Thoughts
Posted 8:48 PM ET | Comments 10
Paper Champions
Since he entered the NHL, Crosby was destined, anointed, and given the road to the Stanley Cup. As it has been written, he is the youngest captain to ever win the Cup. Bettman has been wanting, and willing this to happen since the day he was drafted. To many this is very sad because the game should be bigger than one person but reality as many of us has seen is that one person is the game. There is not a commercial that goes by that you don’t see some picture of this Penguin, an interview or a some type of hockey gear. This is not what the NHL should be about, it should be about marketing the entire league instead of having one player shoved down your throat. To me this is one of the biggest reasons why a lot of NHL fans outside of Pittsburgh (along with the whining and the diving) do not like Sidney Crosby. The best part about all of this is that he was nearly invisible throughout the finals and it was Fleury who became more valuable than the Captain himself. I’ve read a lot blogs recently since the Penguins have won the cup and there is a lot of resentment towards the league and towards the Penguins. Some feel they have received preferential treatment throughout the playoffs to garner them the cup. We will never know but some things are suspicious. Overall it makes your want to scratch your head on some of the calls they received. Such is life in the NHL.
Now, a lot is being made up about the whole handshake ordeal. Whatever your opinion is, the NHL is immersed in great tradition and Sidney did not follow it at all. Celebrate a little on the ice and then go LEAD your team and shake hands, then afterwards party all night long. It was disrespectful and immature. I would not expect anything less from someone who needed to win the Cup.
The sad thing about the NHL is that until new management takes over nothing will change because its managed like a good ole boy network. I applaud teams such as the Flyers, Penguins, Islanders and the Avs (to name a few) that brought new blood into the coaching ranks. Enough of these re-treads (Quinn/Wilson/Martin/Crawford) that all they do is move from team to team. Their coaching stays the same with the people being different. We, as fans always complain about the parity in the league. Well, think about this, the parity is there because all the teams learn the systems of a re-tread coach. No new coaching is coming in the door. It's the same old system throughout the whole league.
Another point, look at management, there is no consistency at all. What if the fan has a voice instead of a retread coach who is now in charge of the rules. Or, a lawyer who doesn't understand a game. Once again too many people who have been around the league have been around entirely too long.
What is the point of having a team in a market that is constantly losing money? I don't understand the logic. I know there is a fan base. I respect that but the team is constantly losing money. It's time to pull the plug. I was waiting to hear the verdict and as I type this, I haven't heard it yet.
Hockey players are the toughest athletes out there. End of story!!!
Since he entered the NHL, Crosby was destined, anointed, and given the road to the Stanley Cup. As it has been written, he is the youngest captain to ever win the Cup. Bettman has been wanting, and willing this to happen since the day he was drafted. To many this is very sad because the game should be bigger than one person but reality as many of us has seen is that one person is the game. There is not a commercial that goes by that you don’t see some picture of this Penguin, an interview or a some type of hockey gear. This is not what the NHL should be about, it should be about marketing the entire league instead of having one player shoved down your throat. To me this is one of the biggest reasons why a lot of NHL fans outside of Pittsburgh (along with the whining and the diving) do not like Sidney Crosby. The best part about all of this is that he was nearly invisible throughout the finals and it was Fleury who became more valuable than the Captain himself. I’ve read a lot blogs recently since the Penguins have won the cup and there is a lot of resentment towards the league and towards the Penguins. Some feel they have received preferential treatment throughout the playoffs to garner them the cup. We will never know but some things are suspicious. Overall it makes your want to scratch your head on some of the calls they received. Such is life in the NHL.
Now, a lot is being made up about the whole handshake ordeal. Whatever your opinion is, the NHL is immersed in great tradition and Sidney did not follow it at all. Celebrate a little on the ice and then go LEAD your team and shake hands, then afterwards party all night long. It was disrespectful and immature. I would not expect anything less from someone who needed to win the Cup.
The sad thing about the NHL is that until new management takes over nothing will change because its managed like a good ole boy network. I applaud teams such as the Flyers, Penguins, Islanders and the Avs (to name a few) that brought new blood into the coaching ranks. Enough of these re-treads (Quinn/Wilson/Martin/Crawford) that all they do is move from team to team. Their coaching stays the same with the people being different. We, as fans always complain about the parity in the league. Well, think about this, the parity is there because all the teams learn the systems of a re-tread coach. No new coaching is coming in the door. It's the same old system throughout the whole league.
Another point, look at management, there is no consistency at all. What if the fan has a voice instead of a retread coach who is now in charge of the rules. Or, a lawyer who doesn't understand a game. Once again too many people who have been around the league have been around entirely too long.
What is the point of having a team in a market that is constantly losing money? I don't understand the logic. I know there is a fan base. I respect that but the team is constantly losing money. It's time to pull the plug. I was waiting to hear the verdict and as I type this, I haven't heard it yet.
Hockey players are the toughest athletes out there. End of story!!!
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What a fantastic and well written blog. I agree with you on a lot of things and you back up your claims nicely. Great stuff!
Paper Champions? Check again you tool. Anyway aside from the typical Crosby hate, conspiracy theory bs, and marketing ignorance this blog still sucked.
you will def get the attention of all the pens fans here. they will call you names and say ur blog was poorly written and sucked. That is just because they cant stand watching anyone criticize their team. They just won the Stanley Cup, why not just cherish that instead of ripping everyone that isnt a pens fan expresses how they feel. I enjoyed reading the blog. Keep up the good work.
dont forget in every playoff series the Pens had some very timely "events" happen to give them an advantage... topped off by the Malkin suspention rescinded.
The Malkin suspension overturning was the last straw for me. There was clear favoritism instituted by the league. However I don't think I would ever say that the Pens did not deserve to win. The problem is there are quite a few teams who also deserved to win. I hate the NHL for not following their own rules and tainting the winning of the greatest prize in Hockey. BTW the best players were Gill, Scudari and Orpik. Without them Fleury would have looked like a piece of swiss cheese.
scuderi stepped up his game big time. orpik was solid and pysical. gill did his job well. the fact is that only pens fans defend crosby with unconditional love. the other 29 teams fanbases all hate him. malkin is great tho, without him the pens would be nothing.
all in all, this was the worst stanley cup series since last season. the penguins are constantly helped by this league and if people disagree then they are blind and ignoring the obvious.
Nice Blog! Well written too. One thing I have to say is... I'm stunned by how classless the Pens fans have been. Sorry guys, but one man should not be the face of a whole team. Look at the NFL. Nobody markets better than they do. And Flyler is right, Scuder, Gil and Orpik were what carried them so far.They won, and congrats to them for it. Just don't look for a repeat!