Saturday, February 16, 2008

An open letter to Bruin1968...

Bruin1968,

First off, thanks for visiting the site.

The objective here at The Sports Brief isn't to win a Pullitzer or write a moving, riveting, heart-warming piece on something the general public absolutely needs to know.

It's a website where we can write reactions, thoughts, opinions and predictions for others to read, enjoy and comment on like yourself.

While we certainly appreciate the comment, I am livid at the fact that you would accuse some start-up website of plagiarizing a Steve Buckley article from the Herald. I challenge you to present us with that article, or have Steve do so himself. I happen to be an acquaintence of Steve's, having worked alongside him at Fenway and played in his OldTime Baseball Game last summer.

It is not uncommon that people often share the same thoughts, nor write about them in a similar fashion, particularly when it is strictly opinion-based. So again, I challenge you to present us with hard evidence that we did in fact commit plagiarism.

As far as the content on this website, we are all from New England and happen to be fans of the Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots, as well as the UFC and MMA in general.

We aren't fans of the Bruins, so if you're looking for an article about the Hub of Hockey, look elsewhere, you won't find it here. Unfortunately, we don't find the team to be of interest to us. Again, that's strictly one's opinion.

In the interim, please continue to visit the site with an open mind. We don't need you coming with your red pen in hand, telling us how we rambled on about a particular subject, or if our grammar needs a bit fine-tuning. I don't know if that's what you do for a living, and frankly I don't care. But we don't issue grades on The Sports Brief. We just write about topics that interest us and hope it will spark interest in those that stumble onto our website and read it.

Apparently we've done that with you. It's just unfortunate you couldn't do it with an open mind and be more supportive of a few guys who are doing this in their spare time merely for kicks and entertainment. That's all it is, just an attempt to entertain those that visit.

Thanks again, and please continue to visit The Sports Brief.

-Bess

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You asked. I provided. This is a link to the Boston Herald archive section:

http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/results.html?st=advanced&QryTxt=steve+buckley&By=

I refuse to pay to prove to you that Brian's February 4th article is EERILY similar to No. 7 of this current archive list. Now I'm not saying to run out and buy the article to prove a point, however if you have a February 4th Boston Herald lying around, you can find Steve's article on page 90.

Also, it doesn't matter to me if you are Steve's best friend, wife, or father, I was just stating my OPINION that the two articles are amazingly alike. Its even worse if you guys are "aquaintences"(I'm assuming if Steve Buckley actually did see you, he'd walk right on by unless you put your hand out)AND you are using his articles. Its fine to use it, just throw in a citation to show that its not your own.

Nice job with beginning with the opinion defense, then realizing I specifically asked you not to use it. You instead blamed it on me for not having an open mind.
Honestly, I did in fact come here with an open mind and was just appalled to see a Boston based web site couldn't even throw in at least an "Bruins 3 Devils 4" update. Instead replacing them with MMA meatheads who have limited brain function if any at all.

My job has nothing to do with grammar, but I know when something is poorly written when I see it. Obviously your writers cannot be that intelligent(assuming one can be in college for six years) and you guys are having fun, that's great. But what ever happened to having a little pride in what you do.

I guess I may be a little old fashioned, and I apologize if you have been offended.

It really is true that the internet provides a portal for those who shouldn't be writing, to write and express opinions that have no business being discussed. For if they did, they would be writing for a legitimate publication.

-Bruin1968

Ps. My passwords a mess so I'm posting under anonymous.

The Sports Brief with Besse & Keefe said...

Look, pal. This isn't ESPN.com nor are we working for an all-sports website that covers every team.

It's a blog, and we'll write about what we feel like writing about. If you want to read about the Bruins, there plenty of websites that can quench your thirst. Like I said, you'll read what we choose to write about. I'm sorry if that doesn't do it for you. Unfortunately, we aren't all things to all people.

But I'll tell you what...I have an open mind, and because of that, I'm going to offer you the opportunity to write about the Bruins FOR us. So if you care so much about the team and want to read about them, what better than to read your own article! You seem to be real high on yourself already, so go ahead and e-mail us anytime you decide to write an article on the B's. We'll post it on the website and give you due credit. Unfortunately, much to your dismay, we don't plagiarize.

Let me remind you, you're dealing with a few guys in their early 20's writing on a BLOG. Why, in god's name, would we plagiarize? It's a BLOG!

And lastly, I'm sorry you don't have appreciation for the beauty in mixed martial arts. These guys are not street fighters, they're well-rounded tactitioners who can submit you and finish a fight in a number of ways. Not everyone appreciates that, but we do, and will continue to write about it when we deem necessary.

Again, feel free to submit any articles to the site on the B's. There's no money or fame to be made here, just good fun. So we'll post it, give you due credit and continue to enjoy what we're already doing.