Hockey is back and that is great. But the one thing you forget - or maybe you don't but I did - was how over the top and ridiculous this NHL/Media/Twitter thing gets sometimes.
What I mean here is that minor things that don't matter getting blown up into crazy huge stories, or people getting outraged (usually for no reason) etc....
Take Exhibit A: Josh Ho-Sang.
This player shows up late for camp and gets sent home early. Without even really caring one way or the other, I must have come across a hundred tweets, comments or articles basically saying "I knew this kid was no good," or "I really thought he'd turned a corner and I guess I was wrong."
The smarmy high-handedness of it all makes you want to puke. Whenever an athlete is suspended or disciplined for being late, hundreds of hypocrites hit their keyboards with holier-than-though fervor, ready to burn him at the stake like it was 1692.
People should lay off a bit. For one, sometimes a person can be late and have a legitimate excuse. Sometimes an excuse is actually a reason.
Also, and we've seen this a million times: hockey is ultra-conservative. Like, it's all about conformity and going along to get along. Josh Ho-Sang isn't a bad guy by normal standards. He is just confident and opinionated and maybe he's not a choir boy. So what?
Loosen up and lay off, judge not and don't throw stones etc. I mean, you don't know him, you shouldn't be annoyed that he was late for camp. It's his business, the teams and you don't know any details.
Ridiculous.
Exhibit B: Wayne Gretzky.
The Great One endorsed Stephen Harper for Canadian P.M.
Who cares?
Now, I don't, haven't and won't ever vote conservative. I think Stephen Harper is a bad guy, either evil or stupid, and that he is the worst PM we've ever had, hands down. But that's my opinion, and if you happen to disagree, then that's cool. I don't need you to agree with me because I'm a grown human adult and (I assume) you are too. We should each make up our own minds and respect the other person for doing so.
Harper has cut education, helped the rich, ignored the poor, aboriginals and the environment, shut down scientists, ruined Canada's reputation as peace keepers and helpers of worse-off countries and he's sacrificed the environment so he could say we had a good economy.
The best I can say about the guy is that I find his Pat Quinn-esque haircut to be kind of funny.
But I'm reasonably confident that if you like him you can justify what I just said and give reasons he is actually good. If you like him, it's no skin off my back. If Wayne Gretzky wants to support him (even though he is rich and hasn't lived in Canada in 30+ years) then Wayne Gretzky should support him.
I saw so many people this morning write something like 'I just lost all respect for Wayne Gretzky" and to them I say.....get a grip. Wayne's political views aren't the reason you ever respected him in the first place and it is actually insane to retroactively cloud his accomplishments with his politics.
I mean, who cares what Wayne Gretzky - a guy who skipped college to play hockey - thinks about politics? He's not an educated man and anyone basing their vote of what he says is a moron. You don't need to agree with people's politics to be their friend/fan/respect them.
When did agreeing with everything about a person become a prerequisite for respecting them? Former Conservative PM Kim Campbell is one of my heroes. So are Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vince Vaughn. I consider Glen Beck to be one the best comedians of all time.
You don't need to share a political outlook to be friends/respect someone.
Anyways, in conclusion, I think the whole situation of "controversies" is kind of out of control. My advice is relax and worry about the reason we are actually here: hockey. Ho Sang might have a legit excuse to be late. Gretzky might be filming a Stephan Colbert-esque satire.
You never know and it doesn't matter.