Ben-DutkaLet me preface this piece by clarifying something about my career as a journalist-
I began with the newspapers, working my way up from freelance local news, and eventually published over one hundred articles in three different newspapers; these ranged from entertainment features to editorial. I left this behind for two reasons: 1. The steady decline of print media meant I was starving to death, and 2. I had found the ethics, business structure, and principles to be highly questionable at best.
The cardinal sin of journalism, as I was taught, is to infuse opinion into a news report. The second cardinal sin is to interpret the facts for the reader. Of course, most all mainstream news sources these days commit both sins on a daily basis, and the latest example of this can be found in The Daily News . For the record, I do not necessarily blame the author, Mike Lupica, because for the most part, he's merely reporting on the mass assumptions that sources have essentially turned into fact since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
The article talks about CT state police colonel Danny Stebbins addressing a recent find in the Sandy Hook tragedy case. The shooter, Adam Lanza, apparently had been planning the massacre for years, and even kept detailed spreadsheets of the names and number of people killed in past mass murders. He essentially wanted to kill more than anyone had in the past; to "beat" the other murderers in a diabolical game of sorts. Stebbins said it is believed those spreadsheets were "score sheets" and "the work of a video gamer." In other words, Lanza just wanted to get the best "score."
Lupica even refers to Lanza as "the video gamer." The source further said Lanza killed himself so he wouldn't give away those "points" and- "In the code of a gamer, even a deranged gamer like this little bastard, if somebody else kills you, they get your points. They believe that's why he killed himself." That's really what "they" believe.
Now, what I would like to see is the tiniest shred of evidence that Lanza even played video games. There is nothing in this report or in any report since the tragedy that lists a single solitary game title, that cites sources saying Lanza played a lot of games, or that finds any example in recovered documents that mention video games in any way. No game was cited on these spreadsheets, Lanza never referred to a video game or gaming in general, and as far as I can tell, the only people who have ever used the term "video game" in association with Adam Lanza are speculative authorities and journalists.
Stebbins actually goes so far as to call Lanza a "violent, insane gamer" and bases this on no factual evidence whatsoever. These people are so out of the loop that they honestly believe that this is still 1980, where the goal of most video games is to have the most points. Even in the realm of multiplayer, I don't know how many games allow you to steal points from someone after you kill them (citing Stebbins' quote about the "code of the gamer"). Are there any? From what I can gather, Lanza has been branded an "insane gamer" because they found spreadsheets and research this severely deranged individual had collected, which showed his plan. That's it. Spreadsheets. And they've twisted this to mean "scoresheets" and then made the jump to video games.
These people should be embarrassed. Sadly, there is no easy answer for what happened that awful day. The perpetrator was broken; that's perhaps the plainest, most obvious answer, although it likely won't give anyone any comfort. Even worse, what this horrid event has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, at least in my estimation, is that journalism in this country is woefully lacking and highly suspect, as they seem to want to give us answers and assign blame, when in fact that is not the goal of journalism. No mainstream article on this subject has been researched from the aspect of the gaming industry. Not one. They sound outdated, judgmental and ignorant. Ignorance in journalism should not be tolerated.
Most journalists, and I imagine guys like Lupica, would rate video game journalists as the lowest of the low in the journalism field. They believe we're all just playing at this, that we're all just typing away in our parents' basements. It's why the AP doesn't even have a full-time reporter that covers games and why even the biggest newspapers in the world treat both games and game journalists with contempt and suspicion. That, by the way, can be seen in this apparent smear campaign against gaming, which was sparked by an unspeakable tragedy. The mainstream media saw an opening and took it. And I am once again reminded as to why I left papers in the first place; I had once thought it prestigous. I don't anymore.
Disclaimer: New information may come to light that proves Lanza played a lot of violent video games. So far, that hasn't happened but if it does, so be it. I will not, however, amend my opinion or this article because the public has been given no evidence of Lanza's "insane" gaming trends and hence, no accusations can be made. At least, not yet.
Yeah all that sounds made up since it doesn't actually make any sense whatsoever.
I can see the Ted Cruz hearings already "Are you now or have you ever been a gamer?"
Sounds to me like they should ban Microsoft Excel.
and jeans. Research has shown that 90% of all mass murderers owned at least one pair of jeans, sometimes more. Denim ownership clearly has a correlation with being a nut-job.
….and of course penny loafers, obviously the shoes of a madman.
And Ramen noodles… FTW!
lol true.
