Edmonton Columnist Takes Pot Shots at Detroit

DETROIT - He came into town to talk a little bit of hockey. He was covering the Red Wings playing his Edmonton Oilers, but instead he found himself in deep trouble after writing about more than the sport. He has a lot of Detroiters seeing red.

The game on the ice was only part of the action. It's what this columnist Robert Tychkowski from the Edmonton Sun wrote leading up to the game that had fans fired up.

"Welcome to Detroit, where the forecast, as always, is muggy with a chance of murder," he said in his article.

Tychkowski went on to say, "They use more white chalk at crime scenes than they ever did in the schools."

Mickey Redmond, FOX Sports and Red Wings announcer, took issue with Tychkowski, so he decided to have a little word with him in the press box Thursday night.

"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."

Tychkowski was pretty quiet after the exchange.

Marge Sorge works for the Detroit Regional News Hub. Newspapers from across the country call them to learn about the city when they're coming to town.

"We've faced these issues for a long time. This is nothing new, but it's not a balanced story," she said. "It's also not true. There are a lot of great people here doing a lot of great things."

Redmond has this advice for the columnist.

"The analogy that he tried to use was awful. It was disgusting. It doesn't belong anywhere let alone in a sports story. I would think with a little bit of work you could find a nice, easier way to deliver that same message," he said.

The lashing in the press box was just the start. People commenting on the newspaper's story had a lot to say. There was no love lost for the Edmonton journalist. The biggest lesson of all from readers and just proud Detroiters was just stick to hockey and leave the story of Detroit to news reporters who are trained on how to do it fairly.

FOX 2 gave Tychkowski his chance. We called him about a dozen times and sent four e-mails. We even talked to his boss and his editor saying that it was imperative that he call us back. As of 5:00 p.m. Friday, we have yet to receive a response.

To read Tychkowski's Edmonton Sun column, you can visit this link.