No more drama

Ahem and cough-cough... We now interrupt this highly [not to say deadly] serious blog for a brief commentary from the world of sports - via ESPN:

Maple Leafs' Sundin stands pat, refuses to waive no-trade clause

We had to get out a whole box of hankies after reading and listening to all of the folks who felt bad Sundin has been put in such an awful predicament heading into the trade deadline.

Never mind that he's a multi-millionaire who has never once taken his team to the Stanley Cup finals.

We did, however, enjoy the response to our suggestion last week that if Sundin doesn't waive his no-trade clause to facilitate a move to a contender, Leafs interim GM Cliff Fletcher should strip Sundin of his captaincy and make it clear the veteran forward won't be re-signed this summer. Only in Toronto, where reality is, like the Stanley Cup, an infrequent visitor, is such a suggestion met with such horror from media and fans alike.

But that's always been the problem in Toronto, where fans and media have often had trouble separating the myths of the past from the hopelessness of their present. Witness the joyousness that greeted the return of much-loved hero Wendel Clark late in his career (no matter that it cost the team valuable futures), or even when Doug Gilmour made his ill-fated return to the team late in his career before the lockout.

Now, it seems everyone, from media to fans to even Sundin himself, would rather embrace the comfort of mediocrity than take the hard steps that always precede becoming a winner.

Hand me another hanky, please.

-- Scott Burnside