I wanted to start this podcast with a statement on a serious topic, the Chicago Blackhawks.

Some of you have asked whether it's on Twitter, direct message, direct message on Instagram,

why I didn't address this topic earlier.

I certainly in no way doubt the excellent reporting by Tony Arnold of WBEZ Radio and Chicago

who broke the story, the Athletics Katie Strang or anyone else.

It's pretty simple though, I wanted to spend a few extra days doing my own work and my

own research just to be sure about a couple of things.

Plus, I felt using the opening of the podcast and the blog which will drop Monday as a much

better place to coherently outline my thinking instead of on Twitter, things just get mangled

sometimes on Twitter.

There's always what you see in here out there and what you don't see or hear out there.

In stories like this one, there's always things that reporters or sources can't or don't

print or say and I wonder what those things could be.

The accusations are ugly and what I want to make clear is that the people I spoke to bent

over backwards, they took pains to support Paul Vincent, the skills coach from 2010 who

reported the abuse to senior management.

For that reason, I feel very strongly that however the legal process concludes, the black

hocks must come clean and detail what happened.

I believe the team and its employees have been told to keep quiet, not say a word.

It's led to a lot of rumors about what punishment could happen but right now it's all speculation.

This was several other reporters, the NHL decline comment to me, it's not unusual, it can

happen and I've learned also don't assume anything when the league says no on something.

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