Here’s your bikini of the day from bikinibeat.org:

On Fan 590 Tonight- thanks to Mike S.

- open phones with McCown from 4:05 to 4:40
- co-host from 5:00 to 7:00 is Stephen Brunt
- 5:20 Darren Rovell, CNBC Sports Business Editor
- 5:40 Tom Tebbutt, Globe & Mail’s Tennis Reporter
- 6:05 Bert Sugar, Boxing Historian
- 6:30 hockey talk with Neil Smith & Al Morganti
- 6:45 Jerry Sullivan, Buffalo News

On 640 with Brady and Watters:

- Bob “The Bear” Cowan with his NFL picks for tonight
- Matt Dunigan
- Tim Murray, member of the Ottawa Senators front office
- more discussion on the Dany Heatley trade

TSN is reporting that Heatley has been moved – Heatley goes to the San Jose Sharks for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second round pick.

Report from TSN: 

SENS DEAL HEATLEY TO SHARKS FOR MICHALEK, CHEECHOO, 2ND RD PICK

It’s too bad; I was hoping to see the cry baby play a few games in Ottawa and get razzed by the fans.  Heatley sneaks out of another town unscathed.

LT

Seinfeld Award? Yes, you recall Seinfeld, the tv show about, nothing. Well here at TSM when a scribe writes a story without saying anything they get the Seinfeld award. We have a winner today and the column may well be the winner of the year.

Today’s winner is Bruce Dowbiggin who’s column about media savvy could be pretty interesting. He looks at Jim Balsillie, Eugene Melnyk, Dany Heatley and Patrick Kane and the weeks they have had in the public arena. Now, the theme of article as suggested by the title is clear, “Media savvy severely lacking in Coyotes saga”, the problem is Dowbiggin’s article doesn’t really say that. It doesn’t really say anything.

“Usual Suspects’ first rule of journalism: There is no problem you can’t make worse by laundering it in the media. Just ask Jim Balsillie and Eugene Melnyk. Or Dany Heatley and Patrick Kane. Years from now students of the fourth estate will look back at this past week and say, “This was not their finest hour.”

Ok, I get that. From the public perspective none of the above would call last week good in terms of public relations. Balsillie filed a court document that may have blown up in his face. In the document he called into question the character of some of the current NHL owners in response to his own character being questioned. Melnyk was one of the named owners and he reacted by smearing Balsillie right back in a public forum. Was it Melnyk’s worst hour? Hardly. He reacted in a way many of us would expect him too. He didn’t start the fight, but it surely looks like he ended it. You all know how much respect I don’t have for Dany Heatley. However, I wouldn’t say this was his worst week either. He didn’t thrust himself into the media, rather that came at the request of others. Don’t get me wrong, he did request or demand the trade, however I am not really sure how much this is the player making his own decision or the agent wagging the player. As for Patrick Kane, this wasn’t his finest hour? Ummmmm, I think things were way worse the week the “cab incident” occurred! Having to read a prepared statement isn’t nearly as bad as the stuff that was written about him everywhere (here included).

Dowbiggin’s multiple paragraph piece on Melnyk and Balsillie says nothing, zero, zilch, nadda. Really, there is so much a guy like this should be able to say. He has been in this business for years. I am sure he could have cited numerous examples of good and bad that these guys could have followed. Instead we got an article about nothing. Too bad.

He then moves on to Kane and Heatley.

“Dany Heatley and Patrick Kane both engaged in a little pre-emptive media spinning last week. To avoid distracting reporters from pressing Olympic issues – such as, “Is the Canadian jersey too boring?” or, “Why is Brian Burke’s tie always undone?” – both star players fessed up (sort of) to the summertime blues. ”

Again, this piece is full of angles that Dowbiggin could have explored. There are tons of athletes who have handled trade demands and tons of stories to tell about they handled better and worse than Heatley. There aren’t enough trees left in the world to cut down and turn into paper to write all the stories about athletes who have run afoul of the law. Count this as an opportunity wasted. So much to say, so little said.

