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That Eric Lindros has been passed over five times for induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame proves he is every bit as divisive in retirement as he was during a superlative playing career. And thats a shame because by any objective measure and most subjective ones, he deserves enshrinement. Love him or hate him, theres no denying Lindros profound impact on the game. The Hall of Fame is intended to be a permanent residence for those who left indelible marks on the game. Lindros was written in black marker punctuated with an exclamation mark! He was a force of nature the game had never seen before and has not seen since. Lindros was the ultimate power forward. A bigger Mark Messier, playing at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds. It boggles the mind his seismic significance, however injury-interrupted, however muted measured against his own possibilities, has not earned him the ultimate endorsement of individual achievement. Its hard to understand how Lindros has never received the minimum 14 of 18 votes and even harder to understand that during his eligibility period (since 2010), the Selection Committee has left a total of four player election slots unfilled. Only one of a maximum four players was elected in 2010 and just three earned 75 per cent support in 2013, meaning that at least two years Lindros omission cant simply be explained away by the presence of an overcrowded eligibility class. Voting for the 2015 class is not until June, but during the week the hockey world gathers to honour its newest class of officially certified eternal stars of the game, it bears repeating: Lindros belongs among them. Here are five reasons why Lindros has earned the letters HHOF beside his name: 1. He ranked third in points per game (1.31) to the legendary Mario Lemieux (1.99) and certain first ballot Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr (1.42) during a decade of dominance (1992-93 through 2001-02). Lindros averaged more than a point per game every season (except 2000-01 which he missed entirely). He ranked just 15th in points because he missed so much action, playing only 79 per cent of games. 2. Lindros won one Hart Trophy during his career and while more might have been expected when he entered the league in 1992 as the most celebrated prospect since Lemieux, consider this: Every Modern Era Hall of Fame-eligible Hart Trophy winner but one – Chicago goalie Al Rollins - is in the Hall. 3. Longevity is a major measuring stick, but not the only one. Ken Dryden (397 games), Bobby Orr (657), 2014 inductee Peter Forsberg (706), Cam Neely (726) and Mike Bossy (752) are five all-time greats elected to the Hall of Fame despite playing fewer than Lindros 760 games. Each of them proved in relatively short periods of time they deserve membership in hockeys most exclusive club because they all had an influence on hockey history. So did Lindros. 4. Lindros and Theo Fleury are the only two Hall of Fame-eligible players who averaged more than a point per game in both the regular season and playoffs not in the Hall. 5. Lindros has holes in his resume and had his warts. He never won a Cup, which should be a non-factor, and he never won a popularity contest … except among fans, who registered their votes each and every night they paid to watch him play. He was the show. Eric Lindros cut something of a solitary path through a controversial career, but it should nonetheless lead to the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame Selection Committee faces an entirely different choice when it comes to another man who went his own way – albeit to different effect. The late Winnipeg-based agent Don Baizley had as high profile a practice – representing the likes of Anders Hedberg, Ulf Nilsson, Jari Kurri, Joe Sakic, Forsberg and Paul Kariya – as he did maintain a low profile among all but the hockey intelligentsia. Former Winnipeg journalist Vic Grant is trying to change all that; he is heading up a group that nominated Baizley for the Hall of Fame. I was among those who contributed supporting letters. Here is what I believe to be true: There are those who establish identities unlike any other. Baizley, a player agent for five decades, was one of these men. He was a pioneer - playing a major role in facilitating the first wave of European players to North American hockey - and a peerless advocate for players and the game, itself, during a turbulent period of the sports history. Baizley was an original thinker whose counsel was sought by people at all levels of hockey - on and off the ice and on both sides of the management-labour divide. He conducted himself professionally and personally with the utmost integrity. He was regarded as the most respected man in hockey and he used his position and powers of persuasion, not just for the betterment of his players, but for the sport. Baizley was, indeed, a builder. A builder of consensus whether in the thick of contract negotiations or discretely to the side in collective bargaining negotiations. No agent has ever been named to the Hockey Hall of Fame, but Don Baizley would be a worthy consensus choice to be a pioneer one more time. . Wade is posting a short film on his website next week, with a sneak preview scheduled to come out Wednesday. . "Yes, Id like