As reported in the last blog, I didn’t watch the Rangers-Devils game on Sunday, preferring to watch the Habs and Bruins, instead. As a result, I didn’t see Sean Avery’s shenanigans until well into the evening.
Wasn’t that a piece of work?
CHICKS DIG HIM - Sean Avery with former squeeze, Canadian actress Elisha Cuthbert
On 92-CITI-FM on Monday morning, Tom, Joe and I had a good laugh over Avery’s face-to-face "screening" of Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur, but that didn’t seem to be the feeling of the hockey experts on TSN. Those boys wanted the NHL to change its rules to allow the officials to call a misconduct penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Well, talk about the power of TSN. By last night’s pre-game show, the NHL had changed its rules and told its officials to call a two-minute minor on any player who does what Avery did to Brodeur. Have a look…
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=j1GW7hcpnoE]
When you watch the replay, it’s more fun to watch referee Don Van Massenhoven than Avery. To his credit, Van Massenhoven thought Avery’s actions were low-class, but nowhere in the rule book (on Sunday night, at least), did it say there should be a penalty called on Avery for being a goof. So Van Massenhoven essentially allowed Brodeur to do whatever he wanted to the Rangers’ super pest and it was kind of fun watching Avery flinch when Brodeur caught him in the nuts with his stick.
Frankly, I still don’t understand why a Devils defenceman didn’t drill Avery into the second row, but I guess they figured Brodeur could handle things himself.
Last night, TSN interviewed a number of NHL players and asked them what they thought of Avery’s screening methods. Most laughed.
"I thought it was great," said San Jose’s Joe Thornton, almost in tears with laughter. "It was innovative."
Give Thornton credit. He got the joke.
Sidney Crosby took it so seriously he got kind of whiney. Marc-Andre Fleury was so shocked, he had trouble coming up with the correct English phrases. Mike Komarisek essentially said, "Consider the source."
Indeed. My good friend, Doug Orr (Colton’s dad), laughs every time the conversation turns to "What do you think of Sean Avery?"
"Personally, I like him," Doug said, "but he’s crazy."
Indeed. Sean Avery is crazy. Oh yeah, and his history would suggest that chicks dig him.
However, as low end as his little screening adventure was, it was also funny. And hockey can’t be hurt by the occasional bit of "funny."
Yeah, it should be a penalty. And yeah, I suppose it’s not particularly good for the game, but it was as entertaining as hell and in the United States, hockey could really use a good dose of entertaining every now and again.
Not everybody in the U.S. who buys a hockey ticket understands the subtlety of that great pass by Dennis Wideman in Boston on Sunday or appreciates the beauty of one of those Red Wings’ Euro-rushes we saw last night in Nashville.
Until they do, the clown prince of hockey, Sean Avery, always seems to put on a pretty interesting show. Frankly, for the good of the game, he’s probably better off out of the penalty box than in it.
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