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Scott Burnside nails it.
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Topic Started: Feb 15 2011, 12:04 PM (418 Views)
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RichPilon#47
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Feb 15 2011, 12:04 PM
Post #1
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1st line
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http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/stor...cott&id=6120121
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Goodness, Hall of Fame owner Mario Lemieux is a delicate flower, isn't he? After hiding behind what must be a weighty cloak of self-righteousness and refusing to speak publicly for long months at a time about the game he professes to love so much -- bam! -- Lemieux emerged and dropped a bomb on the NHL's lap Sunday afternoon. "Hockey is a tough, physical game, and it always should be. But what happened Friday night on Long Island wasn't hockey. It was a travesty. It was painful to watch the game I love turn into a sideshow like that," Lemieux said in a statement released Sunday afternoon, the day after the NHL assessed a series of suspensions and fines for Friday's fight-filled debacle between the Penguins and Islanders.
"The NHL had a chance to send a clear and strong message that those kinds of actions are unacceptable and embarrassing to the sport. It failed." Leon Halip/US PresswireOutside of appearances at the 2009 Cup finals and 2011 Winter Classic, Mario Lemieux has rarely spoke publicaly in the past few years. We must say, it helps to read all these bits aloud in a very deep, Zeus-like voice to get the full import of this great chiding from on high. It would all be great theater if it weren't so nauseatingly contrived. Lemieux apparently didn't mind the state of the game so much when Matt Cooke, a player his Penguins signed to a new contract this past summer, put Marc Savard's career in jeopardy last season with a blindside check a thousand times worse than the one that recently felled Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby. And Lemieux must have been too busy working on his short game last week to defend the game he loves when Cooke was suspended again, this time for four games, for drilling Columbus defenseman Fedor Tyutin headfirst into the boards. Nope, Lemieux was pretty much silent on that one, too. Funny. "We, as a league, must do a better job of protecting the integrity of the game and the safety of our players," Lemieux wrote in his first public statements since the Winter Classic. "We must make it clear that those kinds of actions will not be tolerated and will be met with meaningful disciplinary action." What actions is he talking about? Fighting? His team leads the NHL in major penalties by a wide margin. The Penguins also lead the league in penalty minutes per game. Still, sure enough, folks rushed to laud Lemieux for being brave, for telling it like it is, for standing up and laying a wallop on the NHL.
You go, Mario. How dare the league not do what Lemieux wanted? But what exactly did Lemieux want or expect the NHL to do? We'd love to know. Should cowardly New York Islanders forward Matt Martin have earned more than the four games he did for his sucker punch on Pittsburgh forward Maxime Talbot in Friday's game? Of course.
But Trevor Gillies received nine games for his equally cowardly elbow to Eric Tangradi. The Isles also received a $100,000 fine. Pittsburgh forward (and former Islander Eric Godard) received 10 games for coming off the bench. You think the Islanders liked how this played out? Sources tell ESPN.com the Islanders were saying Sunday that they were the ones getting done over by the league and this was a conspiracy on the NHL's part to protect the Penguins.
So, just what else did Lemieux want or expect? Even when you suspend cannon fodder like Martin and Gillies (they have a combined three goals this season; would anyone notice if they were banned for the rest of the year?), does it really strike at the core issue of respect? It's not hard to see where Lemieux's outburst comes from. The Pens have lost four of five games, including Sunday's 5-3 loss to the New York Rangers. They have been without Crosby for more than a month with a concussion and there is no timetable for his return or even any guarantee he will return this season. Evgeni Malkin is gone for the season with a knee injury. Half their forward contingent has been sidelined by injury.
And so, a team that looked to be primed for another long Stanley Cup run at the end of December looks to be significantly less than that now. The 9-3 loss Friday and subsequent pounding by the Islanders were humiliating, and Lemieux is right on one count to call it a "travesty." But that wasn't the only travesty to come out of the Isles/Pens "Slap Shot" revival. Want to have intelligent debate on the issue of violence in hockey, or what to do about head shots? We're all for it.
