OT: Hypothetical NHL playoff question
Question for you all: If the Wings were to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals, would they get home-ice advantage. With the Caps losing, the Wings recorded 102 points in the regular season, which would have been good for second place in the East.
Just trying to find something to occupy my brain so I get a few minutes closer to fall practice.
Cheers
April 29th, 2010 at 12:27 PM ^
Yes.
April 29th, 2010 at 12:30 PM ^
Home ice advantage for the Stanley Cup Finals is determined by points.
April 29th, 2010 at 12:30 PM ^
Thanks
April 29th, 2010 at 12:35 PM ^
Unless they play the Penguins. Gary Bettman will create a rule that states the team that Cindy Crosby is on gets home ice. Especially after last year's scheduling debacle. It's probably in the works right now.
Cindy Crosby, how original
Crosby's problem is that he hasn't come off as a very likeable guy. People wanted to like him, big time hype (not his fault) but he really just needed to play his game and keep his mouth shut a bit more and fans everywhere would have liked him. Many fans seem to think that he has been given some special rights (as M.J. in the NBA was), but I am not conviced of that yet. I can't say that I like him much though, Gretzky would put a hat trick on you and you liked the guy. Sakic, Yzerman, and some other really great players are ones that all fans like to see, so far Crosby isn't on that list by a long shot.
There's something that Gretzky, Sakic, and Yzerman had that Crosby doesn't: Humility.
He has an entitlement attitude. Maybe it was brought on by the hype (not his fault, like you said), maybe it's his age (not an excuse for these other greats that started young), but the reason is irrelevant. Crosby acts like he's entitled to success.
He rarely gives his oppoenents credit (see: any of his post-game comments against Detroit), and he complains to the refs more than any other captain in the league.
No one in America likes an entitlement attitude. That's why Crosby gets booed everywhere except in Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, less talented players that work hard like Mike Modano or Mike Richter are cheered. So-called "blue collar" types.
Crosby is a blue-blood and he acts like it, too.
The 54% vote in the player poll for whiniest player doesn't help his credibility.
Dude, give me a freakin' break. Crosby doesn't give his opponents any credit? That's a joke, right? He gives his opponents more credit than almost any other captain I've ever seen when he's interviewed after games. And I grew up idolizing Yzerman. He did talk too much his first year, but it ended that year. If you've watched him with any regularity at all you would know that. He doesn't remotely act like he's "entitled" or a "blue-blood". That's just absurd. Seriously, this kind of garbage just needs to stop. It just makes you look uninformed and biased. Be better than that.
that cross-checks after he loses a game were his way of giving an opponent credit. Silly us, now that we know that, he does give his opponents plenty of credit.
Way to prove my point almost exactly. You can't anazlye the player without viewing him through the prism of a Red Wings fan. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you probably haven't watched more than one or two games that Crosby has played in his entire career that wasn't against the Red Wings and haven't watched a single interview that wasn't after a Red Wings game.
be wrong.
You are correct he doesn't cross check someone after every loss. You're also right that he liegitmately gives a lot of credit to the other team, most of the time. You're also right that I'm biased, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you're biased towards him. I really don't like his voice and like I do with everyone else, I take what he says with a grain of salt. It's stupid to pretend to know someone based on what they do in front of the cameras. I don't hate the kid, I'm not going to call him childish nicknames and bash him and what not. He's a very good hockey player, he's probably a very nice person, he's just not my type. I really do try to not judge people based on what everybody else thinks. I dislike him in the sense that Bettman had to go and make him a poster boy. Firstly, that means he has to be perfect and has to be perfect from the second his name was called in the draft, because every dumb thing he does is going to be magnified and remembered far more than the good things. He hasn't been perfect. He's been far from horrible, but he hasn't been perfect. I remember the bad things, it's human nature. Secondly is something that is completely out of his control, but the media around him is beyond annoying. Two people make the exact same play, one of them is Crosby and the announcers proclaim it a heroic play that nobody else could ever do ever and they break it down and analyze it and glory it. The other is Joe 4th-Liner and they maybe announce it via play-by-play. He also comes up in every nationally broadcast hockey game, even when the Pens aren't playing. Thirdly, I don't like the concept of poster boys, I like teams. The Team, The Team, The Team. I've never liked the concept of deifying one player and I never will. I understand the necessity for it, but I hate hearing "Lidstrom and the Red Wings" or "Zetterberg and the Red Wings" or "Watch Stanley Cup Champion Sid the Kid tonight on Versus as he takes on [someone] and [the team they play for]". It's the Red Wings. It's the Penguins. It's a team sport. If I wanted to watch individuals I would watch tennis, or golf, or Nascar or something.
