Nah, that idea totally failed. I simply don't watch enough hockey to follow the entire league closely and bestow upon the world my witty thoughts and observations.
That doesn't mean I can't write about hockey anymore.
Sidney Crosby is a bitch, and it's hurting the league.
Fantasy Hockey News » Lemieux on the NHL: “It Failed”
That's Lemieux angrily venting about his team sucking and playing like cheap bitch ass punks cos their two star players are hurt.
Let's establish a few things -- I am not opposed, per se, to certain players getting special kinds of protection. I am opposed when it interferes with the other team trying to play hockey. Granting these special players some sort of magic injury protection helps keep them, and fan interest on the ice.
That being said, the best kind of protection is on the ice player protection. If one player takes a cheap hit on someone, the other team should send someone to fight him, tell him this shit is not ok. The NHL is opposed to fighting, so naturally it myopically levies fines and suspensions at its own whim.
The Penguins game against the Islanders was a mess because the Penguins have Matt Cooke, by the far the cheapest, dirtiest player in the league right now, and I should know, having seen my fair share of dirty players being a Flyers fan. The problem isn't only that Matt Cooke is the dirtiest player, it's that his team and fans can't see it anymore.
Because of Sidney Crosby.
Sidney Crosby has distorted Pens fan perception of what is and what is not a penalty. He is not a large player by any means, but he seems to flail about when struck even softly. It's a contact sport. It's just a little pathetic to see him dive all the time. It's just getting so hard to tell what is and what is not a penalty with this guy. So now every time this guy hits the ice, everyone on the western side of Pennsylvania is crying foul, regardless of whether or not this is the case. But when it gets dangerous is after this prolonged exposure to this player and these calls. The standards get set to everyone on the team.
Matt Cooke does not, and should never have the same playing rights as Sidney Crosby. Sidney Crosby is a fragile goal scorer. Matt Cooke is, simply put, not. He seems to serve no other purpose than to be an instigator.
A brawler is one thing. You need these big guys to defend your smaller players -- the players who get in fights to defend a cheap hit against your goal scorer. An instigator only skates around looking for trouble. He is that player that lays the cheap hit against the goal scorer.
If a player plays rough, fine, so long as they back it up when the other team comes looking for revenge. Anyone can land a cheap shot.
-- Knuttel
PS, I don't feel like addressing the specific hits on Crosby and the hits Cooke has laid, simply because I don't feel like looking for the video, but I feel vindicated nonetheless.
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