Want to know what Shane Doan said? From the Globe and Mail:

Doan says he was trying to calm down goaltender Curtis Joseph, who was upset that a penalty hadn’t been called in a game against the Canadiens, when linesmen Michel Cormier though he heard the Phoenix Coyotes captain utter a slur against Francophones.

As an enraged Joseph hovered around centre ice, Doan says he skated over to him and yelled: “Four French referees in Montreal, Cuje, figure it out.”

Want the punchline?

All four officials were French-Canadian that night.

Not all that funny, but not all that slanderous either. So that’s what all the hubbub is about. Doan said the French Canadian refs in Montreal were biased, and said so out loud.

Don Cherry committed the ultimate sin today, he agreed with me. From another Globe and Mail article:

Hockey commentator Don Cherry blasted Canadian politicians who have revived a controversy involving comments made by Phoenix Coyotes forward Shane Doan in 2005.

“Is this the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard?” Cherry said Wednesday on CBC’s “Coach’s Corner” segment. “All the things going on in the world, and we have a debate in the House of Parliament . . . because somebody said something?

“It’s absolutely ridiculous.”

I don’t really care for Cherry all that often, but he’s right, mostly because I’m right.

I know there’s more to come on this issue, but unless something really funny happens, I think I’m going to leave this one alone for now. Don’t expect that to be too long, though, this is all pretty silly.

Technorati : Cherry, Doan, Hockey