"The best thing that could've ever happened to me was going to Swift Current"... and other things you'll only hear during a Hall of Fame induction speech.

The above was said by Joe Sakic during his HOF induction speech tonight. I was always a big Sakic fan because he didn't do anything else but play the game as well as anybody for a good many years while being one of the most likable guys in the process. Whenever I think of those crazy Red Wings/Avalanche games from the late 90's, I can't even picture Joe Sakic as being on the bench for them. I always figured while Darren McCarty was out there somehow making Claude Lemieux's facial features even uglier than they already were, Sakic was under the stands in at Joe Louis Arena engaged in a thought provoking game of bridge with Steve Yzerman. I was also really hoping he'd thank Marcel Aubut during his speech but to no avail.

Also on the induction lists were Adam Oates... and he certainly deserves it... but if there was one star player in the NHL during his playing time that I NEVER thought about unless he was actually on the ice, playing before my eyes, he was the one (Mike Gartner also fits this category). As well, there's Mats Sundin... he of 500 goals, Olympic gold and those chintzy Chunky Soup commercials back in the day. No issue there... and although he loses points for all the dramatic crap leading up to his singing with the Canucks a few years back, he gains them back for being pseudo-part of this legendary commercial:

How does that not win a Clio?

Then there's Pavel Bure... and he's the guy who gets the most flack out of this year's class.

For my money, Pavel Bure deserves a spot in the hall. The consistent argument against this is the fact his career was curtailed by injuries. This is true... however, for about six seasons he was arguably the most purely skilled player in the game. For almost the same amount of time, he was the best pure goal scorer as well. Nobody could manipulate the puck at top speed the way he could. He was as shifty 20 feet from the net as he was 20 inches from it. He literally made a hockey net look as big as a soccer net when he was in close. As New York Post beat writer Larry Brooks pointed out yesterday, he had 19 goals in 39 games with the Rangers at the tail end of his career. He was literally playing on one leg... he could not cross over. It doesn't take a genius to understand that those were 19 goals scored with pure natural ability and wits. As well, one has to consider this was in 2002-2003, when the NHL was at it's offensive nadir and the vast majority of the players in the league had a tough time scoring 19 goals on two legs. It's certainly a case where you have to dig a little more to find the proof - this isn't like Bobby Orr, where it was crystal clear that he was a Hall Of Famer regardless of injuries - but the proof is there nonetheless. And unlike last year's lone male inductee, he never spent a night in jail so far as we know... so that's a plus.

Elsewhere, Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals was named NL rookie of the year today. I had the pleasure of watching him in person twice this season. Once at Nationals Park in early June where he drove in the game winning run with a walk off single in the bottom of the 12th to beat the Mets 5-4. The next time was a few days later at Fenway where he hit a bomb over the high wall in center field (not the Green Monster, the 15 foot high wall 420 frickin feet away from home plate) as the Nationals became just another team to bend the Sox over this year in a 7-3 win. He's a very fun kid to watch, but for all the times I saw him live and on TV this year I can't believe how often he'd swing at the first pitch. It's great to be aggressive I suppose, but that boy just goes for it. He would drive Ted Williams nuts... old Teddy would be telling him to "stop swinging at that god damned first pitch!!!" and then take him salmon fishing or something.

Over in the AL, Mike Trout of the Angels got the ROTY nod. I seem to recall earlier in the season many a pundit was tabbing him as a potential triple crown winner. Of course many of them would now say they actually meant to say "Miguel Cabrera". Totally understandable... I get those two mixed up all the time.

Commandos play host to the Campbellton Tigers Wednesday night at 7:30. The tiggers were 3-13 this time last week until winning two in a row over the weekend... one of those games being the first regulation loss for the Truro Bearcats this season (IN Truro no less) so certainly a friendly reminder to not take anything for granted if you're Jeff Leblanc and company. Also, it's a nice break from the 38 consecutive Sunday games at the AJL. I'll take it!