Jersey-gate

Not the Devils, anyway. I'm sure many of you remember The Jack-ass (aka Davis Jones) who cut down the Hurricanes jerseys on statues during our playoff run because they disrespected the honored individuals, etc.

"I considered it not only a responsibility, but a duty to go down there and take those jerseys off."

Well, the Hurricanes decided not to press charges on the guy, despite him being a raging idiot, because that would only make Mr. The Jack-ass a martyr in his own mind and that of like-minded individuals. Canes spokesman Howard Sadel told the N&O that they probably would not adorn statues with jerseys in the future.

"For me, the bigger concern is someone on state property wielding a box cutter with an obvious hairline temper," Sadel said.

Heh.

I don't mind him standing up for what he believes in, but there is a right way and wrong way to go about it. Cutting down the jerseys with a box cutter = not the right way. Mr. The Jack-ass remains unapologetic, which is also his right. Just like I remain unapologetic for dubbing him The Jack-ass. It goes both ways Mr. The Jack-ass, see? Freedom of expression, she is a bitch.

Mostly, I'm angry because Mr. The Jack-ass and like-minded individuals only reinforce negative stereotypes about our suitability as a hockey market. The NHL is still fighting for its survival, and things like this only serve to add fuel to the fire for some idiot's anti-hockey-in-the-south rant. There are fans here and many journalists are lazy, taking the easy pot shots instead of actually doing legitimate research into their stories.