So much for love of the game

Ottawa-based blogger Neate Sager is facing a $2 million lawsuit for allegedly libeling Frank D'Angelo, president of Steelback Brewery, on his popular sports site between August 2006 and January of this year, reports The Globe and Mail.

Sager used comments such as "huckster" and a "two-bit shyster" to paint D'Angelo as a "peddler," a "con man" and an "irritant." The comments were triggered by D'Angelo's interest in acquiring the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, which Sager calls a "charade."

Sager works as a copy editor at the Ottawa Sun and has yet to file a statement in his defense, but has called the lawsuit "silly." D'Angelo's statement argues that Sager's comments "severely damaged [D'Angelo's] credit, character and reputation."