Wow, the Penguins sure do suck
- Thread starter Avro
- Start date
I really can't find any fault in your logic.
I think he has to share that position with joe sakic
and just to add to thoughts about crosby, he spends time practicing his 'weaknesses',
and doesn't just cruise around practices doing what he does best, hence, constant
improvement in his game.
Cannuck;1349985[B said:
This is just tooooooooooooo much Cannuck, never would have thought in a million years you would say something I agree with. :lol:
100% agreement. I never heard or saw a quote of a comment by Stevie Y or Joe Sakic that wasn't at the very least tactful and accurate even when approaching sensitive subjects.
As for Sid, he is the premier player in the world right now. He has his slumps but even then, like in the Olympics, its not from lack of effort and he still pays attention to the little parts of his game.
I look at this thread and kinda snicker: it was started by a Habs fan. They've shown a penchant for finding pretty decent goalies but when was the last time Montreal developed a true superstar outside the crease? Guy Lafleur? This sounds like envy to me...
Last summer, I took my daughter to the hockey school in PEI where Crosby went every summer from the time he was 5 years old. They commented on his dedication - he spent every minute he could on the ice working on his skating and technique. When Crosby was 12, they were filming a promo for a commercial, so they had Crosby on the ice skating and demonstrating drills, they said he just kept pushing himself all day long while they filmed different things.
I'm impressed with his attitude that, even now, there are things he wants to work on, and he does. Even when he was first drafted by Pittsburg, instead of whining about who he got drafted by, the first thing he said was that he was looking forward to being able to learn from players like Lemieux.
The fact that the Pens had to be the worst team in the league to get a player like Sid is how you develope superstars in the new NHL.
When is the last time the Pens took an obscure player and made him a star? Halak(last round), Plekanec(3rd round), Markov(6th round), Also took undrafted Josh Gorges from SJ and developed him into a top four defenceman. Getting the first overall pick and developing players are two different things.
.....and yes, I am envious, he is the best all around player in the league and I would take him in a minute.
He's still a whiner and a crybaby who gets calls because of who he is and plays a bit dirty.
I hate Mike Richards as well but would love to see him in Habs blue white and red.
LOL - Tell that to the Red Wings or the Devils. Seems to me they have been consistently finishing ahead the Habs and yet continue to draft better players. Nope, the "new NHL" just like the old NHL requires good scouting. The Habs don't have it and haven't had it for years if not decades.
I gave examples of developing players in the NHL that are on my very team....to bad you didn't listen and were to busy falling all over your own ego because you once showered with a guy who played a few minutes in the AHL.
What I said was, is when you get the first pick overall and a quality one in Sid, player development isn't a huge issue. Since the last CBA it is a fact that most times the way to win a cup is to suck first, draft in the top 5 for a few years and build from there. The Red Wings are the exception to that rule.
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I know what you said. The point is that you are wrong. While one could maybe argue that the last two cup winners benefited by top draft picks and actually won because of them (a view I don't really subscribe to) the history of Cup winners in the last few years belies your claim (not to mention the current NHL Standings).
pavel datsyuk - 6th round - 171st overall
henrik zetterberg - 7th round - 210th overall
valterri filpula - 3rd round - 95th overall
darren helm - 5th round - 132nd overall
jiri hudler - 2nd round - 57th overall
justin abdelkader - 2nd round - 42nd overall
nicklas lidstrom - 3rd round - 53rd overall
ken holland, detroit G M, when asked, how they happened to draft all these good players so well, he said
that if they had known any of them were going to be as good as they have turned out, they would have
been drafted much higher, as why would they have left them there so long, giving time to others to
pick them before they chose them.
they chose other players over the above, eg. pavel datsyuk was left there 5 times by all teams, before
detroit made the choice to pick him l71st overall.
detroit leave young players in the ahl longer than many other teams, and don't bring
them up till later, thus giving them more time to develope
they have an amazing coach, babcock was dropped by brian burke from anaheim because
burke was too cheap to give him a decent raise, so detroit nabbed him.
he's a tough love type of guy.
yzerman was drafted 4th overall in l983, which tells of a poor placing the previous year, to get such a high draft pick.
