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June 19, 2009

Mr. Hockey Comes To Sidney Crosby's Defense

From The Canadian Press:
Mr. Hockey says people should cut Sid The Kid some slack.

Hockey legend Gordie Howe doesn't believe Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby intentionally failed to shake hands with some Detroit players after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.

Howe said Crosby's natural shyness combined with getting caught up in the emotion of winning an NHL championship resulted in Crosby getting in line to shake hands after some Red Wings had left the ice.

"He got caught up. He will mature. He's a good kid."
Full Story. Good on Gordie. There's no reason this should be a story. Some members of both the mainstream media and the new media should be ashamed of themselves.

6 comments:

Jamie Favreau said...

This is a long off season and people aren't used to Detroit losing in the FINAL. So when their isn't news to print... Then the story gains steam.

People just don't like Sid and they would like to see him as a leader. Detroit is used to Steve Yzerman and Nick Lidstrom.

So who knows...

7th Woman said...

People should always listen to Mr. Hockey. He knows best.

Chuck Pleiness said...

If you posted more of this story, you'll notice that Howe said that Crosby will mature, meaning he wasn't very mature in not joining the handshake line.

Here's the question ... why was the captain the last one through the line? It's not because he was doing interviews. It was because he was celebrating.

Here's what you wrote (wonderfully) about the famous Rocket Richard/Sugar Henry handshake photo ...
"There is no rule that says teams have to shake hands after going to war against each other in best of seven playoff series.
Instead it is the ultimate sign of respect and of tradition. It is the way it always has been."

Crosby botched the ultimate sign of respect and tradition. Not a big deal, but don't act like he did the right thing.

Annie S said...

He was being a twenty-one year old kid caught up in his emotions minutes after realizing his lifelong dream. Of course his mind would be elsewhere - he hasn't been there before. Yes he was late because he was celebrating, but who can blame him for not realizing everything that is going on while on such an emotional high? Everyone with half a brain knows how much he respects the game and its traditions. Once he realizes the handshake is going on, he makes a beeline for it. You can see in the replays as he is joining the handshake line that he's looking around for someone - I'll bet ten to one it was Lidstrom. Don't act like he was late on purpose.

It just sucks that every tiny flub he makes has to get magnified x1000 times by the media. People accuse him of being boring and robotic in interviews and things, but once something happens to show that he's human, they jump all over him.

I'm not even going to mention what sore losers certain Wings players were being, making those comments about him.

Anyway, tremendous, tremendous respect for Mr. Howe.

vdkhanna said...

I agree with Bruce to the extent that the Red Wings had a legitimate reason for bringing this issue up in the post-game. As I noted in an earlier comment, the Wings said themselves that they were not trying to be "sour grapes" in this situation.

Having said that, I don't believe this story deserves any more attention in the media. (Otherwise, the Wings indeed would be viewed as sore losers.) Crosby respects the game and its traditions, and will not make the same mistake again. Let's not beat such a trivial story to death.

Chuck Pleiness said...

Not trying to beat this to death at all, just commenting on a posting on this site.

Two things I think should be dispelled.

Crosby hasn't been there before. That's false. He's won gold at the World Juniors. He was in handshake lines in juniors in Minnesota high school in Timbits. I know there's nothing bigger than the Stanley Cup, but if you can remember something at a pressure cooker like the World Juniors, you're well trained for the NHL.

Second, Crosby was busy after the game and/or the Wings rushed him. I was there. Neither is factual. Look at it this way ... is Crosby the first captain to do interviews after winning the Cup? How could Gretzky do handshakes? How could Messier? How could Yzerman in 1997? Crosby did some interviews, but did more celebrating.

I don't think this is nitpicking nor do I think this is a huge issue. Crosby botched the handshakes. And handshakes after the Cup final are a big deal in hockey.

My question is this ... why can't people just say he botched it and move on? Why give him a pass for screwing up.