My apologies
I haven't been able to provide much coverage of late, which you can attribute to 1) the Ducks and 2) Kobe Bryant's decision to publicly melt down. I've been fighting two fronts, and I know there are some e-mails I need to answer from some of you. I haven't forgotten about it, and some good stuff will get done here as the draft approaches. The Kings let me know that Lombardi is out of the office all this week, so hopefully next week we'll have that sitdown interview, part two.
In the meantime, if there are things you think would be of interest to everyone, please feel free to post them here or e-mail them to me. Everyone is always welcome to contribute to this blog.
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About the bloggers
Rich Hammond has covered the Kings, on a full-time or part-time basis, since the 2000-01 season. He was the beat writer for the entire John Torchetti era and has witnessed Bob Miller singing country music in a Nashville honky-tonk bar. A native of Los Angeles, Rich has worked at the Daily News since 1999 and also serves as the paper's deputy sports editor. E-mail Rich at rich.hammond@dailynews.com.
Jill Painter joined the Daily News in 2000 and during the last eight years she's covered the Dodgers, Cal State Northridge, UCLA, Kings, golf and everything in between. Even though she's from Colorado, she still freezes in the Staples Center press box but always manages to thaw her fingers in time to make deadline. E-mail Jill at jill.painter@dailynews.com.
Hey Rich,
This article about the NHLPA was emailed to me the other day, and I figured you had to (a) know about it and (b) have some thoughts about the severity of the charges here. What was your take on Trent Klatt when he was here?
http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article.main&articleId=55283
First of all let me strat off by saying that you are doing a wonderful job Rich and this will be my #1 source for Kings news this offseason. I have a few questions for Lombardi -
1. Do you think that the 07 draft is weak compared to recent years?
2. What are the Kings main needs this offseason and if he could list them in order of importance?
3. Where do you think the Kings rank in terms of prospect pools and young players compared to the rest of the league?
If you could even ask him one of my questions i will be happy. Thanks.
Dear Rich, and all hockey fans--I found this article from Wired Magazine to be fascinating: "Wayne Gretzky-Style 'Field Sense" May Be Teachable." Amazing stuff. The link:
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/15-06/ff_mindgames.
Well, deacon blue, I guess you wouldn't find the link I posted interesting, but I am sure Rich has a take on it, and as I asked, I am very interested in his take on Klatt, and how he perceived the situation. The idea of mocking me for bringing up a very serious situation for all NHL players is... amusing at least. Thanks for your link.
Marc...I may be misreading the situation but I didn't get the impression he was mocking you. There's an actual story there about Gretzky and taking a scientific look at athleticism.
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/15-06/ff_mindgames
I didn't know Klatt very well, as I was covering baseball for most of the year he was here, but I knew him to be a stand-up guy. When guys such as Trent started bringing up serious charges, I knew there was a problem, and now we're finding out how deep the problem ran. It's interesting stuff that would get a lot more play if the general media cared more about hockey.
Thanks, Rich, your impression was correct. No mocking. The Gretzky article is legit. And Marc, thanks for your link, too. Eye-opening information.