This damn blog was supposed to be focused a great
deal on sports way back when it began, so I would like to take advantage of the
current Penguin crisis to get back on track.
For the one or two of you who remember (me
included), I had a very similar message/rant after the playoffs last year. This year I’m going to get it out there
BEFORE the end. And yes there is a better than decent chance that tonight could
BE the end. Game 7’s are a coin flip as we all know here in the Burgh…..(see
93, 95, 10? etc..etc…). Hell throw in Fransisco Cabrerra too. It’s all the same
nightmare.
Why is this year’s message similar? Why shouldn’t I
just cut and paste from the spring of 2013? Because nothing ever changes…and
I’m NOT talking about the Penguins or their management…I’m talking about
hockey. As much as we may WANT it to change it never will. No matter what they
say or do in the regular season, hockey will always remain the only sport that
has a different brand of play in it’s post-season. NO OTHER sport changes.
This isn’t sour grapes. These are facts.
Imagine pass interference NOT being called very
often in the NFL playoffs…..putting away the whistles after the 2:00 warning.
Antonio Brown is tackled at the five before he can catch the game winning TD
but….it’s the playoffs…… They would have to physically replace referees after
games at Heinz Field…and I would be in jail.
Imagine an umpire cutting his strike zone in half
during the World Series? Or (gasp) NOT calling a foul on LeFlop James in the
NBA championship……
Imagine pitchers beaning players on the other team
when their team is down 6-1 in the 8th inning of game 6 to “send a
message” for game 7…….oh that’s playoff baseball folks!!!!
******
So here’s my message, or better yet, my QUESTION to
the fans here.
What is it that you want???
We’ve been
blessed for the last 3 decades with many of the greatest players to take the
ice. No team has a banner like the one at Consol listing all of the scoring
titles won by Penguins. No one. Not even close.
Is that what you want? Do you want to have that
pride and the ability to talk trash on any opposing fan? “Hey pal, Do you have
an 87? No. Do you have a 71? No. Do you have a 66? No. Do you have 68? No.”
Or do you want the Championship banners?? Do you
want the entertainment year around and also year in and year out of watching
the most talented players? Or do you want players you may or may not remember
years from now that win you more Cup banners than the THREE we have in the past
THIRTY years despite all that talent??
I can’t name too many New Jersey Devils from all of
their Cups other than Matrin Brodeur. Do you think New Jersey fans care???
So, should we keep 87, 71, and put our money into 15
other blue collar hard working players?? Would it be fun to finish 5th
or 6th and then scream our heads off at Consol in the playoffs when
our guys are hitting and frustrating another teams stars?.... and Fleury or
another goalie are “stealing” games with 45+ save performances??? Honest questions.
What are YOUR answers?
*****
It’s not just that we don’t have a good locker room
or don’t have leadership. There may be some truth to those statements but let’s
not kid ourselves…you don’t lose a 7-game series because of those flaws. The
talent disparity between the Pens and Rangers is ridiculous.
Hockey won’t change. CBC and NBC will never accept a completely
skill based sport. They’ll never take the “tough” element out of the playoffs.
They’ll continue to throw the typical crap out here during their coverage and
glorify those types of players.
When the Pens retaliated the other night they were “frustrated”……When
Boston reacted last night they were “sending a message” because it was their
tough guys.
So which is it? Which do you want? And don’t give me
“both”. Teams like the Pens of the early
90’s, Wings of the later 90’s, and the Hawks today are the exception…they had
or have so much talent they overcome these things occasionally OR maybe like
our Cup team in 2009 they hit on the perfect mix and chemistry.….
I KNOW you have to play the games and how the teams
look on paper doesn’t matter. I get that. But when it happens every single year
it gets ridiculous. Look at every other sport. The team that wins is ALWAYS a
talented top tier team. ALWAYS. I defy you to find an example where that’s not
the case.
It’s getting to the point in hockey where there IS
NO point to having the most talent.
So which do you want? Should Shero dismantle and
retool the team with ball busters that have a skill level one or two notches
below what we are used to here? Or do we continue to plug away with all-world
type talent. I’m not sure what I would even answer.
All that said……here’s to us scoring 7 goals tonight
and watching King Henry the Ass Clown get pulled, and then moving on to beating
the Bruins and Hawks to be Cup champs. There is the usual optimistic part of me
that truly believes that is going to happen. I get made fun of for it all the
time.
Of course I’ll delete this post immediately should
that happen……
Most likely, though, we all know the drill. Tonight is too predictable. The Penguins will
come out on fire, possess the puck for the first two periods, completely
dominate, but get stoned by Lundquist.
Then somewhere in the middle of the 3rd a
ref will make a horrible call or the Rangers will get one of their typical
Flyer-like bounces in the crease off of someone’s jock strap and we will lose
2-0 after an empty netter.
We’ve all been watching for too long not to know I’m
probably right.
Maybe I should start watching Bass Fishing? Are
there playoffs in Bass Fishing? Do the best bass fishers win championships or
do opposing fishers tackle them while their fishing in the playoffs…..maybe
I’ll check that out after tonight.