. I would also like to ask one thing in the hockey world to all my MSM friends as well as the bloggers. Can we seriously stop stepping all over each other’s toes for the same story? Really what is the point of saying I was first if you are stabbing good people in the back along the way? We have gotten to the point where some have just lost their focus in the search for that story without really thinking of consequences or sensibility for that matter.
That was part of the inspiration for the Kovalchuk Timeshare and so many of the more recent humor posts we have done. With the dearth of news in the hockey world in this part of the offseason, the hockey media almost has to find new ways to keep the reader engaged. Well there is a way to do that with maintaining integrity with a sense of humor. That has been far and lacking this summer for whatever reason. Maybe it is the disappoinment of no partnership between Dunkin Donuts or Tim Hortons and the NHL officially. I have to admit I want to see a Don Koharski doughnut.
Seriously, the time has come for us to be a bit more responsible hockey media. Reporting on the stories is great. Throwing a ton of humor into a story is great. Yes we even love to see the feel good stories, the charities, and more. All those things are great. Simply all of the backstabbing and b.s. just to get a story lately has rubbed me the wrong way. Our goal is to continue to be straight forward with the readers and listeners and that is just what we will continue to do.
Thank you everyone for listening and let’s enjoy the hockey offseason with some good old fashioned hockey talk. Who knows what will happen from now until September.
Sincerely,
Chris Wassel
Director Of The Program and Hockey Ambassador