“The real purpose of the non-disclosure disclosures was not to shed light on the issues but to allow both Kane and Heatley to tell pesky reporters, “Guys, I already addressed that in my press availability. Next question?” Mission accomplished.”

That’s it??? That’s all you got? No opinion of your own? No expert opinion? No comparisons? talk about leaving me wanting more….well, not more, but….anything.

Congrats Bruce, your column in today’s Globe and Mail has won you the TSM Seinfeld Award for Monday August 24, 2009.

Hats off to Ian Mendes for bring to reality what is gurgling as a freak show under the water in Ottawa.

Here is what you need to know in terms of background:

“There have been some hints from the Ottawa media that suggest several members plan on crashing Jason Spezza’s upcoming wedding in an attempt to force Dany Heatley to speak”

Give me a freaking break! I mean, when is enough enough? Seriously, there should be some times and some places where the media just isn’t welcome. We don’t need to get into the pro’s and con’s of the Clinton White House Years. However i tihnk one thing that I think we can all agree on is the way in which Slick Willie and Billary handled the press with respect to their daughter. Chelsea was hands off. There are times when the story just isn’t that important for god’s sake.

“Personally, I think as a media group we need to act with some class and show a little respect for someone’s special day. Unfortunately, those two words (class & respect) aren’t in many reporters’ vocabularies and it’s a big reason why we are wedged comfortably between telemarketers and personal injury lawyers on the scale of likable professionals.

If Heatley chooses not to speak to the media before his friend’s wedding, that does not constitute an open invitation for us to attend. I understand that Heatley is a legitimate story and everyone wants to hear his thoughts on why he might want to leave Ottawa. I firmly believe that he owes Senators fans an explanation at some point.

But there’s a time and a place for that to happen. And guess what? It’s not at somebody’s wedding. If you want to stake out the airport for his arrival, I think that’s fair game. Camp out for him at some local bars in case he hits the town? Knock yourself out and pretend you work for TMZ for a night. I don’t have an issue with it.”

Hats off to Mendes. He is right. There is a place, hard to believe where the story does begin and end. This is one place where the line should be drawn.

“If anything, we owe it to Spezza to leave this thing alone on his big day. Jason has been the most accommodating star to deal with from the media’s perspective. Jason has asked all of us to respect his privacy on his special day and not show up. He’s hired security to make sure no unauthorized guests (hint, hint, media) try to sneak in. He couldn’t make it any more clear: “I’m nice to you guys 364 days a year. Please give me one day off.” But I can’t shake the nagging feeling that pack journalism is going to rule the day. Everyone is going to be scared that the competition is going to get the scoop, so we better head to the wedding ourselves. Let me just say this: If a bunch of media show up to Jason Spezza’s wedding, don’t be surprised if another superstar wants a trade out of Ottawa at some point. And once again, us clueless members of the media will be wondering why.”

Funny I can’t shake the thought of Bruce Garrioch in a tuxedo outside the church waiting for a scoop. No seriously, if the media does indeed stake out the event after they have been asked by what appears to be a good guy then all bets are off. If I were Spezza and I asked for co-operation on my wedding day and I wasn’t left alone I would be pissed. It is fully expected that the photowhores will be there. That doesn’t mean the scribes have to lineup too. There will be non athletes and non-dignitaries at the event, gasp real ordinary people, and they and the Mrs. Spezza to be are entitled to some degree of privacy on one day.

Good job Ian, great post.