henrik zetterberg - 7th round - 210th overall
valterri filpula - 3rd round - 95th overall
darren helm - 5th round - 132nd overall
jiri hudler - 2nd round - 57th overall
justin abdelkader - 2nd round - 42nd overall
nicklas lidstrom - 3rd round - 53rd overall
ken holland, detroit G M, when asked, how they happened to draft all these good players so well, he said
that if they had known any of them were going to be as good as they have turned out, they would have
been drafted much higher, as why would they have left them there so long, giving time to others to
pick them before they chose them.
they chose other players over the above, eg. pavel datsyuk was left there 5 times by all teams, before
detroit made the choice to pick him l71st overall.
detroit leave young players in the ahl longer than many other teams, and don't bring
them up till later, thus giving them more time to develope
they have an amazing coach, babcock was dropped by brian burke from anaheim because
burke was too cheap to give him a decent raise, so detroit nabbed him.
he's a tough love type of guy.
yzerman was drafted 4th overall in l983, which tells of a poor placing the previous year, to get such a high draft pick.
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Is that something new? :lol:
I see they continue to suck wins out of other teams. :smile:
Carolina...take away Staal, Ward and Ladd and see if they win the cup....all first rounders.
Anaheim...take away Geztlaf, Perry and see if they win....first rounders.
Detroit...as I said the exception to the rule and excellent player development and great scouting or just plain luck.
Pittsburgh...nufff said, built through the draft.
Chicago...again built through the draft.
Go back before the CBA....Tampa....draft.
New Jersey...same as Detroit but this system isn't working for them anymore......of course take away Brodeur and Gomez...do they win? Both first rounders.
Toronto traded away two first rounders and a second rounder....hows that working out?
Burke is making Chiarelli look like a genius and a theif while turning Boston into a dynasty.
The best way to get big talented centermen is through the draft because GM's just aren't dealing them anymore.
Trump visit tarnishes Crosby’s crown in usually admiring hometown
THE CANADIAN PRESS
First posted: Wednesday, September 27, 2017 06:29 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, September 27, 2017 09:15 PM EDT
HALIFAX — A year after Halifax decided to consider naming a street after Sidney Crosby, the hockey superstar suddenly finds himself embroiled in an ugly political mess that has some residents openly musing about rescinding the offer.
It’s no secret the Pittsburgh Penguins captain has faced widespread criticism on social media for his decision to support the team’s upcoming visit to the White House, but disapproval has also percolated to the surface in his hometown, where Crosby is typically accorded god-like status.
Soon after the Penguins accepted President Donald Trump’s invitation to bring the Stanley Cup to Washington, D.C. — Crosby called it “a great honour for us to be invited there” — some Haligonians were calling on him to reject the offer.
They asked Crosby to show unity with NFL players and others protesting Trump for criticizing the league’s players for refusing to stand during the national anthem.
One of Halifax’s most outspoken social activists, El Jones, weighed in with a 900-word opinion piece that took the NHL star to task for failing to fall into line with other athletes.
Jones, Halifax’s former poet laureate, noted that Crosby said there was “little to no discussion” in the locker room about the decision to visit the White House.
“That players in the overwhelmingly white NHL ... were able to have ’no discussion’ about this issue while black athletes in other leagues faced the president’s harshest language says a great deal about white privilege,” Jones wrote for Vice News.
“Crosby’s choice not to side with black athletes should not be seen as representing the absence of racism in Canada. It is instead the exact face of ’polite’ Canadian racism ... This is what racism looks like in Canada, where everything is so comfortable (for white people) and nobody can understand why those protesters have to be so rude about it.”
Jones suggested Crosby is no stranger to racism because the suburb in which he grew up, Cole Harbour, had race riots at the local high school in the 1990s and again in 2008.
In the Halifax Chronicle Herald, Atlantic Canada’s largest-circulation newspaper, an editorial cartoon on Monday depicted Crosby meeting Trump in the Oval Office, with the hockey player saying, “I’m Sid the Kid,’ and Trump replying, ”I’m Donald the Baby.“
The newspaper also carried an opinion piece from two local professors who offered six reasons for Crosby to stay home. The No. 1 reason? “You have already been there.”
The fifth reason was more pointed: “Remember your roots. You are from Cole Harbour, the flashpoint of black and white race relations in Canada for the past 30 years. The parallels between your hometown and the U.S. today are too obvious to ignore.”
A column in the city’s alternative weekly, The Coast, compared Crosby to a notably apolitical singer: “The Taylor Swift of hockey has no problem joining his Stanley Cup-winning teammates in Washington.”
