by Jes

Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin participated in a recent off-ice photoshoot to show off their typical casual styles.

Sidney Crosby:



Sidney's black shirt with dark blue jeans is a simple combination that can blend in nicely in most situations. It's modest, like Sidney, and doesn't stand out much. It's hard to score any negative points with a simple style like this, other than the fact it might remind you of Simon Cowell.

Alexander Ovechkin:


Ovechkin, on the other hand, can't decide if he's a geeky EMO loser or a rebel "Sk8r Boi". It's obvious that Ovechkin is an attention whore and is trying way too hard to look cool. All that's missing is the iPod. Pull up your frickin pants, son!

Winner: CROSBY - Without even trying, Crosby wins this contest hands down. While Sid may look a tad generic, Ovechkin comes across as a poorly dressed cliche in desperate need of some loving from his mother.

Labels: Crosbechkin, Crosby, fashion, Ovechkin

by Jes

It happens most every season without fail: The refs crack down hard on obstruction early in the season, and then let up later in the season, claiming the 'players are adjusting'.

Last season, such adjustment was not so pronounced, but now the media and some fans are starting to wonder if we're slowly, and surely, crawling back to the 'dark ages' of hooking, holding, and water skiing.

From John MacKinnon, The Edmonton Journal:

Wasn't the crackdown on obstruction supposed to let the speed and skill flow freely in the New NHL? As a byproduct, it cut fighting almost in half last season. This year, turning the tough guy loose is re-emerging as the way to provide some space for the skill players, just like the good old days.

Much has been made of the liberties taken with the league-leading scorer, Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby. But, curiously, Penguins GM Ray Shero is not among the posse who want to change the instigator rule.

While Sidney Crosby does get a lot of attention, he also brings a lot on himself by the style he plays. I can't say he gets an undue amount of 'love' from the likes of Derian Hatcher.

At least one head coach, Buffalo's Lindy Ruff, sounded alarm bells during the all-star break about what he perceives as the rising level of unpenalized obstruction fouls. Rather than echo his concern, other coaches have voiced the view that so-called "soft penalties" be overlooked, or at least called less rigorously. Tilting back in the direction of the old-fashioned situation ethics of the past, in other words.

This is not something I've watched closely over the past few months, but I have noticed that a few 'borderline' incidents are not being called as penalties, while they likely would have been last season.

Are we crawling back to the dark ages? I'd like some of your thoughts and maybe somebody has some numbers to suggest, one way or another, what the standard of obstruction really is. I hate chinsy penalties, but I'd also hate to see a return to the good times for the sloths like Derian Hatcher and Brendan Witt.

Labels: Crosby, NHL, obstruction, opinion, rules

By Jes

Damn this cold!! If only I had taken $3,000 worth of ColdFX, I might be OK...the ramblings of a stuffed up blogger.

Everyone knows Sidney Crosby is the king of the scoring race, but who's #2?

Vincent Lecavalier! Here's a name that doesn't get a lot of attention these days.

For the longest time, Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards were the superior players down in TBay and Prince Vince wasn't living up to his potential.

This season? Vincent is first in goals with 39, second in points with 80, and even has 3 short-handed goals to his credit. HE's also cut down on the stupid penalties, and has just 38 minutes to his name this year. Between him. St. Louis, and Brad Richards, the Lightning have an amazing trio of scorers that stay out of the box. If only they had the defence and goaltending to go along with that...

When do you give up hope?

Looking at the standings, Greg's Avalanche are 'just' 9 points out of a playoff spot with a game in hand. That's 4 wins and an OT loss. Seems doable, right?

Well, looking at James Mirtle's "Push for 95", we see the Avs need a 17-5-1 run to get to the magical 95 mark, while the Canucks need just 11-11-1 and the Wild need a 13-9-0 mark.

The Canucks and Wild...getting those records seems very easy to do for them. Can you imagine the Avalanche suddenly getting hot and going 17-5-1, especially with their goaltending issues? Can you imagine the Oilers getting the 17-6 record they need with their defensive problems?

Yeah, these teams are pretty much done. How do you feel, as a fan of such a team...do you give up now? Keep going until the math gods say you are eliminated? Cheer against the Avs and hope they get a better draft position?

Which of these names is not like the other?

Lidstrom, Souray, Gonchar, Niedermayer, Kaberle, Visnovsky, Boyle, Pronger, Whitney, McCabe.

