from Ed Willes of the Vancouver Province,

A minor Twitter war broke out Saturday when ESPN’s Bill Simmons posted the following: “The Sedin Twins are the worst. God I love sports-hating the hell out of those guys. And Burrows - you suck too.”

His tweet engendered a predictable response from Vancouver but, after Simmons was invited to perform several unnatural acts with a farm animal of his choosing, someone posed the question: Why does it bother you what he thinks about the Sedins?

Here’s why. Since they came into the league, the Sedins have been subjected to the basest, most ignorant insults and Simmons’ was simply the latest. The full laundry list includes Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin from this year; David Bolland from a few years back; every Bruins’ fan from 2011 and even the late Derek Boogaard, and while it’s hard to know what these imbeciles were thinking, it would appear the twins incurred their wrath because (a) they’re twins and (b) they look different.

Now here’s the infuriating part. This is the same mentality you find on a playground or a classroom where anyone who’s different is ridiculed and/or bullied. Part of Simmons’ persona is being a Richard, so maybe he’s in a different category, but the NHL likes to align itself with concepts like fair play and inclusiveness — and yet it tolerates slurs directed at two players who represent the game’s best qualities because they’re different.

In so doing, they’re sending the message it’s all right to mock or ridicule anyone who’s different: a different ethnicity, a different colour or just different looking. That’s why it bothers me.

read on for more on the Canucks...