Jorn's Jottings VII - Feeling Minnesota

THIS AND THAT

I'm wary of writing about the Canadiens today, since every time I do it seems like the batty-signal goes out we get a bunch of bent out of shape Habs fans stopping by the blog to remind us that Les Glorieux are beyond criticism by supporters of teams with so few Cups, such as the Leafs. Usually we don't mind the extra traffic, but now that the Habs fans have embraced ultra-violence, it only makes sense to be a little afraid.

However, against my better judgment, I do have to wonder what the reaction would have been in the press had the tables been turned on Saturday and our little hoodrat friend Steve Downie had sucker-punched a Kostytin after scoring a goal. This has had little play in the papers, and only Hockey Night in Canada seems to have paid much attention to the incident. Still, I doubt P.J. Stock would have made apologies for Downie like he did for Tom Kostopolous on Sunday's HNIC broadcast. In case you missed it, Stock felt that Kostopolous did the right thing because Timonen was laughing after the goal. That'll teach that jerk a lesson...for...uh...being happy that his team just scored?

HEAR AND THERE

Steve Simmons informs us today that it isn't only the Toronto press that thinks JP Ricciardi should be packing his bags. To prove that someone has got his back, Steve quotes Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle, who refers to the Jays as a "team run by the highly unimpressive J.P. Ricciardi and hot-headed manager John Gibbons, both of whom should be out of a job at any time." If you aren't familiar with Bruce Jenkins, have a visit here; Fire Joe Morgan has covered his work extensively, going as far as to wonder if Jenkins is the dumbest man of the last fifty years.  Birds of a feather...

SCENE AND HEARD

There were so many questions regarding the departure of Frank Thomas this past week that Richard Griffin had to divide up the questions and give us two mailbags. Till already commented on Griffin's use of the ripe old term clogging the basebaths (or, as I prefer, getting stuck between stations), but for me the highlight of the Big Hurt bonus-bag was the inevitable question about whether or not the Jays should sign the greatest baseball player of all time. Griffin's response starts out strong, identifying a number of reasons why the Jays should steer clear of Barry Bonds:

Just what we need, a huge barcalounger in the clubhouse in front of Barry's locker, his own Plasma HD-TV, personal lackeys running around the clubhouse and IRS and DEA agents behind every pillar. Can he get a work permit for Canada if he is being investigated by a grand jury.

Then everything falls apart:

Just what the Jays need. A guy that walks every time there are runners in scoring position, leaving it up to the other guys that have been failing with runners in scoring position. The Jays will not do that. They want to keep the payroll under $100 million. Besides, the Giants averaged 73 wins per year the last three seasons with a younger Bonds in their lineup.

Damn those walks. And good point about the Giants sucking balls with Barry in the line-up. I mean, look at Bonds' pitching record over those three years; Not a win, hold or save to be counted (despite a very impressive 0.00 ERA). And those front office decisions that Barry made were terrible. Omar Vizquel? What was Barry thinking signing a 38 year-old shortstop whose best years and decline years were a distant memory. And that contract Bonds gave to Barry Zito? That is going to drive Giants fans to drink for years to come.

AND ANOTHER THING

The New York Rangers seem to have taken a page out of the Bush Administration's playbook by declaring a falsehood to be fact (Irag has weapons of mass destruction / Sidney Crosby is a cheater) and repeating the lie ad nauseum until it becomes accepted as truth.

Last Thursday, Rangers coach Tom Renney insinuated that Crosby has a tendency to embellish and said he would bring it up with officials before the series started. Crosby, clearly coloured unimpressed by Renney's accusation, responded by saying something along the lines of I know you are, but what am I: "If I go down, it's because I've been forced down. I'll do whatever I can to stay on my feet. I think he (Renney) should be the one worried about diving."

So, after a bizarre penalty call near the end of game one resulted in the Penguins scoring the game winner, the Rangers stuck closely to their talking points. Tom Renney gave a snarky "Did you see it?" when questioned, and Martin Straka told reporters that Crosby dove. Of course, we can't really have a discussion about the rules in the new NHL unless we hear from the guy who created them: "I think it's a weak call at that time of the game," Rangers forward Brendan Shanahan said, self-importantly. "I think Sidney embellished."

Now, it can't be a full-on Bush analogy here unless we have someone to play the role of Cheney...someone who can stand up, and seemingly without a clue that their previous words are on the record, completely contradict everything they said earlier. Do their best impression of a Dick and, you know, lie. Like Shanny did the next day:

"I feel like the only thing our team did after the game last night was defend Martin Straka," Shanahan said. "We certainly didn't come into the room, throw down our equipment and say, 'We got hosed by the refs.' So I'm kind of surprised that Therrien's making it a big issue today," parumphed Shanahan, with a surprisingly straight face.

"Because we aren't. If he wants to bring the referees' attention to it, then fine."

Way to take the highroad, Brendan.

And hey, whatever happened to Vixen?