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Onion Belted Ottawa Sun Sports Editor Pokes Internet In Eye. Expresses Shock And Horror When Internet Eats Him E-mail
Written by SLC   
Monday, 28 June 2010 20:45

One blogger suggests the Senators should rid themselves of the real problem, Daniel Alfredsson. -- Tim Baines

And that's how it began.  Steve HL left me a comment to the effect of "What the hell??" and I had to go looking (as had others).  Otherwise, I'd never have known Tim Baines, Ottawa Sun sports editor of some twenty years (no, really...he tells you himself) had started a blog.  And when that sentence hit the interwebs...well, the umbrage was instant.  My inbox blew up.  Who said that?!?!  Who would dare??  Have you read that anywhere???  The answer was an unequivocal "NO" on all counts.  No one had said that.

Well, except for "John".  "John" had said that.  In fact, "John" had said that in a comment to Tim's first feeble attempt at defending whatever standards exist in the Ottawa Sun sports department.  You see, Tim had confused "commenter" with "blogger", a common rookie mistake I've noticed when old-timey MSM columnists venture into the realm of the "new media" (whatever the hell that means).

Then there was this:

Unlike some local hacks who live in their mothers’ basements and throw enough crap out there until some of it sticks, our guys have sources — GMs, scouts, management-types.

Another rookie mistake.  As I generously (I thought) pointed out to my new buddy Tim in an email exchange, times they have a changed, and falling back on the old "mother's basement" chestnut no longer marks we lowly bloggers as the pathetic attention whores of yore but rather signals the insecurity of he who hurled the insult in the first place.  Nothing screams "I'm old, out of touch and feeling threatened by unpaid amateurs who do it better than we do." louder than that hoary testicle.

But still, who am I to sneer at the hypocrisy of the Sun wheeling out their sports editor to defend the irresponsible journalism foisted upon an unsuspecting public by two (conspicuously absent) fat guys with expense accounts?  After all, I'm just a blogger.

So here's to Tim and his first tentative steps into the ether, as defensive as they may be.  Long may he scribble.

Welcome to the internets Tim.  Buckle up.

Comments (8)Add Comment
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written by Exx, June 29, 2010
The last time I read the Sun articles to actually glean information was around the time that TUC was writing pieces for them. I am so glad that I typed "Sens blog" into google soon after; I wanted someone or something that concurred with my assertion that Gerber was an aneurysm on ice, and I sure as shit wasn't seeing it in the Sun. And, lo and behold, there was all of that and THEN some.

Spot on about the reactionary behavior. And you didn't even stoop to the deserved, though banal, presentation of shoddy text. This one was nice:

"Would fans we sweep all that under the carpet and ignore the story."

Of course we all miss a word from time to time, but missing a word and improper punctuation whilst harboring the feeling of superiority above all Sens bloggers? From someone who has "editor" in their job title? He didn't even read it over before he posted. Why should he?

As your June 8 article and subsequent posters have already established, we need to have better "real" media representation. When Nick Kypreos and Doug "Text-teses" MacLean can, with no irony, look down their noses at Boo-Boo, we are in deep shit. That guy does not represent what I read here or S7. If we are going to be a joke, I'd rather have The Brian open each of his press conferences by saying "Sufferin' Succotash." Feh.

SLC, thanks again for your contribution to this crazy little sandbox: I always look forward to your moted castles.

X.
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written by CJL, June 29, 2010
Tim Baines is right. The Sun is a picture of ethics and objective journalism. They not only excel but they set the bar when it comes to impartial reporting of local athletics and management of said athletics. It's also quite a savvy move on this accomplished editor's part to bring the debate to the internet, as it's well known how laissez faire blog writers and frequenters are. Fighting the internet usually works, especially when you're BIGGER than it, as Tim Baines and the Sun writers unequivocally are. Haters gon' hate Tim, haters gon' hate.

/only reads Sun when free at Mcdonald's breakfast
//only interested in Sunshine girl and box scores
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written by SLC, June 29, 2010
@Exx: Thanks. I yam wats I yam and I can't STAAANDS it no more.
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written by SLC, June 29, 2010
@CJL: +1 Magnificent.
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written by AndrewK, June 30, 2010
So Timmy's doing some serious monitoring of his comments. I posted:

You have to realize no one came to “Tim’s Bits” to do anything but read up as to whether or not you have the balls to address the explosion of comments in your second post.

Unfortunately, that comment didn't make it. But he did accept this one:

I would just like to throw a random shout out to Tim to compliment him on this new blog. Well written and insightful. It’s a shame that there is such a ground swell of utter hatred towards the sports guys at the Sun when it comes to their take on the sporting world in town. Hopefully as this blog progresses, the commentary complainers/whiners will stop chewing Tim’s Bits and let the blog reign as what it was likely intended for – a forum for opinions and free speech. Keep up the good work.

What are the odds that, in order to write this blog, he moved back into his mother's basement and asked her to post comments?
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written by AndrewK, June 30, 2010
Never mind, my comment got through. But the other one was posted 30 minutes later but accepted first. Just saying.
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written by SLC, June 30, 2010
@AndrewK: Not sure about the moderation, but I guarantee he's reading them all. My comment got posted instantly ("Link or it didn't happen") and I got an email reply not ten minutes later from the man himself.

Gotta give him credit for nutting up and doing that at least.
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written by Steve HL, July 02, 2010
The Sun is fighting a battle it can't win.
I get more information from the various sports blogs and websites than I do from the Citizen and Sun.

The crazy part? Bloggers are actually objective and critical of the team, without being beholden to the team itself.

Viva la Internet and Web 2.0. If it can spell the end of the MSM, so much the better.

The funniest part of that blog was when Baines claimed they checked sources. Chris Neil got a call before that story about his siblings went live didn't he? Bueller? Bueller?


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Last Updated on Monday, 28 June 2010 22:44
 

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