Friday, February 27, 2009

Avery, Marbury Are Birds Af A Feather

With Stephon Marbury expected to sign with the Boston Celtics sometime today, one expects that New Yorkers will breathe a little easier. But as a certain hockey player comes closer and closer to coming to New York, another headache is on the horizon.

The player is Sean Avery, late of the Dallas Stars, currently filling a spot on the Rangers AHL affiliate. Like Marbury, he had signed with a big market team for a bundle and wore out his welcome fast. After stirring up problems in the dressing room, both players found themselves not playing their sport at all.

Marbury’s off-court antics (peaking in an infamous truck party) and fights with management led to an exile from the team and his eventual banning from practice. Avery’s off-ice problems – and especially saying Dion Phaneuf went after his sloppy seconds – led to his out from the league.

Both were suspended indefinitely, not allowed to dress for games or attend practice or even travel with the team. Avery went to counseling, Marbury infamously flew to LA to watch his Knicks play the Lakers.

And now, both players could end up in a homecoming kind of way. Avery is likely headed to the Rangers, the team where he first rose in stature in the past few seasons. Marbury is likely to sign with the Boston Celtics, where he would play alongside Kevin Garnett again, like his did in his Minnesota days.

Let’s not get carried away here, though, since there are some pretty big differences between the two. Marbury is the more talented of the two and in his prime was one of the best point guards in the NBA. He went to two All-Star games, led the league in assists in 2004 and has been named to two All-NBA teams.

Avery, at his best, is been a second-line forward who works best by drawing the other team into taking penalties. True, he scored 18 goals once, but he’s only had one season – his first – with less then a 150 penalty minutes.

Obviously, Marbury coming to the Celtics means a lot more on paper then Avery coming to the Rangers does.

The Celtics now have somebody to backup Rondo and Marbury is an improvement from Sam Cassell. Boston is hoping that either Garnett’s influence or Marbury’s desire to win a title will temper any problems that may arise, like if Marbury decides he doesn’t want to come off the bench.

Of course, him acting out is unlikely and doesn't give Marbury any credit. At this point in his career, Marbury likely realizes his situation and won't stir up much trouble.

But if Avery comes to New York, he doesn’t add much. A little depth, perhaps, but he doesn’t address their problems: their lack of a scorer, their lack of defence and their power play – it’s ranked 28th in the NHL right now, behind Tampa Bay, the NY Islanders and Phoenix. The Rangers have deeper problems then Avery can fix, but by signing him they at least look like they’re trying.

While he might not bring his baggage to the team – he loves the spotlight, but I’m sure he loves actually playing more – he doesn’t really solve anything and doesn’t make the Rangers any better.

If they can get him, anyway. Unlike Marbury, Avery has yet to clear waivers – and the rumour mill says St. Louis, Minnesota, Edmonton and Pittsburgh are all interested in him too.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Some thoughts on Crosby

Second in an occasional series

There’s this ad in Canada right now for Tim Horton’s that stars Sidney Crosby. He’s riding a bus – presumably with the rest of the Pittsburgh Penguins – out in some kind of countryside. The bus breaks down, Crosby looks out the window and sees a group of kids playing hockey on a pond. And grabbing his stick, skates and gloves (nice to know he keeps those handy), he goes out and plays with them.

It’s a cute ad, and it’s one I like a bit for an entirely unrelated reason. And it’s one of many, many ads that prominently feature one Sidney Patrick Crosby, currently of the Pittsburgh Penguins. His likeness is attached to everything from clothing (including the stuff he wears in that Tims ad) to Gatorade.

The NHL is hitching its wagon to Crosby. He is the face of the league, hockey’s spokesperson and maybe the best talent to come out of Canada in a long, long time. Already the captain of the Penguins at the young age of 21, he’s already tearing into the league; he led the league in scoring in his second season by putting up the Gretzky-like 120 points – before he turned 20.

Fair or unfairly, that is the mark he is gong to have to with. The shadow of Gretzky will always lie on hockey, but especially so on Crosby, as it has on every Canadian player in recent memory, from Eric Lindros to Alexandre Daigle. But for Crosby, it is perhaps the best comparison that could be made.