On Twitter, there appeared to be little support for Crosby’s position — even in tweets sent from the Halifax area, where regional council unanimously voted last year to consider renaming a suburban street after Crosby.
“Thank you Sidney Crosby for the helpful reminder of why it’s a bad idea to name streets and buildings for people prematurely,” said one resident. Another followed up with: “Find it difficult to support naming a street after Sidney Crosby after his decision to visit Trump.”
And then there was this: “Sidney Crosby is a bum just like Trump if he goes to the White House.... better stay there too.”
Crosby still has plenty of supporters online and elsewhere in Nova Scotia, though.
“I think Sidney should do what he feels is best for him and the team,” said one tweet. “Our opinions shouldn’t matter.”
The Penguins visited the White House in 2009 and 2016 after winning the Stanley Cup.
One Twitter scribe suggested the practice should have nothing to do with who is in power: “It’s about the tradition and the landmark, not the idiot that is the occupant.”
On Facebook, Halifax resident Laura Patterson said Crosby can’t avoid politics.
“The Penguins don’t exist outside of current events, and the decision to visit or not visit the White House is politicized either way. The Penguins made the wrong choice ... The Penguins and Sidney Crosby are left standing on the wrong side of history ... I hope he reconsiders. Either way, he’ll be making a stand.”
Halifax-based classic rock radio station Q104 asked Twitter users the following question: “Should Sidney Crosby go to the White House?” The unscientific poll attracted 479 responses with 61 per cent saying no.
http://vice.com/en_ca/article/kz734y/sidney-crosby-should-have-done-better
Trump visit tarnishes Crosby
THE CANADIAN PRESS
First posted: Wednesday, September 27, 2017 06:29 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, September 27, 2017 09:15 PM EDT
HALIFAX — A year after Halifax decided to consider naming a street after Sidney Crosby, the hockey superstar suddenly finds himself embroiled in an ugly political mess that has some residents openly musing about rescinding the offer.
It’s no secret the Pittsburgh Penguins captain has faced widespread criticism on social media for his decision to support the team’s upcoming visit to the White House, but disapproval has also percolated to the surface in his hometown, where Crosby is typically accorded god-like status.
Soon after the Penguins accepted President Donald Trump’s invitation to bring the Stanley Cup to Washington, D.C. — Crosby called it “a great honour for us to be invited there” — some Haligonians were calling on him to reject the offer.
They asked Crosby to show unity with NFL players and others protesting Trump for criticizing the league’s players for refusing to stand during the national anthem.
One of Halifax’s most outspoken social activists, El Jones, weighed in with a 900-word opinion piece that took the NHL star to task for failing to fall into line with other athletes.
Jones, Halifax’s former poet laureate, noted that Crosby said there was “little to no discussion” in the locker room about the decision to visit the White House.
“That players in the overwhelmingly white NHL ... were able to have ’no discussion’ about this issue while black athletes in other leagues faced the president’s harshest language says a great deal about white privilege,” Jones wrote for Vice News.
“Crosby’s choice not to side with black athletes should not be seen as representing the absence of racism in Canada. It is instead the exact face of ’polite’ Canadian racism ... This is what racism looks like in Canada, where everything is so comfortable (for white people) and nobody can understand why those protesters have to be so rude about it.”
Jones suggested Crosby is no stranger to racism because the suburb in which he grew up, Cole Harbour, had race riots at the local high school in the 1990s and again in 2008.
In the Halifax Chronicle Herald, Atlantic Canada’s largest-circulation newspaper, an editorial cartoon on Monday depicted Crosby meeting Trump in the Oval Office, with the hockey player saying, “I’m Sid the Kid,’ and Trump replying, ”I’m Donald the Baby.“
The newspaper also carried an opinion piece from two local professors who offered six reasons for Crosby to stay home. The No. 1 reason? “You have already been there.”
The fifth reason was more pointed: “Remember your roots. You are from Cole Harbour, the flashpoint of black and white race relations in Canada for the past 30 years. The parallels between your hometown and the U.S. today are too obvious to ignore.”
A column in the city’s alternative weekly, The Coast, compared Crosby to a notably apolitical singer: “The Taylor Swift of hockey has no problem joining his Stanley Cup-winning teammates in Washington.”
On Twitter, there appeared to be little support for Crosby’s position — even in tweets sent from the Halifax area, where regional council unanimously voted last year to consider renaming a suburban street after Crosby.