Don't joke about the penny loafers, though… that shite's crazy…
He had spreadsheets… THAT makes him an insane gamer? NO, stupid. It simply means he was a well organized psychopath.
Do you think he got all those stats about previous mass murders from video games? Nope. He got them from the media. News, and books go on and on about these tragedies. And psycho's have been one-upping each other since long before video games. If he saw it as a competition you can blame the News, and human nature… Not video games.
He killed himself so nobody would get his points? Holy sh**, is this guy for real? What about every other maniac who's gone on a killing spree and then offed himself? Were they all protecting their points too?
I need a drink…
Thats the thing though. Psycopaths arent supposed to be able to think like that. They are "MONSTERS"! If they can think right, then anybody can be capable of this kinda thing. We can all spot "MONSTERS". Normal people cant do this kind of thing.
Kinda like if you look at history, Adolf Hitler wasnt a great politician, no he was a "MONSTER"! None of our politicians could do that. We can spot a "MONSTER"!. Or Charlie Manson or Jim Jones,etc.. We know what "MONSTERS" look like.
But everyone always says of the perpetrators, "He was just a nice kid. Kept to himself. Was always nice to me and said hi." But if anyone can do this, then people might worry more. Because then we wouldnt know who to look for, they aren't "MONSTERS".
Actually, no one could tell Hitler was a monster until they were far too deep into what was happening. He was a brilliant politician and a psychopath with additional mental health issues that helped him create a perverted ideology.
He came into power with a message of hope, peace, and prosperity. Initially, many saw him as a savior of sorts before any war ever happened. He didn't begin his campaign until his control was sure.
The best monsters stay hidden in the closet or under our beds and don't come out until everyone's turned out the lights and let down their guard to go to sleep. lol That's literally what hitler did. Scary ash mo-fo… Certainly not human. But it's not accurate to say he was a bad politician.
Underdog, that was the point.
It almost like the media and politicians are trying to do like Hitler did, single out a group for being different to hide the goals of themselves.*
*Not comparing Jews and gamers. Just the idea of political sleight of hand.
"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist", Charles Baudelaire.
" I had found the ethics, business structure, and principles to be highly questionable at best."
I totally agree with u. Problem is the masses believe what they are fed.
When these same so called free press principles are applied to shaping worldwide opinions, never mind video games, we get hundreds of thousands of people killed, eg the Iraqi WMDs that never existed.
Sorry for going off topic but the World can be so depressing.
Seems to me that someone that keeps spreadsheets of previous mass murders and the number of victims and has been planning an attack for years not *not* a gamer. They are a cold, calculating psychopath focused specifically on causing harm in a particular manner. Even if he has ever played a video game, there are millions upon millions of gamers who do *not* commit any crimes at all. If one were to start investigating this psychopath's life and comparing the aspects of his life and interests against previous mass murderers, I wonder what we might find? Perhaps they all liked watching the NFL, but I bet a minority of the played video games. Perhaps they all listen to rock music, but only a minority played paper based RPGs. Perhaps they all had a fascination with weapons, but only a few owned a game console. Perhaps they all loved spicy food, but not all of them liked italian. Perhaps….you kinda get the idea.
The point is that people are basing the attacks on video games not in fact but in prejudice. It's pure prejudice that drives this. Video games are something outside the control of this generation of older people with the middle class ideals right out of the 50s & 60s. What they do not control or understand they fear. It's pure prejudice. They used to do this with paper based RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons. Every deranged lunatic that committed some mass crime was described as a quiet person, a loner who played those weird games. You know the ones with the mutli-sided dice and all the demonic influences…those game changed him…
Forget the fact that the individual hadn't played the games in years, or that the millions of there players never did anything. Forget all the other factors that went into making the person a psychopath, yep, it was the role playing games that did it. Someone should sue that Gary Gygax guy and ban multi-colored dice with anything but 6 sides….etc, etc… You know the kind of thing.
So now paper based games are out of vogue, and video games are in. So they get the blame.
What a crock of sh**. Since when did the law enforcement of this country run on nothing but prejudice and speculation? I thought that BS finally got eradicated and people started to think. Perhaps not.
A quick note for all concerned. There is more commonality between murderers who use a gun with regards to gun ownership/use than there is video game ownership/use. Strangely enough guns might be a bigger factor in these attacks than games – a shocking thought I am sure.
Good grief.
