Take the N&O’s “big hockey game” quiz

Did you know I can tell some very important things about you based on how you respond to a brief post Raleigh News & Observer Senior Editor Dan Barkin’s published this morning at the N&O’s Editors’ Blog?

If you don’t believe me, just read his post and then check what I say about you.

First, Barkin’s post, "Big hockey game tonight"; then my “analysis” below the star line.

Barkin begins - - -

If you go to the Carolina Hurricanes (sic) web site, you will see a big ad for playoff tickets. Tonight's game against Washington may determine whether there will be any playoffs for the Canes. If they win tonight in regulation, they clinch their division. If they lose, they are tied with Washington with two games to go.

You will also see on the Cane's (sic) site that Ray Whitney, who has missed the last 12 games after ankle surgery, is listed as "probable" for tonight's big game in Washington.

But if you go to Luke DeCock's blog, you will see that he is a little skeptical. Here is what he wrote today:

"I'm not ready to believe that Ray Whitney is ready to go until I see it, so I'm going to assume Wade Brookbank is still in the lineup until warmups. I am, however, willing to believe that Justin Williams and Bret Hedican are OK to go."

Luke was up in Northern Virginia, at the Washington Capital's (sic) practice facility. Go to Lord Stanley's Blog to look at his updates.

Two of the NHL's biggest stars are in tonight's game, the Cane's (sic) Eric Staal and the Capital's (sic)Alex Ovechkin, the league's leading scorer.

We'll have the results and a game story at newsobserver.com later tonight.

***************************************************************

After reading Barkin’s post, did you say to yourself something like: “Gee, that sure was nice of Mr. Barkin to take time from his busy day to let us know about “the big hockey game tonight?”

If you did, you’re a faithful N&O reader.

Now, what if you said something like: “What Barkin’s doing here is advertising. He’s using tonight’s game and Ray Whitney’s playing status as a draw to get readers to Luke DeCock’s Lord Stanley’s blog which I bet is an N&O blog with lots of advertising.

Barkin hype’s tonight’s game with mentions of “two of the NHL’s biggest stars” and ties them to a not subtle “ad” for the “game story” at newsobserver.com.

Barkin’s post is a reminder that most MSM “news organizations” are really in the sales and advertising business?”

If you said something like that to yourself, you won’t be fooled much by the N&O and other such “news organizations.”

Some of you who read Barkin’s post have some memory the N&O’s ended its deliberately fraudulent Mar. 25, 2006 story it said was about the young mother’s “ordeal” involving “sexual violence” with:

Paul Haagen, chairman of Duke's Academic Council, was in a faculty meeting about the incident.

"There was a sense of, 'This is sad, and it's terrible,' " Haagen said. "Beyond that, people don't know what's going on."

Haagen, a law professor who specializes in sports law, said studies show that violence against women is more prevalent among male athletes than among male students in general -- and higher still among such "helmet sports" as football, hockey and lacrosse.

"These are sports of violence," he said. "This is clearly a concern."

You folks who remembered the end of that N&O story will be the hardest of all to fool.