Speaking of privacy, I guess I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on the whole Erin Andrews thing. Andrews, for those of you who don’t know is a very successful and attractive ESPN reporter. She has been for lack of a better word, a shooting start at the network for several years. She covers many live events for ESPN and is good at what she does. Andews is, in addition to being good at what she does, an attractive woman:

Andrews has recently been a victim of our times. A perpetrator allegedly went to great lengths to booby trap Andrews’ hotel room and install a camera through a peephole. The video captured Andrews’ totally in the nude in her hotel room. The video has been all over the internet and of course as a result all over the news. The story has been featured on most of the main street news as well. While the stories all express outrage and compassion for Andrews most of the stories show the video! In addition, many of the outlets that ran to her defense have described previous Andrews stories using sexually suggestive language, capitalizing on our good looks to increase hits on their site. In fact many of the sites that are currently supporting her have gone so far as to say how great she looks in the video.

Now, what’s the saying about those who live in glass houses? I admit it. On a daily basis, Monday to Friday I post photos of attractive women in bikini’s. So, who the hell am I to judge what other sites are doing, posting or saying? I agree with anyone who attacks my position on that basis. However I will say this. Andrews’ like all of us should have an expectation of privacy in her hotel room or in her home for that matter. Photowhores caputre celebs in their daily lives, usually in some degree of public life. To rig a camera in someone hotel room to gain a video of that person while naked is so beyond creepy. Hell, it would “ALMOST” be more acceptable to have photoshopped her head on to a nude photo! Anyone who has ever leafed through an adult magazine (yes both of you reading this) can appreciate the psyche involved in “erotica”. There is, in my opinion nothing the least bit attractive to the video that resulted from this cowardly act.

We live in a train wreck society, so naturally the entire world is scouring to find the video. I am not going to stand on a perch and tell people not to. We all will do what we want to do regardless of what some idiot blogger says. I do think we as consumers can control what is acceptable or not through our voices and opinions to media outlets. I think that the liklihood of a copycat to this is high unless there is total outrage and reprehension to the act.(even still that probably won’t be enough). This story won’t go away as Andrews is seeking legal action against the guilty party(s). There are some great articles out there on the subject, too many to mention or list here. I do like the piece by Bruce Arthur in tomorrow’s National Post. You can read that here. If you want to read more, google Erin Andrews video and select the news tab.

TSM

Hat tip to the Brady blog for pointing this one out. Let me say very quickly, and clearly THIS IS A JOKE. I didn’t make it, I highly doubt those who made it mean any disrespect to anyone, so I don’t think anyone should take it as such.

Rack one up for Howard Berger. Yup you read right, Howard hit a homer on his last blog. While I will admit that I loved Brian Burke’s comments on Dany, The Teammate Killer Heatley, Howard is 100% right that Burke is being a tad bit hypocritical when it comes to issues about willingness to take on players who have demanded trades and made those demands public.

“Difficult to argue that code. But, why didn’t Burke apply the same standard to his own pursuit of Chris Pronger three summers ago? Didn’t the big defenseman demand of the Oilers the same thing Heatley is asking of the Senators right now? After significantly factoring in Edmonton’s surprise advancement through the 2006 Western Conference playoffs, Pronger made it known he wanted out of northern Alberta. No particular reason was given, and the request prompted rampant speculation. Ultimately, the Oilers were forced to deal Pronger, and Burke – opportunist that he is – pounced on the situation, resulting in a Stanley Cup title for his Anaheim club the following spring. Three years later, double-B has become highly principled. Which begs the question: Would he feel the same way if there was either a logical reason, or a legitimate chance, for his current team to land Heatley? If the Leafs were a star player away from challenging for the Cup – as were the Ducks in ’06 – would Burke shelve his apparent righteousness? This sort of mutual high ground between manager and player will be seriously challenged when Burke gets around to dealing with the copious salary commitments he has for next season.”

I think there are a couple of issues in play here. One Burke doesn’t want Heatly for this team, at this time. Not only that, Heatly is not the same type of guy as Chris Pronger. Heatly has been on 2 NHL teams and now has demanded trades from both of them. While he is a super talented player, he doesn’t have the same high character reputation as Burke appears to be after. Burke, I believe likes to make good radio and he performed brilliantly on this issue the other day. He was able to talk down his interest in a player without bashing him for personal reasons. In reality it likely isn’t Heatley’s fault that word leaked out, it most likely his agent’s who did the deed. Lastly, I think Burke was sending a message to his players.

