Give the Kid A Break

For the record I am not the worlds biggest Sidney Crosby fan. That being said I am still a fan and the one thing that I can’t stand is that there are a lot of people who seem to unjustly jump on him for everything that he does. It doesn’t matter if it is the right thing, the wrong thing, or even the same thing that 99% of other players do, people (usually the media and hockey followers that think they know more then they do) try to spin everything that is said or done in a negative light. Sure it is easy to take pot shots at him because he is the face of the game (a title he did not run for but was appointed to, just for being good) but sometimes he deserves a break from the criticism. People say he’s a whiner that he complains too much...ok that may be the case but maybe the reason is because as the best he is targeted by the other team and when you constantly have an Iso-cam on you at all times everything is caught. You not think that Jarkko Ruutu or Dan Carcillo or even Jerome Iginla cherp as much as he does?

People will again argue that as a play of his stature he is held in even higher regard and should act accordingly. I agree, but again everyone has a breaking point and for the most part he does fight through an awful lot, and after all he is only 22.

One thing I did hear this morning was an ignorant radio host trying to blame Crosby for not being "Patriotic" enough in declining a spot to play for Canada at the World Hockey Championships. First off, there are many players each year that decline invitations to this tournament who don’t even make the playoffs to single him out after playing in the finals 2 years ago -2 full seasons -a Stanley cup last year and 2 rounds of playoffs this year, oh yeah and mix in the Olympics as well. That is a lot of hockey.

If you watched any of that series he looked like a guy who was either physically and mentally worn down or a guy who was injured. Either way not up to flying to Germany to play in this tournament. The team only has one member of the Olympic team on it and that is Corey Perry so to single out Crosby is just ridiculous. What about Luongo then, should he not be questioned, or every other player on the team??

It is sad when people and the media build someone up so much and then when they get to a point where they are covered so much that they begin to get scrutinized for every little thing it is just a shame. Crosby gets more negative attention because he is the first and last person people see or hear about and that makes him an easy, but undeserving target.

No one was criticizing him in February when he potted the "Golden Goal". How quickly some people forget.

In a related note, it is being reported that he will be moving out from Mario Lemieux’s home. He has apparently bought a home in Pittsburgh near Lemieux house...It looks like hockey’s most famous house guest is moving on up, no word as of yet if it is to the East Side.

Aftershock - Bolt destroys 200-metre record

For the second time in less then a week Usain Bolt crushed his own world record by a blistering .11 seconds after running a 19.19s 200m race at the World Championships in Berlin. Bolt set the record in China at last years Olympics with a time of 19.30s.

Bolt got a killer start and blew away a fast but over matched field with his nearest competitor finishing 0.62s behind.This is just even more proof that the guy is a freak and a once in a generation athlete.

It is almost unbelievable what he is able to do.
Ben Johnson raced that horse and a car that one time, I bet Bolt could maybe even be able to win a race like that without any head start...sick!

The Lightning Bolt Strikes Berlin

(Standard disclaimer for anything related to Track and Field - At the time of this, there are no indications of any performance enhancing substances)

Sure it is sad to have to say but in this era where just about every league or sport has either a problem or at best a few instances of usage one just never knows for sure. With all that being said Usain Bolt is possibly the biggest freak in all of sports. It is one thing with him setting the Olympic and then World Record at 9.69 despite kicking it into cruise control at like the 80M mark.

What he managed to do at the World Championships on Sunday left little doubt that he is the premier athlete not only in track but maybe the world. In a much anticipated match up between himself and American Tyson Gay it was like Gay and the rest of the field were jogging. Bolt shattered the World Record by an astounding .11 seconds leaving everyone in his wake. That is the biggest margin of change since electronic timing in 1968. Most of these records are beaten by 100th of a second not a 10th of a second. The magnitude of that is just ridiculous. There probably won't be another sprinter that will run a sub-9.60 in at least the next 20 years that isn't named Bolt (I will leave the window open for a Bolt offspring). I still think there is room for him to break his own record. He has said in the past that he does not run for records but he thinks that maybe he can get in the 9.4 range.

