new look, same great taste

For those of you who came here often (also known as "my parents"), you may notice a few changes around here. I decided to change the title from something as arrogant as "Because I Said So" to "Unconventional Wisdom," mainly because the blog has developed into something far more interesting than random, pointless thoughts about the banality that is the life of some dude in Buffalo. Instead it's random, pointless comments on the idiocy of guys that write for the Buffalo News. "Unconventional Wisdom" comes from the fact that hating Tim Connolly, Darcy Regier, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, and Jochen Hecht¹, among others are hated evil beings that don't even qualify as human is "conventional" and "rational" around here. As you may have gathered, "conventional wisdom" is really a translation for "acute stupidity" and gets called out. So, in order to talk some sense into folks (which is kind of stupid, since the only people who read this already agree with me), we're championing the unconventional wisdom. Not the Bill Belichick going for it on 4th and 2 with two minutes to go against Peyton "freaking" Manning kind of unconventional wisdom (which didn't work, and was a stupid call regardless of what any made up "odds" say), but rather the Mike McCarthy unexpected onsides kick call in the playoffs kind of unconventional. Sure, unconventional wisdom requires a bit of a gamble, but not a foolish all-or-nothing. That's what we preach around here.

Without further adieu, Bucky's most recent Inside the NHL serves as an unrivaled epitome as to why he should be frequent radio call-in character "Bucky from South Buffalo" and not a person paid to share his comments about professional hockey, or sports in general, with the world.

First, a bit of context. Recently, during a Penguins/Flyers game, a decidedly conclusive replay on a disputed goal scored by the visiting Flyers did not make it to Toronto for video review. As a result, the goal is waived. The outcome of the game wasn't affected². But, seeing as how the home arena production team is responsible for providing the replay "booth" with the camera angles it needs, somebody screwed up and therefore somebody needed to get reprimanded. Read on, and you'll see who shouldn't have taken the heat, and I'm sure you'll never guess why.

A goal is disallowed in Pittsburgh because the Penguins' broadcast team fails to produce a conclusive angle showing the puck crossing the line. It becomes available after play resumes, making it too late to reverse.

Two thoughts right off the bat: first, that this is a pretty colossal mistake. It calls into question the entire integrity of replay if some broken arrow can manipulate it like this, which thereby calls into question the integrity of the NHL as whole (though I've noticed the NHL doesn't really seem to care about its integrity of late, so long as they're Expanding the Game or some other such nonsense). Second, why the hell would you SHOW the replay once play resumes??? I'm not one for sweeping things under the rug, but at that point it's too late. By subsequently showing you had the information the officials needed, but didn't share it, you might as well add "Nah nah nah nah nah" as the soundtrack while the clip plays.

And that's a television producer's way of sticking it to those dastardly Flyers?

Remember, so far all he's done is describe a very significant blunder on the part of the Pittsburgh broadcast team. No context, no nothing. Just said that they screwed up big, and a Flyers goal was waived off.

Sorry, this one doesn't add up.

Phew! Thanks for that! I hate thinking!

The Flyers' conspiracy theory might appear reasonable from the outside,

Perhaps because we've been provided no other explanation, and trying to screw a cross-state rival is just as a likely a reason as professional oversight.

but there's one critical element that was overlooked when Fox Sports Network Pittsburgh producer Lowell MacDonald was suspended indefinitely for the botched replay:

Any guesses as to what's so critical that it should change the result for the guy in charge of the broadcast? Would you say that it was a deliberate and clandestine maneuver by a diehard Penguins fan working the video feed, such that MacDonald didn't (and couldn't) know until it was too late? Would you say the link to Toronto inexplicably went dead, thereby denying the replay booth the footage it needed? You would? You're wrong.

his integrity and professionalism.

I'll give you one guess, and only one guess, as to where Lowell MacDonald may have worked before Pittsburgh. And I'll give you one guess, and only one guess, as to who he may have been nice to while he was there.

MacDonald, 45, worked the Sabres' broadcasts for years and lived in Orchard Park

I'll give you a moment to collect yourself from the floor...

Back? Good. Moving on...

before leaving for ESPN and eventually landing in Pittsburgh, where he was raised. He's a class act in an oft-seedy business.

So, the guy in charge of sending the replays to the replay officials is working for his hometown team. And works in an "oft-seedy business," which clearly insinuates³ that the characters MacDonald works with would withhold a conclusive replay. So far Bucky's defense of his friend consists of two big strikes against the guy.

He's a former Division I player at Colgate, the son of the former Penguins player with the same name, and knows the game. He has an impeccable reputation for his honesty, character and work ethic.

This is a good guy, not a cheater.

After working against Lowell MacDonald, Bucky then goes on the defensive by saying, essentially, Lowell MacDonald couldn't have done this because Lowell MacDonald is a nice guy.

"I've known Lowell for years and worked closely with him," former Sabres analyst Jim Lorentz said last week by telephone. "He's the best producer I ever worked for. He's very quiet and low key, very intense and takes his job very seriously. It's why he's one of the best. It's not an accident that he worked for ESPN."

