Posts Tagged New York Times
The Real Blood Feud
The Avs/Wings rivalry is obsolete. After the Avalanche failed to play anything that resembled hockey as the Wing’s swept the Western Conference semi-final, the celebrated blood feud is over. The real blood feud is in the Eastern Conference between the Penguins and the Rangers, who will play game five of their series in Pittsburgh Sunday at 2:00.
Thursday night was the Penguins first loss of the post season (as they swept Ottowa) and the they responded to it in frustration. By the third period, with the Penguins trailing the Rangers 2-0, the cheap shots from Pittsburgh’s bench were abundant. Malkin even resorted to kicking the skates out from under two Ranger players. The New York Times called the game the first glimpse at Penguin frustration in the series. Should Pittsburgh worry that the Rangers might stage a historic come back? “No, the only worrisome aspect of the loss was that Sidney Crosby and Malkin acted like immature kids at the end,” Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said in reference to Crosby and Malkin’s simultaneous roughing penalties in the third period of Thursday’s game. Cook goes on to explain that, “It’s almost certain that these were one-time acts by Crosby, 20, and Malkin, 21, from the frustration caused by the impenetrable Lundqvist.”
The frustration that was Lundqvist’s shutout performance. 
He stopped 29 shots and was named the first star of the game by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. We all know by now that only two teams in hockey history have come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series, yet, Ranger captain, Jaromir Jagr, has high hopes for his team as he said to the New York Times, “I wasn’t just talking when I said I believe.”
It’s David vs. Goliath in this series for the Rangers while Pittsburgh has the home ice advantage in the game. The Post-Gazette insists that Lundqvist will not keep Malkin out of the net for another game. Perhaps the Penguins have peeked and the Rangers will make history. OR perhaps Thursday was a fluke game and the Rangers will be playing their last game of the season. One this is certain: this Blood Feud is boiling.
Add comment May 4, 2008
From Hollywood to Broadway: Sean Avery Annoys His Way to Stardom
***NOTE: Sean Avery was hospitalized after the Rangers 5-3 loss with a lacerated spleen. He is in stable condition. AP Story***
Sean Avery is Broadway’s biggest star of late. The self made hockey hero is getting almost as much attention as Sid the Kid these days, and reveling in every moment of it. Avery’s love of attention, on and off the ice, is the reason he fits in so well in Manhattan and has quickly attained celebrity status. “The thing is, Sean craves attention. And he doesn’t have an on/off switch. He’s always talking, even when he shouldn’t be. It’s like he needs it to be successful. He kind of feeds off it. I don’t know if that’s a flaw in his character, but I think it has helped him get to where he is,” Dave Siciliano, Avery’s junior coach at Owen Sound said.
Avery, perhaps the most annoying player in the NHL, has no limits when it comes to antagonizing his opponents. With Avery, anything is fair game for trash talk. However annoying Avery might be, (note the NHL’s re-interpretation of “unsportsmanlike conduct” thanks to Avery) if he wasn’t as obnoxious as he is, he would probably be back in Canada living with Mom and Dad. He is only 5’10” and weighs in at 195, so what he lacks in stature he has to make up with passion on the ice–even if it means aggravating every NHL player from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
The League must love this guy. Sure, he keeps the PR department busy: “No, the league is not, and never did, support Avery Rule T-shirts,” and, “We assure you Mr. Avery never made fun of Jason Blake for having cancer,” but he sure is brining the NHL a lot of publicity, and he’s got a great story. He actually earned his first NHL contract as a walk on with the Detroit red Wings in 2001. Like many kids in Canada, Avery played in high school where he went from a local house league straight to a triple AAA travel team. He was too small to be considered for the NHL draft so Avery found his own way into the league.
Avery seems to love high profile cities because he played in Las Angeles for four years until he drove his teammates insane and the organization was forced to trade him to the New York Rangers (lucky for Avery, who LOVES the New York City lifestyle). Avery has done very well with the Rangers, whose record with Avery in the lineup is 52-20-9. Avery’s agent argues that this is no coincidence. Even though the Rangers play better when Avery is on the ice, aggravating everyone like only a little cousin can do, there is not doubt about it that Avery is a strange guy.
He is obsessed with fashion, which is why he is interning at Vogue this summer once the Rangers get knocked out of the playoffs—which might happen this week if they don’t find a way to stop the energetic penguins. It all comes back to that severe need he has to get attention. It’s the reason he is thriving in New York City: he just gets so much attention here.
In the teams’ 2007-2008 media guide, Avery is sporting designer glasses. “In a way, I want to make our sport cooler,” Avery said. Last fall he attended the Nautica show at Fashion Week along with teammate, Brendan Shanahan. He has done a number of interviews with the New York Times where he admitted that his biggest self indulgence is, “Making myself the center of attention.” He paints the fingernails on his fighting hand black—to intimidate opponents, and he listens to the saddest music he can muster, “the sadder the better,” he said.
Speaking of celebrity status: Avery was named “Sexiest Scar 2007″ by People Magazine.
As much as I love the tenacity he has shown in proving himself as a legitimate force in the NHL I am disappointed with Avery’s obsession with being a celebrity. I went to game four of round one at the Garden when the Rangers beat the Devils 5-3. After the game, I was standing outside the employee and media entrance, along with a handful of fans who were eagerly waiting for autographs. The kid next to me had printed off a collage of Avery photos he was hoping to get signed. I asked the kid if he comes to a lot of games, “not a lot,” he said. “Do the players usually stop and sign autographs?” I asked. “Most of them do, but Avery never does. I hope he stops today,” the boy said. A few moments later we saw Avery beyond the doors. He looked out at the kids holding signs with his picture pasted all over them. He shook his head and walked the other way to the garage. The kid was bummed.
Add comment April 29, 2008
