Crosby passes off the allegations of “snubbery”
Detroit’s Kris Draper all whine and no cheese
By Terrance Gavan
I grew up in Ottawa, listening to General Grant on CFRA radio’s morning drive show.
He had a little motto that he recited at the end of every show.
“If you win say little … and if you lose say less.”
So. In the spirit of the Good General’s signature sign-off.
“Shut up Kris Draper!”
That would be Kris Draper, the yawning maw of the Stanley Cup losing Detroit Red Wings.
That would be Kris Draper, the social conscience and etiquette convenor of the National Hockey League.
That would be the same mealy-mouthed Draper who roundly criticized Sidney Crosby for snubbing many Wings’ players - including captain Nicklas Lidstrom – by “refusing” to shake hands at the end of Game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals last Friday at the Joe in Detroit.
Dear Kris: Kindly pack up your bags, unpack your clubs, head out onto the links and leave your junk at the door of the Joe. Oh, and shut your cheesy yap.
We don’t want to hear that mealy mouth whining, and that harpy’s scrunch about Sid The Kid.
And by the way Kris.
You lost. So just please shut up.
Draper says he has every right to criticize.
Lidstrom was up front of a handshake line, followed by the alternate captain Draper, congratulating many of the new champions while waiting for Sid the Kid.
“Nick was waiting and waiting, and Crosby didn't come over to shake his hand,” Draper told an Associated Press reporter a couple hours later as he was leaving Joe Louis Arena. “That's ridiculous, especially as their captain, and make sure you write that I said that!”
The AP guy did as he was told, launching a firestorm of rebuke, rebuttal, righteousness, and rectitude.
I don’t recall how many Detroit players’ hands Crosby shook after the game. I do know he did take time to commiserate with Johan Franzen. A second period Franzen hit put Crosby out of the game. If Crosby was going to snub anyone it would have been Franzen.
I’m assuming that Franzen didn’t apologize for the hit. I’m sure Crosby didn’t expect one.
And Sidney Crosby isn't apologizing to Draper or anyone else for unintentionally failing to shake hands with some Detroit players after winning the Cup last Friday evening at the Joe.
Crosby said that he didn't realize the Red Wings were leaving the ice before he joined the handshake line.
After that game seven 2-1 victory Crosby was rushed to several live TV interviews by NHL personnel, hugged some teammates and was handed the Stanley Cup by commissioner Gary Bettman.
And so Crosby was celebrating when Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom, alternate captain Kris Draper and some other key Red Wings players skated off the ice and to their dressing room.
Big deal.
Crosby himself estimates he shook hands with about half the team, including goalie Chris Osgood and coach Mike Babcock, who congratulated him on his leadership ability.
That wasn't enough to satisfy Draper.
Again. Big deal.
Crosby finds any suggestion that he would intentionally avoid shaking hands a little disingenuous.
“It's the easiest thing in the world to shake hands after you win,” said Crosby, in a TSN story.
“I really don't need to talk to anyone from Detroit about it," Crosby said Sunday. "I made the attempt to go shake hands. I've been on that side of things, too, I know it's not easy, waiting around. I just won the Stanley Cup, and I think I have the right to celebrate with my teammates.
"On their side of things, I understand if they don't want to wait around."
At 21, Crosby is the youngest captain to win a Stanley Cup, but he is an avid follower of the game, its storied history and its entrenched traditions. He would never intentionally stoop to snub. Draper on the other hand stomped some sour grapes into a sublime mash with his stilted and mealy allegations.
“I had no intentions of trying to skip guys and not shake their hands,” Crosby said. “I think that was a pretty unreasonable comment. The guys I shook their hands with, they realized I made the attempt. If I could shake half their team's hands, I'm sure the other half wasn't too far behind. I don't know what happened there.”
And that explanation, from Crosby should be enough for Draper.
“I have no regrets,” added Crosby, already at 21, wise beyond Draper’s years. “I've been on both sides of it, and it's not fun being on the losing end. But it doesn't change anything. You still shake hands no matter what.”
“Nobody respects the traditions of hockey more than Sidney Crosby," team vice president Tom McMillan said via AP News. “It was a young team celebrating its first Cup and some of the guys might have been a little late getting into the handshake line.”
And while we’re talking apologies.
Exactly how many toe-to-toe confrontations went on in the course of this very exciting seven game Stanley Cup hockey series?
About time for Brian Burke, Don Cherry, Michael Farber, Gary Bettman, and a host of other pro-fight cognoscente, to apologize to “real” hockey fans in general for continuing to insist that, “fighting is, was, and always will be … part of the game!”
Please, fellas. Do me a solid. Take a look at the viewing totals for a series conducted miles removed from the milieu of the junkyard dog and brawler mindset.
And the next time you wish to spout generic about the efficacy of fighting in the game of hockey. And how much we need it.
Do me a favor and a Draper.
“Shut Up!”
No comments:
Post a Comment