Credit Pierre LeBrun, the hockey reporter being held hostage by ESPN, for a quick and precise postmortem on the fall of the flying Russian men's hockey team.
LeBrun, who seems to be relegated to ESPN's website while the worldwide leader in televised sports gives you Barry Melrose for hockey analysis, tells of a split on the Russian squad. Are you an NHLer or a KHLer. In a digital world, it's either yes or no, 1 or 0. This just in. It's zero medals for the Russian men's hockey squad this year.
Canada took Russia out of the game with a hard forecheck, solid team play and an eye for detail. You try to jack me near the end of the game, and I'll jack you back. Alexander Semin, meet Dan Boyle.
Canada's victory in hockey, apparently by coincidence, also took Vancouver off the must-see list of President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia. I say coincidence, but the CBC sees things in a slightly different matter. So see, hockey does matter. But you knew that if you are frequenting the Lounge, right?
Now back to LeBrun, who says the Alexander Ovechkin we have come to know in the NHL was not the OV8 reporters got to work with, or against, in Vancouver. Will Ovechkin's attitude improve when he is back with the Washington Capitals? I say yes, and look out if he should see Mike Milbury coming down the hallway.
Milbury's slur on the Russians was just the right tone for a man who confidently maintained an outhouse of a franchise in the New York Islanders. He flushed money and prospects, all the time saying there was a plan. His plan. His plan? To stay employed for a while. Islanders? TSN? CBC? NBC? Sure. He's not picky.
Congrats, Mike. Somehow, you've remained employed. Now shut up.
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