Foxy’s Tales: Jim Fox responds to readers’ comments on his blog entries

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Jim Fox is a former Kings forward and the award-winning color commentator for Kings telecasts on Fox Sports West He played for the Kings from 1980 to 1990 and ranks eighth on the Kings’ all-time scoring list. You can get more insight from Jim and about the LA Kings at www.lakings.com.

I appreciate everyone taking the time to post comments. From time-to-time I will do my best to respond to some of the comments and will strive to touch on a cross-section as opposed to answering every individual comment since many comments deal with the same topic. Thanks again for your participation.

Here’s a question...
I don’t have cable, or satellite and the only way I can get my Kings fix is online radio. I’d sign up for the NHL GameCenter but how can I watch with blackout restrictions? Or is there a way that a deal with Fox Sports West can be worked out to allow them to broadcast the games online?
Posted by: Nick Harris | October 14, 2009 at 03:26 PM

I assume you have already looked into the blackout restrictions regarding NHL GameCenter. Below please find the area from the GameCenter website’s FAQ’s that gives information about the blackouts.

As far as FOX Sports West or any television carrier is concerned, I am vaguely aware of restrictions that all TV rightsholders have to abide by regarding online content and at this time, the TV rightsholders do not have permission to put game footage on their website. I assume over the next five, 10 or 15 years this will start to change as more and more viewers go to the web for their sports information. As I think you know, this can get very complicated in the legal sense and it will take intense negotiations to make this happen. Not sure if I have given you any new information…

GAMECENTER LIVE™ Blackouts. When am I blacked out on NHL GAMECENTER LIVE™
Generally, you are blacked out of games on NHL GAMECENTER Live based on a number of factors, including:
Your local team is televising on a local over-the-air station and you are located within that station’s signal.
Your local team is televising on a local regional sports network and your cable or satellite system falls within the distribution for that local regional sports network (regardless of whether your cable or satellite system actually carries that regional sports network.)
There is no local television coverage of your local team.
The game is being televised nationally – In the U.S. this includes NBC, Versus, and the NHL Network. In Canada this includes CBC, TSN, and the NHL Network.
What if all the games I’m trying view are blacked out?
This means our system cannot identify your IP address as a valid IP address. Hotels, Universities or Colleges, using a company VPN could be connecting to proxy servers that make it difficult to locate what TV territory you are located in.

Foxy, I like your log entries but you dropped the puck in not asking [NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill] Daly the questions that were posed for [Commissioner Gary] Bettman. Many readers had pointed queries for Bettman that the mainstream press is afraid to ask. If Daly was willing to answer anything on the record, why not ask him about the laughable TV situation that sees the league’s hand-picked national cable channel being removed from DirecTV? Or about how the league says it does not want to move teams so the lame-duck Coyotes play on in front of thousands of empty seats? They did not seem to mind moving the team to Phoenix from Winnipeg, but I know hypocrisy is not the NHL’s strong suit. Or how insulting it is to have an owner in Phil Anschutz who ignores the media and the public as if we are all swine flu carriers yet someone like Caps’ owner Ted Leonsis seems to get that the paying public might actually like to see the owner as involved as the fanbase. Foxy, if you really want this blog to be somewhat interactive and you are sincere about soliciting reader feedback, go ahead and use it when your readers respond.
Posted by: Sylvia Fallow | October 17, 2009 at 12:14 AM

I have to apologize for not being aware of the questions that you and others wanted me to ask. I did not have time to check the comments before I met with Mr. Daly and next time I am in this type of a situation, I will do my best to ask the “appropriate” questions.

Jim, I have always been a big fan, and we have met and talk hockey many, many times. I have only one question, does Dean [Lombardi, the Kings’ general manager] have a bias against European players? Case in point, Dean has publicly called out [Anze] Kopitar. He publicly called out [Lauri] Tukonen, eventually trading him. Now [Alexander] Frolov. Has Dean ever publicly called out a North American player like this?
Posted by: Lucky | October 21, 2009 at 09:17 AM

There has been, for many years, a “stereotype” of European players and the style they play. The “passé” knock on Europeans was that they were not physical enough, they did not feel winning the Stanley Cup was the top priority or that they didn’t shoot enough among other things. Over the last 10 years or so, this has gone away and players such as Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Nicklas Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall and Peter Forsberg have shown how effective Europeans can be. Some Europeans still carry the stigma of not liking the physical part of the game. If Dean does have a bias, I believe it is with the “style of a player” and not where he is from.

I disagree with your public commentary on Frolov and I disagreed with [Coach Terry] Murray calling him out publicly.
These matters should be discussed behind closed doors and left there. I wouldn’t blame Frolov for feeling depressed about his treatment given his past contributions.
Players and media need to be managed much better and media (Jim Fox) need to be more professional in psychoanalyzing players publicly.
Posted by: Robert Amberg | October 21, 2009 at 11:39 AM

I talked about him being “quiet” and have written about how he is perceived. If possible, please let me know where you think I “psychoanalyzed” Frolov. I agree with you, that these things are best kept behind closed doors, but I also understand that the Kings felt they did everything possible to get Frolov’s attention. Thanks for your comments.

I agree with the other posters here that the problem is with Lombardi and not with Frolov. Lombardi didn’t like O’Sullivan and Camallari getting more money from the Kings and both were quickly sent packing. Now that Frolov is a pending FA this is just trying to run him down in public to justify either not resigning him or trading him before the deadline. For a team that has struggles consistently scoring I don’t know how they can ever justify moving a player that can put the puck in the net. Put Frolov on the same line as Kopitar and watch the scoreboard light up.
Posted by: West Coast Ram | October 21, 2009 at 12:15 PM

You were right about moving Frolov onto a line with more offensive responsibility, as he has responded with some production. Not sure if the “trying to run him down in public” has much to do with the contract situation. Going public with something such as this only lowers your chances of trading him and getting something of value in return. The better he plays, the better it is for all scenarios that may develop in the future.

-- Jim Fox