Posted 9:09 AM ET | Comments 12

Filed Under:   Flyers   Oprah   Staal and helicopters  

May 17, 2008 11:00 AM ET | Delete
I love reading that...

May 17, 2008 4:30 PM ET | Delete
Someone please enlighten me about when Sidney is whining. I have not heard any comment from him in any post game interview where he is whining in any way shape or form. If you are referring to what he says on the ice...then you should consider that MANY players talk to each other and the refs during the game. If you think that talking to the refs is "whining", then there are MANY players...including those on the Flyers that are whiners. And this whole thing about "stop whining and play hockey"...seriously...do you have no objectivity? Are you telling me he is NOT playing hockey? You just want him to say nothing to the referee...or another player...and that will make the Flyer Nation happy? PULEEEESE!!! I could care less what ANY Flyer says to the refs or other players. Why does what Sidney says...or the fact that he says anything at all... matter so much to Flyer fans? Find some other reason not to like him already. :)

May 17, 2008 6:00 PM ET | Delete
icedog, I think part of the problem and the perception of Crosby as a whiner comes from WHEN he begins to spout of to the refs, and how often. Yes, you are right, lots of players talk to the refs throughout the course of a game. But when is it that Sid seems to begin yapping most often? It's when he has been hit or knocked down. Then he opens the floodgates and I don't think he's praising the officials for doing the right thing and NOT calling anything. He's no doubt griping and yes, whining, about why there was no call because he felt he got manhandled. I know as a player and as a viewer I loathe players like that. By contrast, do you see Malkin jawing at the refs every time he gets hit or knocked over? Same with Ovechkin...you never see him bellowing at officials the way Crosby does. Therein lies the stigma for Sid as that of whiner. If he wants to improve his standing and the impression people have of him he needs to stop the incessant running to the refs to complain and just suck it up. He already gets tons of flack for embellishment and you would be right if you argued he's not the only one who does it. But that's one of the problems now in the NHL. This is supposed to be a tough game and a brutal game, not a game for embellishers and divers, but those very players are getting away with it night in and night out. It's not hard to see a dive for a dive when you have a player like Crosby, for example, who can really be a horse with the puck and near impossible to knock off of it 90% of the time, and then all of a sudden a tap to his shin or his hip has him flying through the air as if he skated over an IED. Love Crosby's ability and his skill, hate his constant ref-chatter and embellishments. I'd rather see folks like Malkin and Ovechkin held up as the standards of what the NHL wants to be modeled after. Tough, gifted, hard-nosed hockey.

May 17, 2008 6:01 PM ET | Delete
they are just all jealous man. Let them live thinking what they want.

May 17, 2008 7:38 PM ET | Delete
Crosby is a great player I said so. The whining and the sour look on his face happen too often. You can't get every call and every break, sometimes he should just take the high road and not complain.The kid can straight out play hockey, he is a superstar and his ceiling is higher then any other player in the NHL, I just think he whines too much and so do fans of every team in the league expect Pens fans.

May 17, 2008 9:40 PM ET | Delete
Honestly, I can only go off of what players on other teams say about Crosby. Far too often, I hear guys talking about him complaining and "whining" constantly. Honestly, just about every superstar did it. The issue with Crosby is, he's very transparent when he does it. Gretzky complained to refs all the time, but he did so under his breath, and made it look like he was just talking about the weather.

May 17, 2008 10:09 PM ET | Delete
The Penguins has 2 power plays in the last game...2...I don't really recall Crosby falling often or complaining to the refs any more than anybody else...I swa him yapping with some other players...but I don't recall too much else that would be considered whining or diving...so I am back to my original point...why do you guys care so much anyway?

May 18, 2008 10:54 AM ET | Delete
I honestly don't care. My comments are based on the regularity at which other players say that Crosby complains to the refs. It's not just a couple of Flyers, it's been a lot of teams that say he dives/whines...maybe the two PP's have something to do with refs being tired of hearing him yap?

May 18, 2008 11:59 AM ET | Delete
And Philadelphia had 4 whole power plays. What an extreme difference there.

May 18, 2008 1:16 PM ET | Delete
The whole thing stems from his rookie year...he was 18 and very immature (not for 18) for an NHLer and he definitely had a way with things. Last year...he definitely changed and this year he is even less talkative with the refs...he is learning the ropes. But everybody wants to keep saying he is the same player now as he was then...and it's just not the case. And don't confuse talking to the refs...or what you call whining with diving or with him not being a "Tough, gifted, hard-nosed hockey". If you think Crosby is not tough or can't play hard nosed hockey...then you just aren't watching. And if you think he is diving, please tell me when in the Flyers series it happened and if it had any affect on the play (Hossa on the other hand, has had a couple of true dives, trying to draw penalties). I heard an announcer say in the last game that maybe the Flyers were getting to Sid because he did not go to the net on a play. The funny thing is, there were two other Pens in a better position to make that "to the net" play...and Sid was in a better position to draw the attention of the defender and make a pass. And I would bet you 99 times out of 100 that Crosby would make the same play...whether it was an All Star game or the Cup Finals...because that's how he sees the game.

May 18, 2008 2:03 PM ET | Delete
If you pay attention to what I said before, I did say that Sid can play tough hard-nosed hockey. 90% of the time. The other 10% of the time he pulls his Greg Louganis impersonations on the lightest of contact. Sorry, but as a player and a fan, I hate punks who do that. I don't care what team they're on. You wanna dive around like a pansy, go play soccer. Forsberg used to be an absolute horse with the puck. If you went to hit him YOU would end up on the ice half the time when he lowered his shoulder to meet you. Now he's turned into a weak player because he spends half his game trying to draw calls with BS fakery. And I watch more than my wife wishes I would and Crosby is still quite the little actor, and he still jaws at the refs as much as he ever did, despite your inability to accept it. Most obvious to my memory was when Smith buried him along the back wall on a clean hit. As he lay there I immediately told my wife that he'd complain about that one. Then, as he got up from his knees, he proceeded to begin blathering to the official and complained to him the whole way to the bench. Again, suck it up Crosby. Just take the hit. after all, it was clean. I don't care if it was too hard for you. Suck it up and just play. Save your ref talk for when something truly wrong happens.

May 18, 2008 2:05 PM ET | Delete
icedog, just to add a quick note, I'll defend Crosby any time the comment is unwarranted. And in Game Three, I maintain he had his best all around game of the entire playoffs. In production and in just playing the game. And I'm on the record as giving him his proper kudos for that game.