....And More of the Past

I talked about the President's trophy being the Caps to lose now. The league tried everything they could to stop it, but even their efforts couldn't stop a dominant regular season team this year. What they can and have been trying to do is influence the Hart Trophy (MVP). Colin Campbell might have a coronary if Ovechkin wins three in a row, joining the elite company of only Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky. The league is learning the hard way that you can't just beat the Caps fair and square, and it is actually pretty tough to beat them with constant suspensions, questionable calls, and corrupt video replays. The fact that OV's hit on Campbell garnered more attention than Cooke's hit on Savard is mind-boggling, but that is what the NHL hype machine wants. I just hope it doesn't affect what OV has rightly earned for the third year in a row.

The Post ran an article yesterday saying OV is still in the "hunt for the Hart." What hunt? There is no one even close. The Great 8 leads the league in goals (45), points (97), is on a pace for a career high assists with 52 right now, and most telling of all, his plus minus is a staggering +42. That is the most telling stat for a hockey player, and what every player prides himself on. OV is not just a scoring machine, he plays defense, and he does both better than anyone else in the game. He does all of this while captaining the best team in the league. Back to plus/minus, the Caps as a whole are plus eighty for the year thus far, and that is no small feat considering that our second and third string goalies have played in half of the games. The Coyotes come in second at +55, and the Devils and Sabres are the closest in the East at +20 a piece. To put it in perspective the Oilers are on the other side of the spectrum at -59. That is almost a two goal difference each game. Finally, Ovechkin amassed these stats for both himself and his team despite missing 14 games for an injury and the league's persecution of him and all things Caps. Because of this he has the highest points per game in a decade with a 1.56 mark. So who could possibly even come into the discussion?

Ryan Miller is a possibility. To be honest, the Sabres are not that good of a team and may not be in the playoffs at all without him. He was fantastic in the Olympics, but this is the NHL. And his numbers are good, but not as astounding as Ovechkin. Miller leads the league in save percentage at .929, but Vokoun and Rask are right behind him at.928. At goals against average he holds a 2.22 average, behind Rask's 2.02. And finally Phoenix's Bryzgalov leads the league with both 8 shutouts and 39 wins. Miller does not place in the top five in either category. If you are going to name a goalie MVP I would give it to Bryzgalov, who has led a bankrupt team that was failing on the ice only a year ago to the top of the Western Conference as of today. But goalies don't win the Hart very often. Theodore won it in '02, and Hasek in both '97 and '98 (when he lost his cool and tossed his stick at Bondra en route to the Caps first Stanley Cup appearance.) After that you would have to go back to 1962, when Jacques Plante was the last goalie to win the Hart. Ovechkin leads the league in almost every relevant skater category. Miller leads one goaltender stat by a hair. While Miller's team might need him more (as the Caps were 7-2-1 without OV,) Kelley's blue book is still going to tell the rich guy his Bentley is more valuable than the poor guy's Pinto.

You didn't forget about the NHL PR team did you? Yes, the same guys that put the league on Versus between "Whacked Out Sports" and "World Extreme Cagefighting." The NHL just couldn't have a MVP debate without Crosby being mentioned. For the record he is tied with Ovechkin in goals, and other than that, he leads the league in nothing. His +/- is seven. Even when he is being selfish he is still a failure. His team has won nothing in the regular season thus far. Look, Penguins fans think I am too harsh on Crosby because I hate the Pens. I would hate Crosby if he was an Islander because of the way he plays the game. Having him compared to a stand-up guy like Ovechkin is frustrating for someone who likes hockey. OV is a tough all-around player who plays the game the way it should be played. The Princess is a clown and an embarrassment to the game. He reminds me of a cross between Bill Paxton's character in "True Lies" and Matt Dillon's character in "Something about Mary." He's just a seedy used car salesman who whines a lot and tries to hide his fear behind a false mirage of bravado.

