Why I Don't Hate Dion Phaneuf Anymore

Initially, it was funny to see Dion Phaneuf traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Moody, grumpy, face-like-sour-milk Dion Phaneuf. A career trajectory that was taking a nose-dive. A recipient of Elisha Cuthbert's sloppy - no I won't go there. You get the picture.

However, I can say now - with complete seriousness - that I wish him all the best.

Whatever fueled my hatred for the ex-Flame is now gone. Maybe it was his lack of emotion in media scrums. Maybe it was the crest stitched to his sweater (ya think?). However, now that he's on a team that's irrelevant to the Western Conference, I'm starting to admire his fire and the famous truculence Brian Burke so wanted in all his players. I think he cares about his team and the fans. I think there's a winner, somewhere inside. Flames fans wanted to burn him at the stake, but Flames fans are dumb. Short-tempered. Quick to react (hmm...who does this all sound like?) Come on. We don't trust their judgments.

I hope Phaneuf can get his career back on track soon. He hasn't completely lost it, but if these past two years have been any indication, he's heading for a Jonathan Cheechoo-esque ending. And then he can kiss Elisha goodbye.

In other news, I URGE you to check out this new CBC feature called Hockey Night in Canada All Access. It is by far one of the coolest thing I've ever seen on the Internet. It can only be used during a HNIC game, and only when they tell you to use it, but if you're big on hockey, you're going to fall in love with this. What you do is rove around the rink with this little rotatable camera that can pick up sounds from the players bench and action not seen on television. You can even do a 180 and check out the stands. Wave at all the Toronto fans you hate! It's incredibly easy to use.

Also, here's Pavel Datsyuk dancing to James Brown like the adorable European he is. Ow, I feel good!