Notes, News & Rumors: And How to Tell the Difference

News: Only a few hours after the big news was the signing of Ilya Kovalchuk to a historic 17 year contract, the BIGGER news was how the hockey world would handle the NHL's rejection of the contract with the Devils. At 6:30 am yesterday, the league issued their statement and said they would not discuss it further. Then at 5:06 pm, Lou Lamoriello issued his statement of disappointment and said they would have no further comment. Jay Grossman issued a statement saying there would be no further comments either.

So basically, all those involved in the contract dispute are not talking which leaves the rest of the hockey world to do it for them. Every sports radio station I turned to had their own ideas on how to clean up the mess as well as the projected future demise of the National Hockey League. Everyone has an opinion. No one knows what's going to happen.

In other verified news, the NY Islanders signed yet another tough guy to a two-way deal. Jeremy Yablonski, 30 year-old, ex-Binghamton Senator is a close friend of Trevor Gillies. Although you wouldn't know it by the way they have beat the crap out of each other in the past.

Faux News: It seems that someone called into an ESPN radio show late last night with news of a car accident injuring Rick DiPietro. The faux news spread like wildfire on the net, probably because it was heard on ESPN and that gave it a shred of credibility before confirmation. Sad that someone would spread a rumor like that, interesting that so many reached out so quickly trying to find the truth. Newsday's Katie Strang made the call to the GM who was probably not very pleased with the entire episode. She Tweeted "Garth Snow said he just got off the phone with Rick DiPietro, who did not get into a car accident tonight

Notes: Kevin Connolly was on Regis & Kelly yesterday. If you blinked, you missed it.

The Islanders prospect Blue & Orange Scrimmage was a huge success in so many ways. Most notably to me is that Islander fans came out for a prospect scrimmage in the middle of July 1,024 spectators STRONGER than those attending the same type of event for the Washington Capitals. So please, don't tell me there are no Islander fans.

But I didn't realize that the ITV Broadcast of the event was so well produced. The scrimmage and skills competition segments are all posted on the Islanders main website under the ITV tab. They are well worth the time to view. Chris King does an amazing job on the mic covering the action. Joining him in the booth that night were Sound Tigers coach Jack Capuano (who absolutely has a career in broadcasting ahead of him), youngster Calvin deHaan (who Chris called Eagle Eye) and both Islanders assistant coaches.

Here is just one of the segments you can find on the website. Check out how well-spoken Calvin deHaan is.




Now, how do you tell the difference between News & Rumor in today's electronically connected world? That is the tough part. Perhaps we all have to look for key words such as "confirmed" or "official statement." That may be difficult when the information is coming from legitimate sources who haven't had time to actually research the validity of the information. The media's desire to be first, and the public's desire to know, has put us all at the disadvantage of not knowing who to trust or what to believe.

This is an age old problem that has only become worse with our social connectivity. Each of us has to monitor not only what we read, but also what we deliver and do so with integrity and intelligence.

Or at least try.