Unplugging The Star

Bitter Leaf Fan has issues with the Star's Sunday Unplugged interview with Richard Peddie, saying it wasn't hard enough:

To the Toronto Star – I say shame on you. You call this journalism? You get an exclusive with this guy and you decide to ask him about his worst job? How does he answer his critics? His attendance at concerts?

I understand the sentiments here but at the risk of sounding like a homer -- I thought the piece wasn't puffy enough, or at least Peddie was allowed to prattle on at times. As I understand it around here, the purpose of the Unplugged spot on Sunday is to show another side of a sports newsmaker by asking them to reveal something about themselves, rather than their job or an issue. In other words, not (at least exclusively) the kind of questions that BLF lists -- all of them good and valid, by the way, including one that warms the cockles of my corroded-by-years-of-Leaf-neglect heart:

There has been much talk of “the Plan” going forward for the Leafs. Do you think the organization has effectively communicated what this plan is to fans?

Comments

[denial]

hi. (yes, it's the same denial.)

AND I AM NOT ASHAMED.

Okay, I'll get right into it (but not right to it, since that's not my way).

I have a new layer of tragedy to add to the entity that refers to itself as the Toronto Maple Leafs ("the dysfunction that unites us all").

Sleepy Allison -- the 2nd leading scorer by default -- is done. O'Neil, whether he actually decides to retire or not, has been identified as someone pondering retirement which means that he has one foot in the post-player grave. All except for a very -- very -- few elite players ever play decently after the R-word comes out of their mouth. It's kind of like spirituality; once you really start thinking about the afterlife (or it starts thinking of you....ack), you're never really the same again. You become somewhat transparent. Given that O'Neil played transparently for most of the season, this would make him as porous as Felix Potvin on a 90 foot slapshot.

(Hiooooooo. Yes. We've got a great show for you tonight, my guests include the Makers of ColdFX, who have come out with their latest product, ColeFX, which clinical tests have shown diminish the intolerability of HNIC broadcasts.)

Where was I.

Okay, so Allison: gone. O'Neil: gone (whether he's willing to admit it yet or not). Lindros: gone.

What does this mean? This means that three players who chose to play for Toronto SPECIFICALLY and EXCLUSIVELY because it is Toronto -- because of where it exists, geographically -- are going to conclude that it was a mistake to come here. Even Lindros (I've always felt that the only reason he came here was so that he could launch a media career once his...career...was over; there's no better place to become a post-player parasite without a real job than Toronto...just ask Nick Kyprios. It's like New York, but without being New York).

As we all know, the strange 'draw' that Toronto had as a team was always the tedious "people want to play here". And yet we have human evidence -- this is better than DNA evidence -- that is going to change all of this. Seriously. If you're making $1m in Nashville or Carolina or even a Minnesota or something, are you really now going to want to come to Toronto -- when 3 journeymen in the SAME season are all going to have to admit that it was a mistake to come here?

No.

Remember Leaf fans (though none of you seem to have much capacity to remember, which is indeed a symptom of chronic abuse), people don't play here because of the glory of Toronto. That's what MLSE feeds you, and that's probably why YOU'D play here. The thrill of skating on the same ice (well, sorta) as the heros you grew up watching.

The reality is that people play in Toronto cuz it's close to their extended family, and because the TV exposure CAN raise a player's profile and thus his market value. Or, like Lindros, if you want to go from playing to the broadcast booth, there's NO better place. Just look at Glenn Healy. WHO was Glenn Healy before he came here?! Glenn is often insightful (though needlessly edgy...not unlike myself, I suppose), but if he doesn't end his career here, he's MAYBE doing radio colour for the Panthers or something. Now he's showing up all over the place, because Toronto is THE media market, because...well, because of stupid people like us.

nice, but stupid.

So there you have it. The last SUCTION CUP that would have brought people here just isn't going to be as strong anymore. Why would ANYONE want to play here!?

Now, very briefly, I'd like to add that absolutely everything I said about the Leafs prior to this season has come to pass. I'm normally not good at predictions, because I normally just go with my gut. But this is one of those rare cases where I actually have facts to back me up. Facts, and years of experience. If I don't get it by now, then I'm not merely in denial; i'm suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.

Here's the problem.

When MLSE detached Quinn as GM and made him coach, that meant much less than people think. Hockey is tribal and primordial (David Peterson described party politics the same way the other day..no wonder we're obsessed with both in this country). Simply taking away the GM label and power from Quinn didn't change his authority in the room or the organization. It was still Quinn's team, though they 'freed up his time' and so JFJ could call up organizations and ask them if they want Aki Berg for new netting.

The players in the room all still "speak Quinn". It's his team. His culture. And Pat Quinn is NOT a good coach for organizations that are in transition. He's a stabilizer; and that's why he can take good teams far. but he is utterly incompetent when it comes to exploiting change. He resists change; he wants stability. And that's FINE. Sometimes you need that. Bowman was like that for the Canadians and Wings, and they had a great team with established veterans who knew what to do.

The root problem of this awful team is that it's STILL Quinn's team. He should NEVER have stayed once JFJ was hired.

But he did, because maybe he has pictures of Tanenbaum actually making a good business decision. Or pictures of Tie Domi actually earning his salary.

And there's another problem. Remember, too: this is Tie Domi's team. Sundin is passive and not a good leader. He leads on the ice, but he's too vanilla to be a leader of people. Domi is a little bully and the room responds to him.

And if you think that Tie Domi is going to take your team to the promised land ...

This team needs an enema. Not a bloodletting; there's no need for that. These people aren't going to go on EI if they're let go. Save your sympathy for, like, extradited construction workers or the working homeless. Quinn HAS to go -- let him go do something else. Excel commercials. Tim Domi has to GO. You CANNOT have a guy on the 3rd line yammering away at the media. This is almost as bad as listening to Wade Belak whine about the media.

Wade Belak?! ONLY in a city as insane as this could someone like Wade Belak even have his existence ACKNOWLEDGED by the media.

The problems that the Leafs have are the legacy of the decision to keep Quinn. Without Quinn, Domi doesn't get resigned, the Leafs probably end up with Carter (the Canucks' BEST forward), and maybe even have Luongo (don't you think a retard like Keenan would love Belfour? He has a whole geriatric ward on that team already).

As long as Quinn stays, this team can't win. Even the kids are playing in quicksand, never knowing when Quinn is going to pull them back.

Can you imagine if Ovechkin came up in the Leafs organization!? Quinn wouldn't let him leave the Marlies. That alone should tell you what's wrong.

[Ninja]

Check out Bitter's 'Tedesco, Ferguson and Me' post of 03/25/06 as well.

[cy]

Yes, this is a good blog, Ninja. And if I ever get off my ass to put together a blogroll -- it's coming, I promise -- it's on it.
Meantime, Denial is back! Man, I was worried about you. Now, I'm just worried about you.