“Thank you Sidney Crosby for the helpful reminder of why it’s a bad idea to name streets and buildings for people prematurely,” said one resident. Another followed up with: “Find it difficult to support naming a street after Sidney Crosby after his decision to visit Trump.”
And then there was this: “Sidney Crosby is a bum just like Trump if he goes to the White House.... better stay there too.”
Crosby still has plenty of supporters online and elsewhere in Nova Scotia, though.
“I think Sidney should do what he feels is best for him and the team,” said one tweet. “Our opinions shouldn’t matter.”
The Penguins visited the White House in 2009 and 2016 after winning the Stanley Cup.
One Twitter scribe suggested the practice should have nothing to do with who is in power: “It’s about the tradition and the landmark, not the idiot that is the occupant.”
On Facebook, Halifax resident Laura Patterson said Crosby can’t avoid politics.
“The Penguins don’t exist outside of current events, and the decision to visit or not visit the White House is politicized either way. The Penguins made the wrong choice ... The Penguins and Sidney Crosby are left standing on the wrong side of history ... I hope he reconsiders. Either way, he’ll be making a stand.”
Halifax-based classic rock radio station Q104 asked Twitter users the following question: “Should Sidney Crosby go to the White House?” The unscientific poll attracted 479 responses with 61 per cent saying no.
http://vice.com/en_ca/article/kz734y/sidney-crosby-should-have-done-better
Trump visit tarnishes Crosby
So, the Penguins organization make the choice to go to the White House and Sid - always a team player is the one that gets lambasted. Stand tall, Sid.............I'm with you all the way.
WATCH: 'True champions and incredible patriots': Penguins visit Trump at White House
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Tuesday, October 10, 2017 04:39 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, October 10, 2017 08:40 PM EDT
WASHINGTON — After adding to the uproar over NFL players who protest during the national anthem, President Donald Trump mostly stuck to hockey in honouring the Stanley Cup-winning Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, calling them “true champions and incredible patriots.”
Trump welcomed the Penguins into the Oval Office and celebrated their second consecutive championship in the East Room of the White House. He singled out the achievements of playoff MVP Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel, among others.
Trump has grabbed a number of sports headlines in recent weeks, including his criticism of NFL players for kneeling during the anthem and his decision to disinvite the NBA champion Golden State Warriors from the White House for the type of championship visit made by the Penguins, the New England Patriots and the Chicago Cubs along with Clemson football team.
“Everybody wanted to be here today,” Trump said of the Penguins. “And I know why.”
Hours after tweeting that the tax code should be changed to punish NFL teams over the anthem issue, Trump joked that Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle should help him renegotiate NAFTA but largely avoided any talk about other sports.
“It’s been an honour to have them all here,” Trump said.
Crosby has said on multiple occasions that the team’s decision to go to the White House was not politically motivated. Coach Mike Sullivan said the Penguins understand the circumstances of their visit and that he didn’t feel like Trump was using them as a political prop.
“We’ve stated clearly from the get-go that our visit to the White House is not political,” Sullivan said. “Nobody’s choosing a side. Nobody’s taking a stand. We are simply honouring our championship and the accomplishments of this group of players over this season or the last two seasons.”
Of the 18 players who won the Cup last season and are still with the Penguins, seven are American: Kessel, Ian Cole, Brian Dumoulin, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Chad Ruhwedel and Conor Sheary. Crosby and six others are Canadian, two are Swedish, one is Russian and one is Finnish.
Trump congratulated the Penguins for being the first back-to-back Cup champions since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998, complimented co-owner Mario Lemieux’s golf game and drew boos when he referenced Pittsburgh’s upcoming game against the rival Washington Capitals. He said he expected the Penguins to be back at the White House next year.
“This is really a truly great group of world champions,” Trump said. “That’s what they are. They’re world champions.”
Sullivan, the only member of the team who spoke to reporters after the visit, said “zero” politics came up with Trump behind closed doors.
Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Brown, one of 18 black players in the NHL, became the first hockey player to engage in an anthem protest when he raised his fist while standing on the bench before a game Saturday night. Sullivan said he wouldn’t have a problem if one of his players took a knee during the national anthem.
“We’re very respectful of anyone’s right to protest or demonstrate as they see fit,” said Sullivan, who is American. “We’re very respectful of it.”
The Penguins had one black player on their championship team, Trevor Daley, but he signed with Detroit in the off-season and did not travel to Washington because the Red Wings were playing in Dallas. They currently have one black player, Ryan Reaves, but he and others acquired over the summer who didn’t win the Cup also did not go to the White House.
