The David Edgar story is a classic example of why having sports done centrally doesn't work.
Edgar, for those who missed it, is a 19-year-old from Kitchener, Ontario, who scored a goal against Manchester United in Premier League action while making his home debut for Newcastle United - only his second appearance for the club at that level.
Now granted, soccer isn't a big sport in Canada, but it is big enough. And it is big enough that a kid who quit hockey to play soccer and defied the odds to make it to the big show, and then pulls off a stunner against arguably the biggest franchise in the world, should at least get front page play and more than a wire wrap story.
The Toronto Sun used a wire story inside, the London Free Press, an hour away from KW didn't even have the story on their front page.
The Star at least assigned a reporter and produced a great piece . . . not sure where they played it (in print) but it was on the front of their web page.
You know, it was hammered into us (at the Sun) that news is always local . . . and here's a classic example of story that should have been bigger.
Oh, and just to add one more thing, the Globe also did a great job of getting to the home town of Canadian juniors goalie hero Carey Price - again a story that pushed a sports story into human interest and into the front pages of the paper.
Why didn't the Sun hit the Edgar story? Top four reasons: There is no longer a local focus; there is no staff; no one at the Sun gives a damn about soccer; it is someone else's job.
Edgar, for those who missed it, is a 19-year-old from Kitchener, Ontario, who scored a goal against Manchester United in Premier League action while making his home debut for Newcastle United - only his second appearance for the club at that level.
Now granted, soccer isn't a big sport in Canada, but it is big enough. And it is big enough that a kid who quit hockey to play soccer and defied the odds to make it to the big show, and then pulls off a stunner against arguably the biggest franchise in the world, should at least get front page play and more than a wire wrap story.
The Toronto Sun used a wire story inside, the London Free Press, an hour away from KW didn't even have the story on their front page.
The Star at least assigned a reporter and produced a great piece . . . not sure where they played it (in print) but it was on the front of their web page.
You know, it was hammered into us (at the Sun) that news is always local . . . and here's a classic example of story that should have been bigger.
Oh, and just to add one more thing, the Globe also did a great job of getting to the home town of Canadian juniors goalie hero Carey Price - again a story that pushed a sports story into human interest and into the front pages of the paper.
Why didn't the Sun hit the Edgar story? Top four reasons: There is no longer a local focus; there is no staff; no one at the Sun gives a damn about soccer; it is someone else's job.
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