Like a drug

When I got back into writing, blogging was the way to do it. I did a bit of beat work at my college newspaper and also wrote an occasional column about… Anything really.

After college it was about finding whatever job you could lock down so you could get your career underway. For me, that was radio. The writing stopped and my chops as a producer were more necessary, but the itch to write came back as my frustration in radio grew. An outlet was needed and off to Blogspot I went to write and, well, you can see plenty of that stuff here with other more tersely worded things I spit out while trying to figure out what to do with my life.

But the blogging you know all about. That helped fire up a dormant sensation inside of me. I wanted to be more in the know. More on the scene of what was happening. I wanted to report more.

Blogging is/was fine work, but the desire to do something that’s more your own is a strong one. I got to do a little bit of that at NBC when on location for events or other games. I’ve done nothing but report for the NHL since I started there last year and all it’s done is made me want it more. Like a drug, once you get a taste the urge for more can take you over.

Of the things I’ve gotten to write over the past five years or so, it’s the ones I’ve dug in and talked with players, GMs, and other executives that have felt the most rewarding and remain to this day the pieces I am most proud of.

One of my biggest frustrations now being in a rotten kind of limbo is that what you think you’re best at or do the best work with isn’t what’s asked of you – for whatever reason that is.

It’s hard not to get frustrated when “news” like a referee vomiting during play or some sort of wacky occurrence is what produces the web hits and viral attention companies so desire. Hell, even when you wrote something about a team or player only to have a drop in production or a losing streak make what you just wrote look foolish, it makes it all seem like a Sisyphean task.

It’s all a drug of some kind and it all produces a high of some sort. The thing I hope for my future is the opportunity to keep chasing the stories myself.

I don’t know if this is a crossroads moment for me or not, but this college reporter turned blogger turned hybrid writer monster wants to keep chasing the dragon.

I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and finally the light bulb went on over my head after a recent discussion with Florida Panthers captain Willie Mitchell. I asked two questions to him and got over three minutes worth of thoughts on the record. I could’ve done so much more with that, but for what is asked of me at the sites I’m writing for, most of it wasn’t necessary and it made me instantly frustrated.

Sometimes you get really good stuff from players because they’re earnest, honest, and love the game that much. As some jerk that’s never played but loves the sport immensely, helping to share that feeling is a good thing.

There are great stories to be told and it can be frustrating to not be asked to help tell them for one reason or another. But hey, at least we can get a GIF of a referee with food poisoning out there everywhere.