“Professional sport is frequently a ruthless vocation, and nobody understands that better than Burke. I’ve repeatedly been on record saying he’s the best man to drag the Maple Leafs out of their four-decades-long quagmire, and I believe he’ll pull off at least a couple of eye-popping moves this summer. But, he backs himself into a corner, now and then, with involuntary comments and reactions. Perhaps such remarks were lost in the megalith of southern California, where hockey ranks behind baseball, football, basketball and college sports. But, in this market, every word Brian speaks will be highlighted, analyzed, compared with previous stances, and filed for future reference. That’s why his stern admonition of Dany Heatley may prove contradictory when the Leafs are closer to contention.”

No matter what Burke says or does he will be judge on every word by the local media. If in 2-3 years time a guy like Ovechkin were to demand a trade publicly, every media member would roast Burke if he didn’t want to pursue him based solely on moral highground alone. Burke shouldn’t be treated any differently than any of us. You say things and they should be applied to certain circumstances and times. Burke didn’t say he would never sign a player under those circumstances, he spoke about this player and at this time. It says here a GM has to be smart enough at the right time to put his personal standards or feelings behind what’s best for his team at a certain time.

I do believe Howie is right though. The appearance here isn’t good and Burke should have explained the Pronger discrepancy. Now compare Howie’s take with that of Jim Kelley. Kelley took the odd position that Burke wasn’t hypocritical with himself by speaking out about Heatley. Kelley correctly points out that Burke didn’t demand to be exiled from Anaheim as Heatley has both from Atlanta and now Ottawa. Right conclusion, wrong comparison.

Berger is here
Kelley is here

To date, over 80% of those who took the Should Brian Burke Purse The Sedin Twins poll answered no (thank god!). I wonder now that it has been revealed that they are looking for 12 years at around 6-7m per how many of the 20% who said yes want to change their vote???

I don’t want to embarrass anyone, but I have to say I get some pretty funny emails from time to time with respect to this site. I got a real gem the other day:

“Hello
I am getting married this septmber and we are having a hockey theme. I was wondering if yourself and Andy Frost would be able to record a cd of the two of you introducing our wedding party? I heard through the grap vine you have done this in the pass. If you can how much would it cost and how do we arrang to do this?
Thank you for your time”

I of course told the writer that I was more than willing to do the honors, but that I have never done so before and I am not Joe Bowen, but if Andy is game so am I. Seriously, I love all the emails I get, keep em coming this one was really stellar!

You know i am a huge AO fan, and you know that I just got back from Las Vegas, but I have to tell you I had no interest whatsoever in the NHL award show.

Bad break for the NHL, the NBA draft being the night before the NHL draft. Does anyone remember the week before the draft being this quite in years past?

It was the morning of the NHL draft last year when I was sitting at LAX waiting for my Westjet flight home when I caught the ESPN ticker fly by on the screen, announcing that the Jays had fired (finally) JP Gibbons and replaced him with Cito Gaston. I nearly fell out of my chair at the bar. i then flew home and got watch the draft activities on the WestJet/Bell Expressvu tv at my seat- man technology is cool! One question….Where did the year go?????

Has Jim Balsillie become the Mats Sundin of 2009? All summer long last year we had various reports of where and when Sundin was going to do…Cherpa’s in Sweden were suddenly sources and Nik Kypreos got to read tea leaves and get invited to casa Mats to talk shop. Suddenly I feel that this is the summer of Jim. Rallies, emails, press releases SERENITY NOW!!!

