Jorn`s Jottings - Jorn to Run

Hello darkness my old friend

We haven't kicked Tricky Dick Griffin around here in ages, and judging from the first half of his column today in which he made a compelling case for a Roy Halladay Cy Young win by citing WHIP and K/BB ratio among other useful stats, I started thinking that maybe Griffin, in the words of famed corner-turner Gerard Houlier, had in fact turned a corner. Not quite:

Removing the stat lines from Halladay's six worst starts (an average of one per month), he was 19-7, with a 1.88 ERA in 191 1/3 innings. Defensive lapses sometimes contributed more than him having bad stuff.

What the fuck is this? Figure skating?

As one commenter pointed out at Baseball Think Factory, if you took out Cliff Lee`s six worst starts this year, he would have gone 20-0 with a 1.58 ERA. It is also worth noting that if you ignored Andrew Raycroft`s 17 worst starts last year (that`s an average of two a month) he would have been unbeaten with a 0.00 GAA. If you take away those three interviews that Sarah Palin did during the U.S. Presidential campaign she might have appeared bright, knowledgable and qualified for office. Speaking of which, if you took away George Bush`s eight worst years in power, he never would have been president.

Two can play at that game

Not to be outdone, everyone`s favourite apologist for wreckless violence in the NHL chimed in with his own version of if-things-were-totally-different-than-they-actually-are:

Right now, Grabovski is playing and producing and seems happy. Maybe tomorrow he'll be a Belarusian version of Jason Blake. We'll see.

Maybe tomorrow Damien Cox will be a thoughtful analyst who writes columns filled with insight about hockey. Like how Grabovski and Blake play much different games, with Grabovski creating many of his own chances and setting up chances for others while Blake is (or was) a sniper who needs (needed) a Yashin type to give him opportunities and can`t pass to save his life. We`ll see.

Next stop: Coast to Coast AM

Is it just me, or did it seem like there was a lot of ink spilled and hot-air expunged this week to defend Tom Kostopoulos`s hit from behind on Mike Van Ryn? Not since 9-11 have I seen so many people who should know better so determined to chuck facts and logic aside in order to blame the victim of an assault. Of course I`m not suggesting that the Van Ryn hit is at all relatable to the World Trade Centre attack, but I do think a few members of the press could get a cameo in Loose Change v 56.4. Like this nutty conspiracy theorist:

But Kostopolous should have at least been notified that the rules were changing beforehand so he could adjust. But this was a nationally televised game, and this involved the Leafs, so the degree of righteous indignation is ear-splitting.

So Kostopolous gets punished not for what he did, but for where he did it and against which team.

That is a lot to take in. Apparently the NHL, while no one (especially Tom Kostopoulos) was looking, snuck both the Boarding and Supplementary Discipline rules into the rulebook sometime around 7.34 last Saturday night. This one goes all the way to the top! And, apparently, acts of violence only go punished when they happen to Maple Leaf players. Sweet. Welcome to the Leafs, Maxime Lapierre! Grab some bench. 

Speaking of which, the NHL must still be mulling over Alfredson`s suspension for this one. 

Not to be outdone, that hoser Bob McKenzie did his best Kevin Costner impression between periods the other night, slowing the video down like it was the Zapruder film in order to pinpoint the exact moment that Kostopolous decided to hit Van Ryn and prove that Van Ryn`s body was slightly angled at the time. If McKenzie has this type of power why is he not solving crimes or figuring out what women want instead of matching wits with Keith Jones?

By all accounts Tom Kostopoulus is a nice guy, feels remorse, and doesn`t have a history of trouble (except with women and purses), but that doesn`t excuse the hit. The most damning evidence against him can be seen dozens of times every game when a player comes into the exact same situation and does not hit a player from behind and drive his head into the boards with his forearm. And for those who think Van Ryn did something to deserve this, well I guess he`s been punished too.

Luckily for Tom Kostopoulos, the NHL didn't let a jury of his peers decide his fate. Or in this case, a jury made up of people who did the same thing as him, only repeatedly and with more intent. Like this guy:

"I would have had a 20-game suspension for sure," said Hollweg. "So hopefully the league takes the right actions. I don't think mine were as bad as that one."

Dirty and stupid? What a combination.

Need a goddamn job?

Sarah Palin may have bombed spectaculary on the national stage and cost the Republicans any slim chance they had at winning the election this year, but that doesn't mean she'll have a hard time finding work if she decides that politics isn't really for her. Check this out:

In a recent interview, Sarah Palin - once again attacking the media for supposedly treating her unfairly - scoffed at bloggers as kids "in pajamas sitting in the basement of their parents' homes."

Sarah Palin: sports writer.