There's a great scene in the movie Bull Durham where Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) is teaching Ebby Calvin 'Nuke' LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) how to survive interviews with sports reporters. His advice is basically to restrict himself to banalities. Keep it simple. Crank out the old clichés.

Crash Davis: You're gonna have to learn your clichés. You're gonna have to study them, you're gonna have to know them. They're your friends. Write this down: "We gotta play it one day at a time." Ebby Calvin LaLoosh: Got to play... it's pretty boring. Crash Davis: 'Course it's boring, that's the point. Write it down.

While it's a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the generally poor quality of sports interviews, there is a grain of truth in Davis's advice. As a long-time sports fan, I listen to a lot of these interviews. And in the majority of cases, the players stick to their clichés. It's boring, but it allows them to steer clear of controversy. And controversy is the last thing you want to create in a team environment.

Today, however, a player from the Toronto Maple Leafs went way off script and his comments are at the top of the local sports headlines. Jason Blake, who has been struggling for two seasons to find his offensive groove, is being benched for tonight's game against Calgary as a healthy scratch (for the second time this season). The first time he was scratched, his comments to the media were fairly tame. Today, he couldn't contain his anger and let it show to the reporters:

“I don’t know what’s going on… we’ll try to figure it out sometime today,” Blake said. “It’s just extremely frustrating. To be honest, I was very, very upset in Boston, but I didn’t really know what to say because I was caught off guard. It was the first time in nine years that I was a healthy scratch. I’m even more caught off guard this time, and I don’t know what’s going on, to tell you the truth. I’ll spend the afternoon trying to figure it out.”

I dislike everything about this quote. From saying 'I don't know what's going on' twice, to describing how 'very, very upset' he was and then saying he is 'more caught off guard this time'. This is pretty selfish stuff. This doesn't sound like a player who respects his coach, his teammates or the team's fans. The story of the day should be the team's upcoming game in Calgary. Instead, one player has selfishly hijacked the media spotlight to help soothe his own bruised ego. From an organizational and communications perspective, this is a terrible example of a lone wolf hurting the organization that pays his hefty salary. Even from a hockey standpoint, how can he think that these comments are going to get him back in the starting lineup? And while it might be a bit of a stretch, perhaps the self-serving tone of his comments can help shed some light on the reason behind his lacklustre play of late. Wayne Gretzky was not only the NHL's most prolific player in history, he also gave thousands of great media interviews, always putting his team, coaches and fans before himself. Maybe Jason Blake can spend some of his time in the press box tonight Googling some of Wayne's old media interviews and picking up a few pointers on how an athlete should represent himself to the media.

Labels: Bull Durham, Jason Blake, sports cliches

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Flipping through the daily news releases at Canada Newswire, I am floored by some of the executive quotes that see the light of day. To be fair, most of the news releases on the site are actually fairly well-written. But every day, there are at least a handful that are simply awful. It makes you wonder who's writing these things (not to mention who's approving them).

Think about it. Each of these documents has probably been in development for weeks. They've been back and forth between communications/marketing and the executive office. They've been through 12 sets of eyes, legal, compliance, etc. And the result? Well, enjoy:

"Localizing the user interface in Japanese for Thomson Innovation means enhanced usability for our customers, enabling them to access our global, award-winning IP research and analysis resource with valued-added DWPI more easily within their local business environment," said Mr. Mark Garlinghouse, vice president and managing director of the Asia Pacific Scientific business of Thomson Reuters. "This investment demonstrates our strong commitment to Japan and plans to expand our market here with corporate solutions."

"This contract is a fantastic first step for Mint's global expansion, and is consistent with the Company's business model targeting the credit underserved population with tailored products by partnering with prominent corporations and consumer brands providing large distribution channels. Migrant workers are a large portion of the population who are underserved, and our prepaid payroll card makes receiving wages and the transfer of money simpler and cheaper than current available alternatives."

"Citadel Solutions' decision to use AC Plus for its fund administration services demonstrates the value of robust data management and its potential to generate revenue. Asset Control helps to take the operational burden out of data management, with Citadel Solutions as an example of a firm that is harnessing AC Plus' capabilities to streamline data capture and standardize its distribution. By using AC Plus to enrich the platform it provides, Citadel Solutions is able to gain a competitive advantage through the application of advanced technologies."

These companies invested time and money in crafting these news releases and sending them out into the world in an effort to build awareness, increase their profile and generate new business. What lost opportunities.Read More