Trump has called on NFL owners to fire players who don’t stand for the anthem and urged fans to boycott games in a series of tweets. He tweeted that he instructed Vice-President Mike Pence to leave a game between the San Francisco 49ers and Indianapolis Colts on Sunday if there were any anthem protests, which Pence did.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told The Associated Press recently that said he respects players’ views on political and social issues and “people are going to have to decide what makes them comfortable.” Bettman said social issues “are a matter of individual belief and individual choice.”
Sullivan also said the team presented Trump with an undisclosed gift.
[youtube]yzmT2DkkYDI[/youtube]
WATCH: 'True champions and incredible patriots': Penguins visit Trump at White H
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Tuesday, October 10, 2017 04:39 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, October 10, 2017 08:40 PM EDT
WASHINGTON — After adding to the uproar over NFL players who protest during the national anthem, President Donald Trump mostly stuck to hockey in honouring the Stanley Cup-winning Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, calling them “true champions and incredible patriots.”
Trump welcomed the Penguins into the Oval Office and celebrated their second consecutive championship in the East Room of the White House. He singled out the achievements of playoff MVP Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel, among others.
Trump has grabbed a number of sports headlines in recent weeks, including his criticism of NFL players for kneeling during the anthem and his decision to disinvite the NBA champion Golden State Warriors from the White House for the type of championship visit made by the Penguins, the New England Patriots and the Chicago Cubs along with Clemson football team.
“Everybody wanted to be here today,” Trump said of the Penguins. “And I know why.”
Hours after tweeting that the tax code should be changed to punish NFL teams over the anthem issue, Trump joked that Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle should help him renegotiate NAFTA but largely avoided any talk about other sports.
“It’s been an honour to have them all here,” Trump said.
Crosby has said on multiple occasions that the team’s decision to go to the White House was not politically motivated. Coach Mike Sullivan said the Penguins understand the circumstances of their visit and that he didn’t feel like Trump was using them as a political prop.
“We’ve stated clearly from the get-go that our visit to the White House is not political,” Sullivan said. “Nobody’s choosing a side. Nobody’s taking a stand. We are simply honouring our championship and the accomplishments of this group of players over this season or the last two seasons.”
Of the 18 players who won the Cup last season and are still with the Penguins, seven are American: Kessel, Ian Cole, Brian Dumoulin, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Chad Ruhwedel and Conor Sheary. Crosby and six others are Canadian, two are Swedish, one is Russian and one is Finnish.
Trump congratulated the Penguins for being the first back-to-back Cup champions since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998, complimented co-owner Mario Lemieux’s golf game and drew boos when he referenced Pittsburgh’s upcoming game against the rival Washington Capitals. He said he expected the Penguins to be back at the White House next year.
“This is really a truly great group of world champions,” Trump said. “That’s what they are. They’re world champions.”
Sullivan, the only member of the team who spoke to reporters after the visit, said “zero” politics came up with Trump behind closed doors.
Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Brown, one of 18 black players in the NHL, became the first hockey player to engage in an anthem protest when he raised his fist while standing on the bench before a game Saturday night. Sullivan said he wouldn’t have a problem if one of his players took a knee during the national anthem.
“We’re very respectful of anyone’s right to protest or demonstrate as they see fit,” said Sullivan, who is American. “We’re very respectful of it.”
The Penguins had one black player on their championship team, Trevor Daley, but he signed with Detroit in the off-season and did not travel to Washington because the Red Wings were playing in Dallas. They currently have one black player, Ryan Reaves, but he and others acquired over the summer who didn’t win the Cup also did not go to the White House.
Trump has called on NFL owners to fire players who don’t stand for the anthem and urged fans to boycott games in a series of tweets. He tweeted that he instructed Vice-President Mike Pence to leave a game between the San Francisco 49ers and Indianapolis Colts on Sunday if there were any anthem protests, which Pence did.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told The Associated Press recently that said he respects players’ views on political and social issues and “people are going to have to decide what makes them comfortable.” Bettman said social issues “are a matter of individual belief and individual choice.”
Sullivan also said the team presented Trump with an undisclosed gift.