Lastly, hard to believe that one year from today will mark the one year anniversary of TSM. WOW! Yup, last June 25th, the lights came on and I am proud to say we didn’t miss a beat. Look for more on the 1 year anniversary as we get closer to the 25th! Am I the only one who used to like it when Stellick did his annual pool party radio show…I thought that was pretty funny in the day- Maybe LT will blow up an inflatable pool for us on the 25th

TSM

No tears here, but Brian Burke blasted Dany Heatley and his agents for the way in which they handled his trade request. Kudos to TSN for this:

“We’re not going to be in on that,” Burke stated. “He’s a good player but I have certain guidelines on how players ask for trades.”

“When you have players come ask you for a trade, I tell the players ‘don’t finish that sentence,’ because once you ask, I’m going to move you,” Burke stated. “If a player wants out, you’re darn right I’m going to move you. I’m not kissing anyone’s ass to play in my town, so to hell with you, don’t finish the sentence. My second rule is if I hear about this, you’re not going anywhere.”

“For a player to pop off and say he wants out or leak it (to the media), in my mind you are now no longer interested in your team. If you’ve done that you’ve handicapped them, you’ve handcuffed your GM.”

Ouch, the teammate killer takes one on the chin.

TSM

Something in the water tonight I think. A very strange evening as people saying all kinds of stuff making us raise our eyebrows…

Craig Hartsburg, “Those guys cost us the game, you try to trust your best players and they cost you the game, it’s happened before.” Those guys are Spezza and Alfredsson. Their line was a minus 10 tonight.

Folks, this guy is TOAST and he knows it. Stick a fork in him, he is done. The only question is, is this a solo execution or is Mr. Murray going with him? I would not be the least bit surprised that by the time I am sitting in my kids parent/teacher conference tomorrow am that this changeover is underway. Remember what the Sens owner did the Leafs dressing room after being beaten in the playoffs???? I wouldn’t want to see what his house looks like right now.

Watters: ” I wouldn’t trade Tomas Kaberle straight up for Dany Heatly”

Ummmmmm. Ummmmmm. There has to be more to this story. You know I am not a huge DH fan. I am not going to get into that again. I am alone in thinking that Brian Burke would make that move in a split second??? That would be a no-brainer. Would Wilbur trade Blake for DH? Hollweg?? Mayers??? Mayers, by the way had his best night as a leaf tonight.

Mike Brophy to Pat Quinn: “I know for a fact you didn’t talk with any other teams about coaching after leaving the maple leafs.
Darren Millard/Pat Quinn (Together): “BOSTON
Brophy/Quinn/Millard:” ____________________________________________”
Enough silence to leave force Pat Quinn, the guest to explain the Boston situation.

What the hell was Brophy thinking??? (I smell a minus/down arrow in the new media power rankings). Even my dog new about the Boston story. Good on Pat Quinn for rescuing the moment. Please land in Pittsburgh PQ.

The constant bickering, eye rolling between Nik Kyrpos and Bill Watter is PRICELESS….I would love to hear these guys off the record speaking about the other..By the looks in their respective eyes whenever the other is speaking is awesome!!! Seriously folks, watch a segment…

Oh, and what is the over on the number of mentions, comments, questions about Grabovsky getting fined/suspended for shoving the lineman? Will it be higher then the number of times Hogan mentions grey cup visits tomorrow, or the money references Richie MacLean makes on his show tomorrow? It says here Grabs gets fined, but not suspended (if anything at all).I for one think he played a great game by the way. Yeah he got too riled up, but at least he should a little bit of heart. Interesting clip seeing Brad May trying to pull him back a bit. I thought May looked AOK in Maple Leaf blue and white and not too bad in the fight either.

Ohhhhh the outrage! The Lunacy! How is it possible that Montreal’s Tom Kostopoulos get’s three games, where is the system where we can easily predict what in suspension terms a violation may cause a player???

Give me a break.

“And you have the NHL justice system, always an ever-changing dynamic, requiring new levels of imagination from those who mete out hockey justice and from those trying to understand that justice.”

Damien, get real. Read a section other then the sports section, at least when you are going to talk about “justice systems”.

