The Rangers' new enforcer, John Scott, is nothing if not loyal to his city of employment. When visiting New York as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, Scott and some teammates stopped to take in a Knicks game. This being the world in 2012, somebody took that as an invitation to ask him about Jeremy Lin. Scott, true to his team and city, replied with hyper-Chicagoan dismissal:

“I think D-Rose can take him,” Scott told reporters, referring to Derrick Rose, the star of the Chicago Bulls.

This is a bit like saying "yeah, he's fast, but I bet he can't outrun a cheetah". It's the opposite of damning with faint praise — blessing with bloated criticism, or something. That weak stuff would get Scott booted off the stage at the Player Hater's Ball.

Either way, Scott's a Ranger now, and he's amended his views appropriately:

“No, it’s O.K.,” Scott said, laughing. “You can’t kill a guy for offering his opinion. I was just saying he had one weakness to work on. Most of us have a lot more than that. Look at me. No one thought I could make it to the N.H.L., and there are a lot of people who still don’t think I belong.

Indeed! Glad we're all on the same page now, though. And luckily for Scott, Lin almost definitely won't take him up on his offer of a free punch.