Over the Edge - February 01

sports

SPORTS AND

SOCIAL MEDIA

Does It Go Too Far?

JARROD WEISNER
UNBC LIFESTYLE

ith the ever-increasing
amount of registered Fa-
cebook, Twitter, and other

popular forms of social media users,
the expansion of these worlds into the
intense business of professional sports
was only inevitable. The internet has
become a key role in managing some
of the many forms of sports, how-
ever the insertion of specific social
media aspects that come along with
the web have drastically changed how
sports in the 21st century are shared,
viewed, and even played. Let’s look
at some of the different types of ex-
amples that a professional sport has
proven social media to have a role in.
Dating back to a time when
Romans had a favourite gladiator in
the Coliseum, people have always
wanted to find faster, more efficient
ways to stay updated on the rumour
mill and tracking of their most be-
loved athletes. Whether this is on the
international playing level or simply
Ryan Kesler getting out of bed in the
morning and tweeting you his cheer-
ios (if it had been coco-puffs it means
he’s considering an offer from the
Toronto Maple Leafs — FACT), media
platforms can break the news faster
than ever. In fact, Twitter plays host
to some of the most intensely hated
(or feared...?) minds of the Canadian
hockey world right now, and they even
have a name: The TSN Panel. Darren
Dreger, James Duthie, Ray Ferraro,
Bob Mackenzie, and PJ Stock, just to
name a few of the analysts we have all
love to hate and shamefully “follow”
on Twitter for their inside information
regarding the moves made in the NHL
and international hockey universe.

Bob Mackenzie tweeted: “Some-
where, Luc Bourdon is smiling
at his pal Alex Burrows.”

What this means: You may remem-
ber a certain puck turnover during a
nailbiting playoff affair between the
Vancouver Canucks and Chicago
Blackhawks last summer — and you
may also remember the ensuing goal
and spilling your drink all over your
dog when you jumped up in praise.
Alexandre Burrows sealed a scary
series thrice-rematched to finally
push the Canucks through a heated
first round (and eventually land into a
year to remember for everyone) with
his overtime wrister past the Chicago
netminder Cory Crawford. In the
worst kept secret for any Canucks
fan, his famed goal celebration move
is to pretend to shoot an arrow into
the sky in remembrance of his hock-
ey partner and childhood friend Luc

Bourdon, who passed suddenly in a
tragic motorcycle accident after being
with the Canucks for only a short per-
iod of time. This celebratory gesture
has become the ultimate pull-at-your-
heartstrings move in the most recent
years with the team, and the tweet
from Bob Mackenzie acknowledging
this was the ultimate pat on the back
for a job well done.

Bob Mackenzie tweeted: “Rus-

teammates involved around the globe.

Bob Mackenzie tweets: “Sabre
owner Terry Pegula, who gave
Penn State $88M to start D1
hockey program, speaks out on
PSU scandal. Strong stuff.”

What this means: I’m sure by now
that the allegations at Penn State Uni-
versity regarding youth and coaching
staff being involved in completely
inappropriate and illegal behaviour
isn’t news to anyone. In fact, just this
past week, scandalized and former
coach of the PSU football team Joe
Paterno passed away due to cancer.
You may have not, however, heard
of Terry Pegula before. On February
18, 2011, Pegula used a hefty chunk
of his oil investment money to pur-
chase the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and
their
Florida native had previously been

indoor lacrosse franchise. The

known to be quite the supporter of
hockey programs around the United
States, donating nearly ninety mil-
lion dollars to fund a hockey arena

not only arrogant but extremely skill-
less. Some of the more sassier com-
ments he has made in the past include:

“Guess who just met Santa
Clause. I asked for more toi-
let paper and more ice time.
Thanks Santa.” (BizNasty on
Santa’s lap. A big French guy
with a moustache sitting on the
lap of a man in a red suit and
a beard. This would be a sight.)

“Just landed in Newark. Lit-
erally freezing my gonads off.
Did Jim Balsamic buy our team
yet? Cause I don’t think I could
take Winnipeg.” (Regarding the
potential sale of the Pheonix
Coyotes...)

“If everyone’s google search his-
tory looks like mine we live in a
messed up world.” (I don’t even
want to know.)

“So found out that some mun-
son from Edmonton stole my
phone. What low life loser

lisa lampinelli is funny, but once again
gender is my main concern. her chin
hides her adams apple so we are

ganna have to go to the judges.

PaulBizNasty

Ses Paul Bissonnette

BizNasty strikes again

sian authorities reporting 36
dead and one critically injured
on downed plane that was
carrying the KHL’s locomotive
team.”

