FACEBOOK FUN: JAMIE ARNIEL REPLIES

Over the weekend, we had a little fun at the expense of Kingston's own Jamie Arniel, a projected first-round draft choice in the 2008 NHL draft, over a comment he made on Facebook. He sent a sincere reply and it only seems fair to give him a say:

Mr. Sager,

I was sent a link to your blog Out of Left Field and I'd like to explain something. I am pretty concerned after reading the blog.

The comment you quoted from Facebook has been taken out of context. I have been a die hard Sens fan since I started going to games when I was little. I did get caught up with my friends trying to chirp the Leafs fans who, for some reason, won't cheer for a Canadian team. Some of those Leaf fans who were chirping Ottawa were my close friends and I was trying to get under their skin. It was a joke! I realize now that there are many more people reading Facebook who may not feel the same way that I do. I have no bad feelings towards the Leafs AND I would jump at the chance to play for them.....let's think about it, Toronto would be an awesome place for me to play so close to home. I would play for any NHL team if I am given the chance.

It wasn't a temper tantrum, I would say it was a moment of weakness as you call it without thinking of the consequences. I was simply trying to get under my friends' skins....as they have continually chirped me over the years due to Ottawa's poor performances and I jumped at the chance to give some back to them, which wasn't the smartest thing to do. I am one of the few Ottawa fans in my group. I grew up playing hockey in Ottawa, I have many relatives in the area, and I went to a lot of games as a kid.

It has nothing to do with my character, just a sign of poor judgement. Also, I understand what you were saying about the poor English structure, and I'd like to tell you that it isn't an accurate judgement of my intelligence. It was what you may call, Facebook and MSN "lingo." As I said, I would love to play for Toronto, and I strongly feel that your article falsely displays my true feelings and I wanted to explain this to you.

Thanks a lot, I appreciate your time, and I hope you understand my situation. I've learned a pretty good lesson from this.

Jamie Arniel

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.