Yeah, that's RYAN Whitney, who is 9th in defensemen scoring with 43 points in 58 games. While Malkin, Recchi, Gonchar, and Crosby get most of the attention, Ryan Whitney has quietly put up a great season and has made awesome strides both offensively and defensively.

Eye-popping stat of the day: Tom Preissing of Ottawa and his +34!
Sure, Lidstrom has a higher +38 (Which is amazing given who he plays against every night), but would you ever expect a Tom Preissing to be second? There always seems to be one defenseman that just had a gaudy +/- out of the blue.

Speaking of such defensemen, Marek Malik is at it again with a +21.

His past 4 seasons? +23, +35, +28, +21. I am guessing that is the highest 4-year total in the NHL.

Who are the Cy Young candidates this season? there aren't a lot of great ones, but here's the field.

Simon Gagne: 31 GOALS, 18 ASSISTS
Jordan Staal: 24 GOALS, 6 ASSISTS

On the flip side, Henrik Sedin definitely gets the Care Bear Helper Award with 8 goals and 48 assists. Ales Hemsky (shooooooot!) is a distant 2nd with 9 goals and 37 assists.

Labels: Crosby, Cy Young, jes is sick, Lecavalier, Malik, ramblings, Ryan Whitney

by Gőlbez

Despite my l33t ninja skills, I couldn't escape the tag by Robert over at Eyes on the Prize, who asked to see the best of the worst anonymous commenters on this blog.

Well, my memory is shot from years of NyQuil abuse, and I've deleted a few 'choice' comments, so I'm going to have to go to my favourite thread over at The Sidney Crosby Show: The Infamous GQ Thread.


Here's your "winner"...

sidney's bringing sexy back, i want to bight your lips, i want to pour chocolate all over your body and slowly lick it off, will you marry me? well if you don't want to marry me can you atleast screw me once. if you're ready for some fun, look for me behind the leafs bench when you visit toronto. j'aime tadore. YOUR BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!

Hmm, who is the Leafs backup goalie these days, anyway?

Some good runner-uppers..

Ok.. Hockey is not about looks but about talent... and Crosby has TONS of Talent... and only in his Sophmore year of hockey!!!

But if he decides to take off his shirt, it's our duty to look at him...... he's not so hard pn the ice!

Yes, sir!! It is our duty, after all..

basically I just want to say... I want him on me hahahaha! Wasn't expecting a rockin bod like that but damn it doesn't hurt my feelings any that he does. This boy haunts my dreams. Yum yum ;p Also I'd like to point out that he is an amazing player! People don't give him enough credit because he's just a kid but he's gotta start somewhere!

Haunts your dreams? 0_o

He is not all about looks, but he is very nice to look at I must admit, he appeals to guys as well as girls:-)

According to my IP tracker, this one was posted in Washington, DC. So, I'm guessing it's either JP of Japers Rink, Alexander Ovechkin, or Ted Leonsis.

To spread the joy, I'll tag The Acid Queen (Welcome back!) and my co-blogger, Greg.

Labels: comments, craziness, Crosby, meme, puck bunnies

It's not too often that the NHL produces a marketing effort that I actually enjoy and would want others to see.

Check out this funny ad, with more proof that Alexander Ovechkin is a jealous punk!

Labels: All-Star game, Crosby, marketing, Ovechkin, video

by Gőlbez


The NHL is always in need of good marketing ideas, and Hockey Rants is always willing to give out unsolicited advice.

Question: What's one of the most thriving industries in the US of A?

Answer: Celebrity Gossip!

Millions of dollars and far too many inches of column space are dedicated to the coffee drinking habits of the Olsen Twins, Justin Timberlake's dating habits, and Lindsay Lohan's 'rehab'.

So, why doesn't the NHL jump on this bandwagon and try to catch some of the benefits?

Remember how much ink was spilled when Jose Theodore spent one night in the Paris Hilton? How about Elisha Cuthbert and Sean Avery? Candice Cameron and Valeri Bure? Carole Alt and Alexei Yashin? Janet Jones and Whine Gretzky? Tie Domi and Belinda Stronach? Cher and Ronald "Donkey Schlong" DuGuay?

