Edmonton Sun writer Robert Tychkowski took a lot of flak for his "Murder City" jab, as he called it, and rightly so. But Tychkowski still doesn't seem to see the difference between a news story and an opinon. In this interview with WXYZ, Tychkowski tries to defend his decision to use a reference to Detroit's crime rate in his preview for the Red Wings-Oilers game last night .
↵Tychkowski said he "probably wouldn't do it again" and "it wasn't malicious and it wasn't inaccurate entirely" in the interview with WXYZ's Cheryl Chodun. He also said that he got "about 70-80 emails" and has many friends that had used the reference before, which I hope is not the case in the journalism community in Edmonton.
↵Nowhere in the video did Tychkowski issue an apology to the city of Detroit, which is what should have happened. Instead, Tychkowski came off as a pompous jerk defending a reference that was ill-advised and in poor taste.
↵Robert, take it from somebody who hears this every day in school: you are not right. Jokes about a city's murder rate and public school system belong in a column or editorial, not a preview for a hockey game.
↵Even Fox Sports Detroit commentator Mickey Redmond knows that. Redmond apparently vigorously defended Detroit to Tychkowski's face at last night's game, an act which many fans have applauded:
↵↵↵"Stupid and ridiculous" said broadcaster Mickey Redmond after hearing about what Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun newspaper wrote before the game.
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Kudos to you Mickey. I hope Red Wings fans and resident Detroiters don't let Tychkowski or the Edmonton Sun forget about this. They both deserve an apology.
↵UPDATE: Via Fox 2 in Detroit we found out what Redmond said to Tychkowski in the press box. Fire away Mick.
↵"I'm a Canadian-American. I hold dual citizenship, and as a Canadian I'm embarrassed at what you wrote in that paper. It's completely unnecessary, uncalled for, unrelated to the game of hockey," said Redmond. "If it was an attempt to be humorous, it was a lousy attempt at that. It was not necessary. You're beating up on a city that obviously doesn't need it."↵