[Professional Blog] If you don't have anything nice to say...

Okay, okay. I get it. No more hockey blogs for a while. But in my own defense, no another league/sport in this province has as much controversy and goings-ons or as many people talking about it as does the senior hockey scene. Would you prefer endless tirades about the state of soccer pitches or Memorials womens basketball prospects? Well sorry. Those are veteran John Brownes niches and his kindergarten report card very clearly reads doesnt share well. For the record, I relish the chance to cover any Lady-Hawks team. The guys squads, not so much. In the meantime, if theres something you want to read about... let me know. Im only an email away. * * * * * The St. Johns Capitals won the provincial junior baseball championships at St. Pats Ball Park over the weekend, earning them a trip to nationals in Trois Rivieres, Que this July. The guys did it in fine style too; shutting out opponents in three straight round-robin games including a no-hitter by Dan Phillips and a one-hit outing from Stefan Lono and outscoring their counterparts 37-4 overall. But in true Newfoundland fashion, where we cant accept or celebrate the accomplishments of our own, the first comment the story generated on our website was this gem from Jim: Great job Caps... though you will not win a game at the Nationals! Nice, eh? Now I recognize these arent kids or pre-teens, some of whom may not react favourably to such a comment and really let it get to them. But theyre still human. A group of talented young men who have put considerable time and effort into making themselves better ball players. So, Jim, what purpose does it serve to tear these guys down? Does it make you feel better? Do you believe it will light their competitive fires? Or are just you a bitter parent of a Gander/Corner Brook/Mount Pearl player who didnt win the title on Sunday? Look, the reality is the guys may not win it all in Quebec, heck, they may not even win a game. And they know it as well as the rest of us. Ball players in this province are already at a real disadvantage for a varierty of reasons. But going up there, they dont need people from their own province, theyre own people, telling them their best effort is just not good enough. The comments section on our website is meant for readers to share their opinions, and I for one encourage people to have their say. But be aware of who might be reading and what message it sends.