I am at a loss for what I think of Sidney Crosby at the moment. I have been following sports for as long as I remember and I struggle to find an athlete who I have less respect for. His actions at the end of the regular season and into his Penguins first round series with Philadelphia have been emabarrasing. The guy has missed substantial periods of time due to concussions and was the first to speak out about the NHL needing to eliminate the blows to the head and other cheap shots. Yet, who has had his nose in every scrum chirping and generally causing more sh#t than necessary? The same little golden boy who is apparently the greatest player on the face of the earth. Well, to that I would say does the greatest player on earth need to shoot away an opponents glove as they bend down to pick it up, and then later explain his actions by saying "I hate him"? Come on, that is in my opinion BRUTAL! I am so sick of wathcing him and his poor excuse for a moustache whine and complain after every shift. Don Cherry said it best when he said the kid needs to just shut up and score. He has all the talent in the world but is sticking out for all the wrong reasons. At this point he is to the NHL what Tiger Woods is to the PGA...a disgrace and someone no youngster should look up to and aspire to be like.
On a side note I think the Philadelphia Flyers have done a tremendous job of getting the Penguins off of their game. They are in their heads and in the process are on the verge of sweeping them away. All I can say is look out because when the clock nears midnight and the Penguins realize their season is over, there is still a lot of bad blood that could spoil over.
Still with this series, Aaron Asham is a guy who at times you have to respect and at times you have to shake you head at. His cross check to the throat of Brayden Schenn was horrific and the penalty should match the narcissitic nature of the hit. In my mind, anything less than five games is a joke. I mean if Carl Hagelin can be given three games for his hit on Daniel Alfredsson, Asham will should certainly be a lot lighter in the pocket.
Other random NHL play - off notes:
* The Vancouver Canucks are one game away from elimination, and I love it. Alain Vigneualt should be looking for employment within the month. Too bad they gave Roberto Luongo all that money because they are now stuck with him, and to be honest, I don't even see him as a top five goaltender in the league anymore. Shoot, he isn't even the best goalie on his team.
* Brendan Shanahan has dropped the ball yet again. I love Shea Weber and the game he plays but to allow him to slam the face of Henrik Zetterberg into the boards and recieve only a $2, 500 fine is not right. Again, love Weber but a game was what he deserved.
* Mike Smith's antics on Saturday night were laughable. He got run into by the Hawks' pest Andrew Shaw, not that hard I might add, and went down like he had been shot only to return to the night shortly thereafter in the Coyotes 4 - 3 loss in Game Two. Some have said Andrew Shaw deserves a suspension; I don't even think he deserved a five minute major on the play. If anybody needs to be fined and suspended it is Mike Smith. Apparently he didn't practice with the team today but my gut tells me that is a ploy by the Coyotes to try and influence the decision of the NHL on this matter.
Moving away from the NHL and onto the Riders, who by the way open the regular season is just a little more than two months. News out of Atlanta last week was that Odell Willis had been arrested for DUI. And then the madness erupts; Rider fans everywhere are livid at Brendan Taman for trading for him, he should never be allowed to play a game in the CFL again. Are you kidding me? The guy is a human who made a mistake, got caught and luckily enough harmed nobody else in the process. For those fans who feel that he should be done with the team, how many of you have a crystal clear record and conscience having never done ANYTHING wrong? Just another classic example of how Rider Nation can be such cynics. If he struggles early they will bring this up as the problem and if he has five sacks in the first month of the season, it will all be water under the bridge. To me it is a mute point, if the Riders can get him into Canada, he starts at DE and provides us with the legitimate pass rushing threat we have been lacking since John Chick and Stevie Baggs left. Case closed!
I am not one to talk about the SJHL very often but the Humboldt Broncos won the Canalta Cup on Friday with a 6 - 0 victory over the Weyburn Red Wings. Not that losing the series appears to be the issue in Weyburn though; rather they are upset at the suspension of their top player and SJHL Player of the Year, Jesse Ross for Games six and seven of the series. Look, he two handed a guy in the ankles, got caught and had to pay the piper. It happens, and for those of you who may read this and think the SJHL and Bill Chow did this to ensure the Broncos win, something smells over there.
WHL Play - off's continue tonight as the Kamloops Blazers look to force a seventh and deciding game against the Portland Winterhawks after fallig behin 3 - 0. As you may know, a good friend of mine, Jon Keen is the voice of the Blazers and for him alone I hope the Blazers not only force a one game showdown, but continue onwards to the Memorial Cup.
Have a great night, and talk to you soon.
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