“This is always the way its been with NHL suspensions. Completely scattershot, no minimums or maximums, just make it up as you go along. Right out of one’s imagination.”

Hello, have you ever looked at the “real justice system”?

Take a look at a post I ran way back in the early days when very few were reading this site:

“Mark Bell, Dany Heatley… American Justice?
August 21, 2008 · 4 Comments

Kudos to Mark Bell today for repaying his debt to society. It gives time to reflect on two of the most recent episodes of hockey bad boys Mark Bell and Dany Heatley. I am not sure there is a clearer example of justice being blind.

To recall, On September 29, 2003, Dany Heatley killed his fellow teammate Dan Snyder when his Ferrari 360 Modena struck a wall along Atlanta’s Lenox Road. Both players were ejected from the car, which was split in half by the force of the impact. Snyder suffered a fractured skull and internal brain injuries due to the rapid acceleration/deceleration incident. He lapsed into a coma following emergency surgery, and died six days later on October 5 as a result of his injuries complicated by a subsequently-acquired infection.

Heatley was charged with vehicular homicide(also called murder) as a result of the crash. He pleaded guilty to second-degree vehicular homicide(murder), driving too fast for conditions, failure to maintain a lane, and speeding. He was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to give 150 speeches on the dangers of speeding for his crime. If memory serves me correctly, this was not the first time that Heatley wrapped his car around a pole for going too fast.

Conversely, During the 2006 Labour Day weekend, Mark Bell was arrested in the San Jose area for alleged hit and run and driving under the influence. Both are felony offences. His arraignment was set for January 3, 2007. Bell pleaded no contest to drunk driving causing injury and hit-and-run on August 14, 2007. Although Bell was supposed to serve time for his actions, his sentence was reduced to 11 weeks of community service. So instead of spending time in the clink, Bell busted his butt for eight hours a day, five days a week for 11 weeks in Santa Clara County working on the side of highways, picking up garbage, cutting grass and pulling weeds.

Doesn’t seem quite fair to me. Heatly, an alleged repeat offender KILLED someone. Sorry, not just SOMEONE, one of his best friends and teammate. His sentence never included jail time, he got off with having to give 150 speeches. Ummmmm hello???? He KILLED someone. I don’t buy the argument that he has to carry the grief of KILLING his best friend and teammate so that is punishment alone. What Bell did pales in comparison to what Heatly did. I am not trying to lessen either the actions or effects of what Bell did. Drinking and driving, hitting someone and then fleying the scene is brutal. It seems to me however, that at least Bell was dealt with appropriately. Where is justice?

I know the family of Snyder begged for leniency for Heatly. They are true heroes having to deal with the death of their son. The family of Keith Magnuson also pled for leniancy in the sentenicng of Rob Ramage when Ramage, allegedly under the influence totaled his car killing his friend Keith Magnuson . Ramage, sentenced in Canada is going to jail for four years (pending appeal).

So let’s review, Bell, hits someone(who miraculously avoids death), while drinking and driving and and flees the scene. He pleads out, gets sentenced to jail and serves his time doing 11 weeks, over 440 hours on the CA highways with other criminals. Ramage, allegedly KILLED someone, while allegedly under the influence, and has been sentenced to 4 years in jail. Then there is Heatley, who Killed someone, while under the influence of alcohol (albeit within the legal limit) and he has to give 150 speeches????? Even if each speech lasted 2 hours apiece, it doesn’t equate to what Bell just did, that would only be 300 hours!

So, irrespective to what we think of him on the ice, we should salute Mark Bell, for repaying his debt to society. Here is hoping he has learned his lesson and will continue to be a valuable member of our society.”

Where is the justice in that. The reality is there is no such thing as a predictable justice system. Life just doesn’t work like that, at least on this side of the pond. In other parts of the world they deal with criminal acts in a much different more predictable fashion. Yet when one of us has to go through their system be cry and moan at the severity of the system. Do you all recall the kid from North America who was going to get whipped for shoplifting. The outrage, our governments got involved trying to help this guy out. Hey, where was the call that the system was predictable. Folks over there know what happens if they try to shoplift. Here criminals know the system better then the cops and judges do.

