The Weekly Dis
The Crew jet off for their season-opener, the Blue Jackets return to minicamp, breaking news and much, much more ... including Love and Disrespect
The Blue Jackets are returning from the Olympic break to make a playoff push. The Crew are kicking off a new season. You need Disrespect. Sign up by Crewsmas, March 7, and your first month of a Silver Level subscription is free. Exclamation point.
I was going to write a lede based on a one-on-one I did with Columbus Crew general manager Issa Tall on Thursday, but I ran out of hours in the week. Now, I sip a beer. Later, I'll take some time to go over the Issa tape, cogitate, and then write it.
The Q&A I did with Columbus Blue Jackets president of hockey operations/GM Don Waddell is worth a combing. It came near the end of a busy week with four posts and three podcasts, so let's get right to ...
The Posts
Monday:
I did a one-on-one with Sean Zawadzki at the Crew's first training-camp stint in Florida last month. There's stuff in here that's dated – but there's also stuff that is timeless, like him talking about the travails of the knee injury that haunted his pursuit of a place on the Team USA World Cup team. Good dude.
Michael Arace
Wednesday:
How good a dude? Zawadzki became the second-youngest captain in Crew history, it was announced on Tuesday. Here, some history of the captaincy in Columbus. More, a preview ahead of the Crew's season-opener.
Michael Arace
Thursday:
The Disrespected broke some Crew news this week. The official announcement that Andre Gomes signed a Columbus contract came Friday at 9 p.m. Also in this post is a look-in at the Blue Jackets' return, after a two-week Olympic break, for a weeklong minicamp.
"What we've done is get back in the (playoff) conversation," Bowness said. "The reality is we don't have a playoff spot. ... I know we're going to do everything we can to get in. One hundred percent, whatever happens. That's the nature of these guys."
Michael Arace
Friday:
Good stuff here.
Michael Arace
The apocalypse will soon have an over-under
Before I went off on my own, I did enough research to steer clear of Substack and, like many others, go with Ghost. Happy I did That sentence, "Journalism is better when it's back by live markets" is chilling. My masthead says, "No prop-bet or boner-pill ads."
— Michael Arace (@michaelarace1.bsky.social) 2026-02-20T16:59:27.475Z
The best pod I saw this week
My pods this week
It is my hope to record many a conversation with the new coach of the Columbus Crew over the course of the upcoming season. Here is my second one-on-one with Henrik Rydström, described by one wag on BlueSky as "Wilfried Nancy with a neck tattoo." It's a deep Caleb Porter cut. If you ask for the reference in the comments section below, I'm sure a denizen of the Nordecke will jump in with an explanation. If not, I will. (Rydström doesn't have a neck tattoo.)
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Nearly 27 years ago, I was hired by the Columbus Dispatch to be the first beat writer to cover an NHL expansion team named the Blue Jackets. The sports editor asked whether I wanted a backup. I'd covered 82-game NBA and NHL seasons with and without a backup and there's something to be said for solo. But I had a growing family when I moved to Columbus and, when I met Aaron Portzline, I knew I not only needed a backup, I wanted one. By the end of the 2004-05 NHL lockout, I was transitioning into a columnist role – and Porty was a burgeoning beast. There has been no one who has owned an NHL beat like he has over the past 20 years. I will have him back on Cannon Balls whenever I can get him on there, and not only because he's the best friend anyone can have. He is the Mayor of Jacketville.
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Paul Keels, the voice of Ohio State football and men's basketball, is one of the best in the business. Here is another – Neil Sika, longtime play-by-play voice of the Columbus Crew who transitioned into a national voice for MLS telecasts on Apple TV. Unfortunately, Neil has to call an Austin game on the opening day of the MLS season. Fortunately, he took some time to revisit The Crewcible to talk about Andres Gomes, Henrik Rydström, what the Crew faces in their season-opener in Portland and the hierarchy of the league heading into the 31st season of Major League Soccer. The best play-by-play men often do the most homework. Such is the case with Keels, and so it is, too, with Sika.
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An Afternoon of Love and Disrespect
Disrespected Media's first live event, brought to you by Mrs. Arace, was held at RBar Arena on Valentine's Day. We packed Columbus' quintessential hockey bar for An Afternoon of Love and Disrespect.
The notion of buying the first round for all paid subscribers seemed like a smashing idea until we got the bar tab. It was worth every penny, though. Thanks to Natalie Darr, RBar proprietor, and to her fellow beertender, Courtney. A tip of the hat to Morgan Hughes of SupporterSupply.co for all of the fabulous raffle swag. Much love to Brigid, Abby, Owen and Carolyn, who made the fun machine run.
Special thanks to subscribers for coming, and for buying raffle tickets and Disrespected merch. The atmosphere was rousing before, during and after the USA-Denmark hockey game. There was one table where, clearly, at least one of the patrons had a bet down on Denmark – which lent isolated cheering and fulsome booing. The lagers tasted the same.
To those who approached me to ask questions or just have a chat about the Jackets, the Crew, The Disrespected or whatever, thank you. Good conversation is one of the best things in life, especially at a bar, and the RBar was crackling last Saturday.
Grazie to all of you who support local, independent, Disrespected media. As Morgan used to say around here, tell everyone you know.
We'll do it again soon. Stay tuned.
Thanks for reading. If you're enjoying what you see and you are of a mind, click on the link below and leave a tip. If you've yet to subscribe, consider making a small hop over a paywall. It'll help keep local, independent media disrespected. You can follow me @MichaelArace1.bsky.social. Have a nice day.
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Michael Arace