I'm still having trouble connecting the dots that many in the media connect with a swish of their mental pen. The facts here are that a very disturbed individual shot 27 at a school. He did *NOT* kill these people by throwing video games at them, or zinging them with BluRay discs or game cases. He did it using guns. He did not get the guns from any video games, they were available to him because his mother had them in her home. He did not learn how to shoot the guns from a video game, he got that skill from the gun range where his Mom taught him to shoot. We know little to nothing of his upbringing, but it is clear that there were a few issues in his mental state, but one thing is for sure, the playing of any video game was not the root cause of that, nor was it responsible for any lack of care or treatment that could have helped him. For that matter, video games did not facilitate his access to guns despite his issues. Nor did games make the ammunition available to him. Video games did not teach him how to research and obsess over previous mass murders and those that committed them. Video games did not teach him to use spreadsheets.
The very most a video game could have done in this instance is to have contributed to a more aggressive attitude – that's all that research has *ever* suggested video games do to people. Even if you take a leap of faith and say that as he was already a disturbed and vulnerable mind, and so the games could have had a greater influence on him, I won't argue the point as I agree it could happen. But then, is that the game's fault? Or is it the fault of the parent that allows the child with issues to play games intended for grown ups?
Video games had little to nothing to do with this crime. The shooter's mental state, his upbringing and the care he was receiving as an adult on the other hand *did* have an impact on matters. As did the availability and familiarity with guns and ammunition. No offense to the dead, but his Mom was in the very best position of all to influence this person long before this crime was even a germ of an idea in his head.
People can try to bend reality around all they like to blame video games, but they are simply indulging in scapegoating, and prejudice. In my opinion, there are two factors that actually had some bearing on the tragic events. 1) the availability of and familiarity with the guns and ammunition used. 2) the mental state, and care given, to the psycho that committed these crimes. If we look to those factors and address the problems behind them, we stand a far higher chance of preventing such tragedy in the future. Wasting time and effort on a red-herring – the video games – will help no one. In my opinion, wasting time on blaming video games is utterly disrespectful of the lives that were lost. We as a society should be doing something to fix the underlying problems. Instead we spend time justifying the ownership of assault weapons and blame video games for shootings.
Last edited by TheHighlander on 3/18/2013 3:57:14 PM
by your logic that if you own a gun ur x and x more likely to be a mass murderer is as insane as those saying its cuz he may have been a gamer, Swizerlanders are required BY LAW to have and keep AR-15s in their homes, by what ur saying that country should be a war zone 24/7 with bodies everywhere, but the facts are its got one of the LOWEST gun crime rate on earth outside of antarctica.
Guns or games are not to blame here, HE CHOSE to kill those kids not the guns, if someone whants to do hard he WILL find a way to do it.
Stop f**k**g blaming lifeless tools and start looking at the person/people.
Last edited by Athrin on 3/18/2013 8:33:46 PM
But there is never a means where there is no opportunity….
Also, you're really lacking knowledge on Switzerland Ahtrin. Citizens aren't REQUIRED to own a gun. They do not have an army. They have a standing militia where MOST citizens are conscripted between the ages of 20-30. -THEY- are required to possess their firearms. But there are strict rules about their use, storage, and licensing after retiring from militian ranks. Not in the militia and never have been? Then, not allowed to own a gun and never will be.
The rules in place there are suuuuuuper strict, and everything is registered, audited, and regularly accounted for. Both guns and ammunition.
Firearms not distributed by the national defense board are not legal ever.
Murders in Switzerland are either done by illegal weapons or else they know exactly where to find you.
I won't comment on the US at all here. But I will say that since the US will never scrap its military in exchange for -forcing- it's young citizens to be a part of the militia… you probably can't compare the two.
Last edited by Underdog15 on 3/18/2013 9:54:04 PM
So, Athrin, the fact that the US which has some of the most lax gun ownership laws in the developed and undeveloped worlds, and has one of the largest, if not *the* largest population of gun owners per capita of any nation on earth also happens to have the highest rate of death by fire arm of any developed nation. And when I say highest, there's not even a close second in the race. Second place has a per capita rate that's orders of magnitude lower. The US is quite unique in it's love affair with instruments of death – and before you blather on about them being inanimate objects. They are not simply inanimate objects. Guns were invented and made for a single purpose – to kill. A gun is at it's most basic a tool for killing things. As long as we live in a country where access to instruments of death is essentially without limit, we will live in a country with a ridiculous gun death rate.