Every case takes on it’s own life. Each has it’s own perspective. Is that fair?? No, it’s not fair. Should we be all up in arms about it??? Nobody seems to be doing much yelling. Dan Synder was effectively murdered. His killer got nothing. Mark Bell severely injured someone and got a heftier sentence. Where were you on that one Damien????

This is sports, sometime we all need to be reminded of that before we go off the deep end crying about injustices. Besides, if we all knew what every offense was going to result in, what would these guys write about?

Kudos to Mark Bell today for repaying his debt to society. It gives time to reflect on two of the most recent episodes of hockey bad boys Mark Bell and Dany Heatley. I am not sure there is a clearer example of justice being blind.

To recall, On September 29, 2003, Dany Heatley killed his fellow teammate Dan Snyder when his Ferrari 360 Modena struck a wall along Atlanta’s Lenox Road. Both players were ejected from the car, which was split in half by the force of the impact. Snyder suffered a fractured skull and internal brain injuries due to the rapid acceleration/deceleration incident. He lapsed into a coma following emergency surgery, and died six days later on October 5 as a result of his injuries complicated by a subsequently-acquired infection.

Heatley was charged with vehicular homicide(also called murder) as a result of the crash. He pleaded guilty to second-degree vehicular homicide(murder), driving too fast for conditions, failure to maintain a lane, and speeding. He was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to give 150 speeches on the dangers of speeding for his crime. If memory serves me correctly, this was not the first time that Heatley wrapped his car around a pole for going too fast.

Conversely, During the 2006 Labour Day weekend, Mark Bell was arrested in the San Jose area for alleged hit and run and driving under the influence. Both are felony offences. His arraignment was set for January 3, 2007. Bell pleaded no contest to drunk driving causing injury and hit-and-run on August 14, 2007. Although Bell was supposed to serve time for his actions, his sentence was reduced to 11 weeks of community service. So instead of spending time in the clink, Bell busted his butt for eight hours a day, five days a week for 11 weeks in Santa Clara County working on the side of highways, picking up garbage, cutting grass and pulling weeds.

Doesn’t seem quite fair to me. Heatly, an alleged repeat offender KILLED someone. Sorry, not just SOMEONE, one of his best friends and teammate. His sentence never included jail time, he got off with having to give 150 speeches. Ummmmm hello???? He KILLED someone. I don’t buy the argument that he has to carry the grief of KILLING his best friend and teammate so that is punishment alone. What Bell did pales in comparison to what Heatly did. I am not trying to lessen either the actions or effects of what Bell did. Drinking and driving, hitting someone and then fleying the scene is brutal. It seems to me however, that at least Bell was dealt with appropriately. Where is justice?

I know the family of Snyder begged for leniency for Heatly. They are true heroes having to deal with the death of their son. The family of Keith Magnuson also pled for leniancy in the sentenicng of Rob Ramage when Ramage, allegedly under the influence totaled his car killing his friend Keith Magnuson . Ramage, sentenced in Canada is going to jail for four years (pending appeal).

So let’s review, Bell, hits someone(who miraculously avoids death), while drinking and driving and and flees the scene. He pleads out, gets sentenced to jail and serves his time doing 11 weeks, over 440 hours on the CA highways with other criminals. Ramage, allegedly KILLED someone, while allegedly under the influence, and has been sentenced to 4 years in jail. Then there is Heatley, who Killed someone, while under the influence of alcohol (albeit within the legal limit) and he has to give 150 speeches????? Even if each speech lasted 2 hours apiece, it doesn’t equate to what Bell just did, that would only be 300 hours!

So, irrespective to what we think of him on the ice, we should salute Mark Bell, for repaying his debt to society. Here is hoping he has learned his lesson and will continue to be a valuable member of our society.