The Athletic coming to Calgary

[Resolute 14]

Oh yeah, I totally get that. They can't afford to overextend themselves, and it doesn't even make sense to really start covering the Stamps this late in the season anyway. Get established via the Flames, then grow.

But if the Athletic Calgary is going to last, it needs to be more than what FlamesNation is.

[P-DAZZLE]

Just signed up. Have to say I'm really impressed with the layout of the page and the overall aesthetics of the app. So many websites look like jumbled nonsense these days. The autoplay videos and scattershot look of TSN.ca and Sportsnet.ca makes me appreciate the clean look of The Athletic.

[savemedrzaius]

I just read the article by the new Flames writer. I thought it was really good.

Basically if you are only looking to read articles about your team that are more or less "Go Flames Go!" Athletic is not for you. They tell you the good and the bad but they go into detail and at least try to back up what they are saying with numbers.

Personally I hate the type of writers who just write opinion pieces (in Toronto Simmons and DiManno). That type of stuff can be found online for free on messageboards.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Parallex

Me neither.

Put forward a rational fact based argument and he'll readily accept it. Unless folk are saying that because he doesn't buy into "Gritty McGritterton is great player because... grit!" type of arguments.

Sure...except his entire schtick is "Metric McMetricson is a good player because Metrics"

He is an abysmal writer.

Sad to see Duha leave the Globe...best in the business.

[Jaws]

Here's the deal for 50% off:
https://theathletic.com/plans/?c=11&...an=nt&curr=CAN

I know some of you were waiting for it, so hope that helps
I just signed up too!

[united]

Calgary had a terribly weak pool of writers to pick from, but Wilson is undoubtedly the best of the bunch and the obvious choice. Actually having articles that use tangible results for analysis is so much better than what we're used to with articles spewing the same contrived, repetitive, and more often than not, wrong, narratives from lazy journalists. I don't get the "he doesn't watch the game" stuff, either. Of course he watches the games - as much as any of us do. You can disagree with his takes as a result, but saying he doesn't watch them is lazy. I don't particularly like his non-analytics takes, but that's only my opinion which could very well be wrong. Plus, look how often people who solely watch the games and don't use any tangible metrics are wrong (they will never admit it, though, it's always because of some other circumstance).

That said, Wilson is an awful writer as far as getting his points across so hopefully their editors can be a big help in that regard or they will risk losing the audience. Let Wilson do the analysis while they write the actual article. Similar to what Players' Tribune seems to do. Even the Brouwer article, which I completely agree with, I found didn't have much flow and was abrasive. I also hope Wilson discontinues his habit of speaking in absolutes, when, as a self-proclaimed stats guy, he should know better than most that everything he is saying is based on probability not certainty.

I believe the articles will start to explore more than "x player is good/bad because of x" using metrics any of us could easily find. Some of the stuff Dellow has been putting out has been really great because it goes way deeper into the numbers that aren't even publicly available. If I wanted BuzzFeed-style Flames articles that present filtered numbers any of us could find (but that have little to do with anything), lacking in reliable analysis, I would read Haynes (who also has no eye for the game, IMO). For that reason, I have to think the Brouwer article is just the start.

It seems like perhaps the model of The Athletic may be one writer to analyze teams using tangible metrics, and one writer to tell the stories surrounding the team. I really like that, actually. There are few, if any, writers who are competent enough to analyze performance using a variety of metrics and the eye test, while also being personable enough to story tell. Duhatsek will be awesome in that role.

[Slava]

I signed up and will try it out. I think that if you want quality writing and a good product you need to pay. I don't mind Wilson...so I am kind of on the fence as far as whether he is worth paying for. I do think that some of the others definitely are though.

[Toonage]

Subscribed! Until Spec joins. Then I'm out.

[StrykerSteve]

Originally Posted by Jaws

Here's the deal for 50% off:
https://theathletic.com/plans/?c=11&...an=nt&curr=CAN

I know some of you were waiting for it, so hope that helps
I just signed up too!

Subscribed, thanks.

[Resolute 14]

I'm giving them a year too, but man, the last thing I want is a front page full of Mudcrutch.

[Barnet Flame]

Originally Posted by Jaws

Here's the deal for 50% off:

https://theathletic.com/plans/?c=11&...an=nt&curr=CAN



I know some of you were waiting for it, so hope that helps

I just signed up too!

Thank you so much!

I'm in!

