Soccer General Nhl

Two days after word first broke that the Toronto Maple Leafs were moving to ban mini-digital video recording devices from their locker room, the team has finally announced the rationale behind the decision. As John Lashway, senior vice-president of communications for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment told Brian Milner of the Globe and Mail: "It comes down to the fact that I don't want to see naked images of my players on YouTube."

I'm afraid that Lashway's explanation has left me, someone who has been using a mini-digital video recorder in both NHL and MLS locker rooms without incident for the past couple of months, a little speechless. So while I collect my thoughts, I'll let you in on what others are saying at the moment.

My FanHouse colleague, Jon "J.P." Press, had another suggestion: "Have your players wear, you know, towels." Good on him, as I'm always happy to see somebody come up with a low-tech solution to what some have sized up as a high-tech problem.

James Mirtle: "There go my plans for my media credentials. Besides, everyone knows Leafs TV has exclusive rights to naked Leafs pictures - isn't that why they charge what they do?"

Then there's Beau Dure of USA Today's Sportscope -- a reporter who has stood side by side with me in the D.C. United locker room more times than I can count while I recorded interviews -- in a note he sent me this afternoon: "I can sympathize a little with athletes who find they can barely find space to change clothes. But shutting off your camera isn't the answer."

Bingo. I'm happy to concede that the continuous march of technology and the growth of new media are presenting some interesting challenges for the folks in sports PR. As I've written before, despite the fact that bloggers think that the answers are obvious doesn't mean they are to everyone else.

Then again, that doesn't excuse people in the business for not keeping up with the technological changes and coming up with innovative solutions that everyone can live with -- solutions that in the end will do nothing more than enhance coverage for fans and help promote the continued growth of the game.

Previously on FanHouse:
Maple Leafs Say No to Digital Video

Earlier today, the Toronto Maple Leafs made a decision that firmly plants the organization in the rear echelon of professional sports franchises when it comes to dealing with a rapidly changing new media landscape. The news was delivered at the end of the lunch hour in the Eastern time zone by David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail:

On Wednesday, the Leafs announced that "gathering video or audio content in the Maple Leafs dressing room may only be obtained from traditional devices."

By traditional devices, the Leafs mean tape and digital recorders and TV cameras that are big enough to be held on an operator's shoulder or on a tripod. "Digital cameras, camera phones and hand-held video recording equipment will not be allowed in the team's dressing room at Air Canada Centre and on the road," according to the Leafs' press release.

To say that this decision strikes close to home for me would be an understatement. Back in March, I purchased a Casio Exilim EX-Z850, an 8.1 megapixel multifunction camera. And when I mean multifunction, I mean multifunction. Besides a number of options to take digital photographs, the camera also comes with three distinct settings to record audio and video. Best of all for a blogger like me, it's small enough that it can fit comfortably in a front pants pocket or inside of a jacket. And with a 4GB SD memory card inside, I can pack four hours of video inside.

To say that it's been the best consumer electronics buy I've ever made would be an understatement. Since the tail end of the 2006-07 NHL season, I've been carrying it to every event I've covered -- NHL games, ATP tennis and MLS matches. And everywhere that I've gone, though I may have gotten a few quizzical looks, once I've explained what I was doing, I've been allowed to shoot interviews -- even ones inside of both NHL and MLS locker rooms -- without interruption.

Back in July, Jason Chung, a fellow at The Project on Law and Mind Sciences at Harvard University Law School, got keyboards tapping everywhere with a post at The Situationist entitled, Negative Press: Is ESPN Killing the National Hockey League by Influencing Public Attitudes?

As a long-time fan of the NHL, it was an interesting read to say the least, and one that had my head nodding in agreement more often than not. From where I sit, there's little doubt in my mind that the relentless barrage of negative press the league endured throughout the playoffs and beyond was triggered in part by the programming decisions made in Bristol, Conn.

Now Chung is back, and his timing once again in fortuitous, as his latest post looks at ESPN's stake in promoting the success of Major League Soccer: Manufactured Hype: Can ESPN's Agenda-Setting Behaviour save Major League Soccer?

It's an interesting questions to ask, especially as a number of fans of the sport are beginning to question whether or not the sort of hype ESPN is delivering is actually hurting the league rather than helping it.

As my FanHouse colleague David Warner pointed out yesterday, D.C. United's own Bobby Boswell, former MLS defender of the year, has something of a bone to pick with ESPN, essentially accusing it of promoting Beckham at the expense of the sport itself.

Then again, there are other times when you have to wonder just what side ESPN is really on.

What's worse, as concern about the severity of Beckham's ankle injury linger, others are wondering out loud whether or not the hype is starting to backfire on Beckham and the league -- something which has to be considered particularly unfair given reports on just how badly hurt the England international really is.