Let me see if I’ve got this straight:
In one corner, we have Andrew Ladd, who favorites a tweet taking a whack at management and it’s a “mishap” that causes “a bit of a stir.”
In the other corner, we have Evander Kane, who favorites a tweet suggesting he move to the Philadelphia Flyers and it’s a “scandal alert” that “ignites speculation.”
Is it just me or am I staring at a double standard here?
I mean, the captain of the Winnipeg Jets favorites a tweet that mocks the summertime siesta of general manager Kevin (The Possum) Cheveldayoff and he gets a free pass. It is a “mishap.” Headline writers, normally pit bullish if they catch a whiff of controversy, are tripping over each others’ dangling participles in their zest to offer many mea culpas for el capitán. After all, Andrew Ladd is a good foot soldier, isn’t he? He wears a ‘C’ on his jersey.
Yet when the National Hockey League club’s problem child favorites a tweet putting him in Flyers linen, the headline writers are on full red alert. It is a 72-point, bold-face “scandal.” That nasty Evander Kane is being his bad ass self again. He hates Winnipeg. He hates playing for Jets. He wants out of River City like O.J. wants out of stir.
Someone please tell me I’m wrong about this. You can’t because you know I’m right.
For those of you coming in late, Ladd favorited a tweet by someone with the calling card @sliiiiip, who wrote: “I just found a video that sums up the #NHLJets offseason magnificently!” It directs you to an extremely annoying and irritating YouTube video that shows us some grappling dude named Bryan Alvarez chanting “minus five stars” for 10 minutes So, Ladd favorites the tweet, which inspires these deadlines:
- Andrew Ladd’s Twitter mishap was ‘accidental’
- Jets captain Ladd ‘accidentally’ favorites tweet by fan critical of GM Cheveldayoff
- Ladd says ‘favorite’ the result of bad hands
- Andrew Ladd caused a bit of a stir
- Captain Ladd believes Jets are flying in the right direction
We now take you back to late June, during the week of the NHL entry draft, at which time Kane’s name was being tossed around like confetti at a wedding (do people still do that?). The Jets left winger was rumored to be going anywhere from Buffalo to Boston to Bugtussle, so Philly fanatic Dan Schmidt tweeted: “Yes, @RonHextall, bring us Evander Kane.” Kane pushed the favorite button. And…
- Scandal Alert: Evander Kane favorites Tweet advocating trade to Flyers
- Jets Evander Kane favorites tweet that encourages trade to Flyers
- Evander Kane’s Response to Fan’s Tweet Ignites Speculation
So, for Ladd it’s a big “oops, his finger slipped and he hit the wrong key” and for Kane it’s “look, that bad ass is giving us the finger again.”
Shame, shame.
Patti Dawn Swansson has been writing about Winnipeg sports for more than 40 years, longer than any living being. Do not, however, assume that to mean she harbors a wealth of sports knowledge or that she’s a jock journalist of award-winning loft. It simply means she is old, comfortable at a keyboard (although arthritic fingers sometimes make typing a bit of a chore) and she doesn’t know when to quit.
She is most proud of her Q Award, presented to her in 2012 for her scribblings about the LGBT community in Victoria, B.C.
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