I understand what you're saying completely and I think it's one of the most frustrating things about people who spew the childish anti-Crosby lines (note: I'm not saying you're one of them): all of the things you listed there are things he can't control. He plays the game and plays it well and there is really nothing he can do about the fact that the media treats him that way. I know this may be hard to believe, but most Penguins fans don't like that media treatment either. The difference is that they don't let what other people do affect their opinion of him as a player. I actually don't know if I would say that I'm biased toward him (that's an honest statement), but rather my comments on this subject come from being the poster on this board that almost assuredly has the most exposure to Crosby both on the ice and off. But seriously, I really don't disagree with a single thing that you've said in this post.
I'm just saying it like it is. You can say Crosby doesn't have an entitlement attitude, but I'm telling you that's the perception.
If I'm wrong, why is Crosby booed on the road so much? Because opposing fans are jealous? Ovechkin isn't booed like that. Because fans just hate the Penguins? Malkin isn't booed like that. In fact, I can't think of an NHL player of the last twenty years as universally booed as Crosby.
Here are some "Crosby Sucks" chants:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BegNnoGHjkY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4ODz-k2c_8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnqLog7emxY
And here's audio of Crosby taking credit away from Zetterberg and slamming Howard after his last game against the Wings:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIngZDTV2fI
Here's Crosby making a riduculous complaint to the refs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1-aihcjH7Y
Crosby voted by players as "Top Whiner":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3atOIUzMb0
But maybe Crosby's entitlement attitude is just my "uninformed and biased" perception.
Ovechkin isn't booed like Crosby? Have you not watched any Capitals games? Apparently you didn't watch any of the games between the Capitals and Canadiens in the first round, although that's just one example. Hilariously, however, I've been to Capitals games in Atlanta and Tampa Bay and have heard Ovechkin booed and "Ovechkin sucks" chants in both buildings, but interestingly I've seen Pittsburgh play in both places and never once heard Crosby booed or "Crosby sucks" chants like you hear in Philadelphia or New York. It's all about the rivalries. Pittsburgh and Atlanta/Tampa Bay aren't rivals, so you don't hear it there. Washington and Atlanta/Tampa Bay are rivals, so you do. It's pretty easy to understand. Your post on this subject so awesomely misinformed that I cannot believe that you're serious.
It's also pretty awesome (and predicatable) that you would link You Tube videos of "Crosby sucks" chants from games against Philadelphia, New York, and Detroit. Philadelphia and New York (along with Washington and Ottawa) are the buildings that do that the most in the Eastern Conference, which is pretty predictable since Crosby has absolutely owned all four of those teams in the playoffs over the course of his career. It actually doesn't really happen at any of the other Eastern Conference buildings. It's almost entirely related to playoff series' or rivalries (in case you hadn't noticed all four of those teams - Philadelphia, New York, Washington and Ottawa - comprise the most heated current Eastern Conference rivalries with the Penguins). As for Detroit, that's not really surprising considering that they played in back to back Cup Finals series.
But yeah, I understand the point you're trying to make. It's obvious that you actually haven't watched him play all that much beyond You Tube videos and SportsCenter highlights, which is completely fine. Just man up and admit it.
for taking time from your busy schedule of coaching teams to the Stanley Cup, attending games coast to coast, catching all the post-game interviews, and hanging with Sid to edumacate all us know-nothing hicks about the game of hockey. And you're always so pleasant about it, too!
No problem. I do what I can. That was, however, a pretty awesome attempt a slight against me that you made there. I understand that you couldn't come up with anything to refute anything that I said so you went the personal insult route. That really wasn't necessary.
As for your actual points:
- Do I coach teams in the NHL? Obviously no.
- Do I watch every post game interview? Most of them.
- Do I hang with Sid? No.
- Do I know people who know Crosby personally? Yes.
- Do I know for certain that Crosby doesn't have an entitlement attitude? Yes.
- Do I think you are a hick? No.
I'll admit that I don't watch every Pittsburgh game. But I do watch a lot of hockey. I subscribe to NHL Gamecenter so I can watch every regular season game of every team. In the interest of full disclosure, I watch mostly Red Wings and Blackhawks games. But I do watch Pittsburgh, Caps, SJ, Avs and Ducks if they happen to be on.
