More from yesterday

Some random thoughts from yesterdays games:

People hate Crosby because of all of the "hype" and "undeserved" credit he gets.......well how about the media frenzy surrounding OVAGkin after yesterdays game? Yes, his hit on Jagr was colossal and led to a pretty play that went something like Ovag crushes JJ, Jizz hits Geno, Geno buries it.........but to hear the media, and the coverage prior to the second game, Ovechkin was poetry in motion, Ovechkin this......Ovechkin that........did anybody mention that Pavel Datsyuks defensive play smothered Jagr, and plyayed a very large role in the victory? Did you hear much about Malkins two goals and assist? Geico did have two assists, one of which came on his thunderous hit, which I enjoyed immensely, but Malkins goals and Datsyuks defensive play were at least equal in contribution to that victory, yet you hear little or nothing about it........just sayin. Team Russia very loaded on the top two forward lines, but a little thin after that.......

I am a big fan of Sidney Crosby, and a part of me wants to see Team Canada do well just because of the pressure I know is on him as the face of their hockey nation.......but, my own experience watching and listening to Canadian fans come into Mellon Arena, and what I hear from many outlets about the obnoxious behavior of the Canadian mob this week makes it tough for me to pull for that team. In any case, I am USA all the way, but IF they do not win, I think I am pulling for the Swedes...............hate Jizz and Geico, dont love Malkin so Russia is out.

Mike Babcock, a man I dont really like but truly have always respected is not doing a very good job in my opinion with this team..............maybe it was flawed in its construction, as it is built like an allstar team, with plenty of front line talent, but seems to not work that well as a unit. It seems like the San Jose line is untouchable and stays together at all costs, while the rest of the lines get juggled and jumbled at will. Crosby did not play very well at times last night,but he did have flashes of brilliance and had several good scoring chances...........Rick Nash seems to forget he has linemates and does not seem to match up well with a playmaker like Crosby..........Richards and Crosby did not click last night, but I still think their games are made for each other............I would move Nash off that line, and add Toews or Iginla. Pronger looks to old and slow for this type of game...........Jeff Carter or Jordan Staal would be a better pick for this team than Patrice Bergeron...................I really like watching Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf of the Ducks play their game..........and Drew Doughty at age 19 amazes me.............Brodeur looked bad and his post game interview was unimpressive as he refused to take the bullet and talked more about defensive lapses and not enough goals...Marty, your mistakes led directly to 3 of the 5 goals.....not what I would have expected from him.............Luongo will be the next choice, and his numbers dont lie, but he has never won the BIG game......I am not a big Fleury lover, and his day to day stats do not compare.......BUT he seems to be clutch.............he has no chance, but it would be an interesting thought...........

Team USA coach Ron Wilson is generally a dildo if you ask me, but he and Brian Burke seem to have done a better job of building and coaching this team than Yzerman and Babcock have done, especially if you consider their relative options. Team USA seems to be built like a team, with scoring players, checking players, and actual defined roles.....there are plenty of guys who have more goals than a guy like Chris Drury but Drury has embraced his role on this team...checking, killing penalties and an occasional goal.....Wilson to his credit has not been afraid to go with the hot hand or to manage the ice time of a player or a unit who is not playing their best, ie the Ryan Malone lines lack of ice time last night......that said, Ryan Malone would make a HUGE difference on the Pens.............Orpik looks right at home on this stage, and he was not afraid to give Crosby a little free candy....solid body checks without running around to make them........gotta love Brooks.............Backes is a horse.....Ryan Miller was unreal.....Rafalski has been a beast.......I still think Ryan Whitney sucks and wonder if Rob Scuderi made more sense...........reminds me of the kind of defenseman Ken Morrow was for the 1980 team.............It will be interesting to see how the US team responds now that they have expectations after beating Canada.......there is more pressure now as a result...........also those who compare this game to the Miracle on Ice need to stop fiddling with your winkies........yes, it was the first time the US had beaten Canada Olympic play since 1960, but this was not college kids beating a dominant machine........it was an NHL roster of Americans beating an NHL roster of Canadians..............big win, yes, miracle......hardly! After winning the U17 this winter in canada, and the world juniors in Canada, taking Olympic gold in Canada in 2010 would a great hat trick.........

Finally, the way the brackets have fallen, Russia and Canada will play, assuming they do not get eliminated by a lesser foe, and one of them will NOT MEDAL AT ALL!!! For me, I will pull for Canada to beat Russia, as I would LOVE to see OVAG without a medal at all...............then if all goes well the US beats Canada again on home ice to take the gold.....trust me, whether it is silver or bronze it may as well be nothing for the Canadian public, and this I would enjoy...........

Finally, what a joke is NBC?? First, you can never find the big games on the regular network and many of the games have been shown with more than half of the first period gone due to WOMENS CURLING going over time!! Last nights US v Canada game was THE marquis event of the entire Olympics for the entire country of Canada, and THE only time in my memory that hockey was the lead story on every major sports outlet including ESPN and the Mike and Mike show................and the game actually lived up to its billing.......yet NBC put it on mnbc because it felt like ice dancing was a more important sport to put on its prime time network coverage........hey, I hate the little elf Gary Bettman as much as anybody but I can sure see why he is not sure the NHL should participate in the 2014 games....hey, as compelling as these games have been and they have been GREAT and should only get better, dont forget something. The NHL has shut down their season for two weeks, risked its best athletes getting injured prior to the playoff run for one reason...........EXPOSURE to build their game over the long term........when their top games get lesser billing than womens curling, or ice dancing you could not blame Bettman if he felt that the costs outweigh the benefits for the NHL.