Welcome to my first sports blog!
If you're reading this, you are most likely either misguided, or here specifically because you know me personally and I told you to check out the site. Either way is fine with me, as long as I get exposed...well, not exposed…you know what I mean.
For the most part I’ll be writing about whatever the latest thing is the Leafs have done wrong, but considering it’s playoff time and the Leafs don’t play hockey this time of year I’ll be writing about the teams that are still swinging a stick instead of a golf club.
Osgood's Oscar Nomination
Speaking of stick-swinging, I might as well start on the Ribeiro-Osgood fiasco. The story: the Dallas Stars are trailing the Detroit Red Wings late in game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. In the waning seconds, Dallas dumps the puck in to attempt a last-ditch effort to score the tying goal. The final buzzer goes as Dallas forward Mike Ribeiro is streaking in after the puck, which is behind the Detroit net. As he passes goalie Chris Osgood, who is guarding that net, Osgood for some reason (in the name of sportsmanship?) decides to give Ribeiro a show of empathy by pushing the butt-end of his stick into Ribeiro’s face as he flies by. Most of the Red Wings start to celebrate behind the net with Osgood still standing in front of it (most likely following up the high-stick with some friendly words of encouragement). Ribeiro responds by taking a swing with his own stick over the net and clipping Osgood’s chest and arm. Osgood promptly “acts” as if he were shot by an armor-piercing round and flops to the ice and plays dead. He even drags it out enough that a trainer has to tend to him.
(You can view the video here)
First of all, the highlights on all the sports networks show only the Ribeiro slash. Why don’t they show the reason that Ribeiro took a swing at Osgood? The way the clip is shown, Ribeiro is made to look like a barbaric hooligan doling out a bit of random violence. Are the networks trying to sell hockey as the type of sport where one guy will hack up another guy for no apparent reason? Many people are opposed to the violence that comes with the game of hockey. Many of those people state that the violence is unsolicited and born of the athletes’ obvious lack of morals. I believe that’s because most of these people don’t bother watching the game, they just catch the highlights later. When networks choose to cut down the clips the way they did the Ribeiro incident, I don’t blame them for coming to that conclusion.
Secondly, does Osgood really think that we’re going to believe that actually hurt? It doesn’t take Gil Grissom to figure out that if goalie equipment enables a guy to repeatedly take a hard rubber disk traveling at 100mph to the chest without flinching, a glancing blow with a hockey stick would most likely not be as life threatening as Osgood’s reaction might lead you to believe. So what’s he supposed to do now to make his act credible? When his teammates give him the pre-game good luck tap to the pads, is he going to drop to the ice and writhe in pain? I doubt it. On the bright side, the trainer would be in great shape from running back and forth all game.Thirdly, if you’re dominating another team in the playoffs, the last thing you want to do is give them an extra reason to want to beat the stuffing out of you. With a cheap shot at the end of the game, all you’re going to do is rile up the opposition and give them more motivation for the next game. Obviously the Stars didn’t use that incident as motivation, as they dropped the next game at home 5-2, but that’s not the point. My point is this: let sleeping dogs lie. If you don’t it could come back to bite you.
In conclusion, I have to wonder aloud if the Wings’ newest pine-rider, goaltender Dominik Hasek had given him advice on more than just stopping pucks. Flopping like a fish is something for which Hasek is well-known…and it’s not always to make a save. This critic’s review on the performance is two thumbs down. Ozzie, you should leave the theatrics to the crazy old-timer.
