Behind the Blog: Jes Golbez's Hockey Rants

I'm happy to say that today's Behind the Blog is featuring the always humorous, passionate and entertaining Jes Golbez at Hockey Rants. His hockey blog has always been one of my favorites since I entered the hockey blogosphere. Next week's BtB will feature Jeff and Alanah Downie at Vancouver Canucks Op Ed. Q.1 – Your first posts date back to May 16, 2004. What made you create a hockey blog and why did you name it Jes Golbez’s Hockey Rants? I had been reading baseball blogs (my other favourite sport) for quite some time and thought that I had many good things to write about, only about hockey. I had visited message boards for years, but the conversations were often childish and anything I wrote of significant length would just get lost in the shuttle. So, I basically thought that since I always wanted to do blog where I could just spout out off on whatever I want. Why don't I create a site and see where it goes? As for the title, it just fit since I rant a great deal and I'm not the most original title maker. Q.2 – When did you realize that you had finally established Hockey Rants as one of the premiere hockey blogs? Well, since I write it, it's always been the best ;). Really, I always think there is lots of room for improvement in my site and my writing. It's not-for-profit, so I'm not sure how I can measure success. Actually, I probably 'arrived' when I got emails from a couple of new blogs telling me that my site was the inspiration for them to get started. That was quite flattering. Q.3 – Aside from Hockey Rants, you also run a blog entitled The Sidney Crosby Show and write a monthly team report for FantasyHockey.com. What made you take on these additional projects? I have done quite a lot of writing, although not as much as I used to, for various sites and even a few publications over the past few years. Since I've been into fantasy hockey for many years, it just seemed natural to write for FantasyHockey.com and report about the St. Louis Blues. Writing also keeps me motivated to not be the usual lazy sloth that I am. The Sidney Crosby Show is sort of a social experiment and a way to track the phenomenon that Sidney has created. No other player, not even Eric Lindros, has created so much hype. Sidney has the advantage of once-in-a-generation skillset combined with the explosion of multimedia reporting that Lindros, Lemieux, and Gretzky never enjoyed. I figured that there should be a one-stop shop for Sidney news plus it would be an interesting social study. Q.4 – What advice would you give to other bloggers, especially to the newcomers? 1. Be prepared. Blogging can take more time than you first imagine. It may seem easy, but there are times when your mind is blank and/or you just don't feel like writing. 2. Update often. This keeps your site generating more visitors and keeps your mind active. It's like working out...once you stop; it's hard to get started again. 3. Incorporate images into your blog. 4. Be yourself. Yeah, this sounds like the garbage your mom used to tell you after getting rejected for the 1,000 time on a date request, but the best bloggers are the ones that inject their own personality into their sights. Q.5 – Do you find it challenging to balance work and your blogging? Well, I follow and read so much hockey news and write quickly that I don't find it hard at all. Most of my writing tends to be 'natural' and spur-of-the-moment. It also helps that on long SkyTrain (our public overland subway of sorts) rides that I can sort of daydream about posts and other material that I write. Q.6 – You closely follow the Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues. But which team would you pick as your favorite team? Why? In a death match, it would have to be the hometown Canucks. I have truly lived and died with them more than the faraway Blues. It also helps that the Blues let my favourite player, Pavol Demitra, walk to LA. Q.7 – Where do you see the NHL in 10 years? Why? Well, I expect the US economy to implode on itself thanks to an unretainable level of personal, government, and trade debt combined with an over-reliance on insurance... oh wait, this isn't Political Rants :). Honestly, I see the NHL in the USA as the regional sport that it is now and that it will be the same fabric-of-the-nation sport in Canada that is has always been. I hope to see the NHL flourish better in some of the new markets, but it wouldn't surprise me to see one or two of the weaker markets lose their teams and perhaps head to Winnipeg (crosses fingers) or Houston. Florida, especially, looks to be a franchise that will never flourish. If the Devils owner wasn't so tight with Bettman and the BoG, I could see them losing their club to a better market. Q.8 – What did you think of the New Jersey Devils head coach, Larry Robinson, stepping down from his position? I was shocked, but I don't follow the Devils closely so that was part of the reason. I wouldn't be shocked, though, if he was rehired by the Devils some time in the future. Fat Lou runs the team like a bit of a cult. Q.9 – What are your thoughts on the US Olympic team roster picks? Let me answer that when I stop laughing. ... there! The main surprise, to me, was that they included the ancient and slowed-down Chris Chelios. If they were leaving the past behind by leaving off Leetch, Amonte, and Roenick, why take Chelios? In a tournament against the world's best players, I feel Chelios will be an awful liability for the US club. The goaltending is incredibly weak and none of the 3 goalies picked would leave me with a lot of confidence. I wouldn't totally underestimate the US squad, but they will have a tough time keeping strong opponents off of the scoreboard. Q.10 – If you had to predict two teams that will be in the Stanley Cup finals, who would you pick? Ottawa versus Calgary. Ottawa is the cream of the East and Hasek is back to his old self. Calgary has a very well put together roster and Kiprusoff is proving to be the real deal. Vancouver doesn't have the defensive depth to make the finals, but anything can happen...we're crossing our fingers. Q.11 – When did you attend your first hockey game and who was playing? When I moved to Vancouver from Cranbrook. I was 8 and it was against the Nordiques. The Nords weren't very good at this time, and the Canucks won. I forget the score, but it was something like 7-4: a typical 80's high scoring game. It was the first live NHL game that I had ever been to, and it was quite an experience. Cranbrook had very low level junior hockey, with crowds of a few hundred at most. Attending a game with over 15,000 screaming people caused my eardrums to nearly explode. I loved every minute, however. Q.12 – What team do you find to be the most exciting to watch this year? Our hometown Canucks have been one of the most attack-minded teams in the NHL for a few years and they are fun to watch. As for an opposing team, this year's Ottawa Senators are very fun to watch. It's too bad that the Leafs are always on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada and not the superior Senators. I also enjoy the offensive aggressiveness of Tampa Bay. Q.13 – If you could change one thing about the NHL, what would it be? Off Ice - Fire Gary Bettman. On Ice - Scrap the shootout. I can live with every other rule change except this one. It's silly! Q.14 – Is there a hockey blog or website that you look up to for inspiration? I had read baseball blogs long before I read any hockey blogs. When I looked around for hockey blogs, there were so few! The ones I found were Off Wing Opinion, Confessions of a Hockey Fan, Hockey Pundits, and Sharkspage.com. Those 4 sites gave me my first taste of the hockey blog sphere and I felt I should jump in. Nowadays, I enjoy the statistical analysis I find on The Puck Stops Here and HockeyAnalysis.com. I always wanted to do more metric studies for hockey, but I don't really have the time. It's good to see others are taking charge. Q.15 - Any additional comments? The blogosphere really exploded after the lockout ended. Before and during the lockout, there were only a handful of us. Now, there are too many blogs to keep up with! I try to visit them all when I can, especially since they give good links to relevant news and discussion you won't find in the mainstream media. I've also been blessed to gain new friends and opportunities through Hockey Rants. I've met PJ of Sharkspage down in San Francisco and have talked numerous times online with Michael the Hockey Fanatic and the Acid Queen. Meeting new contacts and people through blogging is another inspiration to keep going. I even met my girlfriend though my site (long story for another day).