Want to have a meaningful debate about whether the NHL's handling of supplemental discipline deserves an overhaul? We've been saying that for ages. Having someone like Lemieux weigh in would be a significant moment, just as it's crucial to hear from players like Crosby and Jonathan Toews and Chris Pronger and the rest of the game's leaders, especially when it comes to changing the climate of disrespect that continues to plague the league.
But this wasn't a call to action; it came off as a petulant child stomping his feet. Lemieux threw the NHL under the bus Sunday. Not that the league doesn't need the occasional adjustment, but this is the same league that worked shoulder to shoulder with Lemieux to get him his new arena, keep his team in Pittsburgh and, oh yes, get his millions out of the team. Even if he had decided to give the league a little goose about how it handled L'affaire Long Island, OK. If it made Lemieux feel better to vent, fair enough; he's earned some leeway, we suppose. But then, there was the threat to pick up his golden puck and go home. "If the events relating to Friday night reflect the state of the league, I need to rethink whether I want to be a part of it," Lemieux concluded in his statement. Gee, get over yourself.
It's more than a little rich that Lemieux is threatening to walk away from the game now that he's got a shiny new arena and presumably all the millions he was owed all those years back when he hated the game but saved the team in Pittsburgh nonetheless. Was this even Lemieux's doing, this "statement," or did it come from somewhere else in the posh offices at Consol Energy Center? Regardless, the statement has Lemieux's name attached to it and he must wear it.
We can only assume Lemieux will get a little dose of the same medicine Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi received awhile back. Lombardi mouthed off about the integrity of the NHL's hockey operations department and took a $50,000 shot in the jaw for his troubles. We're guessing Lemieux will have to answer to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, et al, with his checkbook, as he should. Big picture? How about this: Lemieux could apologize for going over the top on this one, or he could actually become a meaningful part of the debate on how to make the game he insists he loves better.
fixed link
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In prison, before you die from lethal injection, they first swab your arm with alcohol to prevent an infection.
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3POTI
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Feb 15 2011, 07:15 PM
Post #2
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Bring back...PRIDE OF THE ISLAND
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a beautiful written article..note to self..email burnside..
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Today Is A Great Day To Be An Islander Fan! Live For The Moment!
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Shooter
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Feb 15 2011, 07:46 PM
Post #3
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All Star
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Great article. BTW, it wouldn't bother me one bit if Gillies never played for the Islanders again. Matt Martin doesn't fit this category though he should have face the guy then dropped Talbot with a punch.
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stevedepot
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Feb 15 2011, 08:03 PM
Post #4
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WISENHEIMER
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- Shooter,Feb 15 2011
- 07:46 PM
Great article. BTW, it wouldn't bother me one bit if Gillies never played for the Islanders again. Matt Martin doesn't fit this category though he should have face the guy then dropped Talbot with a punch.
Mike, I have to agree with you about Gillies. Tangradi had taken a few runs at our guys and leveled Hillen earlier so I was glad Gillies hit him at first until saw the replays. What Gillies did, was disturbing and if someone did that to one of our guys, we'd be pissed. I understand Konopka's concern over Gillies suspension and fine resulting in lost salary which will affect his family. But was Gillies thinking about Tangradi's family when he hit him while he was defenseless? Thank god there was no permanent damage.
3 minutes a game and the bastid works up a sweat more from running his mouth and snarling.
Now, on the flip side...everyone around the league hates him for what he did. He has a rep for being a wacko now. Do you hold onto said wacko? I can fully see fans who are bothered by what he did understanding why he should stay.
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Shooter
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Feb 15 2011, 09:03 PM
Post #5
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All Star
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- stevedepot,Feb 15 2011
- 08:03 PM
- Shooter,Feb 15 2011
- 07:46 PM
Great article. BTW, it wouldn't bother me one bit if Gillies never played for the Islanders again. Matt Martin doesn't fit this category though he should have face the guy then dropped Talbot with a punch.
