In Sunday’s game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, sh-t went down when notorious asshat Matt Cooke stuck out his knee to flip Alex Ovechkin onto his face. Immediately, play stopped, and a giant group hug immediately occurred in Pittsburgh’s zone. I’m pretty sure all the players just wanted to tell the other team how they were doing such a great job and putting in so much effort. Who says the NHL isn’t welcoming and accessible?

Video after the jump.
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Fights in hockey have always been a key part of the game, for entertaining and also strategic reasons, but rarely do you get to see the goaltenders ever scrap it out. When it does happen, however, it’s always a delight, even if the fight itself is shitty. The pure action of seeing two guys trying to beat each other up while wearing tons of padding and pants that look like they belong in a maternity store is truly beautiful. That was the case with last night’s fight between Rick DiPietro and Brent Johnson, of the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins, respectively. Although DiPietro ends on the losing side of the scuffle, he does get points for knocking down Matt Cooke right before. F-ck Matt Cooke. Name me someone who likes Matt Cooke and I’ll show you an asshole. It won’t be my asshole, though. That will cost you a nice dinner and fun evening.

Video after the jump.
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Pittsburgh Penguins point producer Sidney Crosby had scored in 25 straight games heading into last night’s tilt with the New York Islanders. In hockey, an individual “point” can be either a goal or an assist, and the Croz had registered one of those in every game his team had played since November 5th. But last night, despite 26 minutes of ice time, overtime, and a shootout, Crosby’s streak came to a halt.

“That wasn’t me. It was a complete team effort,” [Islanders goalie Rick] DiPietro said. “The defensive corps played with a lot of focus and a lot of heart. When we’re playing smart in our defensive zone, we’re a good hockey team.”

“It would’ve been nice to keep things going, but it was one of those games,” Crosby said.

–Y! Sports.

Oh, by the way, the Penguins won lost that game, 2-1. I’ve made it plainly known that Sidney Crosby is not my favorite player in the game right now, but 25 straight games with at least one point is impressive. But on the other hand, losing it to the Islanders is almost equally unimpressive. We’re nearly back to zero, but I give credit where it’s do, even if Dr. Seuss claims credit for the headline of this post. Screw Dr. Seuss. I bet his mustache sucks.

There aren’t many things on this earth that I can’t stand more than those fascist little Serbians, and one of them is Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby. “Sid The Kid” was the first overall pick in the 2005 NHL draft, and by all accounts, the 23-year-old has lived up to the hype. His accolades have been well-documented and deserved, but every so often, Crosby pulls some garbage reminiscent of that preppy little third-line kid whose dad coaches the team and does whatever he wants. These pot shots taken against his opponents are infuriating, almost as much as the NHL’s stubborn refusal to discipline him.

Another glaring instance of Sid’s preferential treatment surfaced last night when Crosby pulled a slewfoot on the New York Rangers’ Brandon Dubinsky Ryan Callahan, kicking dude’s skate out from behind. And it was Dubinsky that wound up getting called for interference. Slew-footing carries a match penalty and subsequent ejection from the game, which obviously did not happen.

“That’s just a dirty play,” Dubinsky said while on the MSG set. “That’s just the type of guy he is. He tries to get away with all that kind of nonsense and complains a lot.”

Watching the replays of Monday’s action, it also appeared Crosby slew-footed Sean Avery in the third period. This time Crosby earned a tripping call, offset by a matching minor to Brandon Prust, who took exception to the play.

–ESPN NY.

Crosby, in my mind, personifies everything I hate about the “new NHL”: this new wave of players aren’t forced to be accountable for their actions. And Crosby getting the Dwyane Wade treatment doesn’t make the NHL’s product less entertaining and more infuriating. He may as well hit Dubinsky from behind with a steel chair while Evgeni Malkin distracts the referee. At the least, that’s cowardice that most of us can appreciate.

I wish I had something more clever to add here, but it’s just a guy with a funny shirt at a hockey game. But I wonder, and this isn’t like a gay thing, but did he really shave his balls? I’d think that with a shirt like that, you’re sort of ethically obligated to partake in that element of man-scaping. Was this guy, who apparently is doing well enough to get seats behind the bench of his favorite hockey team, a regular ball-shaver when he acquired this clever little garment, or did he see that tee hanging up in the mall and think to himself, “This would be a wonderful opportunity to enact positive change in my life.” This will eat at me all day.

This is funnier (somewhat) when you consider that this image was actually found on ESPN, the worldwide leader in bald junk. Personally, I like to trim it up down there every so often, not that anyone ever notices. I haven’t really shown it off to anyone since Michelle Beadle changed her cell phone number. Via Joe Sports Fan at KFNS. More from them.

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby took batting practice at PNC Park earlier this week, and he’s already the Pirates’ best hitter. Derp! Seriously, that’s a good-looking stroke. Watch after the jump as The Cros pops one into the upper deck with the smoothness. But yeah, now that the Bucs have 40 roster spots, you think they could leave one open for this guy? I can’t wait to see Crosby take a dive while sliding into home plate. Read the rest of this entry »