Oh, look … someone else gave Donald Trump and his supporters more ammunition.
Jessica Kwong, formerly of Newsweek – I say formerly because she lost her job because of this – decided to regale us with some fake news and tell us that Trump would spend the American Thanksgiving tweeting and golfing. We all know where he went and Kwong paid for her "honest mistake" with her job. No, that was no honest mistake because it was edited and published with no facts whatsoever. It was meant to be a cheap shot and it backfired spectacularly. And we continue to wonder why so many people hate us.
Anyway …
They will be back
Bill Peters is out of a job because he allegedly used the N-word around former player Akim Aliu and kicked players on the bench. Mike Babcock apparently used questionable coaching techniques and Marc Crawford allegedly used forceful tactics to get his point across.
If all of this is true, then they need to answer for it. There's no room for any kind of abuse in sport, be it racial, physical, mental or emotional. Now, several players have come forward to corroborate what these three have been accused of doing so something's there.
Peters has already issued an apology and we've yet to hear from Babcock and Crawford but this needs to be addressed.
Much like the situation surrounding Don Cherry, there are also people who are sticking up for, in particular, Babcock and Crawford. They may have done stupid things and they may have crossed the line but it doesn't mean they're bad people. And lest you think I'm trying to apologize for what they've allegedly done, I'm not. They're responsible for their actions and they need to own them, if it's proven.
But if they're going to become the next victims of the cancel culture, then we should cancel ourselves out as well. I don't care who you are – we have all said or done something so stupid that we wish we could take it back. Anyone who tells me they haven't is a damn liar and a terrible one at that. No one is immune to it. We've all had that moment.
I've had multiple moments where I've been guilty of synaptic flatulence and when I know I've screwed up, I take full responsibility. No one made me do it. I chose to do it. Like that time I chose to use the F-word to refer to an opponent during a high school football game. Not that F-word but the one which is a pejorative term to a gay person. I said it and I paid the price for it. The side judge heard it, threw his flag in the air and I got the objectionable conduct penalty, which means automatic disqualification from the game.
It cost me three games and it was a school-mandated suspension, not a league one. The worst part of it? Turned out one of the people who helped out with our game prep was gay. Coach told me and it was meant to be a secret but I was told to meet with him in private and apologize in person. I did and it was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. He accepted my apology, said he understood it was done through emotion and simply asked that I don't say it again. We ended becoming very good friends after that and since that day, I have never used that word in any context.
The sidebar to this? Unbeknownst to me, he went to Coach after the apology and asked for the suspension to be lifted because he felt I was sincere and I learned my lesson. He didn't have to do that but Coach agreed. Amazing how things work out and I've never forgotten that act of kindness.
I told you that to tell you this: Peters, Babcock and Crawford aren't bad people. They just did stupid things for which they need to atone for. I highly doubt they are done in hockey circles and they will be back to work again at some point. Hockey is going through its reckoning right now, if you will, and if these three need to be the catalysts for it, so be it.
Your move, creep
Mark Borowiecki of the Ottawa Senators has become everyone's new favourite hockey player after his heroics in Vancouver on Dec. 2.
BoroCop, as he's now known, was out and about for a walk in the Gastown section of the city (nice area, by the way) before the Senators took on the Canucks and noticed someone breaking into a car to steal a backpack. Borowiecki chased him down and clotheslined the thief after the guy charged at him with his bike.
Borowiecki has become a legend and the Senators had some fun with it by superimposing his head onto RoboCop's body and re-making the trailer for the original movie into BoroCop, voice-over and all. This is too good and it shows that you simply don't mess with hockey players. Why don't people understand that by now?
Anyway, good on you, BoroCop.
And finally …
Good Idea: Taking my annual vacation.
Bad Idea: Knowing I'll still be working through it.
As tragic as it is to some of you and as wondrous as it is for some of you, I will be vacating my chair for the rest of the month as the company is kicking me out for my annual vacation. Some of you have asked where I will be going so here are my detailed plans:
From my bed to the living room couch with the odd movement involving the Honey-Do List only in my house, it's the Honey-Do-It-Or-Else List. I'm not totally disappearing as I will still be doing Sports Talk and the odd story but Nick Pearce will be the go-to guy for all of your sports needs. He's a super reporter and all-around nice human so please be kind to him. I shall return in January.
Until next time, folks … Merry Christmas!