I don't usually take shots at other bloggers - even when there's a debatable topic on their blog. I usually let Keith handle it because he's more articulate and better at channeling his disagreement than I am.

Yet I've gotten to the point where I can't stand it anymore and I can't stand the ignorance of those who report what this guy says as fact.

Hockey Rumors has been pulling crap out of their ass for the extent of the lockout.... I had reported one rumor they posted a couple of weeks ago and I regret it, just because I fell for the ploy:  wishful thinking.  Yet I've seen an influx of web traffic the last few days specifically for the search terms "Hockey Rumors" and "Eklund".

Folks, he doesn't have legit sources.

If you want to be entertained by it (the silliness of it all), I can't stop that.  If you want to believe what he writes, then you are just another part of his Flock Of Seagulls.

My aggravation stems from someone eating this guys word up and reporting it on the Sun Sports TV Lightning message board... Reporting stuff over and over again that is false, fictitious, wild speculation and just flat out lies.

A "Deal in principle" was rumored a few days ago and a desperate Lightning fan had to go out and announce it to everyone on the board, reporting it as fact (and this fan has repeated the act several times with several different reports from Hockey Rumors). Yet, this is probably happening all across the Internet - someone believes uninformed speculation is better than no speculation at all and reports it as gospel.   Unfortunately, that's not the case. Rumors are supposed to have at least some factual leads and I can't say that Hockey Rumors has any factual leads besides knowing labor negotiations are going on.

I'm not saying don't hope, people.  I'm not saying don't have optimism or try to find a brief and shimmering instance of positive energy from talks that have gone on the last two weeks...  I am saying don't follow false wise men.  Don't believe a fool's words.

"Even a broken clock is right twice a day" doesn't apply to Eklund and Hockey Rumors.  If his site was a clock, it has no arms and the numbers are actually shards of his ego.

EDIT: Eric at Off Wing Opinion gets an interview with Eklund. Though a story is weaved by Eklund, that's all it looks like - a story. A very fictitious story.

EDIT 2: Teal Sunglasses, in a post last month, points out an anomaly in Eklund's posting - where rules about the CBA vote were changed by Eklund... Or just plain unknown by the guy who is making it up as he goes?

EDIT 3: Dubi of Ordinary Least Square broke down almost every damn thing that Eklund has ever written and points out the flaws and falancies of the posts. This was back in February... (Thanks to Jes Golbez post on the matter that led me to Dubi's commentary)