On the day of Mats Sundin's induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame - at the first time of asking - Ian Mendes wrote an article about his favourite topic: tying anything Ottawa related to the Maple Leafs. Ostensibly, he wanted to discuss whether there was Toronto-bias (hint: no) and whether Alfie would find his way into the Hall (I'd be surprised if he didn't). The central thesis seems to be that if you ignore some of Mats' years then Alfie compares favourably. Also, there is a Toronto-bias that is so clear that Pat Burns didn't make the hall before his death and that will keep Andreychuk out for a long while.
Anyway, I originally lit the Cox Bloc signal but Kim and Godd were too busy sharpening their skates for our eventual meeting at Maple Leaf Gardens that night so in the finest media traditions they said "fuck it, we'll do it live" and took to Twitter. In honour of the budget cuts at the bastion of journalistic integrity Sun Media, here are those tweets:
By @ian_mendes logic, shouldn't we strike the first 7-8 yrs of Shanahan's career? Oh that doesn't hurt Mats' case, nevermind.
— Godd Till (@GoddTill) November 12, 2012
@goddtill If you only compare the seasons Gretzky and Alfredsson were both in the league, Gretz simply isn't hall worthy. No cups, no awards
— Michael Forbes (@mforbes37) November 12, 2012
Is there a TO media bias? Good thing we have unbiased writers like @ian_mendes on the case.
— Godd Till (@GoddTill) November 12, 2012
BTW, @ian_mendes, citing sportsmanship as central to Alfie's case is like supporting Alomar b/c he was popular with the umpires.
— Godd Till (@GoddTill) November 12, 2012
Sneak peek of @ian_mendes next column: 'Should Alfredsson Win Nobel Peace Prize Before or After HHOF Nod?' #counteringtorontobias
— Godd Till (@GoddTill) November 12, 2012
Next @ian_mendes column: "Why Are Brian Leetch and His Two Maple Leaf Goals Considered HHOF-Worthy?"
— Godd Till (@GoddTill) November 12, 2012
"GOP hints Obama not born in US. However, he was. But it's unclear how his not being born there will affect his Presidency." @ian_mendes
— Godd Till (@GoddTill) November 12, 2012
@ian_mendes @skinnyppphish @mlse Sundin is clearly better than Forsberg once you remove Forsberg`s years in Colorado from the equation.
— Kim Jorn (@KimJorn) November 12, 2012
@ian_mendes If you have to erase yrs of one player's career to make him fairly equal with another- they aren't fairly equal.
— Godd Till (@GoddTill) November 12, 2012
@goddtill @ian_mendes Bingo. Mats was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, not the "What he did during Alfie's career HOF"
— Kim Jorn (@KimJorn) November 12, 2012
Phew, that was pretty good. However, known Ian Mendes* sympathizer suggested that there might be a better way to address the offensive article which provided the inspiration for my lovely and talented sister to provide us with the video that you will have on repeat for the next half hour.
* Note: DGB and Kim actually vouch that Ian is a good guy so hopefully he takes this in stride.
** Note Two: If that video doesn't make sense then watch this video and then this video