Lets just look at last night's game against the Red Wings. With the clock running down to protect him, he crosschecks Zetterberg four times, skates away in fear, gets slapped around by the goalie, then cowers behind his buddies the refs. After the fight is quelled, he puts on the tough guy bravado again, against a team he won't see again for a year. (And yes it was the same Zetterberg that Malkin drew an instigator penalty for trying to pick a fight, but had his suspension lifted by Colin Campbell in the midst of the Cup Finals.) One can be assured Crosby won't be suspended either. This is the guy who captains the Pens, who is supposed to lead them by example. Maybe that is why Matt Cooke refused to take off his visor when Shawn Thornton squared up on him in retaliation for the Savard hit that was also never suspended. You can see this act of cowardice here in slow motion, at 1:57 into the clip when Thornton motions for Cooke to take his helmet off; something that gentlemen do in an otherwise brutal game when they are wearing a visor. Perhaps he was taking his cues from the "book of how to play hockey like the Cros." Would the Caps captain, who isn't even a fighter, ever stoop to such an act of fear and disrespect to the few gentlemanly parts of the game? Of course not.

These are the intangibles that are not shown in statistics. The entire Caps team takes on Ovechkin's attitude, love and respect for the game, and work ethic. Sometimes it can be frustrating, but they even try to play like him, even though that is impossible. Even when the league forced OV out he never missed a practice. He instead raises the level of everyone else around him, leading to a +80 for the team, and a 1 seed in the conference with a Jersey loss tonight and a Caps win tomorrow. He leads by example, and if you had a kid playing hockey, is there anyone else you would have him emulate? He has earned three in a row, but if it bugs the league so much that they absolutely have to have someone else there is only one person who comes close to the Great 8. Backstrom feeds OV every night, resulting in 59 assists to go with his 29 goals. The most important statistic again is the +/- of +32, and the same gusto as OV to lead the Caps to 7-2-1 without the top star. While we are at it, give Mike Green the Norris Trophy for best defenseman. He was robbed last year, and just came back with 70 points thus far. And yes he plays defense, his +/- is +30. Its time for people to face it, the Caps are the best in the league; lets just hope they keep it up through June.

Looking Towards the Near Future

Well the greatest regular season in the history of Washington hockey is winding down, and while I expect the Phonebooth to be raucous when the Pens come to town Wednesday, the end of the season is getting boring. The 09-10 Southeast Division Champ t-shirts have already been washed a few cycles, the Penguins and Devils have given up on trying to get home ice in the East and are just clawing to get the second or third seed, and the favorites in the West were thoroughly dismantled in Chicago just a week ago by an OV-less Caps. Anything can happen in the playoffs, but obviously this season is a failure without at least a Cup final appearance, and even a loss there would be somewhat disapointing. I say somewhat because this team has another decade, the Cup will come. But it would be nice to start the dynasty this year if that would be ok with the NHL front office this time around.

Bettman, Campbell, and their cronies can't take away the President's trophy, even though they have tried everything in and out of the book to get Pittsburgh in the mix. The Caps have an 8 point lead on the Sharks, and Boudreau has no intention of letting up, citing the Caps 6-4 record the last ten games of last year's regular season as a contributing factor to the 7 game Ranger and Pens series. He wants the President's trophy, which I find irrelevant other than having home ice. No one can remember who was the best in the regular season 10 years ago; it is irrelevant and almost a slap in the face if it is not standing next to Lord Stanley.

The Caps just need to 6 wins to clinch it, 4 or 5 might do it, but apparently Boudreau is not happy with that. He wants to crush the throats of the people that have tried to crush the hopes of DC fans since OV came to town. Thats why Boudreau doesn't have to buy his own beer at any bar in Chinatown. And no one really believes in the "President's Curse." Granted the Sharks won it last year and were knocked out in the first round, but look at the history. Since the 23 trophies have been handed out after 1985, the winner of the President has 7 cups, 2 more appearances in the finals, and 9 conference finals. The third seed has won 5 Cups since then as a statistical anomoly, and all of the other seeds have won the Cup twice or less. Home ice obviously has its advantages, and odds are the best team usually wins. But anything can happen in the playoffs; bad puck bounces, hot goalies, and especially if you are the Caps, the zebras.

But lets break it down in the East. There are three teams I don't want to play in the East if I want to get to the Cup the easy way: Pitt, Jersey, and Buffalo. In the midst of March Madness lets talk chalk, and pretend the top seeds win the first round. The Caps are playing either the Bruins or Thrashers first round: the Bruins are at 79 pts., Atlanta 75 and Rangers at 71 and slumping. The Canadiens, Flyers, and Senators are currently the 5, 6, and 7 seeds. Buffalo, New Jersey, and the Pens will come down to the wire to detirmine the 2,3, and 4 seeds. So if you go chalk, which seldom happens in hockey, we will be playing two of the three teams that are most dangerous to the Caps in the second and third rounds. (Assuming we win the first round, which I can't emphasize enough needs to be wrapped up in 5; history dictates that is intregal to any Cup winner in the last decade or so.)

