If you are a mashochist, (otherwise known as a Redskin fans. Believe me I know) and needed even more pain after last night's 7-3 Russian loss to Canada that also saw Dan Boyle blatantly try to injure Alexander Semin, well lucky you, there always is Mike Milbury. If you absolutely need a nuisance, "Mad Mike" as always is your guy. Last night, he once again delivered.
"I was shocked that it was this one-sided. And I was really disappointed that these guys came with their euro-trash game. It was just. No heart, no guts, no nothing there to back it up. I mean Alex Ovechkin was an average player tonight. I know they're going to bounce back, but to be that poor and to be that intimidated physically by the Canadians, that really shocked me." Milbury comments after the game last night. Thanks to Huffington Post for the transcript.
It was a comment that at the time so shocked Jeremy Roenick, Milbury's Olympic Hockey co-host, that he ingeniously came up saying the first thing that came to his mind, "Wow!" Deep Jeremy, deep.
It also was a comment that judging from the reaction last night on twitter, angered many Caps fans and Europeans alike. Way to bring the people together Mike! Even if it's to have them let you know they hate you.
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Compare if you will the backgrounds, cultural values, music and most importantly, choice of alcohol, and the landscape of hockey compared to the old South is nothing at all alike. Still, one need look no further than Milbury, and the most important hockey commentator in Canada, Don Cherry, to know that a preference for "good ol boys," still exist in some quarters of our sports.
Dukes of Hazard it ain't, but when Don Cherry complained that Alexander Ovechkin was jumping up and down like a "goofy soccer guys" and in the
same segment lectures kids to behave the "Canadian way" and not act like those "soccer guys" with a clip of Sidney Crosby saying he doesn't like Ovechkin's act, the idea is clearly established. Canadian is proper, stoic and correct, European is not. When something is wrong in hockey, like guys wearing visors, Cherry will tell you it is the Europeans who are doing it.
And that's the thing. When I watch Cherry, I never get the sense that he doesn't have a clue. I never get the sense that in a room full of great hockey minds he still wouldn't be one of the smartest people in the room. AHL or not, this man has won coach of the year and that counts for something.
In a room of great hockey minds, would Milbury be one of the great hockey minds? Ha, don't make me laugh! Milbury would be the guy delivering them coffee if he was lucky.
Milbury's record as Islanders GM from 1995-2006, amazing only for how it somehow lasted for that many years, ended with Milbury's Isles going an abysmal 301-423-88 during the regular season. Only two teams from that time ending the year with more wins then losses.
Sure the Isles were facing some crazy times in terms of ownership, but it hardly helped that "Mike the genius" was trading future superstars like Robert Luongo, Olli Jokinen for NHL journeyman Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha. Showing his acute hockey acumen again, Milbury also traded guys who could still bring it: Mariusz Czerkawski, Chris Osgood and Felix Potvin for guys who never had it or would get it: Bill Muckalt, Justin Papineau and Aaron Asham.
And while I wasn't offended by Milbury's use of "Euro trash" last night, with us he has a history and has repeatedly shown to be nothing but an asanine, attention seeking fool.
From calling the team
"the Crapitals,"
getting into fights with bloggers, rushing to label Sidney Crosby, "Ovechkin's daddy" and not commenting the other way after that game ended with an Ovechkin hat-trick, Milbury shows his cards to all of us. His bluff of being a fair purveyor of the game? Not very good, and unlike Cherry he isn't smart enough, or entertaining enough to pull it off.
Clearly though, I think Milbury wants to be for American audiences what Cherry is to Canadian hockey audiences. No doubt Milbury hopes that he can be controversial while maybe once in a blue moon making enough sense to be the name to turn to. It isn't working though, and some of the best commentary on this comes shockingly enough from political website Huffington Post who I mentioned earlier.
The issue to me is not that Mike Milbury called the Russian game Eurotrash. Milbury's been making stupid smarmy comments his entire career from player, to coach, to GM, and finally in the studio seat.
The issue is that blatant attempt to manufacture some controversy and create that Don Cherry-like figure for the US television. B.D. Gallof of Huffington Post.
Later Gallof wrote this:
Mike Milbury's crass attempt to emulate Cherry is even more misguided. For all Cherry's negatives, there is a passion, intelligence, curmudgeonness, and a sly wink, even. He also has a straight man foil to usually play off of, tempering what sometimes is overwrought, xenophobic or just poor judgment.
Milbury has been trying to hit that "edge" for a while now, focused on some sort of outrage-meter but he does not have the guile, brains or charisma to pull it off. Nor does he have the network smarts around him to offset blunders.
I could not agree more.
For more info: I highly recommend the full
Huffington Post article on why Milbury is a fool.
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