Predictably, you've no explanation for Crosby complaining about fans celebrating a hat trick. He actually asked the refs to stop the fans. Where does that come from if not a sense of entitlement?
I've also noticed in all of your postings you've failed to explain the NHL players' perception that Crosby is the whiniest (read: entitled) player in the league. You and I can argue fan perception until we're both blue in the face, but a survey of those who'd know best... Sorry, you lose.
But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. They say love is blind. I won't judge you. Just man up and admit it.
"I subscribe to NHL Gamecenter so I can watch every regular season game of every team."
Ah, that makes sense then. It's pretty neat to actually get all of the FSN channels so that you can actually watch pre-game and post-game shows on a regular basis. It gives you a chance to see the players actually give interviews on a regular basis and not just the video clips that surface on YouTube or SportsCenter. It's a really nice addition to be able to have Center Ice and all of the FSN channels. You used to be able to get the post-game shows on Center Ice, but in recent years they've started cutting the broadcasts off on Center Ice as soon as the games end.
"Predictably, you've no explanation for Crosby complaining about fans celebrating a hat trick. He actually asked the refs to stop the fans. Where does that come from if not a sense of entitlement?"
What's to explain? He said it. I really don't know what you'd like me to say. However, if you want me to say something, having watched that game, the point that he was making had to do with the length of the delay. I could have cared less, but the reality is that he was correct in that the crew had the entire ice cleaned up after several minutes and then another wave of hats came down and required a further delay of several minutes. They were likely from the upper deck and it took time for people the hats to make it down there. Again, however, I'm really not sure what type of an explanation you're looking for. Did he need to say it? No. Should he have said it? Probably not. Did he say anything that wasn't accurate? No.
"I've also noticed in all of your postings you've failed to explain the NHL players' perception that Crosby is the whiniest (read: entitled) player in the league. You and I can argue fan perception until we're both blue in the face, but a survey of those who'd know best... Sorry, you lose."
Again, what is there to explain? The players voted on it at the beginning of the 2008-2009 season. However, the poll wasn't the "whiniest (read: entitled) player in the league" as you've stated, it was the player who complains the most. Possibly a distinction without a difference, but a distinction nonetheless. I can see where you got tripped up on that, though, since the YouTube link that you used said "whinest". The actual information about the poll was in the video clip itself, rather than the title of the clip. I will, however, be curious to see the results of the next poll when it comes out in the fall since there has been a lot that has happened and changed with regard to player perception regarding Crosby in the almost two years since that poll was taken.
"But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. They say love is blind. I won't judge you. Just man up and admit it."
Yeah, I admit that I admire the way he plays and conducts himself. The exact same way that I admired the way that Steve Yzerman, who I idolized growing up, played and conducted himself during his first several years in the league.
I'm not blaming you for being a Crosby fan. He's an offensive talent and can be fun to watch. I'm only explaining how and why there's a perception that Crosby has a sense of entitlement. I understand you don't have that perception. But it seems most fans and players do.
At least we both like hockey. And Michigan (I think).
Yeah, we both like hockey and Michigan, so that's should be good enough, right? Haha. Seriously though I don't mean to come across as such a jerk on this subject, but I'm sure I have. It's just a frustrating subject from the perspective of someone who follows Crosby and the Penguins because it's really an inaccurate perception. He definitely did run his mouth too much his first year in the league, but after that it really hasn't been an issue. He really is turning into one heck of a leader. That's why it's frustrating. I really am curious to see what happens the next time TSN does that article, though, after hearing the comments that players made about Crosby during and after the Olympics. I really do think that the perception of him among NHL players has changed A LOT since that poll was taken; that's why I really didn't (and don't) have much to say about it. I do appreciate the hockey discussion, though. Sorry again if I came across as a jerk.
It's also really funny that you would say that Crosby doesn't give his opponents credit, yet you have nothing to say about Alexander Ovechkin's words of credit toward the Canadiens (or lack thereof) last night.
I didn't realize that I would stir up that many emotions. Sorry 'bout that.
April 29th, 2010 at 12:32 PM ^
West now has home ice no matter what.
April 29th, 2010 at 12:38 PM ^
What's this if they make it stuff you speak of? I'm looking forward to a classic original 6 final with the Wings and Habs, that would be super.
April 29th, 2010 at 12:48 PM ^
I'm looking forward to beating the Penguins in 5 so that we can get the Cup at home this time.