MAF > Complaining About Diving
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For those of you not up to speed on this current Eastern Conference semifinals series, with our Penguins up 2 games to none on the New York Rangers, I'm offering a few links to assist.
John Dellapina is a joke. Sean Avery is a joke. Tom Renney is a joke. 5hole is a joke. The NY Post is a joke. Blueshirt Bulletin is a joke.
The London Free Press out of Ontario rules.
With all the stupid shit coming out of Rangers fans and the New York media, The London Free Press gives an unbiased view on why the Penguins remain the team to beat in this series.
MAF.
The Flower is upstaging regular Vezina-finalist Henrik Lundqvist, showing determination in Game 1 and domination in Game 2.
While the NY media is readjusting their panties over nonsense accusations and non calls, The London Free Press is actually looking at the real difference in this series. If not for MAF's re-emergence in the latter stages of Game 1 and his sick play in Game 2, Pittsburgh is heading to MSG tied at 1s, or even down 0-2. And with our recent struggles at the Garden, the series would be over.
So I'll express my extreme disappointment in guys I've always admired like Shanahan and Jagr, who are buying into the "Crosby is a diver" and "the refs are giving preferential treatment to the Pens" junk. Both guys were huge proponents of the league-wide changes against clutching and grabbing, giving offensive players more wiggle room. You can't impede an offensive player without the puck. Straka did that to Crosby in Game 1. You can't put a glove on a guy's chest and shove that player to the ice, as Dellapina suggests is legal, which happened in Game 2.
You can't board Rob Scuderi when he doesn't have the puck, as Avery did early in the game...with no whistle. The Rangers might have an argument if blatant penalties against them weren't called.
Also, you can't win by bitching. I've never seen a bitch score a goal. However, Sean Avery did score in Game 1.
And finally, you can't beat MAF. Even with more Power Plays (yeah, the refs are squarely in the Penguins' pockets), the Rangers couldn't get one past the Flower. The dude is 6-0 this postseason for a reason.
NY Media, Rangers fans and bloggers, coaches and players...shut up and play. The only thing worse than diving is complaining about diving when its not even happening. You come off looking like babies. Or girls. Or baby girls.
How about try to solve MAF instead. It obviously hasn't worked to this point.
8 comments:
The blog writers you mentioned--5-hole.com in particular--don't seem to be complaining about diving. Just the fact that the officiating has been inconsistent. I was pretty surprised to see so many power plays late in the game. Usually in the playoffs, penalties are only called if it's flagrant. You can't say Straka's interference was flagrant.
Yes, but with 5-hole,they give the Shanahan side of Crosby "embellishing the call." As I wrote in the post, I'm disappointed that Shanahan, who was for the changes to create a free flowing game, now is pissed that the rules in place to protect skill players are working against him. Straka clearly impeded Sid's path, while he wasn't in possession. It would have been different if Sid had the puck.
And the blog flip flops by not wanting a call towards the end of the game when the situation favors the Rangers, but figuring that a pest-like stick in front of a guy's face, something made famous by someone in a blue shirt, is as important as interference near the end of the game.
The Rangers had more PPs than Pittsburgh last game, including 2 in the final 7 minutes, so I don't understand how a Rangers fan/writer could believe they're getting the shaft.
Sure, officiating is always inconsistent, but these Rangers-Pens games have been pretty physical. You can't swallow the whistle when play gets to a certain point.
Ref-in-the-Pens'-pockets whines, diver/embellisher theories...they all seem to come in groups when a team is down 2-0.
And just to explain, its the New York media that has been getting on my nerves, seeing as how I'm a Pens fan living in New York. I only call other blog writers "a joke" in jest. Its hard to not get fired up during the playoffs.
Did you actually read the posts on 5-hole.com? Marc blasted the Rangers for their terrible defense in his recap of game 1.
I wrote that I thought that the call on Tyutin was a good call as you can see here: http://5hole.wordpress.com/2008/04/27/after-1-all-tied-at-0/
Then in my recap of Game 2 I didn't even talk about the reffing at all. here: http://5hole.wordpress.com/2008/04/27/rangers-lose-this-game-on-the-power-play/
In fact, I spoke about how much better the Pen's PP was than the Rangers' PP.
About that call on Straka late in Game 1, we're never going to agree on how it was called. That's because I'm a Rangers fan and you're a Penguins fan.
I do have a question for you though. If you were at one of the games would you be booing Mr. Jagr every time he touched the puck? I mean, he only helped you guys to 2 Stanley Cups while making up half of one of the greatest duos in NHL history. But hey, why not boo him?
Please don't assume that I act in childish ways because the majority of Penguins fans love to boo Jagr due to the conditions of the end of his tenure in Pittsburgh. I have never booed Jagr, and he remains one of my favorite players in this league for what he did for my team.
I didn't take exception to anything you wrote in the other posts. As you said, you're a Rangers fan and I'm a Pens fan. I disagree with the Shanahan comments, the "Ruutu-should've-gotten-a-penalty" analysis and the "If I want to keep my job, I better start calling penalties" thing on the post I linked to. Sure, I agree that the officiating has been shaky, but as I wrote in my above comment, the refs can't just eat the whistle with a game/series that brings this much physical play, with credit to both teams.
You don't think that Ruutu should have gotten a penalty there?
Hell no.
There are more important calls to make other than your pest annoying the guy next to him. Let's single out only two such times from Sean Avery in game 2:
- Boarding Rob Scuderi (wasn't called)
- slashing Fleury's wrists/hands in the final seconds, leading to the scrum where Hal Gill nearly murdered Avery.
Officiating would look even sketchy-er if they started calling bullshit penalties like a stick in someones face.
Before the so-called "Avery Rule" was set, Avery could have gotten called for either unsportsmanlike or high-sticking if the officials really wanted to be a dick about it. If absolutely nothing was done (on the ice) in that instance, what makes you think they'd call something 1000 times sillier in the semis.
But I can accept penalties that should have been called, like game 2 where Jordan Staal didn't drop his broken stick and made a hockey move. But the stick in the face? Come on! And against Avery's team? That'd be a little weak.
ok you 2... take it easy. I think there is 1 thing we can all agree on. The refs are inconsistent. Sometimes they are calling weak penalties. Sometimes they are not calling blatant penalties (Avery boarding / Jordan Staal using a broken stick). I do think the refs feel pressure to keep the number of power plays consistent with the regular season, and this leads to extended periods where they swallow the whistle followed by stupid penalties being called in clutch moments.
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