The Oilogosphere is the name collectively applied to

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

s that cover the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team. They are widely considered to be among the best and most popular hockey blogs on the internet, with ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' sportswriter James Mirtle estimating in late 2007 that "five or six" of the best hockey blogs were members of the Oilogosphere. Many of its flagship blogs started in 2005, near the end of the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

(though Edmonton journalist Colby Cosh was making Oilers-related posts on his blog before that time). Observers have credited the Oilogosphere with providing greater depth and drawing the reader in more effectively than the mainstream media. Reviews of the Oilogosphere in the print media have generally been positive, with one reviewer praising it for its "smart, opinionated, ferocious and utterly entertaining commentary and analysis". The Oilogosphere averages 10,000 hits per day not counting people who visit the official Oilers site or read the sports stories online.

Members

Though the Oilogosphere has no clear borders, some of its more prominent blogs include: * ''Lowetide'' is written by Allan Mitchell, a local father of two and radio ad salesman. He often posts about Oilers history and prospects and is, according to the ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...

'', "seen by the younger bloggers as the calm and kind father figure of the Oilogosphere". ''Vue Weekly'' has said that his blog is for "the Oiler fan who watches the game with a beer in hand and a copy of

Ken Dryden Kenneth Wayne Dryden (born August 8, 1947) is a Canadian politician, lawyer, businessman, author, and former National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was a Liber ...

’s '' The Game'' to read during intermission." *
OilersNation
' is a

group blog A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

, with contributors including local journalists Robin Brownlee and Jason Gregor and amateur Jonathan Willis. IN the past, contributors to the blog have included, Lowetide, Jonathan Willis, Jeanshorts, Matt Henderson. The blog has broken many things over the last few years and have created a lifestyle brand in and around Edmonton with some of the highest selling clothing in the Oilogosphere. *''Copper and Blue'' is a

, owned by the sports conglomerate,

SB Nation ''SB Nation'' (an abbreviation for their full name ''SportsBlogs Nation'') is a sports blogging network owned by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Tyler Bleszinski, Markos Moulitsas, and Jerome Armstrong in 2005. The blog from which the network ...

. *''OilOnWhyte'' is a

, owned by the sports conglomerate,

. *''Beer League Heroes'' is a group blog founded by Kelly Holtz, a father of two based in Taipei, Taiwan and a language acquisition engineer (aka English teacher). In the past, contributors to the blog have included Holtz himself, Zach Laing, Rob Cooke, Walter Foddis, G Money, Lindsay Ryall, Johnny Potts, etc. The website was established in 2010 and is described as a blog of the armchair GM, by an armchair GM, for the armchair GM. Beer League Heroes is a blog that focuses on everything Oilers related. Trade rumors, pre and post game reports, prospects, and everything else in between.

Former members

*''Jeanshorts and Baggedmilk'' was a self professed "Place for Gentlemen," with contributors that use blue language to express their opinions regarding the Edmonton Oilers. Jeanshorts and baggedmilk cover a wide array of topics outside the Oilers, including "music you should know about" and celebrity news. *''MC79'', named after Mudcrutch, focuses on in-depth statistical analysis and is written by

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

lawyer Tyler Dellow, who also came up with the name Oilogosphere. *''Covered in Oil'' was written by David Berry, Chris Boutet, and Mike Winters, all alumni of the Gateway, the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

student newspaper, and focused on irreverent commentary and humour. In October 2008, Berry announced his departure, which he attributed to an incident in which he was ejected from the Oilers' press box (where he was working for a media organization) for liveblogging a game between the Oilers and the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

, and with a general disillusionment with the Oilers organization and

professional sports In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...

. Winters followed suit November 8, saying that blogging entailed "pretending to care about the team 30% more than I actually do". As of January 2009, no new posts had been added since November 17, 2008, and was being called "as good as gone" in Edmonton media. On August 20, 2009, Winters formally announced the blog's retirement.

Members

Former members

References

External links