Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby on the ice after Washington Captial's David Steckel's "accidental" hit to the head during the 2011 Winter Classic. Crosby took another hit to the head four days later against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Crosby hasn't seen the ice since Jan. 5 due to concussion symptoms.
Despite the efforts from Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemeiux and others, the NHL brain trust has decided against a ban on blows to the head all together. They instead decided place an emphasis on allowing the referee's determine if a hit was flagrant or not to call the penalties and leave the disciplining up to the league. It was a wise decision by the league to do so for a couple of reasons. One, blows to the head are apart of the game and truly can't be eliminated. This was the problem football, of all sports, had a hard time determining when the NFL "changed" the rules on hits to the head in mid-season. It's part of the game-period, end of story. Two, hockey is too fast a sport; to ask these players to be more concerned about Sidney Crosby bending over and taking a breather rather than making a play for his team is irresponsible. I don't care if your on the ice, a football field or walking through downtown traffic, I was always told to keep your head on a swivel.
More interesting to me is how Sidney Crosby will be as a player if and when he comes back. I say "if" because once someone takes a hit, or a series of hits as he took, some people no longer have the heart or the courage to put themselves back into the position to have it happen again. I truly believe that the Penguins' inner- circle are aware of this and ultimately have debated this. How could you not? Sidney saw his "first" ice time in 2 and half months yesterday. He spent a whopping 10 minutes on the ice working out. He gave interviews afterward, his eyes looked clear and he spoke well, but never directly answered reporters questions about his return. In my opinion he's done for the season. I don't think he'll be back before the playoffs and if he did get healthy enough to play during the playoffs, Penguins' management would be wise to keep him out due to the way playoff hockey is played- physical and brutal. I hope I'm wrong. The gritty and competitive play this team has demonstrated during Crosby's absence automatically makes this team relevant again by adding him back to the lineup. The Penguins become a serious contender if the old Sidney Crosby shows up. But as it stands now, I see a first round win in seven games. I don't see this team going any further than that without Crosby.
Tuesday Headlines
*NFL lockout injunction set for April 6th- Ah progress! Will the owners and the NFLPA cozy up again before the next contract is up. The way this is handled will define NFL owners and NFLPA's relationship for generations to come. Fight nice boys!
*Word is that the 2012 Olympic countdown clock in London stopped after only 17 hours. Wow, I'll take that as an omen. Those Olympic games are going to be very tense.
*Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel apologizes to Buckeyes fans during a packed luncheon at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. I'm sure he took a lot of tough questions there. In a related note- Columbus attorney, who sent Tressel the e-mails informing him of his players actions, is receiving death threats. How sick are we! As petty as it is, rather than teach these kids responsibility, the Buckeye faithful would rather find fault in someone who did the right thing- Now that's bass ackwards!
Finally, please play along and vote your answers to the poll questions off to the top right of the page. I'll change them every couple days and even take requests from readers. I'll deliver you all the results; it's good stuff! ~Thanks
Finally, please play along and vote your answers to the poll questions off to the top right of the page. I'll change them every couple days and even take requests from readers. I'll deliver you all the results; it's good stuff! ~Thanks
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