If there was a 747 full of people that crashed every month for a year, the 747 would be grounded forever. Guns in the US kill more people than that, more than double that number. I don't honestly think that the majority of Americans understand just how bad the numbers are. They'd grown accustomed to the murders and shootings to the point where they are nearly routing on local news. It takes a massacre for anyone to take note. It's like the story of the frog in warming water that doesn't realize how hot the water is until it's too late to jump out. If you try putting a frog in hot water it will jump immediately, but if the water is cool when the frog is put there, it will happily sit still while the water is heated, until it's too late. That's how guns have grown in the US. Go back 60-70 years and gun ownership was rare, and gun violence was considered shocking. The supreme court made some interesting decisions in those days. Over the decades, things have changed and now people can own assault weapons, and states are passing laws that allow guns in churches. Even the wild west didn't allow that crap.
People really need to wake up and take a cold hard look at reality.
</rant>
Then Blame the gun laws Highlander not the fact that people have them.
The actual truth of all of this something my dad talks about a lot as he is a psychologist and regularly appears on local TV stations to talk about current events, is that if someone is a psychopath basically they will use whatever they have access too. Knife, hammer, gun, fertalizer you name it.
I think that there is a problem in the states with the gun laws, but there are some interesting statistics with crime rates and gun crime rates.
For example, apparently in the UK I think Britain they banned guns or put some strict law on them, and gun crime went way way down, however knife and battery crime went up. I apologize this is paraphrased from a debate I heard a while ago on the subject.
Anyway I think the gun laws need to be changed, guns need to be registered, and they just need to have more ways of knowing who has a gun etc. Also they should do psychological assessments on people who want to purchase a gun. I think that is the first step in fixing the issue.
The second and more important is bringing awarness to mental health. Bringing attention to the terrible diet most people have which contributes to mental instability, the mind body connection and how exercise and animal, art, and movement therapy can help people develop properly etc.
As for this article the News opinion is ridiculous.
The logic of calling this killer the gamer is obscene.
Xenris, I am not sure where you heard that debate that you are referencing, but the assertions you're making about crimes involving knives or simple assault rising as a function of banning guns in the UK are so far off base I almost don't know where to start. I must point out that I lived in the UK prior to their handgun ban, and after it, I was there at the time of the massacre that initiated the ban. violent crimes involving knives have always been a 'problem' and when I say 'problem' I mean it was the most prominent weapon involved in crime in the UK, not because there was a massive number of them, but because there were so few guns in circulation. To put it bluntly, there was practically no private ownership of hand guns in the UK outside target shooters. Banning hand guns affected a tiny minority of the UK and have next to no impact on their crime statistics.
Whatever you heard was dead wrong. I lived in several cities that were renowned for assaults with knives, the Stanley knife (aka a box cutter) was a particular favorite. Historically speaking knives were a problem in the 70s when I was first old enough to pay attention to the news, it was a problem in the 80s and 90s and into the 21st century. Knives did not suddenly pop out of the background when target shooters were banned from having anything more than a single shot .22 locked up at the range for shooting.
Crime statistics in the UK relative to the US are vastly different and lower. The incidence of violent crime relative to the UK's norms will rise and fall with various social factors. However gun ownership is/was a complete non factor in that. Seriously, people need to stop trying to point to these fallacious statistics as some kind of justification for gun ownership. Guns and the horrendous gun death rate in the US is a problem quite specific and particular to the US.
Last edited by TheHighlander on 3/20/2013 12:24:32 AM
You want to know something that kills more Americans than ANY other inanimate object humans use on a regular basis??? CARS… More people are killed in auto accidents than by guns any day of the week. Yet we don't see anyone even remotely THINKING of trying to ban vehicles.
Implementing more gun laws wouldn't change squat, as someone else stated "those who want too badly enough will find a way" NO MATTER WHAT. More gun laws will do nothing but harm the law-abiding citizens, they WILL NOT make a criminal stop and go "oh no, I can't commit this crime, using this gun is a SERIOUS no-no"… As many have said already, people need to wake up and see reality. Criminal will be criminals and ignore the laws, and mentally disturbed individuals will be mentally disturbed individuals…
The fact of the matter is that no matter the tool a person uses to harm others is just that A TOOL, it WON'T get up and act on its own, PERIOD.
And yet, people like you keep blaming "assault weapons" for being so dastardly, when they rank far lower percentage, in death count, than even common every day blunt objects like hammers. The myth that Assault weapons are such a menace to society is just that… A myth blown up by mass media and crazy politicians.
