Toronto Star writer singlehandedly turns hockey world against Maple Leafs
By Cam Charron
10 years agoIt really is incredible. One of the reasons I’ve been blogging less than I was at the start of the season is because I don’t feel as obligated to, so rather than look to find something to write about, I write about something when I think about something or am feeling a certain way. At this point, I’m thinking that the Toronto Star needs to shut it all down. Just end it. This is absurd.
Of Curtis Rush’s “10 reasons why it’s bad for Columbus to bump Toronto out of the NHL playoffs”, the second reason is the dumbest:
You can have your Ohio State Buckeyes, whatever a Buckeye is. And what the heck is a Blue Jacket anyway? Yes, it was inspired by Ohio’s civil war history. Everyone knows what a Maple Leaf is. Legions of fans wear the Maple Leaf in every NHL city. How many Blue Jackets jerseys do you see at Maple Leafs games?
I mean, what dumb town would name their team for a colloquialism of a historic war outfit? Columbus, sure, but not Toront—
“An unflinching patriot, Smythe named his new team the Maple Leafs in honour of the Toronto Maple Leafs fighting regiment.”
—o. (Source: MLSE.com)
A better idea for Rush would be to try and investigate why the Maple Leafs have fallen to this precarious position, where a 3-2-1 run by the Jackets would be enough to secure them a playoff berth even if Toronto won out. Why has the penalty kill fallen to 28th? Why, in a must-win game against Boston, did Jay McClement play more minutes than any other Leaf centreman?
These are pertinent questions, and if the Maple Leafs must miss the playoffs to end the culture of jock favouritism surrounding the local media types and hold management accountable for playing Colt Knorr 272 minutes of goal-less hockey before finally finding himself out of the lineup. Or giving David Clarkson a seven-year deal and comparing him to Wendel Clark, forgetting that Wendel Clark never played a game past age 33.
Maybe Rush is faking it. It’s tough on the Internet to convey tone, but considering us here at TLN, and blog-buddies Pension Plan Puppets and Maple Leafs Hot Stove were far more critical of the team during the summer than the supposedly better, unbiased press, maybe they should shape up, or begin giving some of the online writers their due.
Anyway, rant over. That piece was awful.
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