Well, Pink Seats, a local 'hockey column' from the Vancouver Province, is on board with the idea of hooking up NHL stars with celebrity starlets. It might seem silly to you, but it would be a brilliant marketing opportunity.

Perhaps the marketing department should forget about tight-fitting uniforms and new rules and invest in a matchmaker to hook up a high-profile celebrity from the entertainment world with one of its good-looking, talented young players.

In other words, if hockey ever wants to reach the popularity levels of the NFL, NBA or MLB, maybe the league should borrow an idea from Major League Soccer and get its own Posh and Becks.

It seems ridiculous, but maybe the MLS is on to something – tabloid celebrities are a surefire way to gain widespread attention these days. When Yahoo released its most popular Internet search terms for 2006, the top 10 didn't include any athletes, events or even political leaders.

Nope, Britney Spears led the pack with other celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton.

*snip*

Pamela Anderson would make a promising match for Sidney Crosby. If the Penguins scoring sensation truly is following in Gretzky's footsteps, then he is destined to fall in love with a former Playboy model, just like No. 99.

The biggest problem is, obviously, logistics. There just aren't a lot of hotties floating around Pittsburgh for Sidney Crosby to hook up with, or in Washington DC for Alex Ovechkin to frolick in the daisies with.

In Sidney's case, the one notable Pittsburgh hottie is Christina Aguilera. Unfortunately, she's married to a dorky record producer, so she's off the market. Pamela Anderson? She’s been used more than a ball washer at a public golf course.

OH!

Besides, Sidney needs a 'good' girl, such as Canadian actress Kristin Kreuk, who must surely be a hockey fan. If she's not available, perhaps a goodie-two-shoes like Lacey Chabert? Then again, she looks like she could be Sidney's sister...

As for Ovechkin, we know he's outgoing and a bit freaky lookin, just the perfect type to hook up with a supermodel. Adriana Lima, perhaps?

Now, my matchmaking skills are obviously quite poor, and I don't hang around with too many supermodels, so the NHL needs to employ some real cupids to get their young stars hooked up with hot, young Hollywood blood. Get Martin Havlat shaggin Michelle Trachtenberg, and watch the free press flow in from the NHL.

A great idea? You betcha, and free.

Labels: Crosby, gossip, marketing, NHL, Ovechkin

By Gőlbez

It's been awhile since we had one of those meme fads make its way around the hockey blogosphere, so I'm up at 7:30AM on a Sunday morning and got nothing better to do.



If I Were a Hockey Player:

Team: Vancouver Canucks (gotta be the hometown)
Uniform Number: 75
Position: Left Wing
Nickname: sadly, "Jessie" or "Golbie"
Dream Linemates: Sidney Crosby at center, Pavol Demitra at RW.
Rounding out the PP: Jiri Slegr and Zdeno Chara.
Job: Mucking, Grinding, scoring the odd goal, and injuring anyone who breathes on Pavol.
Signature Move: Having goals go in off of my ass.
Strengths: Shooting, Work Ethic, Deflections
Weaknessess: Passing, Skating
Injury Problems? My right knee
Equipment: Full visor with reflective blue tint (Ovechkin style), Mario Lemieux RH Koho stick, and anything-but-Nike to fill out the rest.
Nemesis: Sean Avery (shutupshutupshutup!), Martin Brodeur, and Chris Pronger.
Scandal Involvement: Shooting pucks at Gary Bettman during a warmup.

Who I'd face in the Stanley Cup Finals: Toronto Maple Leafs. Crushing the lemmings after they come oh-so-close is too good to resist.

What I'd do with the Stanley Cup after our victory: Eat popcorn out of it, hold it, caress it, make sweet, sweet love to it.

Would the media love me or hate me? Both! They'd love how I'd give it to them straight, but hate that I'd force them to pronounce my name correctly or get a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick to the head.
---

Tagging Ingmar W Bergman (got off the damn WiiWii), American Hockey Fan, Mr. Reality Check, CasonBlog, Mike Chen, Zanstorm, and anyone who wants to take part.

Labels: Crosby, Demitra, Golbez, meme, Pavol Demitra

The NHL must be loving this...

Scoring Leaders:

Name               Team GP  G  A  Pts +/-   PIM
Sidney Crosby       PIT 39  21 44 65   14   34
Alexander Ovechkin  WAS 43  28 31 59   -2   40

Yes, Crosby and Ovechkin are now 1-2 in the scoring race.