I say good. I hope the Flyers drop down to that eight seed and the Caps take them out first. I hope it is chalk and the Pens get the fourth seed for a second round matchup before Jersey gets to them. (Jersey swept the Pens in the regular season, but the Caps lost to them last year in the second round despite going 3-0-1 in the regular season. I hope the Pens get every questionable call and no-call to go there way just like last year if this hypothetical series against Jersey happens because I want them.) I hate the Flyers, I despise the Pens, and I want Boudreau to burrow his proverbial heel even further into their larynxes on the way to a Cup, it will just be more satisfying. Long-time Washingtonians favorite Lombardi Trophy was the first, and not just because the first is usually the best in sports. The Super Bowl was almost anti-climactic after knocking out the Cowboys at RFK to advance. The Pens are reaching the level of hatred that the Cowboys garner, and stomping them like Dexter Manley did to Danny White will just make our first Cup that much sweeter. Furthermore, it would be spitting in the face of a league that tried everything in their power to keep the Caps from getting there. The Canadian offices have made it as difficult as possible for the Caps the entire year and we are still at the top of the heap. Why stop now?

The Most Corrupt Man in Sports

I am not picking on Canadians as a whole today I am done with that, just one Canadian in particular. Colin Campbell is single-handedly trying to ruin the Caps season for the second year in a row. He is having an exceedingly tough time doing it because George McPhee actually knows something about hockey and put together the best team in the game, but Campbell is doing his darndest nonetheless. Unfortunately Gary Bettman is to afraid to step in and stop it, taking the Nazi prison guard approach. So in my effort to stop my frustration at the league's and the Pen's mantra "if you can't beat them, cheat" I wanted to get to the bottom of why they are trying to sabotage the Caps. The anti-Russian sentiment has already been proven but is there more?

Let me tell you a little about C. Campbell, the NHL's current Senior VP and Director of Hockey Operations. He likes to be called "the Sheriff," because he clearly has issues. He was an unsuccessful coach of the Rangers and was fired mid-season. His son Gregory plays for the Florida Panthers who just looked atrocious last night. And he got to where he is by having no semblance of hockey knowledge, over-exaggerated talent, by turning his a blind eye towards truth and reality, and the expectations of having everything handed to him. So it makes sense he broke into the league when he was drafted 27th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1973 and went on to play for them for a few years. So lets get this straight; his son plays for the Panthers, he was a Penguin, and he has a slight affinity for the Rangers but they fired him so only kind of.

One would think that maybe he could keep his favorite teams out of mind when deciding on suspensions and dealing with his employees the refs, but the flow of games and most importantly the numbers prove otherwise. Lets see how these suspensions favored his two favorite teams. He has handed out 23 separate multi-game suspensions thus far this year. I'm going to take out Matt Cooke's suspension for his hit to the head of Artem Anisimov that was given out begrudgingly. (And once again how was that worse than what happened to Savard. I thought prior history of the offending player came into account for suspensions.) So we are left with 22 suspensions. In those 22 suspensions, teams had to go without their offending player 11 times against either the Pens or the Panthers. That is a rate of 50%; 6 Pens games missed and five Florida games missed. And that does not even count the controversial Mike Green ruling that happened against the Panthers. 6 Pens games were effected, 5 Florida, and I am counting the players in the Western Conference as well, who play these teams only once a year. There have been 11 of them suspended. Since the Olympic break, 66% of suspensions have taken players out against the Panthers who are struggling to catch up to the Savard-less Bruins for the 8th seed. I can not prove that Campbell is intentionally taking players out against his favorite teams, but the numbers do not lie.

I looked these stats up because OV only played in 2 out of the 6 games against the division rival Panthers the entire year because of Campbell's unjust suspensions. It is one more case of, we can't beat the Caps so lets cheat them . Fortunately the Caps are so good this year they swept the Panthers anyways. Even when we are being cheated we are still the best in the league. Lets look at last year's playoffs to see his inconsistencies. There were three different hits to the head in the waning moments of games in the first round of the '08-'09 playoffs last year: Carcillo (Phi) on Talbot (Pit,) Cammalleri (Calg) on Havlat (Chi,) and Lucic (Bos) on Lapiere (Mont.) Lets see how Campbell justice is meted out.

