Hey Simmons, can you turn your nose up to the sun? I want to see what time it is.

In his July 8 post, Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons - a total bag of shit - had the following to say:

"At the same time that Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. committed $44 million to Jason Blake and Jason Kapono, they let broadcasters Brian Duff and Norma Wick go: They called it cost cutting ... Duff shouldn't be out of work long: He's one of the most underrated broadcasters in the industry and smarter and more skilled than many of those currently working on major networks in this country ..."

When I read that, I about shit. This is the first time since the inception of The Blue and White that I have disagreed with Simmons, but only because it's the first time his name has been mentioned. His evaluation of Brian Duff's talent is a bunch of malarkey.

I'll give Simmons smarter. Duff has legitimate hockey knowledge and insight. In short, the man flat out knows his shit. Since we are talking about the television medium, though, Duff's usefulness is on par with the nutritional benefit of eating a roasted bandage.

Underrated? Anyone watching a LeafsTV broadcast hosted by Brian Duff knows - to put it mildly - that Duff must have smoked a few poles to land that job. There is obviously no meritocracy at MLSE - but we already knew that. The fact that Duff even landed a TV job makes him overrated. I'm not all that familiar with Duff's body of work pre-LeafsTV (save for some time at the Fan590), but he has the on-air personality of a dead moth, combined with a dull stare, and the inability to complete one single fucking sentence without beginning it with "uhhh" or "ummm". Its called disfluency, Brian, look into it. T-t-t-today, junior! Brian Duff is more suited for print or radio, because on television he's as bad as they come.

Post Script: While 'researching' this post, I came across a Howard Berger story from a couple of years ago, in which he predicts Duff will replace Ron MacLean on Hockey Night In Canada whenever Ronnie retires. What the fuck? Am I missing something here? I wouldn't want Brian Duff hosting the Adopt-A-Pet segment on public access TV, never mind one of the nation's most recognized institutions.