There's an absolute gem of an article in the Vancouver Sun (cited at the bottom of this article) this morning:

And let's face it: the Leafs have been so long out of the loop as an actual hockey-playing force, it's hard to imagine a large chunk of America's sports viewing public turning eagerly to a match that features a team that last won the Cup when most TVs were still black and white.

This is a good point. Vancouver's Stanley Cup win last summer was a joyous occasion celebrated responsibly and with great restraint by the locals. You can take a look at the image in this post to see Daniel Sedin or maybe Henrik Sedin celebrating the Cup they must have won taking a 3-2 series lead into game six.

Vancouver's Stanley Cup Drought dates to 1970 which is probably the exact date everyone bought a color TV according to the Sun. Unfortunately for the Canucks their Cup Drought isn't since their last Stanley Cup: they've never won one.

I know that'll come as a shock to the people of Vancouver whose team won a single playoff series between 1996 and 2006, just as the Sun's inability to fact check and realize that CBS' broadcast of "The Wizard of Oz" in color in 1956 likely means that given an 11 year head start color TV adoption was doing fine in 1967.

And so, finally, our Cup Drought is 45 years. It's true. It sucks but I didn't run the team into the ground for decades. One wonders though, if Vancouver's so fucking great where's their Cup? Clock's at 42 years and ticking Vancouver.

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I have often wondered why Ottawa media members seem to have an axe to grind when it comes to the Maple Leafs. Is it because Eugene Melnyk promised the first batch of his new orgasm nasal spray to their wives? Could it be that the Leafs have beaten the Sens not once, not twice, not thrice, but all four times they've met in the playoffs? Were they all rejected by the bigger, better funded papers in Toronto? Does it really matter? No.

Does the 2012 NHL All-Star Game matter? Nowhere but Ottawa (I hear they're also crazy about NE Division titles). Just don't tell Tim Baines that, who wrote a laugher of an article in yesterday's Ottawa Sun about Toronto fans being unable to vote in Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul to the first six All-Stars.

I wanted to break down a few bits of this piece to show just how clueless Mr. Baines truly is.

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In the week prior to Saturday's game against the Boston Bruins came news that James Reimer had been cleared by team doctors to return to the team, and would be the backup to Jonas Gustavsson. Said Wilson in his Friday press conference:

I’m not being definitive on anything, but we’ve told Gustavsson that he’s going to be playing tomorrow.

Come Saturday night, it was James Reimer starting between the pipes. This decision by Wilson to start Reimer, despite leading on that Gustavsson would get the start, upset noted phallic look-a-like Damien Cox. From Damien Cox's Twitter feed last night and into this morning, (which I can't directly link to because I've been #CoxBlocked)

Leafs mislead media, then are astonished when we go find other sources for information. This strategy didn't work for JP Riccardi, either.

People in sports believe its not lying when done for strategic reasons.

Three years missing the playoffs and the genius still thinks he's smarter than the rest.

Hmmmm. Wonder why nobody believed the Leafs when they say Reimer didn't have a concussion....or when say their coach isn't going anywhere...

Its always amusing how the liars in sport are always the ones preaching abt "character"

Continued after the jump.

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I can attest to the fact that there are actually people dancing in the streets right now, as the Toronto Maple Leafs have defeated Montreal 2-0.

Seriously, dancing in the streets. For their first win. Enjoy it while it lasts. - Kukla's Corner

All of you dumb assholes should stop dancing in the streets and enjoying wins. It's ridiculous to celebrate something that makes you happy.

Instead follow the lead of the ever stoic Montrealer who celebrates only when it's appropriate and also when they win a first round playoff series and burn cop cars.

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Grantland is a proposition that probably won't entice most people. A common reaction to the long form essay site started by Bill Simmons is to wonder why people would read a site glorifying Boston more than ESPN already does. It's even more confusing when you consider that most people in Boston don't like Bill Simmons either.

This morning Grantland put up a piece by A REAL CANADIAN about how Toronto is the "Worst Sports City in the World". The worst? Really? You could live in Oklahoma City and admire your empty new rink you paid for or any number of factory cities formed in the past three days in China where you can't play sports due to air pollution but no, Toronto is the "worst sports city in the world". Maybe Mr. Marche will at least give us a fresh take on why Toronto is so lousy.

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This morning the Star ran a piece of garbage so crapulent that it makes their normal blend of humorless drivel and inflammatory nonsense look reasonable:

"They’re such a garbage organization. They don’t deserve to make the playoffs," said D’Aloisio, who was born and raised in Etobicoke. "I see them as a joke. You have to be over 50 to remember when the Leafs won a Cup. I’m surprised the city is not up in arms."

Who would be "up in arms" because their sports team hasn't won the Championship?

Daniel D’Aloisio is a lifelong Torontonian but he cheers for the Montreal Canadiens

Oh.

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There is little rational explanation, however, for the Bruins’ 4-3 loss to the Maple Leafs last night before 17,565 at TD Garden. - Boston.com

I think "The Leafs scored more than the Bruins" is a fairly rational explanation actually, but if you want to get down to it the Leafs led the game in even strength scoring chances and got better goaltending from James Reimer than Boston did from Tim Thomas.

"Unacceptable,’’ said coach Claude Julien. "It’s one of those situations where if you have any sense of pride, you’re embarrassed about tonight. Not because the other team played well. But because we did not play to the level we should be playing."

Oh, there's the other rational explanation: the Bruins lost because they played poorly (and certainly not because the Leafs played well...)

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With one regulation win in their past nine attempts it's understandable that the Montreal media wants to downplay games against Toronto.

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