The Trippers...

It just doesn't matter! It just doesn't matter! ...

... what thinking is behind people in Toronto jumping for joy that Leafs defencemen Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina have waived their no-trade clauses so they can be dealt away. Southern Ontario folk are not sentimental; they barely give a thought to Maple Leaf Gardens, and it's still sitting there.

... that recycled NHL coaches (morning, Michel Therrien) are getting booted to the curb for younger men who have been in the minors learning to be teach and coach. Only journalists would be shocked to learn you can get ahead by working on your craft instead of schmoozing.

... that there is some major facts-plus-fiction in any contention that Canadian Michael Janyk's World Cup bronze in a predictor of Olympic medals. Downhill skiing is random. Miss a gate, catch an edge, you're out of the medals. Please look up how many World Cup medals Kerrin-Lee Gartner during the 12-month build-up to her gold in Albertville in 1992. (Zero, although she had eight top 10 finishes.)

... that having two players share an award, even in an all-star game, should never happen in sports. It is a total dodge to say two people were exactly as worthy. That said, the NBA All-Star game was perfect for Shaquille O'Neal, since it's played at half-speed.

... if a Vancouver columnist writing about the UBC Thunderbirds basketball team forgets the CIS Final 8 is in Ottawa ("all this talent is threatening to meld into a unit capable of hacking through the horror of Halifax," emphasis mine).

... that Elgin Baylor's lawsuit against L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling is about the difference between tolerance and respect.

... that rainy weather did not put a damper on the Daytona 500. The U.S. economy is doing that quite well already.

... that the Kitchener Rangers looked more like a team headed in a positive direction losing to the London Knights in overtime than the Kingston Frontenacs did when they beat London. (A two-game win streak did little to pacify Save The Fronts.)

This post is worth nothing, but this is worth noting:

• Former major-league closer Byung-Hyun Kim is going to miss the World Baseball Classic after his passport went missing. The other 27 players on Team Korea are all suspects.
  
• There should be a rule that forbids sports columnists from using children or family members as a crude writing device. If you go there, you've lost already.
  
• LeBron James is better than Kobe Bryant. So it is written, so it is done.
• OK, so Tim Raines and Andre Dawson aren't going into Cooperstown this summer, the late Tom Cheek and Sun Media's Bob Elliott just missed going into the media wing ... but the newest member of the writers' wing, Nick Peters, is married to a Montrealer. So Canada at least some representation at Hall of Fame induction weekend, really.