Dude, shut up award winner - Clarke

I *try* not to curse on this blog, but I really cant help it in this instance. Bob Clarke is a fucking goon moron. Worse, he is actually so stupid that he doesnt realize how much he is hurting the NHL when he makes these stupid comments. I couldnt decide if I wanted to post on this or not, simply because I didnt want to give this dipshit the time of day. But I'm pissed enough that I need to rant. So here are his incoherent mumblings from taking too many hits to the head:

"When he (Steve Downie) went after [Jason] Blake, I loved it," Clarke told The Sports Network of Canada.

I'm gonna assume that everyone is up to date on the Downie -Blake encounter (if not, read this). Clarke doesnt shut his trap there:

"Blake was a guy who had no problem going out and saying [Downie] should be suspended for life or suspended for the year," Clarke said. "When you say something that stupid, why shouldn't this kid go after him for it?

"The kid did what every hockey player should do. If a player like Blake who's been around as long as he has wants to criticize a player, then he has to go on the ice with him and suffer the consequences."

I am going to assume again that if you are reading Cap Addiction, you are familiar with the Downie - McAmmond incident (if not, read this).

What a shit head. Um, Jason Blake wasnt the only person to come down on Downie for what he did to McAmmond, half the NHL commented on it. Hell, I commented on it. It was a dangerous, illegal, potentially life/career threatening hit during an exhibition game. Is Downie going to track us all down and exact his revenge? Should we expect that he is going to have a go at every player who said something about his reckless hit on McAmmond? In that case, several veteran NHL'ers are on notice. And most likely, someone is going to get hurt. And a note to Downie -- NHL players watch out for each other. If this is the type of career he is planning to have, he isnt going to last very long or have many allies in the lockeroom.

Not to mention, that the entire argument for keeping fighting in the NHL is that it has to do with self policing/respect, not personal revenge. Bob Clarke just publicly screwed over that argument -- and this from a man who hedged his entire career on fighting in the NHL.

Even better, lets teach young players (and tell young people in general) that the way to deal with something is to go hurt people on the ice. I am so happy that Steve Downie is receiving that message. I am sure that is going to make him a better hockey player and a better person.

Congratulations Bob Clarke, you idiot - you win our "Dude, shut up" award for the week. Hell, we'll give you whole month.

Dude, Shut Up!

Congratulations to Steve Eminger! He is Capital Addiction's "Dude, shut up" award winner for the week of November 11th.

How did Steve get to be our lucky winner? Lets review:

Steve decides to unleash his "frustration" by giving a few choice quotes to Tarik El-Bashir, Caps beat writer for the WaPo. These include -

"It's past frustrating," he said following yesterday's practice at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. "It's just a matter of them putting me in the lineup, and putting me in there for more than one game, or moving me to somewhere I'm going to play. Because clearly I'm not in their plans."

and then

"There should be room for guys on this defense to come in and out of the lineup," he said. "It's not Anaheim where there's Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer and Francois Beauchemin, who are complete locks to play. It's a situation where it's a young team and there's going to be a lot of mistakes. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I thought I would have been given more of a chance."

So Steve is frustrated and unhappy. Yup, we all get it.

But you know what else I get? That Steve Eminger has had THREE seasons to prove himself. Was he rushed up from the minors? Sure. But so were defensemen Mike Green and Jeff Schultz. And Mike Green and Jeff Schultz are learning from the mistakes that they made in their rookie seasons and have improved considerably. While they are still working on their games, every time I see them skate, I see an evolved player from last year. That makes it really hard for me to have a lot of sympathy for a guy who has had THREE seasons to define himself for the Capitals. Steve Eminger is still really young, and I think he has a future in the NHL ahead of him, but I am unclear on how such a public temper tantrum is helping him.

And to be fair, I asked myself last night what Steve Eminger was trying to achieve. Will giving this interview help him get playing time? I dont think so. Will it put him in the good graces of his coach or GM? Definitely not. Will it be helpful in a lockerroom that is already trying to battle through losses? No, and in fact it is pretty selfishly timed. Will it help him get traded? In his interview, he claims that he is not ready to be traded. So all this article ends up being is an illtimed tantrum. Not to mention that GMGM has a good point in Tarik's article: part of building a good team is having solid depth players. The Caps learned this the hard way last season when they were decimated by injuries, and had no one to turn to.

So Steve Eminger, we have one thing to say to you: Dude, shut up.

NOTE:Hair Gel, you should be very proud of yourself. This week, you had to compete with Sean Avery, Darcy Tucker, and Maxim Kondratiev in order to win.

Dude, shut up

Canuck's D-man, Willie Mitchell, is upset with Coach Alain Vigneault for criticizing him to the media.

Yawn.

When a team is struggling (like the Canucks), certain types of Coaches (Like Alain Vigneault) criticize them in the media to motivate them (in fact, this is so common and obvious, I feel dumb even writing this sentence. Apparently Willie Mitchell has no similar feelings). It happens all the time - just ask John Tortorella or Mike Keenan. Its part of every single professional sport. So why oh why, is Willie Mitchell talking to the press about it? Players never win that battle, and even if the Coach is eventually fired, you look like another whiny athlete who cant take the heat, but can take millions in payroll.

But the best part is, Mitchell acknowledges that this is just Vingault's way of pushing his players.

"If people are unhappy with things, (as a) player you'd like to have that addressed," he said. "You don't like to hear about it through the media most of the time. That's his way of motivating I guess.

So if you know this is just a device your Coach is using to motivate you, why the hell are you picking a fight with him in the press? Can that really help the atmosphere in your locker room, when your team is already struggling and the press is beating on you?

Willie Mitchell, Cap Addiction staff has one thing to say to you: Dude, shut up.