(no subject)
I'm going to preface all this with an apology to Abbey because I don't want her to get annoyed at what I'm saying here, but I'm still fuming a bit. :-p
Last night, my Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Philidelphia Flyers 4-2 to go up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals. All well and good. What bothers me is this perception I've been hearing about for weeks that Sidney Crosby is one of the most hated players in the NHL and the Pens get some kind of preferential referee treatment.
On the Sid matter, I really get annoyed at that crap. Crosby is a 20 year old kid who is a passionate, intense team leader on the ice who sticks up for his teammates, challenges the referees (just like every player in the league) when he thinks they made a bad call, and plays all-out 100% at all times. And off the ice, he's the most mild-mannered, selfless, respectable kid I've ever seen in sports. This kid is the picture of humility and honor. Last night, after the game, the Flyers coach was meandering on and on and on about one bad call against the Flyers (which wasn't even a bad call, unless Derian Hatcher is allowed to put his stick between peoples' legs and turn and twist it to try and trip them and I was unaware) hinting that the Pens get preferential treatment because they have "stars" and saying he'd like to see some "consistency".
O RLY?
So was it consistent when Sidney's OBVIOUS second goal of the game was disallowed?(wait wait...I guess it wasn't obvious. Instead of moving across the ice, the puck could have hit the goal-line and merely stretched out in length into the net. but seriously, anybody who's seen the size of a puck for more than two seconds in their lives could tell there was no feasable way that puck did NOT cross the entirety of the goal-line)
Was it consistent when Daniel Briere was brushed from behind and dove into our goalie like he had been shot and we got called for roughing him? (Though, to be fair, this was balanced out later on when Brooks Orpik DID shove him into our goalie and he got called for goaltender interference. See? CONSISTENCY AFTER ALL!)
Was it consistent was Jarkko Ruutu was--at two separate times in the game--punched in the face and chopped with a goalie stick in the chest, and HE got called for a ridiculous coinciding penalty both times?
But what does all this have to do with Sidney?
After John Stevens (the coach) got to throw his low-level tantrum, it was Sid's turn to be interviewed. He was asked directly about the disallowed goal, and what did he do? Say "Anyone with eyes could see it was in"? Say "It was a bad call"? No. He said "They said it was inconclusive, so it was inconclusive" and that if they couldn't see it cross the line, it was the right call. Minutes later, he was asked about Stevens' comments about the officiating; did he bring up the examples of times the Pens got screwed? No. He politely said he wasn't going to talk about it. All during an interview after a game where he was named the #1 star yet would not stop talking about how his teammates and less-heralded players won the game and picked up everyone's play.
Yeah, you're all right, no-nothing jealous fans. This kid's a real jerk. Let's string him up. Let's boo Sidney Crosby and cheer Allen Iverson. There's a real dignified sports star. And while you're calling Sid a "diver", please do let's ignore that Daniel Briere flops down on his belly like a sniper is stalking him several times a period.
Past that, I've been feeling much more chipper recently. Ever since yesterday. Had kind of a rough weekend and was feeling down on myself, but ever since yesterday, I've been more high-spirited. I'm going to be in a good mood at work today and have a good day, even though it's like, 8 degrees outside. WTF, May? Fail.
Last night, my Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Philidelphia Flyers 4-2 to go up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals. All well and good. What bothers me is this perception I've been hearing about for weeks that Sidney Crosby is one of the most hated players in the NHL and the Pens get some kind of preferential referee treatment.
On the Sid matter, I really get annoyed at that crap. Crosby is a 20 year old kid who is a passionate, intense team leader on the ice who sticks up for his teammates, challenges the referees (just like every player in the league) when he thinks they made a bad call, and plays all-out 100% at all times. And off the ice, he's the most mild-mannered, selfless, respectable kid I've ever seen in sports. This kid is the picture of humility and honor. Last night, after the game, the Flyers coach was meandering on and on and on about one bad call against the Flyers (which wasn't even a bad call, unless Derian Hatcher is allowed to put his stick between peoples' legs and turn and twist it to try and trip them and I was unaware) hinting that the Pens get preferential treatment because they have "stars" and saying he'd like to see some "consistency".
O RLY?
So was it consistent when Sidney's OBVIOUS second goal of the game was disallowed?(wait wait...I guess it wasn't obvious. Instead of moving across the ice, the puck could have hit the goal-line and merely stretched out in length into the net. but seriously, anybody who's seen the size of a puck for more than two seconds in their lives could tell there was no feasable way that puck did NOT cross the entirety of the goal-line)
Was it consistent when Daniel Briere was brushed from behind and dove into our goalie like he had been shot and we got called for roughing him? (Though, to be fair, this was balanced out later on when Brooks Orpik DID shove him into our goalie and he got called for goaltender interference. See? CONSISTENCY AFTER ALL!)
Was it consistent was Jarkko Ruutu was--at two separate times in the game--punched in the face and chopped with a goalie stick in the chest, and HE got called for a ridiculous coinciding penalty both times?
But what does all this have to do with Sidney?
After John Stevens (the coach) got to throw his low-level tantrum, it was Sid's turn to be interviewed. He was asked directly about the disallowed goal, and what did he do? Say "Anyone with eyes could see it was in"? Say "It was a bad call"? No. He said "They said it was inconclusive, so it was inconclusive" and that if they couldn't see it cross the line, it was the right call. Minutes later, he was asked about Stevens' comments about the officiating; did he bring up the examples of times the Pens got screwed? No. He politely said he wasn't going to talk about it. All during an interview after a game where he was named the #1 star yet would not stop talking about how his teammates and less-heralded players won the game and picked up everyone's play.
Yeah, you're all right, no-nothing jealous fans. This kid's a real jerk. Let's string him up. Let's boo Sidney Crosby and cheer Allen Iverson. There's a real dignified sports star. And while you're calling Sid a "diver", please do let's ignore that Daniel Briere flops down on his belly like a sniper is stalking him several times a period.
Past that, I've been feeling much more chipper recently. Ever since yesterday. Had kind of a rough weekend and was feeling down on myself, but ever since yesterday, I've been more high-spirited. I'm going to be in a good mood at work today and have a good day, even though it's like, 8 degrees outside. WTF, May? Fail.