If millionaire pro athletes playing in the best league in the world can’t handle getting picked last for the damned ALL-STAR GAME, they have issues to work out.

I think this is a media echobox manufacturing a story by simply repeating it over an over.

Posted by false_cause from DC on 01/29/11 at 02:12 PM ET

My thinking, any player on any other team it is not a big deal, but Toronto has to have something to talk about.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 01/29/11 at 02:20 PM ET

honestly i agree with burke here and i don’t like kessel.. but i thought the attention that duthie gave to kessel being last was over-the-top, and felt kessel handled himself great.

Posted by gretzky_to_lemieux on 01/29/11 at 02:24 PM ET

There was warning that the Toronto media was going to trash Kessel if he went last. Any other player would have been accepted. The fact his fellow players, especially Kessler and Kane let this happen to him is unforgivable.

Posted by timbits on 01/29/11 at 03:07 PM ET

I see this as more of an embarrassment for Burke as underscores just how stupid he was in giving away two first round picks for Kessel.  It must really suck to be a Leafs fan, who seem to be right in the middle of a 20-year rebuilding process.

Posted by Puppies and Hookers from a hotel in Moscow, with two hot tongues on my back on 01/29/11 at 03:08 PM ET

that idiot MC was a fountain of negative, idiotic, backhanded comments.

Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach on 01/29/11 at 03:08 PM ET

Totally a non-issue. I think it was kind of cool the way it worked out with the charity money. The car? Just a $30,000 continent-wide ad for Honda or Toyota or whatever. Most of the all-stars make upwards of 30K a game.

If it’s such a big deal, show a commercial during the last 3 rounds and afterwards just put up the graphic of who went to each team, to avoid the media spotlight.  Or the last 3 rounds are just done ‘in secret’ with who goes where being announced without the round number.

Posted by MarkK from Maryland on 01/29/11 at 03:09 PM ET

that idiot MC was a fountain of negative, idiotic, backhanded comments.

He epitomized the pathetic effort to inject a massive ego storyline into hockey, which just isn’t there.  Most hockey players are humble and gracious and are uncomfortable even being in a positive spotlight unless surrounded by 4 skaters in the same jersey, let alone individually and negatively.

Posted by MarkK from Maryland on 01/29/11 at 03:12 PM ET

Burke also suggested that Stall should aquire Kessel by trading the first first pick from the next two All Star games.

Posted by Chris in A^2 from Nyquist Puck Control on 01/29/11 at 03:16 PM ET

that idiot MC was a fountain of negative, idiotic, backhanded comments.

Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach

Ding ding ding. That was the most awkward hosting job I’ve seen since middle school.

Posted by Osrt on 01/29/11 at 03:27 PM ET

I usually stand up for Burke, but what a joke. It shouldn’t be an issue being picked last of 36 of the some of the best players in the best league! He’s there, and when you add on the charity money and the car, it almost makes it a non-issue. Burke is implying that these are a bunch of babies as opposed to grown men and pro athletes.

Posted by NHLJeff from Pens fan in Chicago, IL on 01/29/11 at 04:29 PM ET

If Burke hadn’t traded away the future of the Leafs for Kessel, this wouldn’t have been a bad deal.
But Burke knows he screwed up and this only put more light on that mess-up.

Burke should go back to screwing up teams and less time defending a player that shouldn’t have even been on the All-star roster.

Posted by Hank1974 on 01/29/11 at 05:13 PM ET

Could be worse. Could’ve been Rory Fitzpatrick.

Posted by Nate A from Detroit-ish on 01/29/11 at 05:57 PM ET

My thinking, any player on any other team it is not a big deal, but Toronto has to have something to talk about.

Bingo. If Stastny or Duchesne was last, you might get a mopey tweet from Dater, but that’s about it.

Posted by StevieSteve on 01/29/11 at 06:30 PM ET