[youtube]yzmT2DkkYDI[/youtube]
WATCH: 'True champions and incredible patriots': Penguins visit Trump at White H
Chris Selley: If Justin Trudeau can glad-hand at the White House, so can the Pittsburgh Penguins
On Wednesday in Washington, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sat silently next to Donald Trump while the leader of the free world mused that it’s “frankly disgusting that the press is able to write whatever it wants.” “People should look into it,” Trump warned, hours after he suggested on Twitter that “fake news” purveyors ought to be at risk of losing their broadcast licenses.
Well, what else could Trudeau do? In the early days of Trump, some Canadians indulged an adolescent fantasy in which our brave, handsome democrat would stand atop the anti-Trump barricades. We seem to have grown up now. Team Trudeau is determined to ingratiate itself with Team Trump, and rightly so. Its job is to protect Canada’s interests. So our proudly feminist prime minister will keep appearing in happy-happy photo-ops with an admitted groper of women, thus quite explicitly “normalizing” (in modern parlance) the president’s past and present behaviour. You could say it puts the lie to everything Trudeau claims to believe in, but surely his chances he could influence Trump in any positive, meaningful way would be vanishingly small regardless.
They must be greater, though, than the chances the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins could alter the trajectory of Trump’s presidency by not accepting their invitation to the White House. Yet scorn has poured in ever since the team announced it would make the trip, and it continued during and after the team’s Tuesday visit. “We respect the office of the White House,” team captain Sidney Crosby carefully told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He insisted it wasn’t “about politics.” People scoffed, sneered and rolled their eyes.
“Trump’s presidency will have bearing on all of us. Therefore the responsibility to speak out against it falls to all of us,” a Toronto Star columnist argued. All of us … except our head of government, apparently.
The Trudeau/Penguins analogy is admittedly inexact. But I’ve been shopping it around town, and most of the counter-arguments boil down to this: “Trudeau taking a stand would have real-world consequences; the Penguins taking a stand wouldn’t.” I’m not sure that’s true: in visiting the White House but making no mention of it on social media, the Penguins seemed to be deliberately walking a fine line. But if it’s true, then surely that’s because skipping the visit wouldn’t accomplish anything. If a gesture is empty, who cares if it’s made?
If protests against police violence were going to arrive on any pro sport’s playing surface, it makes perfect sense it would be the NFL’s. Roughly 95 per cent of the players are American, roughly two-thirds are black, and a good number of them will have come from disadvantaged backgrounds. (A Sports Illustrated census of the Denver Broncos found 50 per cent of the roster claimed lower- or lower-middle-class backgrounds.) That’s precisely the nexus of race and class where the phenomenon is felt most disproportionately and viscerally.
No other league’s player demographics come close to that nexus, not even the NBA’s, and least of all the NHL’s: the players are almost all white; they play a sport that costs a fortune to play; and, perhaps most notably, only around a quarter of the players are American. The majority are guests in the countries they play in, and are thus quite understandably disinclined to do anything during the national anthem except stand at attention. And the biggest single cohort of NHL hockey players is still Canadians, who have marinated their entire lives in a culture that is deeply suspicious of flash, controversy and individuality both on and off the ice.
There’s something off-putting about asking someone like Crosby to address a controversy that has nothing to do with him, centred around a national anthem that isn’t his, and then tearing apart his responses. “People have (a) right to not go, too,” Crosby sort of pleaded with the Post-Gazette. “Nobody’s saying they have to go. As a group, we decided to go.” Is that so bad? Did people really expect him to extemporize for 15 minutes about the fractious history of race relations in his native Cole Harbour, N.S.?
Even more off-putting was the dismayed reaction among some fans and observers to P.K. Subban’s vow never to kneel during the anthem. Subban proactively took that position, to be fair — he wasn’t cornered by a reporter. And it’s fine for other players to question his logic, as some have. But here’s the league’s most electrifying, charismatic player being criticized for declining a role others had unaccountably assigned to him. That’s basically his hockey career in a nutshell. For heaven’s sake let’s not extend that unfortunate phenomenon to politics.
I ask nothing of any athlete except athleticism and decent human behaviour. I don’t need him to think like me. I don’t need him to be on the right side of a history he has nothing to do with. Sports is far more than a fun diversion, but from a fan’s perspective that’s what it ought to be at its root — as opposed to the tedious morality play so much of the media want it to be. If you’re upset about people accepting Trump’s White House invitations and emboldening his agenda, you ought to lay off the hockey players and focus on his fellow politicians.