This just in from The Canadian Press: The IAAF has announced that there were no positive doping cases in the men's 100 metres, the marquee event of the world track and field championships. Steeplechaser Jamal Chatbi of Morocco is the only positive athlete of the championships so far after more than 600 tests were analyzed. -- I am sure that there were a lot of very happy people in the track world that this is the case...just remember you can only test for what you know about. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

Canada and Russia renewed acquaintances yet again in the finals of the World Championships. This game may not have the same pressure as those versus the Soviet union but whenever you are playing under your flag and for your country there is a huge level of pride that goes into it. Unfortunately for Canada they came up on the short end in this game. In a match that they had both control of the play and the majority of the chances, Canada ran into a hot goaltender in Ilya Bryzgalov who made 37 saves en rout to a 2-1 victory. Canada sent a very young team and used it almost like an in game audition for the summer selection camp and to help the young stars of tomorrow gather some great experience in international play. Player that were targeted as being potential core pieces going forward were Drew Doughty, Steve Stamkos and Luke Schenn. Yet another great plan by Hockey Canada, go for a gold but not at the expense of program development. Second place may be the first loser but Canada has to look at this as just one battle on the way to winning the war (sorry i hate to compare sports to war but they have yet to come up with the equivalent statement), Maybe the team can use this a some added motivation on the way to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. This game also had up for grabs the world #1 ranking and Russia gets to take those bragging rights with them.

In related Hockey Canada news they have been awarded the rights to 7 more International Tournaments: Four World Junior Championships and three World Women's Championships. Canada will host next year's World Junior Championships in Regina and Saskatoon and the 2012 event in Calgary and Edmonton. It will also host the events in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021. The woman’s events are slated for 2013, 2016 and 2020. We know that it is a money issue and that Canada will be the most profitable as the gate revenue is probably going to exceed any other location. They just have to be careful to not over do it and reach that point of over saturation and making it less of a premier event. If it is always in Canada every year the prestige is bound to drop. You have to keep it moving a bit to keep the interest in the rest of the world and keep growing the game. The World Juniors are very important to Canada, The World Championships are important to the rest of the World and for the Women they just need it to grow in countries other then Canada and the USA to get some more competitive balance and create some new rivalries and passion. Canada-USA can only play so many times, you know each other too well and the passion is bound to drop with so much repetition...it is like playing your own team in practice. Sure the games are fun but you are bound to lack passion over time, it becomes less of a game and more of a chore.

Sens Army Unite - In Mourning

If you are looking to watch your boys Spezza, Heatley and possibly Phillips or Fisher this spring you will have to switch your focus to the World Championships. As of last night the Ottawa Senators have officially been eliminated from the playoff picture. This marks the first time in many years that Senators fans young and old won’t see their team playing into the spring. It will be a bit of a culture shock for sure after a 10+ year run that saw them at least make it to the dance but this time around it was just not meant to be. Sure they had a decent conclusion to the year but basically in garbage time where it is easy to play loose because there is no real pressure.

April 12 is the last game on the schedule and that will conclude the regular season, then it will be playoff time for a good lucky 16, a time to brush of the golf clubs for the better part of the other wannabe’s.

April 14th is the next date to look at and that is the Draft Lottery. As it stands now the Senators are outside of the top 5 (or bottom side, however you look at it) and will not have a shot at Hedman or Tavares but are still in the top 10 most likely and by the looks of the prospects there is decent depth and player until 11 or 13 at least. As long as they don’t drop the ball like they did when they had the 9th overall pick and choose Brian Lee over Marc Staal.

At least with the early exit there will be plenty of time to gear up for the draft and open up all the speculation about Draft Day trades selections and July 1 Free Agency.