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The feud rages on between a brash, attention seeking hockey star and a brash, attention seeking hockey commentator.
CBC’s Don Cherry has a reputation for speaking his mind, xenophobic and racist as his critics may claim it to be, and his ire landed squarely on the shoulders of Alexander Ovechkin after the latter’s antics following his 50th goal of the season. If you don’t know of the instance yet, then you aren’t a very good hockey fan.
Cherry rants at Ovechkin’s infamous celebration with a passion. I find myself wondering if he has forgotten the Superman leap his prized player took after scoring the 1970 Stanley Cup winning goal. Not only did Bobby Orr commit one of the most extravagant celebrations in hockey history, but the moment also became a memorable part of hockey highlight reels for that very distinction.
(Was he tripped, was he tripped? No, he wasn’t. He jumped.)
Sure, the two moments in celebratory history aren’t exactly equal. Ovechkin’s celebration is more flamboyant and would very likely have earned him a crosscheck to the face in hockey eras gone by. But ultimately, both cases are simply that of a player celebrating a goal.
Those who believe prop comedy has no place in hockey will be praying that Ovechkin’s next visit to Tampa will be meet with a bevy of body checks. Until the NFL started handing out penalties, football end zone celebrations were becoming ridiculous. It’s not every day that Ovechkin scores his 50th goal, so perhaps this is an isolated case of extravagance, but if he starts pulling out cell phones to call his Russian buddies after snapping a shot past a sprawling keeper, there will be many fans around the league insisting Bettman put a stop to it.
The problem is that even though Cherry may not like the guy, Ovechkin is a showman, the best the league has got. Bettman fully supports touting Sidney “Boring as Heck” Crosby as the face of hockey. The Pittsburgh star’s ability on the ice and respectful demeanour is admirable to be true, but it really isn’t very interesting. All professional sports have their bad boys, the ones who bend or even break the rules on a whim. With that in mind, taunting the despondent Tampa Bay players, either intentionally or unintentionally, is hardly an honourable action. It might even be on par with Sean Avery’s screening techniques.
All things considered, I can conclude at least one thing about this whole snafu: it’s fun to watch everything play out.
Some Other Articles That You May Enjoy:
Hot Stuff: Ovechkin Scores 50, Rest of League Pouts
You Knew It Was Coming: Don Cherry Addresses the Malkin Head Shot
Ovechkin Celebrates His Way to 50 Goal Club; Caps Victory
Has NBC Gone Too Far In the Crosby/Ovechkin Rivalry?
Bobby Orr Gets a Wicked Elbow from Pat Quinn
Don Cherry Colorado Rockies coach
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Feud? What feud? http://onfrozenblog.com/2009/03/24/ovi_coachscorner.gif
Perhaps feud is the wrong word, but Cherry is quite upset and Ovechkin is amused that Cherry is upset. That’s similar to a feud, at the very least. One could argue that Ovechkin deliberately acted up to draw the attention of Cherry, given that Cherry had already called him out only weeks before the incident.