Chris Selley: If Justin Trudeau can glad-hand at the White House, so can the Pittsburgh Penguins | National Post
On Wednesday in Washington, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sat silently next to Donald Trump while the leader of the free world mused that it’s “frankly disgusting that the press is able to write whatever it wants.” “People should look into it,” Trump warned, hours after he suggested on Twitter that “fake news” purveyors ought to be at risk of losing their broadcast licenses.
Well, what else could Trudeau do? In the early days of Trump, some Canadians indulged an adolescent fantasy in which our brave, handsome democrat would stand atop the anti-Trump barricades. We seem to have grown up now. Team Trudeau is determined to ingratiate itself with Team Trump, and rightly so. Its job is to protect Canada’s interests. So our proudly feminist prime minister will keep appearing in happy-happy photo-ops with an admitted groper of women, thus quite explicitly “normalizing” (in modern parlance) the president’s past and present behaviour. You could say it puts the lie to everything Trudeau claims to believe in, but surely his chances he could influence Trump in any positive, meaningful way would be vanishingly small regardless.
They must be greater, though, than the chances the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins could alter the trajectory of Trump’s presidency by not accepting their invitation to the White House. Yet scorn has poured in ever since the team announced it would make the trip, and it continued during and after the team’s Tuesday visit. “We respect the office of the White House,” team captain Sidney Crosby carefully told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He insisted it wasn’t “about politics.” People scoffed, sneered and rolled their eyes.
The Trudeau/Penguins analogy is admittedly inexact. But I’ve been shopping it around town, and most of the counter-arguments boil down to this: “Trudeau taking a stand would have real-world consequences; the Penguins taking a stand wouldn’t.” I’m not sure that’s true: in visiting the White House but making no mention of it on social media, the Penguins seemed to be deliberately walking a fine line. But if it’s true, then surely that’s because skipping the visit wouldn’t accomplish anything. If a gesture is empty, who cares if it’s made?
If protests against police violence were going to arrive on any pro sport’s playing surface, it makes perfect sense it would be the NFL’s. Roughly 95 per cent of the players are American, roughly two-thirds are black, and a good number of them will have come from disadvantaged backgrounds. (A Sports Illustrated census of the Denver Broncos found 50 per cent of the roster claimed lower- or lower-middle-class backgrounds.) That’s precisely the nexus of race and class where the phenomenon is felt most disproportionately and viscerally.
No other league’s player demographics come close to that nexus, not even the NBA’s, and least of all the NHL’s: the players are almost all white; they play a sport that costs a fortune to play; and, perhaps most notably, only around a quarter of the players are American. The majority are guests in the countries they play in, and are thus quite understandably disinclined to do anything during the national anthem except stand at attention. And the biggest single cohort of NHL hockey players is still Canadians, who have marinated their entire lives in a culture that is deeply suspicious of flash, controversy and individuality both on and off the ice.
There’s something off-putting about asking someone like Crosby to address a controversy that has nothing to do with him, centred around a national anthem that isn’t his, and then tearing apart his responses. “People have (a) right to not go, too,” Crosby sort of pleaded with the Post-Gazette. “Nobody’s saying they have to go. As a group, we decided to go.” Is that so bad? Did people really expect him to extemporize for 15 minutes about the fractious history of race relations in his native Cole Harbour, N.S.?
Even more off-putting was the dismayed reaction among some fans and observers to P.K. Subban’s vow never to kneel during the anthem. Subban proactively took that position, to be fair — he wasn’t cornered by a reporter. And it’s fine for other players to question his logic, as some have. But here’s the league’s most electrifying, charismatic player being criticized for declining a role others had unaccountably assigned to him. That’s basically his hockey career in a nutshell. For heaven’s sake let’s not extend that unfortunate phenomenon to politics.
I ask nothing of any athlete except athleticism and decent human behaviour. I don’t need him to think like me. I don’t need him to be on the right side of a history he has nothing to do with. Sports is far more than a fun diversion, but from a fan’s perspective that’s what it ought to be at its root — as opposed to the tedious morality play so much of the media want it to be. If you’re upset about people accepting Trump’s White House invitations and emboldening his agenda, you ought to lay off the hockey players and focus on his fellow politicians.