[Gaudfather]

Duha said on the Fan yesterday with Rob Kerr that he will be writing some Flames specific articles. Also said he will be doing the Oilers, Jets etc on occasion as well.

He also mentioned that one more Calgary writer, in addition to Kent Wilson, will be named shortly. Could that be Darren Haynes I wonder or someone else?

[LanceUppercut]

Originally Posted by Gaudfather

Duha said on the Fan yesterday with Rob Kerr that he will be writing some Flames specific articles. Also said he will be doing the Oilers, Jets etc on occasion as well.

He also mentioned that one more Calgary writer, in addition to Kent Wilson, will be named shortly. Could that be Darren Haynes I wonder or someone else?

I think it might be Kristen Odland. Gut feeling based upon some stuff I saw on Twitter. I have absolutely no real proof though!

[Tyler]

Kristen Odland just complained (or retweeted) about the lack of women hired by The Athletic (which is definitely a fair point), so I assume she wasn't asked to join the ranks

[Tinordi]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

I'm giving them a year too, but man, the last thing I want is a front page full of Mudcrutch.

Did you read his recent one on the Hamonic trade? It was excellent.

[Resolute 14]

It was a typical Mudcrutch blog post, actually. And I've read enough of his work back to his "the value of outscoring: a primer" days to know how the formula works. "I'm right and everyone else is wrong. Here's why: This hypothetical draft pick is worth this fraction of a point and this hypothetical is worth another fraction. But Hamonic is worth a full point! Also, here's a stat I invented but won't explain. I'm awesome! And now. lets look at Hamonic against another metric that I won't explain (or even link to an explanation)". Followed by 1500 more words I just couldn't get around to reading. Also, Corsi. Mutcrutch would probably literally die if he couldn't mention Corsi in a post.

He also likes to bring up phrases like "particularly cunning observers", "keen observers" and the like, which are really code words for "only people as smart as I am will agree..." and underscores the fact that he writes mostly to feed his own ego by mentioning work he's done and things he's invented wherever possible.

I mean, it's great and all that he thinks the Hamonic trade is good. But unless "likes a move by the Flames" is the only basis you are judging by, no, I wouldn't call that article excellent. I've no problem with his basing his posts on fancy stats. But his actual writing style remains poor and is certainly not the kind of quality that I expect from a publication that will eventually be asking me to pay $70 a year for.

[DoubleK]

I'm in too.

[Slava]

Not incredibly concerning, but there is nothing on the Stamps game from last night? It was one of the best games of the year, arguably, and surely one of the biggest wins for them. If these guys aren't really covering one of the two teams in Calgary it doesn't bode well.

I'm also not super thrilled with their lack of coverage from Penticton. I guess we'll see if there are some in depth articles stemming from there over the next week though.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

It was a typical Mudcrutch blog post, actually. And I've read enough of his work back to his "the value of outscoring: a primer" days to know how the formula works. "I'm right and everyone else is wrong. Here's why: This hypothetical draft pick is worth this fraction of a point and this hypothetical is worth another fraction. But Hamonic is worth a full point! Also, here's a stat I invented but won't explain. I'm awesome! And now. lets look at Hamonic against another metric that I won't explain (or even link to an explanation)". Followed by 1500 more words I just couldn't get around to reading. Also, Corsi. Mutcrutch would probably literally die if he couldn't mention Corsi in a post.

He also likes to bring up phrases like "particularly cunning observers", "keen observers" and the like, which are really code words for "only people as smart as I am will agree..." and underscores the fact that he writes mostly to feed his own ego by mentioning work he's done and things he's invented wherever possible.

I mean, it's great and all that he thinks the Hamonic trade is good. But unless "likes a move by the Flames" is the only basis you are judging by, no, I wouldn't call that article excellent. I've no problem with his basing his posts on fancy stats. But his actual writing style remains poor and is certainly not the kind of quality that I expect from a publication that will eventually be asking me to pay $70 a year for.

Remember when, on these very boards, he broke it down (with some sort of formula and made up metrics that came strictly from his own delusional stance) that Ty Conklin was a superior goaltender to Martin Brodeur?

Good times.

[heep223]

I have no problem paying a small fee directly for ad-free quality content of any medium. Ie the HBO model. We will see if the Athletic is quality or not.

There's a reason I come to Calgary puck and mostly ignore mainstream media. It's mostly regurgitated and superficial coverage.