14 July 2008

PR, You're Doing it Wrong

From the Red Card Blog:
When asked why he thinks D.C. United is sending footage of the Cuauhtemoc Blanco incident to MLS and U.S. Soccer, Denis Hamlett said he wasn't sure. "We never sent the league footage of Christian Gomez spitting in C.J. [Brown's] face," Hamlett said. Hamlett also said United was supposed to send the Fire the footage but has yet to do so.

Gee, Denis, that's a great point. Why didn't the Fire send in that footage? Could it be because that PLAYOFF GAME WAS ON TV YOU STUPID FUCK? Could that be it? Maybe, just maybe, one of the technological advances MLS has invested in is a TiVo in the breakroom? Perhaps they didn't need the footage because it aired on TV? Might that have had something to do with it? Perhaps DC had to send the footage because they're the only ones who had a videocamera with the footage?

For goodness sakes, I was halfway to getting beyond this story, and letting it be buried. But Chicago's insistence that somehow they are the aggrieved party in this matter baffles me. I have no desire to keep writing about this, but now I want to see them pay. If they insist on falsely playing innocent then I hope they burn.

See, if the Fire had kept their collective mouth shut and let channels work, this would not have been an issue. But instead you've decided to put your people out there reading quotes from The Crucible. Goddamn, you had to sticking your finger in the electrical socket.

UPDATE: Reader Craig from Baltimore Emails:
As a loyal, daily reader of the site, I think it's my duty to remind you that this is the same Denis Hamlett who, as a member of the NPSL's Harrisburg Heat, blatantly and intentionally broke another player's jaw with a vicious elbow many years ago. The injured player was Rob Ukrop, who would later go on to play in MLS (briefly, I believe) and for the Richmond Kickers. The incident took place in '93 or '94 during a Harrisburg Heat-Baltimore Spirit indoor game. If I remember correctly Hamlett was fined and suspended by the league for his part in what became a bench clearing incident. Maybe there's footage of that on YouTube somewhere!
I mean, since randomly quoting past incidents is apparently how you handle things professionally according the Chicago [Fire] Manual of Style, then why not! Send the footage to the league! I mean, Craig is absolutely spot on that this is totally relevant under the Dennis Hamlett theory of handling disgraceful actions by your players.

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6 Comments:

At 11 July, 2008 21:03, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am with you, Dee, in wanting some more serious sort of punishment at this point. The lackadaisical treatment of this matter by what we would assume would be a professional Fire staffing has been nothing short of mystifyingly disingenuous and irresponsibly offensive.

In my mind they are showing the low caliber decency of their front office in fighting this tooth and nail.

Shameful, downright shameful. And hopefully punished.

 
At 12 July, 2008 09:40, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Chicago's insistence that somehow they are the aggrieved party in this matter baffles me.
---
Yah, I agree. I was over it, but this could get better and better if they keep up with the quality comments like this. His quote was brilliant in so many ways.

 
At 12 July, 2008 11:54, Blogger Unknown said...

I disliked Chicago and Blanco before this, but this is getting comical.

I can only figure they have to do this to pacify Blanco.

 
At 12 July, 2008 12:56, Blogger Bob said...

Ricardo Clark got, what, 7 games for kicking Ruiz?

 
At 14 July, 2008 17:59, Blogger Martin Shatzer said...

Wow what a quote! Apart from being totally ignorant for the reason you mentioned, Hamlett should also be informed that it wasn't just DC's decision to send the tape to MLS, they were simply abiding by the league's request. Look back at the Post's report on the issue (July 9, 2008):

D.C. United's comment on the situation: "As a result of incidents last night, Major League Soccer has requested video footage, which we are preparing and will be sending to the league," United spokesman Doug Hicks said. Hicks said MLS will have the video today.

 
At 16 July, 2008 10:32, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Blanco is ridiculous. I think this incident will make people realize the kind of player that he is. I found a good interview with Simms about the skirmish. Check it out: http://comcastsportsnet.tv/common/global_flash/player/spe.swf?flv=vidcast_1218&sid=102&d=comcastsportsnet.tv" quality="high" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="320" height="280"

 

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