This time a quote, but still completely irrelevant. We still have not yet been provided any information mitigating MacDonald's involvement. Again, he appears to have been in charge of the broadcast. A mistake like this falls to him, regardless of who was directly responsible. For example, Tom Brady threw too early and Kevin Faulk didn't get the yardage he needed on 4th and 2. But Bill Belichick takes the heat. That's how it works. That's why the guy in charge gets paid more.

If you knew MacDonald, you would conclude with certainty that he made a mistake.

This was against the rules, of course it was a mistake. I don't need to know Lowell MacDonald to know that he screwed up. Just like I don't need to be a sophisticated music critic to know that the clowns they roll out on the first few episodes of American Idol really suck at singing.

Not a mistake in moral judgment, mind you, just a mistake. I'm not sure exactly what happened with the replay or why it wasn't produced in a timely manner.

Which makes your entire defense COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT. We have not been provided any explanation. Deliberate obstruction of the replay process is currently as valid as gross negligence.

Television types often describe broadcasts as controlled chaos littered with gaffes.

This I understand, but in this particular circumstance you have all the time you need to get it right. How many cameras are going at once? A dozen? Is there only one guy in the booth looking at them all? And even then, it's just your job to pass them along, NOT decide which ones get sent.

MacDonald's reputation has been tarnished by an undertone that his motive was giving the Penguins an advantage.

Because, as of right now, that's just as a likely a careless snafu.

Would he intentionally put his career on the line for a lopsided game in January?

Maybe. What do the Penguins' ratings look like right now? They've been playing pretty crappy lately.

Get an advantage for a team that won the Stanley Cup, is among the best in the league and doesn't need any help from a TV producer?

No way. It doesn't make sense.

Again, Penguins. Crappy. At the time of the review, they were mired in an eight game slump (2-6-0) and on their way to 7 losses in their last nine. What they did last June is completely irrelevant at this point.

"He's a very honest guy," Lorentz said. "In terms of him ever doing anything malicious or to highlight another team is absolutely absurd. He has my full support. I don't think there's an ounce of maliciousness in him."

Great. That's likely true. However, his team still screwed up. Majorly.

The replay in question was the overhead view of Simon Gagne scoring. The play was being reviewed in Toronto, so why officials there didn't demand the overhead view before play resumed is a mystery. It speaks to flaws in the NHL's replay system, not the producer of the broadcast.

Maybe they "demand" the overhead view, but (try this one on) were told it was unavailable. If that's true, the "flaws" in the replay system relate to broadcast producers completely stripping it of any integrity.

Sure enough, after the Flyers demanded action, people were quick to assume that MacDonald's position with FSN Pittsburgh trumped common sense. It's hogwash.

Um, what? I have no idea what you're saying here.

His name has been dragged through various media outlets by people who either don't know him or never met him.

And here. I'm not trying to tear the guy down, but he made a very very big mistake. Or somebody under his control did. He hasn't come forward to say what happened, so we assume the worst. If there's another side to this story, tell it. Don't just say it's impossible for this dude to do something wrong, and to do something wrong on purpose.

FSN Pittsburgh, rather than admit human error and stand up for its employee, handed down a stiff penalty.

As they should. It sends a message, and I bet Toronto will get direct live feeds of Pittsburgh's cameras from now on, including days on which the Penguins aren't actually playing.

"There is nothing more important than the integrity of the game," FSN Pittsburgh said in a statement. "During [the Jan. 7] game against the Philadelphia Flyers, a definitive replay of a Flyers goal was not aired prior to the conclusion of the official review and, as a result, a Flyers goal was not awarded.

"Fortunately, this did not change the outcome of the game. Nonetheless, FSN Pittsburgh's failure to provide video to the league officials in a timely fashion was wholly unacceptable. FSN Pittsburgh has addressed this matter and has taken steps to ensure that such a failure does not occur again."

A logical, reasoned, proportionate response to an embarrassing mistake. FSN Pittsburgh is the bad guy here?

MacDonald couldn't be reached for comment last week. My guess is he's embarrassed by the blunder, confused by the harsh reaction and uncomfortable with becoming the story rather than covering it.

This may all be true. But due to his blunder, the integrity of the game of professional hockey is now in doubt. Say something to clear the air, even if it's "You're all full of shit, leave me alone."

This isn't the time to create distance between him, as FSN Pittsburgh did, but to stand alongside him.

Was he fired? I could understand if he was. It seems severe, especially since we don't know details, but understandable nevertheless. He's brought a lot of heat on FSN Pittsburgh, and creating distance makes sense.

At least they didn't fire him.

Oh.

Something tells me he'll get his job back once the situation blows over.

Probably. By all accounts this appears to be the exception here. And, again, I don't know what happened. I do know that a very plausible explanation, as of right now, is that Lowell MacDonald hates the Flyers because he grew up in Pittsburgh and his dad was a Penguin, and realized he had an opportunity to steal a goal from them. Or, it could've been a technical difficulty.

I hate to use it twice, but, Bucky's playing this role all over again.

¹ - Especially Jochen Hecht.

² - Thankfully.

³ - Thank you Jerry Sullivan.