I've never been shy to blast the media on A2Y. In the 11 years we've been going at it, you and I, it's actually been one of the consistent angles we've taken. We go at the Deep Diggers for showing no backbone. We go at the mainstream when it's (a) fun, (2) in reaction to outlandish (or any) criticism of our Wings or (c) when it appears there's something shady going on.

It appeared to me that Elliotte Friedman was hovering in a gray area between (2) and (c) when, a few weeks ago on Hockey Night in Canada, he reported the rumors of Pavel Datsyuk's possible end-of-season retirement. I reacted like this...

He never saw the need until Saturday night, on a Hockey Night in Canada, with the irrelevant Leafs on the docket and an audience ripe for a big splash. If McGuire heard these rumors in October, you know Friedman's heard them just as long. But all of a sudden his sources strengthened on a Saturday in April when the cameras were on? Noted.

Not buying it. Not buying the strength of the rumor and not buying Friedman's venue or timing to unleash it. Naturally, the sources were unnamed.

I was wrong.