Evidently, I screwed up.
It wasn’t James Duthie who started the excuse machine (see yesterday’s rant), but it was someone. My eyes are not as good as they once were, but my ears are still pretty good.
I received this missive from Greg McIsaac at TSN:
Hi Scott,
In your blog at rivercitysports.com yesterday you quoted James Duthie as saying “We shouldn’t blame the athletes for failing to win medals at these Games. It’s not all about medals.” At no point has James Duthie said (or hinted) anything close to this. We would appreciate if you would write a retraction and or an apology on your blog.
While we appreciate your right to criticize our broadcasts, we would also appreciate you ensuring that your facts are accurate before publishing them.
Thank you,
Greg McIsaac
Director of Communications, TSN
Greg, you’re welcome. I’ll go back through my PVR and make the correction. For now, it wasn’t Duthie. But it WAS somebody.
Let’s not make excuses for athletes when in fact, it wasn’t the athletes who created this “I-Beleive-Own-the-Podium,” hogwash. Canadians were sold a bill of goods. Canadians were led to believe there were a load of medals out there, when it’s now becoming very clear that the Winter Olympics isn’t that easy.
To win seven medals, three gold, in the first eight days of the Games is miraculous. A little truth in advertising would have made this entire exercise much more enjoyable.
For now, my apologies to Duthie who is a great broadcaster. I will find the exact source and address it accordingly.