Chris Selley: If Justin Trudeau can glad-hand at the White House, so can the Pittsburgh Penguins | National Post
What is with all this common sense coming from our news media ?Chris Selley: If Justin Trudeau can glad-hand at the White House, so can the Pittsburgh Penguins
On Wednesday in Washington, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sat silently next to Donald Trump while the leader of the free world mused that it’s “frankly disgusting that the press is able to write whatever it wants.” “People should look into it,” Trump warned, hours after he suggested on Twitter that “fake news” purveyors ought to be at risk of losing their broadcast licenses.
Well, what else could Trudeau do? In the early days of Trump, some Canadians indulged an adolescent fantasy in which our brave, handsome democrat would stand atop the anti-Trump barricades. We seem to have grown up now. Team Trudeau is determined to ingratiate itself with Team Trump, and rightly so. Its job is to protect Canada’s interests. So our proudly feminist prime minister will keep appearing in happy-happy photo-ops with an admitted groper of women, thus quite explicitly “normalizing” (in modern parlance) the president’s past and present behaviour. You could say it puts the lie to everything Trudeau claims to believe in, but surely his chances he could influence Trump in any positive, meaningful way would be vanishingly small regardless.
They must be greater, though, than the chances the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins could alter the trajectory of Trump’s presidency by not accepting their invitation to the White House. Yet scorn has poured in ever since the team announced it would make the trip, and it continued during and after the team’s Tuesday visit. “We respect the office of the White House,” team captain Sidney Crosby carefully told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He insisted it wasn’t “about politics.” People scoffed, sneered and rolled their eyes.
“Trump’s presidency will have bearing on all of us. Therefore the responsibility to speak out against it falls to all of us,” a Toronto Star columnist argued. All of us … except our head of government, apparently.
The Trudeau/Penguins analogy is admittedly inexact. But I’ve been shopping it around town, and most of the counter-arguments boil down to this: “Trudeau taking a stand would have real-world consequences; the Penguins taking a stand wouldn’t.” I’m not sure that’s true: in visiting the White House but making no mention of it on social media, the Penguins seemed to be deliberately walking a fine line. But if it’s true, then surely that’s because skipping the visit wouldn’t accomplish anything. If a gesture is empty, who cares if it’s made?
If protests against police violence were going to arrive on any pro sport’s playing surface, it makes perfect sense it would be the NFL’s. Roughly 95 per cent of the players are American, roughly two-thirds are black, and a good number of them will have come from disadvantaged backgrounds. (A Sports Illustrated census of the Denver Broncos found 50 per cent of the roster claimed lower- or lower-middle-class backgrounds.) That’s precisely the nexus of race and class where the phenomenon is felt most disproportionately and viscerally.
No other league’s player demographics come close to that nexus, not even the NBA’s, and least of all the NHL’s: the players are almost all white; they play a sport that costs a fortune to play; and, perhaps most notably, only around a quarter of the players are American. The majority are guests in the countries they play in, and are thus quite understandably disinclined to do anything during the national anthem except stand at attention. And the biggest single cohort of NHL hockey players is still Canadians, who have marinated their entire lives in a culture that is deeply suspicious of flash, controversy and individuality both on and off the ice.
There’s something off-putting about asking someone like Crosby to address a controversy that has nothing to do with him, centred around a national anthem that isn’t his, and then tearing apart his responses. “People have (a) right to not go, too,” Crosby sort of pleaded with the Post-Gazette. “Nobody’s saying they have to go. As a group, we decided to go.” Is that so bad? Did people really expect him to extemporize for 15 minutes about the fractious history of race relations in his native Cole Harbour, N.S.?
Even more off-putting was the dismayed reaction among some fans and observers to P.K. Subban’s vow never to kneel during the anthem. Subban proactively took that position, to be fair — he wasn’t cornered by a reporter. And it’s fine for other players to question his logic, as some have. But here’s the league’s most electrifying, charismatic player being criticized for declining a role others had unaccountably assigned to him. That’s basically his hockey career in a nutshell. For heaven’s sake let’s not extend that unfortunate phenomenon to politics.
I ask nothing of any athlete except athleticism and decent human behaviour. I don’t need him to think like me. I don’t need him to be on the right side of a history he has nothing to do with. Sports is far more than a fun diversion, but from a fan’s perspective that’s what it ought to be at its root — as opposed to the tedious morality play so much of the media want it to be. If you’re upset about people accepting Trump’s White House invitations and emboldening his agenda, you ought to lay off the hockey players and focus on his fellow politicians.
Chris Selley: If Justin Trudeau can glad-hand at the White House, so can the Pittsburgh Penguins | National Post