Like him he wears a high number. Like him he’s got a great scoring touch – but is just as likely to set somebody else up instead. Like him, he started his career on a young team brimming with talent. And like him, Crosby came into the league with a ton of hype.

This has to weigh down on Crosby. He a great talent, yes, but the entire league sometimes seems to pivot on his shoulders. He started immediately after the NHL cancelled an entire season. He is, through no fault of his own, the savior of hockey, the player who will rescue the sport from cable-TV obscurity.

He thusly is prominently featured on NBC’s game of the week. He is in almost innumerable ads. He is the face of hockey. And he must certainly have an incredible amount of pressure put upon him.

Sidney Crosby is cranky. He has been called a whiner. He jawbones at referees, he argues for calls and it has been written that other players think he’s soft. This was most evident earlier this year, when he complained a hit from Alexander Ovechkin was dirty.

So, yes, he does complain. But no other player has the same circumstances he does; the expectations, the pressure, the hype and the weight.

Back to that ad I like so much. I don’t like it for it’s contrived scenario, or for it’s forced punch line. I like it for what it almost unconsciously shows about Crosby. He gets away, but he’s still known. He escapes to a backwoods pond but everybody still recognizes him. He smiles because he has to – but I can almost imagine that sometimes he wishes it could happen, that he could get away from all the lights, from all the hype and the noise and the talk and the expectations…
Get away and simply go back to the game, the one he enjoyed as a kid.

I remember a couple years ago, Crosby was on the tonight show. He brought along the dryer he used to shoot pucks at in the basement of his parents house, back when he was growing up. That was how he used to practice his shot. Not against an older brother, not against a family friend, not against his dad. But by shooting pucks into an open dryer.

A solitary activity, turned by his talent, into him charged with saving a professional sport from obscurity.

It’s a heavy weight for a kid who’s barely old enough to order a beer.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Shahar Peer A Victim Not of Race, But of Politics

Some have called the United Arab Emirates racist for denying a visa to Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer, forcing her to withdraw from the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.

Those doing it are missing the point of the UAE’s actions: it’s not so much racist as it is reactionary, as the country reacted as much of the Arabic world would seem to in recent days, with swift judgment against Israel.

Last month, Israel launched an invasion on the Gaza strip that was extraordinarily unpopular in the Middle East. Already unpopular, their utter destruction of the area has turned opposition even more against them: there have been protests as far away as Canada and the United States.

Peer’s visa denial is just another step in the reaction towards Israel. The UAE is a country without an established relationship to Israel, so their interaction is going to be limited to passive actions like this.

But for those who are calling this a decision based on race are only partially right; yes, she was denied because she has an Israeli background. But she was not denied because of it. It is not like Arthur Ashe being denied the right to play in South Africa. This is politics infringing upon sport, like the US pulling out of the 1980 Olympics – or the Soviet Bloc pulling out of the 1984 Olympics.

Politics aren’t the only thing hurting this tournament. Dubai is a city in free fall. Its unfettered growth has slowed down and is even beginning to sink. People – often westerners – are slinking away from the country in debt, some leaving behind everything: apartments, cars and bills.

There has even been talk of cancelling the tournament. The Toronto Star reported that the chief executive of the women’s tournament, Larry Scott, came close to cancelling the event but relented only because so many players had already arrived in Dubai.

Besides, the freeze between the two countries could be starting to thaw too; a visa was granted to Andy Ram, an Israeli doubles tennis player. For Peer, though, it may already be too late. She’s become a casualty in a game of global politics through no fault of her own.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Sorry, Sean, but we've moved on

I should probably start this by saying I defended Sean Avery, pretty much just to be contrarian. It did net me a link from Deadspin (pretty cool) and at least one comment (meaning this isn't just a complete vanity project). And still, I think Avery is a bizzare kind of player.

He's good, but not great. He's a role player who doesn't play a role, if that makes sense. At his best, when he's most effective, he's a modern Esa Tikkanen. He's a pest, a third-line player who bugs people, draws the other team into penalties. And if he can score a few goals, then good for him. But primarily, he's just a nuisance.

And boy, was he ever one in Dallas.

I read a story from about the time he made his "Sloppy Seconds" dig about how it went over in the dressing room. Even his team thought he had crossed a line. Even his team thought he was too much of a pest. He had played his role almost too well.