Of course, Crosby has done more in less games and done more WITH less.

While Oveckin has 22-goal scorer Alexander Semin and hard-working veterans Dainius Zubrus and Chris Clark to play with, Crosby has to make do with a rookie that looks like a member of the Addams Family and the 58-year old corpse of Mark Recchi.

Oh, let's not mention +14 compared to -2. Maybe we should tout Sidney for the Selke trophy, as well.

Labels: Crosbechkin, Crosby, Ovechkin

Even though I run the Sidney Crosby Show Blog, even I get tired of all of the 'hero' worship that goes on with Sidney Crosby. Reading and listening to some pundits, you'd think Crosby could turn water into wine, iron into gold, and solve world hunger.

What is the definition of a hero?

In mythology and legend, a man, often of divine ancestry, who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits, and favored by the gods.

A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life: soldiers and nurses who were heroes in an unpopular war.

A person noted for special achievement in a particular field: the heroes of medicine.

The principal male character in a novel, poem, or dramatic presentation

So, is Sidney Crosby a hero? Maybe under the 4th definition...but he's really just a very good hockey player.

Reuters, on the other hand, can't stop gushing over Kid Crosby...

With its bone-crunching violence, bulky armor and head-to-toe uniforms, ice hockey is an unlikely setting for a teen idol.

Sidney Crosby is shattering that stereotype. The 18-year-old is the hottest thing on ice since Wayne Gretzky, generating a Beatles-like reception at appearances in his native Canada. Now, the buzz is spreading to the United States.

Just two months into his first National Hockey League (NHL) season, the rookie leads the Pittsburgh Penguins in points, drawing comparisons to Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr.

Gretzky, Lemieux, and Peter Forsberg, yes... Bobby Orr? Since when did Sidney switch to defenseman and start making end to end rushes? Since when did Crosby revolutionize the way the game has been played?

It is not just his swift, goal-scoring plays nor his ability to withstand punishing body checks that excite fans, managers and sponsors. It is also a potentially powerful commercial appeal at a time when the NHL is desperate for a hero.

Is the NHL desperate for a hero? Does the NHL need to be saved?
If Crosby was a real hero, he'd find a way to get Gary Bettman replaced with a chimpanzee or someone with a higher IQ.

With heartthrob looks, his own brand of sports clothing and a contract worth $2.5 million with footwear manufacturers Reebok, Crosby is the sport's biggest goldmine in more than a decade.

Heartthrob looks? Crosby isn't an ugly kid, but he is (and the ladies will agree) no Jiri Slegr in the looks department.

Inside Hockey editor-in-chief Kevin Greenstein compares Crosby to basketball prodigy LeBron James, who went from high school to the National Basketball Association (NBA) two seasons ago, displaying spectacular dunks, deft passes and a veteran's savvy on the court.

Please do not compare basketball to hockey. Ever!

The NBA and basketball in general is a very individualistic game where the roster depth doesn't mean nearly as much as in hockey. In hockey, you need a strong 15-22 players to be a contender. In basketball, you need basically 2 (Jordan and Pippen, Stockton and Malone, Magic and Abdul-Jabbar) awesome talents and a bunch of warm bodies. We have seen that one lone player cannot guarantee success in the NHL unless their name is Dominik Hasek. Basketball also does not have a real minor league system and it's either NCAA or NBA for any young and talented players. Sidney Crosby played against a much higher level of talent than LeBron James did before entering the big leagues.

"He's down to earth. He's mature for his young age. He comes across as someone people can relate to," said Reebok marketing executive Len Rhodes.

Oh yes, I can perfectly relate to a multi-millionaire hockey player who has more hockey talent in his pinky finger than I do in my whole body. I can perfectly relate to a kid who has been a huge media sensation for almost a third of his life. Yeah...he's just like one of us, eh!

The 30-team NHL desperately needs a new face to attract talent to the junior leagues, sell jerseys, pack stadiums and market goods.

How the hell does the NHL need a new face to attract talent to the junior leagues? The CHL has been expanding long before Sidney Crosby ever played in the QMJHL and it's not as if he'll suddenly cause an explosion anywhere outside of Pittsburgh.

Let's get a little perspective, people!

(crossposted)

Labels: Crosby, Gretzky, Lemieux, marketing