Is this stupid? Or what?

Ryan Pyette, the Saultbie who covers the Ontario Hockey League for the London Free Press, has blown the lid off what is arguably the pettiest, most inane sports controversy of 2008.

Soo Greyhounds and Sarnia Sting have been prohibited from driving their their team buses into the back entrance of the John Labatt Centre when facing the London Knights, Pyette reports today.

Other Ontario Hockey League teams are permitted to use the Labatt Centre entrance when loading and unloading equipment.

But the Hounds and Sting have been locked out for allegedly being the two most inhospitable teams in the OHL.

Knights General Manager Mark Hunter complains that his team must load and unload equipment up and down several flights of stairs when playing the Hounds at the Essar Centre, citing similar treatment at the Sarnia Sports and Entertainment Centre.

The Hounds say the Essar Centre is owned by the City of Sault Ste. Marie so they have no say on how visiting teams get into the place.

Hounds Coach Denny Lambert says the dispute is no skin off his nose - he has more important things to worry about.

But Hunter accuses the Greyhounds of not wanting the Knights to walk past their dressing room.

To read full London Free Press coverage of this story, please click here.

Tell us what you think

Does Mark Hunter have a legitimate beef against Soo Greyhounds and Sarnia Sting?

Or is he behaving like a tin-pot dictator in a manner unworthy of Canadian Junior A hockey?

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