Carcillo Cammalleri Lucic

Blow to head: yes yes yes

While holding stick: yes yes yes

In-game Penalty: no yes yes

Prior suspensions: yes no no

Suspended: yes no yes

What is the rhyme or reason to any of this? They were all the exact same infraction, but why didn't Carcillo get a penalty. And if a penalty has to be a prerequisite for a suspension, why was Carcillo suspended, because he was playing the Pens in a series? Was Cammalleri not suspended because he had no prior history? Lucic didn't have a history either, so why was he suspended? All this chicanery leads to is confusion. OV still has no clue what he did wrong on Sunday. He is sorry B. Campbell got hurt, but he is going to continue to play clean, aggressive hockey until the NHL suspends him again for screwing up their marketing plans. Here is another story to confuse. 19:41 into the 3rd period of Game 2 of last year's Stanley Cup series, Malkin got called for an instigator penalty when he tried to square up with Zetterberg. This is an automatic suspension in the regular season, and is usually more in the playoffs where there is no fighting. Unless its one of the Penguins stars. Campbell said: "He wasn't trying to send a message, he wasn't seeking retribution. Neither was the case here and therefore the one game suspension is rescinded." What? Has anyone ever been in a fight in there life where it wasn't about retribution or sending a message? Any Pens fan that thinks they legitimately won the cup last year is out of their deluded skull; the 08-09 names on the Cup are nothing more than graffiti on the most revered trophy in sports. Campbell and his bias boggle the mind.

Colin Campbell said today that if Brian Campbell had not been hurt, OV would never have been suspended. If that is the case why was Cooke suspended for his hit on Anisimov who skated off the ice before the whistle blew, and not for a more vicious hit on Savard who left on a stretcher for the year? Until the NHL legislates the act and not the consequences, which they can't even do consistently, people will continue to get injured, and no one will have a clue why. The NHL and Campbell are trying to disguise there bias as concern for the player's safety, but if they were so concerned they would already have a concrete rule in place to protect them instead of bending vague rules to help out the PR department. Here is a perfect example of how things get out of control under the blind eyes of Campbell. Six years ago Steve Moore of the Avalanche took a cheap-shot at Markus Naslund, concussing him. There was no penalty or suspension for some reason. Next time the two teams played, Bertuzzi concussed Moore, and also broke three of his vertebrae. Moore never played hockey again. If Ovechkin was half as corrupt and had half the blood on his hands as Colin Campbell, the NHL would have Pete Rosed him out of the league a long time ago.

Its There in Black and White

So hopefully this is the last blog I write pulling the curtain open on Canada as they relate to "their sport." They just keep giving so much ammo and so much bias that I can't help it, but I would like to move onto more exciting things like a sub-.500 team's Spring Training and trying to figure out exactly what the Skins offseason plan is. I will give the Skins a year or so because they have a huge upgrade in talent evaluation from the last few years, but I have no idea what is going on.

So I have shown you that a lot of Canadians in hockey are biased, pompous, and borderline racist through both their deeds and photographic evidence. Don Cherry spearheads this movement of hatred of all things not Canadian. We have seen clearly that Crosby is the epitome of the NHL marketing plan of "putting all of their eggs in one basket," just like they did with a more talented and deserving Gretzky. The Princess receives undeserved accolades from the press, with help of the unfair suppresion of the greatest player since Gretzky. Little 87 is considered the best by people who do not know hockey because the NHL PR machine says so, not because of anything he has done on the ice. We have seen the lunacy of suspending Ovechkin through video evidence, despite the fact that Canadian Matt Cooke gets off a second suspension for the year for a hit to the head. And we have see Canadian's blatant hatred towards the Russians and even America, deeming that US goalies that have "support our troops" painted across their helmets are making political statements.

