NHL Playoff Diary: Rangers coach John Tortorella is a man of few words
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats went through a spell where they lost often, and badly. Lancaster was a legendary storyteller and an engaging speaker, but even he had his limits. After one loss, someone fumbled a question and ended up suggesting the Ticats had trouble running and also throwing the ball that night.
Lancaster growled through the smoke: "You know what? You have a unique grasp of the obvious."
That was free entertainment.
In truth, post-game interviews are rarely much fun. Television reporters have monologues to record, radio reporters have audio to file and print reporters have stories to write. There are deadlines to meet, and not much time to waste.
Bruce Arthur / National Post
The transcript from Wednesday night's John Tortorella post-game news conference.
. And it usually seems like a joyless affair for the coaches, too, who are perched behind the podium, or swarmed in a scrum. At least Lancaster had a cigarette when he faced a firing line.
So that might help explain John Tortorella, the New York Rangers coach who has taken the mundane post-game - and pre-game, and off-day - scrum and Ndamukong Suh Jerseys thrust it into the spotlight during these playoffs. He answered five questions in 47 words before his team lost Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final on Wednesday.
And after the game? He answered six questions in 36 words.
It could be that he genuinely dislikes speaking with the media, and that would not make him the first. It could also be that he is thrusting himself into the spotlight in an effort to take some of the attention, and thus some of the pressure, off his top-seeded team. Or he might just like messing with people.
Either way, by speaking so few words, Tortorella unleashed a torrent of them online.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats went through a spell where they lost often, and badly. Lancaster was a legendary storyteller and an engaging speaker, but even he had his limits. After one loss, someone fumbled a question and ended up suggesting the Ticats had trouble running and also throwing the ball that night.
Lancaster growled through the smoke: "You know what? You have a unique grasp of the obvious."
That was free entertainment.
In truth, post-game interviews are rarely much fun. Television reporters have monologues to record, radio reporters have audio to file and print reporters have stories to write. There are deadlines to meet, and not much time to waste.
Bruce Arthur / National Post
The transcript from Wednesday night's John Tortorella post-game news conference.
. And it usually seems like a joyless affair for the coaches, too, who are perched behind the podium, or swarmed in a scrum. At least Lancaster had a cigarette when he faced a firing line.
So that might help explain John Tortorella, the New York Rangers coach who has taken the mundane post-game - and pre-game, and off-day - scrum and Ndamukong Suh Jerseys thrust it into the spotlight during these playoffs. He answered five questions in 47 words before his team lost Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final on Wednesday.
And after the game? He answered six questions in 36 words.
It could be that he genuinely dislikes speaking with the media, and that would not make him the first. It could also be that he is thrusting himself into the spotlight in an effort to take some of the attention, and thus some of the pressure, off his top-seeded team. Or he might just like messing with people.
Either way, by speaking so few words, Tortorella unleashed a torrent of them online.