Wednesday, July 05, 2006

So long screwy, see you in St. Louis!

There's a little vintage Bugs Bunny for you, and it's all for John Davidson.

We all know John Davidson, right?

Recently named president of the St. Louis Blues, Former NHL broadcaster, Rangers color-man, ceaseless yammerer of the whatever the NHL or MSG company line happens to be at the time?

Yeah- you know, JD!

John Davidson is "The "Good ol' Charlie Brown" of the NHL, in that millions of people seem to enjoy him despite the fact that he's an obvious blockhead. I wanted to pull my hair out watching him blather on during the first three months of the post-lockout NHL season, talking about how great the officiating was, how fantastic all the penalties were, and how the NHL would "fix itself" as the players would just "simply have to learn to not clutch and grab as much."

And while I realize that the NHL had problems and the rule changes were good in the long run, I never got the feeling that Davidson was telling me what he really felt. Whenever he opened his mouth, I felt like he was reading a press release sent out by the league to "sell the game." Which is a noble ideal, but it's not talking points that are going to sell hockey. It's passion, and sorry, but JD never had it.

At any rate, As thrilled as I am to not have to listen to him on television this year, I feel bad for Blues fans, as in the three days since he's been back, he's been hard at work re-assembling the top line of the disastrous 2006 USA Olympic Hockey team.

Tkachuk he's stuck with, but Doug Weight and Bill Guerin?

Really, JD?

I mean, sure- they have been good in the past, but Weight is old, injured and has a history of choking in the clutch. Guerin is also getting old, and yeah, I loved the guy to death when he was on the Bruins, but the cold fact of that situation is, he scored a lot of goals when Joe Thornton was passing him the puck then scored considerably less goals when Mike Modano was doing it. Not to be a dick about it, but I don't see that trend turning around for him with Dallas Drake. I still love Guerin, and wish he had stayed with the Bruins, been the captain of the team, and let Joe be Joe. But he took the money, went to Dallas, and got hurt when, as my brother likes to say, he put on a pair of baggy shorts and his wallet swung around and hit him in the thigh.

So now Davidson is taking members of Team USA, but not the 1980 squad,who made us believe in miracles, but the 2006 one, who made us doubt even modest expectations. In my opinion, Davidson is trying the same technique with Tkachuk and the Blues that worked successfully with Jagr and the Rangers last year. Take an ass-awful team with a fat, lazy superstar, surround him with his countrymen, and watch the chemistry bloom! Of course, Jagr won a gold medal with the Czech team, and when he tries, is one of the best players in the world. The only thing these oldtimers from Team USA have successfully defeated has been the furniture in a hotel room of the Olympic village.

It's just a matter of time before this idiot signs Brian Leetch.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

First off, I hope you were in a car accident and that is why your blog is dead. Just in case it is because you are a waterhead and it takes you a year to write a blog, here is my response:

At least check your facts before posting. JD was a heart and soul player, and is a passionate supporter of the NHL. Doug Weight, who you say chokes in clutch situations, posted 5 goals 8 assists for 13 points in 7 games in the 2002-2003 playoffs. Career he has 71 points in 92 playoff games. We are all allowed to have an opinion, unfortunately for you yours sucks.