Now I will give you cold hard facts and statistics. 52.2% of NHL hockey players are Canadians. I can see why they are getting antsy and acting irrationally, they are about to become a minority in "their own game." However, I will point out that the Ovechkin suspension was dealt with 100% by Canadians, so the NHL hierarchy is still firmly in the clutches of our fine northern neighbors. Russians still only account for only 3.3% of all NHL players. So how does Gary Bettman explain that out of all the suspensions he has out this year, 11.5% of them have been to Russians? That is nearly 4 times the rate of the amount of players of that nationality in the league. 12% of the Caps are Russian, and these numbers do not even reflect the old Soviet Republics. Wonder why the Caps get picked on by the Toronto offices so much?

It doesn't stop at Campbell and Bettman's offices, it permeates the entire league and seeps through the media. It goes back to the argument of comparing OV to Ali, Ruth, and Owens, in that if you don't go with the media's ideals, they will do their best to tarnish you. In this case it is the fact that Ovechkin was born in a different place than they were. The media could concentrate on Sunday's game itself. One team, on the road, without their and the league's best player, come back against the third best team in the league in front of 22,000 plus angry fans, score three goals in three minutes in the third period to go on to overtime to win. They would rather focus on OV as a "goon" and "reckless" than on what was a great hockey game despite the officiating. They would rather focus on phantom beliefs that OV is a bad, dangerous guy than on non-Canadian Swede Nick Backstrom picking the entire team up by their skate laces and leading them on to a fantastic win on the road.

And this media influence is huge as the intregal cog in an un-ending cycle. NHL offices hands out press packets building up Crosby the Canadian, ignoring Ovechkin the Russian unless its about a questionable hit. Media reports say Ovechkin is a goon, NHL offices perceive the entire public thinks this way and feels they need to suspend OV for what should have been a 2 minute minor. And then the cycle starts over again. Its like telling a lie so many times you actually start to believe it. The NHL offices are so stupid they are starting to believe their own regurgitated PR. The NHL states that their criteria for a suspension are threefold: the offending player's history, intent, and the extent of the opponent's injury. The latter is bogus, the injury should have nothing to do with it, some players are tougher than others as we can see on the illegal hit by the Pens on OV that somehow justified the Pens going on the power play. And how can a Russian player have a clean history when Colin Campbell is suspending them at four times the rate that the numbers justify? OV's first suspension, by admission of the very player he hit was discredited. He clearly did not mean to hurt Campbell, the guy tripped. And the injury is unfortunate, but it is a contact sport. Well, that is unless you are wearing a red jersey in Russia or DC.

But it does not matter for the Caps, just the Russians with their horrible coaching, as the Caps are 14 points up in the East and should have it wrapped up by Thursday. Not with another Caps win, but rather the game of the week, Boston vs. the Pens. I wonder how Canadian sympathizers and Pens fans will react once a Bruin takes Crosby's pretty little head off in retribution for the hit on Savard. Will they shrug it off and say that it was legal if the princess goes off on a stretcher? i doubt it but we will see. If Crosby can work up the stones to play. But it would be appropriate if Sid sat, then the retaliation would take place on Malkin. He's Russian, so no one would care.

Sometimes I Feel Like I'm Beating a Dead Horse

I'm going to go ahead and keep beating the same dead horse I have been since the Olympics. When bad things used to happen to the Caps I used to get frustrated and wonder why. Its clear as day now and puts us a little more at ease. Its the pure Canadian bias. Because Crosby is Canadian, he is the chosen one. Because it turns out the NHL chose the wrong one, lets try to get the better, non-Canadian guy to play the least amount possible so our golden princess can have a shot at the goal title. And lets not just screw Ovechkin, we don't really like his team either, with it being in America's capital and all, so let's screw them too. Its not an anti-Penguin thing for me, I think Malkin is a heck of a player, but why does no one ever hear about him? Because the NHL looks at Russians as third-class players, everyone else as second-rate, and only Canadians can be the best. Its sickening and it needs to stop. When you talk about the NHL's glory days you do not talk about the days of Gretzky and Lemieux, who Crosby styles himself after. You think of Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe, who Ovechkin plays more like and proves more entertaining for the fans. Except Ovechkin screws up marketing plans.