If you really want to be technical, it's the hand guns that account for the highest numbers of gun related deaths, by a significant factor. Despite all that, the majority of legal handgun owners who have gone through the legal hoops are already sane and compliant and non violent. We NEVER hear in the news about the small handful of injuries or deaths when a LEGALLY carrying gun owner steps up and PROTECTS innocent lives with his or her weapon, mitigating further damage by taking down a would be assailant. We only hear of the massacres in GUN FREE ZONES…
This is a gun free zone… Please don't do anything to us innocent, unarmed people! Please, criminals need to leave their weapons outside.
I suppose no one even wants to TOUCH on the gun violence in Mexico… You know, a place that makes gun ownership 100% illegal???
How about the fact that for all the whining and moaning about gun laws in the US… I already have to have a background check and be personally cleared by the local sherif or chef of police to even purchase or carry a handgun or "assault weapon". I can't have a record of felonies or mental illness either, or the sherif won't allow it. If I buy a gun here, the order is submitted to the FBI. What part of this do lawmakers not see??? I already do ALL that stuff…
It's the CRIMINALS who skip it and find black and grey market means to acquire weapons. That's not a fault in the laws any more than a pot head going to his dealer to acquire weed. That's a fault in criminals finding ways to keep out of the law's eye. Rather than focus on the people who DO abide by the law, how 'bout focus on catching those black and grey market back doors.
Blaming and sensationalizing guns is nearly as ridiculous as blaming and sensationalizing video games.
Last edited by richfiles on 3/22/2013 4:05:17 AM
If violent video games cause violence, then playing Madden will make us all NFL-caliber quarterbacks.
Well I have been getting better at throwing spirals.
Penn & Teller did a show about this a few years back:
Violent gamer?
Insane gamer?
Uhhhh, he's not a murderer then?
Next thing you know, gangsters might get labelled as gamers as well.
Last edited by Snaaaake on 3/18/2013 4:12:56 PM
These so called journalist need to be CHALLENGED. Just like people fought for emancipation, for Civil Rights, Movies, Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll. But I believe they can only be challenged by large numbers, a TRUE respected journalist or someone in Power that can actually bring this to life. For all the world to see. If games cause violence then I would have EXECUTED so many so long ago. Especially after playing Pac-Man. Boy does that game make my blood boil!
I can understand a game aggravation a violent person but to outright state that games are to blame is ABSOLUTE Bullshit!
Q-bert. I blame Q-bert….
Oh and great article. Agree 98%.
Has anyone seen the videos and pics of onlookers at the scene at Sandy Hook, laughing and smiling? As if they were not even at Sandy Hook, or at an audition and off-camera? I've seen such off-camera footage before by major media outlets like CNN, BBC, ABC, CBS for other news events. But these ones were particularly disturbing.
Yeah… There is so much NOT right about Sandy Hook. I actually can totally understand why there are some people out there who don't even believe it happened. This is a thing. People don't believe it happened. Quite frankly, the whole thing is so messed up and broken, that I'm not unconvinced that anti-gun groups and politicians were at least licking their chops behind closed doors… Even I have to admit that some things don't add up. The fact that FEMA had a SCHEDULED event less than 20 minutes away, effectively, down the road, training for exactly the kind of thing that happened at Sandy Hook is also too freakishly weird.
When the liberals act this crazy, and the coroner acts like he's drunk and or stupid, and the families are smiling and laughing… It's understandable why some people out there come up with conspiracy theories. The thing that blows me away, are the theories surrounding this mess are built around so much, that they actually do leave doubts in people's minds!
I myself am not 100% convinced that the whole truth is out there. I really do think there are things that are being kept from the public, at the very least. Doesn't build any confidence with the number of events that the media has been refusing to report on lately, and that have only gotten publicity on the internet via social media.
Damn media and government are NOT doing a good job right now. It's like they are trying to be suspicious. I trust them less and less each day, and I already don't trust them any farther than I can pick up and throw the CONTINENT.
If I were retarded I'd blame videogames for crimes they didn't commit. Say no to videogame taxes or any federal funds for Sandy Hook until they start taking life seriously.
My newspaper has a video game section.
Just sayin'.
Sure, they right shitty reviews, and I'm fairly certain the writer has no idea what they're looking at, but it's there, damnit! lol
Last edited by Underdog15 on 3/18/2013 9:35:52 PM
That's actually worse than not having a section at all. It's basically just there to mock the industry, because they won't hire anybody who knows anything.
That's pretty much word for word what my friend said a little while back. I think you guys are probably right.
