(+2 rating, 2 votes)
Loading ...For those who have been living under a rock, here’s the videotape:
If you don’t want to watch the video: Sean Avery decided to camp in front of Martin Brodeur–FACING the guy, with his back to the play, and do this psychotic little dance in an attempt to screen Brodeur while the Rangers were on a 5-on-3.
It, like the Babylon Project, failed. Chris Drury even had to skate up to him during the freaking play and tell him “STICK DOWN”–and when your captain does the equivalent of tell you “You’re doing it wrong”, that is saying something.
So on Monday, the NHL issued the following statement:
NEW YORK/TORONTO (April 14, 2008) — National Hockey League Senior Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell today issued the following advisory on the interpretation of Rule 75 - Unsportsmanlike Conduct: “An unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty (Rule 75) will be interpreted and applied, effective immediately, to a situation when an offensive player positions himself facing the opposition goaltender and engages in actions such as waving his arms or stick in front of the goaltender’s face, for the purpose of improperly interfering with and/or distracting the goaltender as opposed to positioning himself to try to make a play.”
Predictably, a vocal handful of Rangers fans are crying that the League made this announcement specifically to protect Martin Brodeur (or as one fuckhead on X Random Messageboard calls him, “Brodiva”).
My comment to that, of course, is: Bullshit.
What Avery did went way beyond creative. It went to clear to the “what the fucking fuck were you thinking, you stupid fucking fuckhead?” end of the spectrum. I mean, really. There is a point where you have to admit that something a member of your team did is indefensible, and that point was reached Sunday night with Sean Avery’s egregiously fuckheaded display of unmitigated fucktardery.
Damn, think I dropped enough variations on the F-bomb there?
Anyway. My point remains: Rangers fans can spin this any way they want to. They can cry and whine and hop on the martyr bus all day if they want to. I don’t care. Avery’s little shenanigans on Sunday have zero place in the game, they go way beyond agitation, and when even Don Cherry (who normally loves you) calls you a “jerk”?
That is saying something right there. Maybe my boy Malik will beat his dumb ass down in practice again. I’d love to see that.
awww poor baby is a wittle angry they choked against florida still awww. ps playoffs are sooo much fun
Thanks AQ, I feel better now….I know you were about as unlikely to not have an opinion on this as I was.
Hey wow, where did that come from? Care to point out where I said or did anything to warrant a SabresFan-like level of classlessness?
By the way, what exactly is it that you do for Curtiss-Wright, capsfan88?
Just wondering.
Nicely done.
I hate Sean Avery as much as the next decent human being, but what did he do there that was against the rules? Let me rephrase that, because what he did was clearly not against the rules, evidenced by the fact that they had to amend the rules because of it. What was so horrible about what Avery did? Drury told him to keep his stick down, and that was smart: if a puck hit his stick it would have been no goal, and he could have hit a Devil with his stick while waving it around. But on a 5-on-3, it’s not like he was taking himself out of the play or causing his team to be at a disadvantage in any way. Since he wasn’t hurting his team, and he wasn’t breaking the rules (because they had to make up new rules to keep him from doing it again), where’s the problem?
While what Avery did was not “against” the rules, it falls in the gray area of unsportsmanlike conduct. The refs should have called it as such.
If you have ever PLAYED hockey, you know to NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON THE PUCK. He did take himself out of the play - he was blocking the other Ranger’s view of the net, not paying attention to where the puck was. If he was FACING the puck, he could’ve set up a great screen or tipped in a shot or run some sort of interference for a better skating forward. Instead, all he did was act like an immobile idiot contributing nothing to the offense. I’m not a Devils fan by a longshot - I grew up in NYC as a Rangers fan. Loved Fotiu and Beukaboom and Tikkanen and other agitators and enforcers that passed through MSG, but those guys never took themselves out of the play in such an idiotic way like Avery did. And in the playoffs, no less. The guy is talented, he can score goals, but he has no respect for the game or its other players - even those on his own team.
I’ve been playing hockey for sixteen years, so please don’t condescend. Obviously what he did was dangerous to himself. If they were playing at even strength, or even with a one-man advantage, I would agree that he was taking himself out of the play. But on a 5-on-3, when the Rangers were in full control of the puck, what did he have to lose by trying something like that? Do you think the league should have instituted this new interpretation of the unsportsmanlike conduct rule?
Gentlemen please! You can’t fight in here, this is the war room!
*ahem*
Anyway–Even Brodeur admitted that Avery’s little stunt was quite creative. However, it does fall under the purview of “unsportsmanlike conduct”, and I don’t see the new rule or new interpretation of the rule as anything more than an expanded (and fully justified) clarification. Setting aside the “back to the play” part of the equation: what Sean Avery did was pretty lame. He made the game about himself rather than about his team–the Rangers could have scored on that 5-on-3, and gone on to win the game, had Avery actually been paying attention rather than acting like a fucktard.
John-didn’t mean to come across as condescending - I have been playing for more than 20 years (unfortunately, the first 5 in Buffalo), and used to coach as well. Maybe I’m just too “old school,” but Avery showed his lack of respect for the game and his teammates. He is a good player, and I do understand what you are talking about. That being said, if you are a NY Ranger playing at the that level in the playoffs against the NJ Devils, who are the closest thing to rivals because the Islanders just plain suck, wouldn’t you just want to BURY the Devils instead? One more goal against is not just demoralizing to Brodeur, but the Devils as a whole. Avery might have created a rallying point for the Devils. Just play the game - there will be plenty of opportunity to annoy Brodeur. What matters is the scoreboard. I can see some jerk trying crap like what Avery did at lower levels of play, but he is a pro.
Unsportsmanlike conduct is what it says - unsportsmanlike conduct. You can be called for just about anything by a ref under that rule - wether it is an infraction against the other team, a ref, the fans, the scorekeeper - it is at the ref’s discretion.
Anyways, at least Samsanov’s signed, but he makes me nervous. What if he pulls yet another disappearing act? I don’t think he will, but it makes me nervous.
Yeah, reread my previous post. Looks condescending. My apologies, John.
Gotta watch Dr. Strangelove now, dammit.