So he gets suspended for two more games, despite already missing almost the entirity of the Blackhawks game. Yes Colin Campbell said "I don't want you playing with my son tommorow night. The Panthers are only 6 points out of the 8th seed, and they have a chance because the Bruins are screwed after Matt Cooke knocked out their best player Savard and I didn't do a darned thing about that." Below I'm going to post Cooke's hit and Ovie's hit, and you be the judge of which is worse. You can see that Cooke hit from behind with the intention of taking the guy's head off. You can also see that OV's hit started from the side, in front of the goal, finished with a nudge as they barrelled down the ice, and Campbell catches his toe in the ice and goes down. is that boarding? Even the NHL doesn't know. Here are the official rules in short:

42.1: (It explains what boarding is, and as for the length of the penalty:) The severity of the penalty, based on the degree of violence and impact with the boards, shall be at the discretion of the referee.

42.3: The referee, at his discretion, may assess a major penalty, based on the degree of violence and impact with the boards.

Look, hockey is the fastest game on Earth and all four refs barely get the calls right half of the time anyways. Don't give them "discretion," they aren't Judge Judy, its one more thing they have to worry about when they can't get the basics right. They were so confused yesterday they didn't know where to take the Great 8 after his "reckless" nudge. There is too much "discretion" in sports. The NBA refs have already been caught skewing games. Umps in baseball picking there own strike zone is ridiculous, its shoulders to knees and has been for over 125 years. There is a holding call on every play from scrimmage in football, and I can't tell whats a hold and whats not anymore. And hockey refs are the dumbest of the lot, they don't need anymore responsibilities, much less "discretion."

But they have it. Now just for a second lets look at OV's case and assume I am right about the Canadian bias. Colin Campbell is an obvious Canadaian from London, Ontario. Brian Campbell, of no relation and the man OV nudged yesterday is from Stathroy, Ontario. The referees in yesterday's game who everyone agreed's "discretion" was "stupid," were Dan O'Halloran, from Essex, Ontario, and Frederick L'Ecuyer, from Riveieres, Quebec. Well surely, you must say at least one of the linesman was at least American? Steve Barton and Steve Miller both hail from Ontario, Ottowa and Stratford. So all along the way to a 3 game suspension that warranted a 2 minute minor at best, the greatest player in the world who happens to be Russian was handled by Canadians. Thats weird.

I told you yesterday he would be suspended, so I am not suprised, but I am appalled. The last time he was suspended for a hit it was against Tim Gleason. When Gleason was asked about OV afterwards he said: "That's what put him here, I don't see anything wrong with it. He's an aggressive player, so I've got no problem with it." It actually was a good thing he was taken out yesterday because somone would have taken a run at him, and two more games gives him more time to rest up for the playoffs. Even though there is no replacing OV, the Caps have the most depth in the league right now and will be fine. The videos are here and here, enjoy the hits and the hypocrisy.

And while I said I wouldn't go after the Pens specifically, they always seem to come up as the dirty players and the cheaters. Our last Sunday National broadcast was against the Pens. This is a dirty boarding by Craig Adams on the Great 8 and what the spirit of the rule entails. Forget what happened? Adams got a 5 minute for fighting, he was leaving the ice because it was the end of the period, not because he was ejected. Furthermore the Pens went on the power play, because Knuble went over to take care of his star, and drew an instigator penalty. No penalty on the mighty Pens. No fines. No ejections. Certainly no suspensions. By the way, Adams was raised in Calgary, Alberta. I used to get much more frustrated about these things. Now at least I know why. The Caps can look at themselves in the mirror and honestly know they are the best in the NHL despite all of the odds. No other team in the league has been able to do the same in a year and a half.

Proud to Live in the Cradle of Democracy and Good Hockey

I ruffled a few feathers on my last blog so let me explain. I am not saying that Ovechkin is as great as the Babe or Ali, I was saying that the press likes to find anything negative about the stars of their time, and only later do they go back to glorify the ones they once villified. And I knew I was toeing the line when I compared him to Jesse Owens, but I was comparing the reaction that occured around both stars. Of course the Great 8 is of minimal cultural signifigance compared to the fastest man in the world at the time, but they are treated the same by medias from a different country than they are from. The Nazis believed that only Aryans could be the fastest and the strongest. Canadians believe only Canadians can play hockey. It killed the Germans that an African-American was the best, just as it kills the Canadians that a Russian has no peer right now.

