Botta hits the nail on the head

Thankfully, Chris Botta is continuing his blog through July 7, answering questions and posting quality stuff like this, pointing out the hypocrisy of sports columnists like Serena Roberts.

One the one hand, she wants to make 'connections' with athletes like LeBron James who are encased in a cocoon of PR people. On the other hand, she feels she can throw someone like Eric Cairns under the bus and use him to make an example of the NHL without attending a game, calling the team or even trying to interview Cairns.

There are a lot of lazy sportswriters out there. They have their preconceived notions and would rather spout out their opinions, however misinformed, rather than do research, which may (God forbid) alter their perceptions and force them to write something different or fresh.

Apparently, Cairns wasn't big-time enough for Roberts to make an effort. Too bad.

Blogfather Botta resigns

Chris Botta ended his 20-plus-year tenure with the Islanders this week, resigning as the team's VP of media relations.

Botta created the Blog Box, and for that reason alone I'm indebted to him and his vision. The Isles were the first major sports franchise to give media credentials to a group of bloggers and will likely not be the last, regardless of what Buzz Bissinger has to say about it.

Botta had an interesting career with the Isles with more ups and downs than the Cyclone. He is also a terribly nice guy and a true professional and I'm sure he'll land on his feet in a situation that will be beneficial to him and his family. So Chris, best of luck to you and thank you again for the opportunity to cover the Islanders as a member of the Blog Box. I'm sure we'll be seeing you down the road.

Simon, Pronger and Campbell - not a tasty soup

So before we get our first look at Kyle Okposo tonight I wanted to weigh in on the Pronger stomp and say that I agree with our man Chris Botta that the punishment didn't seem to fit the crime based on what Chris Simon got. But I'm not surprised in the least.

Yes, the actions were very similar. In fact, you could make the argument that Pronger's was worse in that, on the video, it looks like he makes two attempts at stomping on Ryan Kesler's leg, while Simon looked like he tried to get away with something on the way into the bench. But basically, they were the same -- identically illegal and offensive.

And while Pronger has his own disciplinary record and reputation, Simon's is longer and darker, and at the time he was coming off the long suspension. So to step on a guy so soon afterward called for a longer suspension, hence the 30 games. Should Pronger have gotten more? Sure -- 12 or 15 games, which would have included playoffs, seems more fair.

But here's where the real problem is -- Colin Campbell and how the NHL deals with discipline.

Having Campbell as judge, jury and executioner, in what is really a closed process, is just plain bad as policy. Having Campbell in charge only makes it worse because, from what I've seen, he is thick-headed and arrogant and probably not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Read Scott Burnside's take on the situation on ESPN.com. I don't agree that these things should be trials, but there is plenty of room for transparency and openness, which is the exact opposite of how discipline is currently meted out.