What this means: In a shocking ser-
ies of events, 2011 saw a summer in
the hockey world that was unlike any
other. With the amount of on-ice con-
cussions skyrocketing (see: Canada’s
poster boy Sidney Crosby), the fear
that fighting in hockey has seen its
days come to and end, or the sudden
passing of players due to an alarming
amount of speculation regarding men-
tal health and depression, things only
got worse. On September 7 2011,
a plane carrying the KHL team and
coaching staff of Lokomotiv Yaro-
slavl crashed on its way to Minsk,
Belarus to play their first game. It was
the single greatest loss to the inter-
national community of hockey play-
ers and a universal sadness gripped
players and fans alike. The entire
team, coaching staff, and four youth
players, save for one flight engineer
and lone survivor of the crash, were
gone forever. This tweet broke the
news to players and fans, and began
a devastating ripple of emotion still
affecting many of the families and

at Penn State University named after
himself and support a hockey pro-
gram in the area. After the news broke
about PSU’s seemingly dirty involve-
ment in some of the sexual allegations
between football staff and players,
Pegula was clearly less than thrilled.
If you know anything about America,
college football is a bigger business
than arms dealing. Reputation on the
line, he took to interviews damning
the accused and Mackenzie was only
the messenger.

Used mostly for good, Twitter also
plays host to some of the more, shall
we say, underachieving loudmouths
of professional sports, such as is seen
in the likes of BizNasty2point0, or
as his announcers would call him,
Pheonix Coyotes forward Paul Bis-
sonnette. Now, you would assume
that with such a strong personality
and over 190,000 followers reading
his shameless flaming of players and
happenings in the world around him,
that “BizNasty” would have the on-
ice skills to back up the bold words
he punches into his Blackberry. You
would assume wrong. Registering
only seven points in the NHL ever,
and I mean ever, Paul Bissonnettes is

steals a phone? Karma’s gonna
speed bag that donkey.” (Worst
twenty four hours of BizNasty’s
life, apparently.)

“Not gana lie. Lata good lookin
girls in the crowd tonight. I was
creeping in warm up. U know
that’s why warm up was in-
vented #HowsTheTalent?” (He
can be charming too.)

“bored in detroit, decided to
pull a prank on Oliver ekman
larson. He doesn’t have my
phone #, so texted him pre-
tending to be nick lidstrom...
...” Hey Oliver. This is Nick Lid-
strom. Would u care to join me
for dinner tonight?....Holy shap.
He wrote me back in swedish. K
I’m ganna write what he said
some help me. All I know is the
last thing was something about
idol.....1 translated it myself on
sdl. He told me I’m his idol. As
in lidstrom obviously. And said
does 8 work? Amazing....Oli-
ver figured it out. My roomate
is out to eat with him right now
and oliver asked if he had my
number. Man swedish people

are smart.” (Put together from
a series of tweets for your enjoy-
ment.)

Now, this could easily turn into
a full six page piece of “Top Tweets
from BizNasty2point0”, or we could
just flippantly describe the guy in
three words that are on everyone’s
mind at this point: He’s an asshole.
However, you have to look at it from
a hockey organization’s point of view.
The word “liability” begins to even-
tually echo through your worst law-
suit-plagued nightmares regarding
the way people will eventually treat a
team that allows players to say any-
thing about whomever/whatever they
want.

“Bissonnette has become a promin-
ent user of social networking website
Twitter, with the candid nature of his
‘tweets’ gaining him a following of
over 190,000 users. After removing
his initial account on the request of
his agent and the Coyotes (due to the
sometimes blunt nature of his com-
ments), Bissonnette returned to the
website by popular demand under the
username ‘BizNasty2point0’.”

So not only has he been kindly
asked to remove himself from the
public eye because of his over-zeal-
ous personality and loud peacock
colours, he has simply ignored man-
agement’s that can only lead anyone
else to think that the NHL in Arizona
is continuing to be a complete circus
act. Maintaining a social platform is
one thing, but when it can be more
controversial than on-ice antics and
unleash waves of hatred among his
peers in the NHL, the use of such
tools can be detrimental to everyone
involved or even mentioned. This is
a clear case of misusing the status of
being in the professional sports world
and becoming a bad influence for
younger generations growing up and
choosing their sports idols. It’s a lose-
lose situation for a few slapstick com-
edic moments when the team tanks in
the standings and careers and profes-
sional reputations are on the line.

From the outside looking in on
the sports that surround us and give
us purpose, social media platforms
can be the gateway to the information
highway or the stairs leading into a
dark basement of misery-loves-com-
pany type of athletics. Like anything
else on the Internet, you have to take
it with a grain of salt and do most of
the truth proofing yourself to make
sure you don’t become caught up in
the wrong game. For now, however,
it seems like it’s here to stay, always
breaking the stories and changing
the way professional sports works.
Or, you know, just giving us links
to Twitter pictures that prove Ryan
Kesler is the sexiest man alive, and
Paul Bissonnette is considering plaid
or checkered underwear today based
on this fact.