to get them in," Detroits rookie manager said. "Mother Natures going to have a say in that." Sure enough, the Tigers had their game against the Kansas City Royals postponed because of rain on Thursday. . Torres calmly stroked a 51st-minute spot kick down the middle with goalkeeper Romel Quinonez diving right to convert a penalty earned by Javi Martinez. Spain controlled play at the Sanchez Pizjuan but found it hard to convert against a well-organized Bolivian team before Iniesta charged forward to curl around Quinonez in the 84th to seal victory. . -- The Vancouver Whitecaps remained unbeaten with a scoreless draw at the New England Revolution on Saturday. . Less than 24 hours later, in the same arena, he tried to recreate the magic of his all-time favourite player. Hilliard scored a career-high 26 points and No. NATAL, Brazil -- Greece promised goals that didnt come. Japan pressed for a victory that eluded it yet again. The ultimate result of what has turned out to be a rarity at this World Cup -- a 0-0 draw -- is that Colombia is guaranteed to move on to the knockout rounds and Greece and Japan are still clinging to life in Group C. Reduced to 10 men after captain Costas Katsouranis was sent off in the 38th minute with his second booking, Greece held on for a critical result in the group by returning to the rock-solid defence that Colombia had blistered for three goals in an opening loss. "My players were brilliant," said Greece coach Fernando Santos. "They worked hard after the red card. Without the red card we probably would have won the game." Both teams inserted new strikers in search of goals and a first victory, but ultimately the main objective was survival and both achieved that with one match left in group play. Japan would have been eliminated with a loss. Once Katsouranis was sent off after a rough challenge on Makoto Hasebe, Greece withdrew into a defensive setup and held firm. Even short-handed, Greece was better organized against Japan and avoided any critical mistakes. Japan defender Atsuto Uchida said he could sense Greece building a wall around the goal as soon as Katsouranis was sent off. "I had a bad feeling about it. It happens a lot in soccer, when a team goes down to 10, they know exactly what they need to do. And that also happens to be exactly Greeces way to fighting -- to fight by defending," Uchida said. Japan pressed forward after halftime and had several chances to score. The best came in the 68th minute when Shinji Kagawa played a long pass over the top to Uchida, who sent it back across the middle to Yoshito Okubo, who blasted the volley over the net. Greece goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis also was forced to make a diving save in injury time to preserve the draw and the point for Greece. Greece came in determined to turn around its dismal scoring history in the World Cup -- 18 goals conceded against just two scored -- inserting Kostas Mitroglou up front. Greek players had even promised goals against Japan. But Mitroglous best effort was an early volley that spun off his foot and he didnt even make it to halftime.dddddddddddd After taking an elbow in the side in the 30th minute, Mitroglou collapsed to the ground. He got up and walked off under his own power but soon determined he couldnt continue and was taken off for Theofanis Gekas in the 35th minute. Things got worse for Greece just moments later when Katsouranis was sent off. Greece retreated into its half of the field for most of the second half. Japan had 68 per cent of ball possession. Katsouranis will be suspended for Greeces final group match against Ivory Coast. "It was a terrible start, losing a man," Greece defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos said. "But we have a point and we have hope ... if things go well, let us get four points with a win in the next game -- and if God decides that we are eliminated because of the other result, so be it." Japan, which had been beaten up in a physical matchup with Ivory Coast in a 2-1 opening loss, once again had to deal with a bigger, stronger and much taller opponent. Coach Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni dropped Kagawa from the starting lineup in surprise move, putting veteran striker Okubo up front with Europe-based star Keisuke Honda. Okubo had one of Japans best chances to score in the first half but sent his header over the crossbar in the 33rd minute Zaccheroni was frustrated Japan didnt use its speed to exploit the spaces left by Greece being short a player. A win over Colombia wont guarantee Japans moves on to the next round. If Ivory Coast beats Greece, Japan will go home. "We played too slowly," Zaccheroni said. "This is not a positive result. We absolutely needed to win." ------ Japan: Japan: Eiji Kawashima, Atsuto Uchida, Keisuke Honda, Yuto Nagamoto, Shinji Okazaki, Yoshito Okubo, Yasuyuki Konno, Hotaru Yamaguchi, Makoto Hasebe (Yasuhito Endo, 46), Yuya Osako (Shinji Kagawa, 57) and Maya Yoshida. Greece: Orestis Karnezis; Yiannis Maniatis , Kostas Manolas; Georgios Samaras, Panagiotis Kone (Dimitrios Salpingidis, 81), Kostas Mitroglou (Theofanis Gekas, 35), Vasilis Torosidis, Yiannis Fetfatzidis (Georgios Karagounis, 41), Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Jose Holebas and Costas Katsouranis. ' ' '
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