Mike, I have to agree with you about Gillies. Tangradi had taken a few runs at our guys and leveled Hillen earlier so I was glad Gillies hit him at first until saw the replays. What Gillies did, was disturbing and if someone did that to one of our guys, we'd be pissed. I understand Konopka's concern over Gillies suspension and fine resulting in lost salary which will affect his family. But was Gillies thinking about Tangradi's family when he hit him while he was defenseless? Thank god there was no permanent damage. 3 minutes a game and the bastid works up a sweat more from running his mouth and snarling. Now, on the flip side...everyone around the league hates him for what he did. He has a rep for being a wacko now. Do you hold onto said wacko? I can fully see fans who are bothered by what he did understanding why he should stay.
No. We don't need another Chris Simon incident. Remove him. If you can't pay a guy decent change to protect your players, then why would anyone want to play here. And they can't blame the arena. It's time this franchise get players who can protect but play a shift.
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rst033
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Feb 15 2011, 09:12 PM
Post #6
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4th line
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would love to see the Islanders make a deal where they get a little bigger and a little more physical. another #47 on the blueline would help the Islander cause.
with the emergence of Grabner and the development of the top two lines it would make tons of sense to move Schremp. I would love to see the Islanders add John Scott from the Blackhawks.
bottom line is the Islanders are a little too soft
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king glorious
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Feb 23 2011, 01:49 PM
Post #7
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- Shooter,Feb 15 2011
- 07:46 PM
Great article. BTW, it wouldn't bother me one bit if Gillies never played for the Islanders again. Matt Martin doesn't fit this category though he should have face the guy then dropped Talbot with a punch.
but burnside isnt discussing gillies as a important component of the islanders.
He is discussing the merits of the suspension and the safety rules of the nhl. Within that context gillies got a hefty penalty (albeit deserved) after which he should be back on the ice. (this is his first suspension ever correct)
Until there is an overhaul to league rules regarding fighting and dirty play, then his lack of talent should have no bearing.
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Shooter
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Feb 23 2011, 04:44 PM
Post #8
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All Star
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- king glorious,Feb 23 2011
- 01:49 PM
- Shooter,Feb 15 2011
- 07:46 PM
Great article. BTW, it wouldn't bother me one bit if Gillies never played for the Islanders again. Matt Martin doesn't fit this category though he should have face the guy then dropped Talbot with a punch.
but burnside isnt discussing gillies as a important component of the islanders. He is discussing the merits of the suspension and the safety rules of the nhl. Within that context gillies got a hefty penalty (albeit deserved) after which he should be back on the ice. (this is his first suspension ever correct) Until there is an overhaul to league rules regarding fighting and dirty play, then his lack of talent should have no bearing.
I know he isn't. I see no value to having Gillies on this team. Just an opinion.
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king glorious
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Feb 23 2011, 05:00 PM
Post #9
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All Star
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- Shooter,Feb 23 2011
- 04:44 PM
- king glorious,Feb 23 2011
- 01:49 PM
- Shooter,Feb 15 2011
- 07:46 PM
Great article. BTW, it wouldn't bother me one bit if Gillies never played for the Islanders again. Matt Martin doesn't fit this category though he should have face the guy then dropped Talbot with a punch.
but burnside isnt discussing gillies as a important component of the islanders. He is discussing the merits of the suspension and the safety rules of the nhl. Within that context gillies got a hefty penalty (albeit deserved) after which he should be back on the ice. (this is his first suspension ever correct) Until there is an overhaul to league rules regarding fighting and dirty play, then his lack of talent should have no bearing.
I know he isn't. I see no value to having Gillies on this team. Just an opinion.
well then yes, i can certainly do without gillies, frankly his only value should be fighting entertainment, but I dont even find his fights exciting, he fights to a losing uneventful draw almost always.
Konopka is much more fun to watch fight. With some other redeeming values as well.
Haley is simply awsome, he is like james "lightsout" toney, he believes in order to hit somebody you have to let yourself be hit. (sorry fo rthe boxing reference)
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