Walpole, Ma – In an attempt to stymie the Provo Penguins, the NESHL has contacted the captain of the team, Chris Eighmy, and ordered that the Provo Penguins Blog be shut-down.
Interestingly enough, the person who delivered this message was Jim Lawler, a player on the Maple Leafs team, who stated in no uncertain terms that the Blog is spreading lies about the NESHL, and must be ‘shut-down’ for good. The NESHL delivered a written letter to the Egg-man which said in part:
“The Provo Penguins blog mocks the players and teams in the NESHL, and reflects poorly on the league as a whole. Because of this, the Provo Penguins have 30 days to shut-down the blog, and remove all content that references teams, players or the NESHL league directly.”
In addition to the written statement, the content on the blog is under investigation for ‘erroneously quoting players and people’ associated with the league, and a court order was sent to the person(s) responsible for the blog indicating that ‘misquoting people in a public forum was unlawful, and any and all quotes will be reviewed for authenticity’. The order also directly indicated that during the 30 day period, in which the blog is to be shut-down, that all quotes must be ‘factual’ or fines would be levied.
“It is a shame that this had to happen,” commented Lawler. “But the blog is making a complete mockery of the league, and could be considered hurtful to anyone misquoted in it. For as long as I have been in the NESHL, mocking players and teams was never taken lightly. This is a league serious about hockey, not making fun of people. Players have called and emailed me directly to complain, which was a clear indication that the blog was out of hand.”
It was later learned that a handful of players, all from different teams, had indicated to Lawler that the blog had caused embarrassment to these players and their families. One editorial note, there is actually a player on the Analog team named “Finkelstein”.
“I cannot say much on this matter,” responded the Egg-man. “The league won’t allow it. But everything on the blog was done in fun, and should have been taken that way. Unfortunately for whatever reason some people complained, and that means the end of the blog. Why they complained is beyond me.”
Also notified of this incident was Blogspot.com, which was the site that hosted the blog. Although they technically had no issue with the blog, they asked that the following statement be issued through the Penguins site:
“We apologize for any offense that may have been taken by the Penguins blog, and know it was done in jest. However, since feelings were hurt, the blog will be removed in the 30 day period as requested, and the blogger(s) will pay the mandatory fine for inappropriate blogs, as indicated in the agreement form which was signed when the blog was activated.”
The names of the players that complained were kept private, but one source close to the NESHL stated that they were ‘disgruntled because the Penguins were making fun of them, and a few had lost games to the Penguins and were still upset’.
The Provo Penguins blogger(s) have seven days to contest to the court order, although this would require an attorney, and therefore will ‘most likely not happen’.
29 days left…
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