Jon Jordan

2013 Years Old • Male

One Ear Inside, Other Ear Outside

So says Islander defenseman Radek Martinek.

This was Martinek's response to how he was told to react to Sean Avery's constant yapping, as he experienced last night in the Islanders 2-1 win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Perhaps it's something even I should take into consideration.

Martinek has long been a favorite of mine. In fact, I'd call him one of the most underrated d-men in the entire NHL. Injuries have limited his opportunity to grow as a player and yet he has still shown marked improvement each and every year.

His most recent gem of a quote is endearing, sure, but 'Marty' got himself a fan for life in Mr. Jon Jordan way back in 2001-02 when, after being selected first star of the game for a home win against Carolina, he performed a full victory lap around the Coliseum ice, blowing kisses and all, rather than the traditional half-circle, wave and I'm outta here routine. That was a classic moment from a classic season that is too often forgotten by the casual fan.

Of course, regarding his recent quip about Avery, what the Czech native was trying to say was, "In one ear and out the other," but the message remains. Ignore him. Completely. That's right, Rick DiPietro ... you too ... and I will as well.

I'll admit, I flipped my lid a bit last week when I went off on Avery for his alleged cancer-related comments towards Jason Blake (though my thoughts on Avery being bad for the league overall remain the same.) My reaction was not unlike the player that retaliates to Avery's antics - probably exactly what he wanted - the other guy going over the edge. Oh well, water under the bridge, I suppose. (And there really is no such thing as bad publicity! 250+ comments! That's Ek-like!)

Really, Brendan Witt summed up the only healthy and productive way to deal with Avery when asked about him by Deb Kaufman prior to the start of the second period.

"That's just Sean doing what he does. You just have to ignore him."

Exactly.

As Radek said, "One ear inside, other ear outside."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

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