More ESPN Incompetence

Upon looking over the team preview’s on ESPN.com, I find myself amazed once again at the utter incompetence and bias that this network continues to show.

For each team you can vote on five categories: final divisional standing; will make the playoffs, leading scoring, most valuable d-man, rely on most this season (offense, defense, goaltending) and the coach.

I haven’t finished all of the previews, but have noticed a few times some blatant mistakes that shouldn’t be made. The biggest case of this is when asked who will lead the Islanders in points one of the options is Alexei Yashin. Yes, the Alexei Yashin that was bought out over the summer and was made a big deal of in the media. Yet here ESPN, the “premier” sports network, doesn’t even know he is no longer not even on the team, but not in the NHL currently. This isn’t the only case, but is definitely the most prominent.

The bias I am referring to is that towards Wayne Gretzky. For all the coaches you get four options to vote on: one of the best, better than average, average, won’t last the year. But for the Coyotes there are only two options: One of the best and better than average.

So let me get this straight, the one coach that many analysts and fans think is doing a terrible job and should be fired people cant even vote on for a negative option. What complete bullshit. Also note that for the Coyotes Owen Nolan (Calgary) is listed as an option for leading scoring, and they ask where the team will finish in the Atlantic division. They couldn’t even get the conference right for god’s sake.

So yeah, ESPN continues its display of idiocy and lack of knowledge on the NHL, yet this is a network that people want the game to go back to.


-Jordan