Piling On: That Whiney POS

As timely as ever here at TMHB (just wait for my twelve part series on Gretzky's High-stick of Gilmour), it's time to call a spade a spade; Sidney Crosby is killing hockey.

Background:

Among my friends and cohorts, I've given Sidney Crosby as much leeway as any non-Penguin fan should. He's young, he's under extreme pressure and he plays for one of the worst coaches in the game. Yeah, I know, 2 minutes for being an idiot (hangs head in shame).

However, recent-ish events have finally shown me the light, and I'll be damned if I'm going to hide it under a bushel basket!

Exhibit A: The Nut Punch

Have a look at the 0:47s mark of this clip:



As the commentator intimated in the clip, really how is that any different than anything we've seen guys get LONG suspensions for? The NHL suspends professional douchebag Sean Avery for six games for talking about his ex-girlfriend, yet Cindy gets nothing (heck, did it even get MENTIONED by the all-knowing Hockey Media in Canada?). Disgusting.

Exhibit 2: Getting Schooled by Ovechkin

Not sure if any in the Barilkosphere had the chance to see it, but the January 14th smack-down ^ on Crosby and the Pens by Ovechkin was a thing of beauty:



Ovechkin had Crosby on his knees picking up his purse more than a few times, before taking over the game in the third and absolutely dominating. Listening to how despondent the Pens announcers get near the end of the game literally sustains me; it's schadenfreude at it's best people!

Exhibit C: The 'Playoff Beard'

'Nuff said.

So, is this thing on?

Yeah, uh, took a two year hiatus from posting regularly. So, um, hey, what's new? The good news is that over the coming days I am going to try to start posting again. The bad news is that I am going to start posting again.

Here's a little taste of what to expect:

For now, if you are looking for literally* thousands of posts, articles and Leafs related 'stuff', we'd recommend heading on over to the excellent Pension Plan Puppets ^. Like that guy with the telephoto lense at the beach, we lurk there daily.

* not literally

Fletch Lives!

Ah the more things change, the more they stay the same in Leafland.

Looks like the puppetmaster (for those of you that saw the bizarre show put on by Fletcher and Peddie during the presser from the ACC, you know what I'm talking about) has decided the best course to fixing the mess he created is to go with something old. Let's hope this summer brings us something new (in the form of a hockey man that will operate without interference) and something borrowed (like a sense of decency and class from one of the other hockey orgs). Needless to say the fans are blue and looking at the dearth of prospects in the org, aside from Pogge, they will likely continue to be for some time.

Of course, Fletch's arrival and the news coming out of MLSE suggest that this is indeed the logn awaited start of the always on the horizon 'rebuilding plan'. From MLSE's lips to God's ear if it is finally true this time. I am still not convinced that any hockey guy that could actually come in and right this ship would ever actually consider it given the behavior of the MLSE board and the level of interference that they seem to have. MLSE are going to have to pay someone a dump-truck full of money, which is luckily the only thing about owning a professional sports team they seem capable of managing. We shall see...

Ferguson Finally Fired

Alliteration aside, this should have happened last summer. JFJ and the MLSE board have managed to take a once mediocre franchise and turn it into the Cleveland Browns of Hockey. A team so mismanaged and inept, so burdened with bad contracts that the only hope they have is for a return to the 'old' pre-salary cap NHL. Even if there are trades forthcoming, which there should be, this team's only hope for a quick about-face is to convince the veterans to go and to somehow win the NHL draft lottery this season AND next. Talk about wishing upon a star...

Honestly, you would think an organization that also owns an NBA basketball team that seems to know how to manage their respective salary cap would at least have the nuts to, oh I don't know, pull their head out of the sand and ask the guys over in Basketball operations, "hey, so can you guys explain this salary cap thing?"

The MLSE ship careens on, throughout this whole debacle showing their true colours along the way. They hang JFJ out to dry in front of the entire hockey world, somehow expecting this sideshow to actually ATTRACT talent. With all the haste of a glacier, Peddie et al have effectively shown their cards to the world, shrugged their shoulders and let out a collective "meh" when it comes to the on-ice performance of their financially successful hockey club.

Update on Hockey Intelligence

I am still working on my Hockey IQ stat (HIQ), but have hit a bit of a wall with regards to getting up-to-date, timely statistics. I have a few calls in, but if anyone knows of a source, other than manually copy/pasting them from NHL.com, please don't hesitate to drop me a line.

On a personal note, I am going on a road trip through the high desert country of the American southwest, and will be back on Wednesday. Obviously, no updates till then, unless I stumble upon an internet terminal and some free-time while peering into the Grand Canyon.

My quick take on the Buds prospects for the weekend:

The struggling Devils visit the ACC on Saturday. They are having trouble scoring goals, and if the Leafs can manage to put a lid on Gionta, they have a decent chance at winning this one.

On Monday, the surprising Islanders come to town. Led by a rejuvenated Yashin and a red-hot Jason Blake, this game will be a real test. Yep, the Islanders are actually playing well. Put the credit where I feel it is due, on coach Nolan. He seems to be working his magic once again. Heck, he should be a coach of the year finalist just for getting Yashin to actually start trying out there.

Have a good weekend!