Remember what it was like back in early December? Dallas had just paid a ton of money for an agitator, the team was in the cellar and the season was looking lost. Marty Turco wasn't playing well; his record was 7 and 14. Since then, he's basically found his groove: he's now 24 and 24 - a vast improvement in the past six weeks. Obviously, they don't miss Avery.

And nobody else does either, it seems, since Avery has cleared waivers.

Still, there is talk of his coming back to New York, where the team has floundered since he left last spring. But to say that he's the solution is wrong. The Rangers have taken some big losses this year, Jagr and Shanahan the biggest of them. Avery is not the solution to the problems they have.

At best, he brings maybe 15 goals. At worst, his ego flourishes in the media spotlight and he becomes another distraction for a team trying to find itself. Granted, maybe his exile has leveled him down a bit. Or maybe it's a little unfair to say he'll act out prematurely.

But honestly, with his track record, I don't see it not happening. Avery loves the spotlight and he'll never get into it with his talent alone. If he comes back, he will do something to make himself noticed again. One can only hope it isn't as stupid as his last one.

Monday, February 02, 2009

Some thoughts on Ovechkin

First of an irregular look at the NHL

On Janurary 16, 2006, Alexander Ovechkin was on a fast break, steaking down the ice in Phoenix. Taking the puck at mid ice, he tried to get past defenceman Paul Mara. He moved to make a deke, but Mara got his stick in the way; the two tied up as they moved further into Phoenix’s zone, and Ovechkin managed to fall on his back. With one hand on his stick, he managed – somehow – to side the puck towards the net and past a sprawling Brian Boucher.

It was unlike any other goal scored that day, year or era for the NHL; perhaps no other goal has been scored from that position, in that situation ever. It’s a snapshot at why Alexander Ovechkin is perhaps the best single individual player in the NHL.

Unlike some other greats, Ovechkin is exciting to watch. In a league that is over 75 years old, he is still finding new ways to do things – scoring, passing, celebrating, even wearing his equipment.

His skate laces are yellow; he wears a visor that’s sort of tinted – it’s smoked, as they say. He used to wear a mirrored one, but the NHL quickly outlawed it. He doesn’t tuck his jersey in, except on his back left side, where a pad juts up and over it.

These all seem symbolic of Ovechkin. They, like him, immediately stand out from the rest of the league. Since his rookie campaign in 2005-06, no player has made such an immediate impact on the league – not even fellow wunderkind Sidney Crosby. His league-high 65 goals last year were the most scored by a single player in over a decade.

He’s a vibrant player, one who wears his emotions on his sleeve. The way he streaks down, the way he shoots almost seem secondary, sometimes, to what he does afterward, when he jumps into the glass to celebrate.

That’s what he did on April 11, 2008, seconds after scoring his first NHL playoff goal. After forcing a Flyers pass towards their own net with his forechecking, he stole the puck from Ryan Parent, moved to his right while Flyers goalie Martin Biron slid on the ground, trying to stack his pads on Ovechkin – who waited for Biron to make his move, and then shot the puck over him. That goal put the Capitals up 5-4 with just under five minutes to play and capped a three goal comeback.

He responded like he usually does after a goal: he ran on the ice to the boards, jumped into the glass, then into the arms of his teammates, while the whole of the Verizon Centre crowd lost it.

On some players, celebrations like that would seem contrived or forced, but with Ovechkin, they seem natural; the man seems sometimes like a tightly-coiled ball of energy that explodes in front of the net.

In this way, he’s perfect for the new look NHL, a league that almost seems tailor-made for his skill set. Gone is the two-line pass, which gives him time to speed across. Clutching and grabbing are limited, which give him space to operate. Equipment on goaltenders has been limited in size, giving him room to shoot at. Perhaps more then anybody else, Ovechkin represents what’s right with the NHL at this point in time; he’s the speedy and exciting sniper who loves to score goals.

It can be argued that the NHL’s recent gains in attendance and rating are at least in part because of Ovechkin – Washignton’s ratings are up 140% this year – and that he could actually be saving the league from a neutral-zone trap-aided abyss.

In this way, he’s more then just important to the NHL. He’s essential to its success.