Of course I don't think Canadians are Nazis, that would be ridiculous. However, in exhibit A to your left you will find the ladies of the Edmonton Swastikas back in the day. Wow, I am glad people got this stuff taken care of before I was born. I am betting top row, far right was the enforcer. I would let this go as one bad mistake by our fine Northern neighbors, but it happened again. Note exhibit B to your right. The Windsor Swastikas played in Nova Scotia just a few miles from Sid Crosby's hometown of Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia. Wow, Canada really named two teams the Swastikas. Note "the birthplace of hockey" in the corner that the Canadians take so much pride in. I was not insinuating anything at first, but just a little bit of research and Canada kind of scares me now. It explains a lot.

I can see how the Pens won the cup last year. The NHL's head disciplinarian's kid plays in the same division as the Caps. The Penguins were withholding video evidence that could overturn notoriously bad calls in the Igloo for almost three years. And the backing of Nazis. Dang, Semin and Ovechkin can't execute a Stalingrad every time. Maybe that also explains how Matt Cooke can take Savard's head off from behind, but doesn't get a penalty or suspension. Would anyone like to guess where Matt Cooke the Canadian first played? If you guessed in Windsor, home of the Spitfires and formerly of the Swastikas, you would be correct. I'm no conspiracy theorist but coincidences make me curious.

But OV nudges Brian Campbell on the side with one arm and is given a 5 minute major and game misconduct. Explain that one. He is going to get an automatic suspension for at least a game, so do not expect to see him against Florida. By the way that is where Colin Campbell's, the head disciplinarian for the NHL, son plays as they vie for that 8th seed in the East. Is that why the refs took OV to the box first, then decided to kick him out? Might there have been a call from Toronto? Or was it just the general vitrol against the Russians, leading to the first four penalties against the Caps on Semin and Ovechkin alone? Either way, it was in Campbell's favor to launch himself into the boards and stay out of the game. If it looks worse than it was, maybe OV gets suspended for three games instead of just one. Keep in mind the Blackhawks are vying for the President's trophy as well. Even ex-Penguin and current NBC analyst Pierre McGuire said there was "nothing malicious about it." It was a two-minute minor, four at best. More chicanery against the Great 8 from the NHL.

However, the rest of the team and especially Backstrom came together and it was a hell of a game. I was disapointed the first two periods, because even though OV was out, the Hawks didn't have perrenial Cup-digger Hossa in either. The Caps showed their mettle against a top 5 team in the league, and it ended up being a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. In America.

Truth, Not Propaganda in the Nation's Capital

I apologize if I came off to strong in my last blog I apologize. It is just that Ovechkin may be the greatest athlete this town has ever seen, and to see him constantly compared to that princess of a hockey player is frustrating. The Princess is no doppleganger of The Great 8, Ovie just isn't comparable to anyone else in the league right now. I know it kills Canada to see a US team with the best player in the game who happens to be Russian, but they are going to have to deal with it. They don't root as hard against New York, but that is because they were one of the original 6. It really has to hurt to see an "expansion team" do so well.

Congratulations to the Caps for the clinching the Southeast tonight almost a week before St. Patrick's Day and without even playing. I thought they would clinch it at the phone booth tommorow, but that will give the crowd something else to celebrate before the game starts. They are the first franchise in NHL history to win the Southeast Division three years in a row, and are currently 14 points up on the nearest and far less talented runner-up at the moment. Maybe we should let off the gas for the next 8 games or so, and head back to full throttle for the last 7 heading into the playoffs. We have to win that first series in 5. Cup winners in the last decade or so all trend towards having a short first series. We can lose 7 straight and still be in first place; no one has that luxury, lets take it, and maybe the team gets 2 short breaks.

So if this team so good, maybe the Canadian press will praise either the captain or the Caps best player. It should be easy because he is the same guy. Look sometimes you don't realize that you are watching history until it is history. The press loves the negative, and that is what they focus on. They did not realize they were watching one of the greatest players in 100 years of baseball when they watched Babe Ruth, they said he was too fat. They did not realize they were watching a guy who is considered by many to be the greatest athlete of all-time when they watched Muhammad Ali, instead they were so threatened by him they tried to throw him in jail. The original LT revolutionized the linebacker position for over 25 years and counting, but the press was much more interested in his unfortunate coke habit. Finally, last time I checked the German press wasn't too positive about Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics, but it turned out he was pretty darned good.

