Deadspin: vote for rory

Vote For Rory Falls Short; Is There Something (Ice) Fishy Going On?

Leitch — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 11:00:19 EST

So, as we mentioned yesterday, the Web campaign to vote Vancouver Canucks defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick into the NHL All-Star Game fell just short, finishing in third place after once climbing near the very top. Fitzpatrick took it in stride — considering some NHL players and analysts were acting as if the Very Sanctity of the NHL All-Star Game could somehow be compromised if fans were to have an actual voice — and so did the folks at Vote For Rory, who have been muted since the final announcement was made.

But some aren't going so quietly into that night. An ongoing forum post at SomethingAwful.com purports to detail just how the NHL rigged the voting against Fitzpatrick, switching votes and making sure he didn't sully the sport's "good name." Here's an excerpt:

In very short form (I can explain more if you like) - during the week of Dec 20 - Dec 26, a full 19% of the votes cast for Western Conference D-men went to write-in candidates NOT named Rory Fitzpatrick. In any other week, this never exceeded 4%. Coincidentally, this is the same week that Rory dropped from 2nd to 3rd in the voting.

He also grabbed 22% of the total votes reported between Dec 12-Dec 20, while Niedermayer and Lidstrom each grabbed 8%. During the week for Dec20-Dec 26, Niedermayer and Lidstrom grabbed 16% each, while Rory only grabbed 10. The Dec 20-Dec 26 week also got those two about 30,000 more votes apiece than the previous 3 weeks, while Rory lost nearly 2/3rds of his total from the previous week and well more than half of the previous 3 weeks (150,000 Dec12-Dec20, and 60,000 between Dec20-Dec26).

It's all very complicated, and involves math; you can better understand the theory at the link than we could even pretend to try here. But it's a conspiracy theory, and if the Web isn't good for a solid conspiracy theory, well, jeez, it really is just good for porn then, we guess.

Vote For Rory: The NHL Is Rigging This For Sure [SomethingAwful.com]

Vote For Rory Campaign Proving Frighteningly Successful

Leitch — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:15:31 EST

So ... Rory. Rory Fitzpatrick, the write-in candidate for the NHL All-Star Game that has become a Web cause celebre, is moving up the charts. How much? He's currently No. 2 among Western Conference Defensemen, ahead of Nikolas Lidstrom and just behind Scott Niedermayer. That would put him in the starting lineup. He has picked up more than 100,000 votes in the last week, and if he can keep this up, he could end up setting a new vote record. (Though it never hurt to keep voting!)

Canonical hockey blogger Eric McErlain at Off Wing Opinion wonders about the politics of the whole matter.

One thing ought to be clear: The Fitzpatrick Campaign is playing with house money at this point. They've accomplished more than they could have ever possibly dreamed. If they don't go for the ultimate goal here, they may never have another chance, as the league is certain to alter the voting rules in the future.

Don't let 'em fall behind this time: Keep voting for Rory.

Vote For Rory [Official Site]
Fitzpatrick Passes Lidstrom, Niedermayer In Striking Distance [Off Wing Opinion]
Vote Here [NHL.com]

Rory Continues To Sneak Up NHL All-Star Ballots

Leitch — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 12:45:43 EST

So you know how the big NHL Web movement right now is to vote Canucks defenseman Rory Fitpatrick into the All-Star Game as a write-in candidate? Well, the movement is gaining considerable traction; the newest vote totals from NHL.com show Rory in a rather solid fifth place, with 144,819 votes. Pretty outstanding for a write-in candidate.

But he still has a long way to go; Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom is in second place with 317,373, so there's a lot of ground to make up. You have until January 2 to vote, and we continue to endorse the cause; go to the NHL.com voting booth and write in Rory's name. Every little vote counts, and if he can somehow sneak in, our little corner of the sports world will feel, if not vindicated, at least a couple of inches farther away from the basement. It's fun and educational!

Write In Rory Here! [NHL.com]
All-Star Vote Tallies [NHL.com]
You Too Can Vote For Rory [Deadspin]

You, Too, Can Vote For Rory

Leitch — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 14:45:08 EST

As is made plain and obvious around here every day, we don't have the most fundamental understanding of hockey. We love hockey, particularly in person, but with everything that has went on the last few years, it's difficult to keep up. We know, we apologize and we're trying.

So when we find a hockey cause that makes us want to jump and dance around a bit, we embrace it with open pads and kiss it with our six teeth. Therefore, we proudly introduce you to Rory Fitzpatrick, the current cause celebre of the online hockey set. Fitzpatrick, a little-used player for Vancouver, is, according to HFBoards (one of the top hockey message boards around and the ones who started this whole mess), "Fitzpatrick is pretty much the antithesis of a typical all-star. A Rochester, NY native, Fitzpatrick has spent the last decade bouncing back and forth from the minors to the NHL. Up to this season, he had played 210 games in the NHL in the last decade (approximately 24 each season). He's really just a hard working guy that gets by more on desire than pure skill. The kind of guy that doesn't get noticed when he's doing his job right. The kind of guy a team needs to win, rather than relying on superstars who are more concerned with the paycheck. Rory is a fan's man."

So what's this whole fuss about? Well, the fans — who, after all, are who the All-Star Game is for — are trying to get Rory voted into the All-Star Game at VoteForRory.com. It's a grassroots movement that has had so much success so far that there's a rumor the NHL is going to invalidate all his votes, which, of course, is exactly the opposite of what the All-Star Game is supposed to be about.

We love this cause — the NHL is probably the only league for which this could work — and we encourage everyone to visit VoteForRory and then get out there and write in Rory's name. It'll make the world a better place.

VoteForRory
NHL All-Star Voting [NHL.com]