The NHL is "not allowing independent media to report from inside its bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton," according to Matt Porter of the BOSTON GLOBE. Porter wrote the NHL is engaging in "small-minded behavior" and "working against its own interests as it tries to grow the game." Four U.S. reporters "planned to cross" the border: the Washington Post's Samantha Pell and AP's John Wawrow to Toronto, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Sarah McClellan and Colorado Hockey Now's Adrian Dater to Edmonton, but they "will be restricted." No face-to-face interactions, no first-hand account of what the plans and diagrams the NHL released late this past week "actually look like in person." There is "no view of anything but the games of the teams they cover, then a timely exit from the rink and more Zoom calls." NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said more media would be an "unnecessary risk" that could "overburden the system." Porter: "That doesn't hold water considering the league is welcoming three writers for NHL.com ... and 24 team-specific 'content creators.'" Meanwhile, the NBA is "allowing reporters inside the bubble" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/26).