Ovechkin does not have any of these things, so they focus on his play on the ice and call him "reckless" and "dangerous."But Matt Cooke is good to go. If the Bruins miss the playoffs I hope they hang the guy in effigy in Boston. Ovechkin is history in the making, and this town is blessed to have it unfold in front of us. So come on Canadian media, get off your darling princess and write about the guy who leads the league in points, goals, assists, plus/minus, and who captains the best team in the league who clinched at least a third seed 11 days into March. I dare you. Otherwise I'll just assume some of Goebbel's cousins escaped to Canada and they all write hockey.

Over-hyped Young Phenoms

So Sid "the Princess" Crosby refused to appear on the Letterman show earlier this week when the Pens were in town to play the Rangers. "His schedule was full." I can give you several reasons this is a huge load of bs. First, they guy is a liar. That has been proven every time we have seen him take a dive in a game. Secondly, he is a hockey player, he goes to a morning skate, warms up before the game, plays the game, then showers and goes to the hotel. This all takes about eight hours tops. I don't know how it works in Canada, but here in America there are 24 hours in a day. He wasn't asked to be on the show, just to do the top ten. That takes two minutes. And finally, this is the second time he snubbed Letterman. he couldn't find time either trip? Take another dive Sid. Look for some reason Crosby has been grossly over-hyped so he is still a wanted commodity. Most people in America don't know hockey, but were told that the Pens won the Cup most recently. Most people don't know that they did not win it, they in fact robbed it, and it has been proven that they cheated their way to it. But they all want Sid, unfortunately he is too self-absorbed to look out for the good of the game.

If I saw him doing the top ten I would change the channel. Most Americans would not, but would be curious to see if Mr. Ed had some type of secret love child with Wilbur. There are only four guys in the NHL who could do the top ten: Crosby (as the over-hyped Canadian,) Ovechkin (as the best player in the league, who leads the league in goals, points and whose team is on top of the league,) Ryan Miller (an American hero after the Olympic run,) and Patrick Kane (an under-hyped young phenom who happens to be American.) These four need to be ambassadors of the game, especially after 25 million people tuned in to watch Olympic hockey. The NHL needs to turn up the PR machine but they refuse, instead putting all of their hype and marketing into one self-absorbed crybaby. Its almost as smart as putting the games on VS. This all of the eggs in one basket trick was used for Gretzky as well, but Gretzky was good and well-liked. There is no such thing as a hockey fan who doesn't like The Great One, but ask anyone who is not wearing a Pens jersey or comes from Canada their thoughts on Crosby. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone saying anything positive.

And why does the NHL do this? Because the NHL and and the hockey media are controlled by Canadians. Ovechkin has about a good of a chance at getting a fair shake as a conservative does on CNN. It just does not happen. Instead, we hear about Crosby non-stop, the Pens are on NBC every other week (I can't believe they actually gave Ovie and Kane a shot this Sunday,) and the Pens can do no wrong. If you don't believe in the Canadian bias, who did you root for in the Olympics? USA I assume, because you are from here. You threw aside all of the love for the Great 8 in favor of patriotism, rooting for out of all people Ryan Miller, the one guy the Caps don't want to see in the playoffs this year. Look this crybaby doesn't want the mantle of "face of the NHL," nor does he deserve it, he is not even a top five player. I would take Ovechkin, Kane, Miller, Malkin, and Iginla before I would take that piece of trash. Look Princess, just because Letterman is American and won't slurp you up like your Canadian cronies doesn't mean you should snub him twice. Be a man for once, or just do the top ten with your enforcer standing next to you in case somone is a great big meanie.

Now to an over-hyped young phenom I like. Strasburg looked good today, even though it was only two innings. He got himself in a bit of trouble, but got himself right out of it. By his own admission, he said he was so nervous he had to "remember to breathe," so for a 21 year old guy, he gets a pass. Will Nieves is the second Nats catcher I have heard compare the guy to Nolan Ryan. He is going to be up here soon. Of the 30 or so pitchers the Nationals have in camp, 18 of them have an ERA over 8.00. Sean Burnett leads the pack with an even 54.00. That isn't an ERA that is a high over/under for a football game. I'd love to see him soon, but I don't want to see him get hurt. I'm not worried about his confidence, everyone on the team says he is the most poised guy out there. But it doesn't look like the Nats are going anywhere this year. The future is by no means right now, but the future does look bright nonetheless.