But he's not really ignorant… he just says a lot of nothing with loads of cliches.
The Globe and Mail published a giant piece about AC3 destroying history… after reading it was clear they hadn't played through the story. It was really sad. They said things about how Connor was all about fighting for the Americans and didn't really care about his people.
It was a little embarrassing to read such blatant fallacies….
Underdog the article also pointed out, from Ubisoft's hired historian too, that while most First Nations were British allies, there were documented proof of exceptions. Besides could you ever image a AAA game being as successful if the Americans were the antagonist?
Wow… can you imagine what would happen if doctors, lawyers, teachers, and professors started playing game?
Oh… wait…. This isn't meant to be a two way street, is it…. damn. Sorry obviously-knowledgeable-about-every-topic-in-the-world-newscaster-guy!
You know, maybe we simply need to change all the laws in the country and replace the word 'gun' with something closer to the actual purpose of the implement. I propose "Instrument of Death" be used in place of the words 'gun' and 'rifle'; also "tool for killing" should be used in place of firearm.
No seriously, Guns are designed for one purpose, and that is to kill something. So let's at least be honest and call them what they are. It's like in video games online when some dolt hacks their save to give themself an advantage. They call themselves a modder, but the truth is that they are nothing more than a pathetic cheater. So I always call such individuals what they are – cheaters.
You're comment makes me think of that South Park episode where they change 'Veal' on the menu to 'Tortured baby cow'… and suddenly nobody wants to order it.
Indeed. I also keep being reminded of the comedian (Chris Rock?)that suggested a solution to gun crime. Charge $5000 per bullet. It's a deceptively simply solution. Actually, I'd be more considerate and drop the cost per pullet to $500, but make it $1000 for rounds for Assault weapons or over a particular caliber…
We regulate and tax cigarettes fairly heavily, so why not bullets? Perhaps Chris Rock was onto something after all?
Hey Highlander, you're pretty anti-gun aren't you? All I see from you is "it's the fault of guns"… The simple truth is that a tool is nothing but an inaminate object until SOMEONE, some HUMAN, interacts w/ that item and uses it for what THEY, NOT the object's, wish to use it for. I can use just about anything to harm another person, but doesn't mean that just because THIS item was intended to kill something doesn't mean it should be singled out in any which way.
Everybody needs to realise that it is the HUMAN behind the tool that has control over said tool, not the other way around…
Guns also SAVE lives, by providing a means to injure or end the life of a criminal in the act of maiming or killing. Everything under the sun has two sides. Even guns have a good side.
<pulls up a chair and grabbs some 'corn>
I'm expecting Jawknee to show up any minute!
Wasn't he autistic? A characteristic is to become fixated on a single subject, and have every bit of information on that subject. Creating a spreadsheet seems like part of his autistic obsession rather than a score-sheet. He was just centralizing the data he had gathered from various sources.
Last edited by Reaper_505 on 3/21/2013 11:26:31 AM
Two things:
1) I'm pretty sure I remember reading early on right after the shooting that they said that Lanza was a gamer into games like Call of Duty. This may or may not be true, but it was definitely at least mentioned, along with the fact that his mother would regularly take him to shooting ranges for sport, with the train of thought being that he married fiction and reality and took it to another level. I'm just saying that I don't think him being a "gamer" is a new revelation, or at least something that authorities are saying for the first time.
2) Mike Lupica, formerly exclusively a sports writer, is one of the only if not only, writers at the Daily News whose articles do not allow for reader feedback online… care to guess why? After cementing his reputation as a marquee sports writer (he's appeared on national tv programs over the last 30 years, and is on at least one local sports cable talk show regularly), his whole gimmick over the years has been to write the controversial opinion on a given topic (in the past only on sports, in recent years on political topics as well). Every other writer's articles at the News is fair game to reader feedback, but his isn't… I think that speaks volumes. Even when he's focused on sports stories, his opinions/pieces don't come across as sincere anymore, case in point being his strong advocacy of the Wilpons, who own the Mets baseball team and have run it into the ground, who had questionable connections in their dealings with the convicted Bernie Madoff, and although ultimately losing millions to him, making tons more with him prior to him being exposed.
I used to trust Lupica as a writer, but something just doesn't smell right with him anymore. Plus, the Daily News has become more and more of a rag in recent years, catering more and more to sensationalist reporting, celebrity scoops, etc. Anyone reading the News should be reading it with a grain of salt; they don't command the respect they once had.
sorry for the rant…