Recent sports headlines and comments by people have irritated me so much the last few days, that the only thing I feel appropriate to do is write about it. Of course I am referring to Alex Kovalev. Everyone is taking stabs at him because of the Ottawa Senators inability to win.
OTTAWA SENATORS
The Ottawa Senators are headed nowhere fast, and according to many, it is Alex Kovalev's fault. The TEAM has trouble scoring, goaltending is iffy at best but he's to blame. Daniel Alfredsson hasn't had a point in 10 games,but it's all Kovy's fault. Need I remind everyone that ever since Cory Clouston became the head coach for the Senators, the team seems like an accident waiting to happen. With many friends on the team and a shiny new contract, Dany Heatley bolted. He wanted nothing to do with the Senators. I guess this is Kovalev's fault too.
MIKE MILBURY
I don't even know where to start with Mike Milbury and CBC. During Saturday's HNIC broadcast Milbury, once again, referred to Alex Kovalev as a DOG, saying specifically "roll over...and bark. He's a lazy dog!" All this on national television. Do you find that acceptable? Do you want your children listening to the ramblings of a disgruntled individual (I won't start on Don Cherry now, that's a topic for another day)? What if your son's favourite player is Alex Kovalev, what would you say to him? This is completely unacceptable.
Milbury has used words like Dog and "euro-trash" a bit too much but it appears to be accepted by broadcasters. I guess it's ok to be prejudiced on national television. We all know exactly how well Milbury sees talent based on his track record as a GM.Traded away Zdena Chara, Bryan Berard,Bryan McCabe & Roberto Luongo just to name a few, because he didn't think they were good. This is the guy who drafted Rick DiPietro first overall, before Heatley and Marian Gaborik, and then signed him to a 15 year contract. I haven't even mentioned Alexei Yashin. This guy has the nerve to be on TV and repeatedly criticize a player who has played 1259 games and has 1004 points in the NHL? Classy, very classy.
TWITTER
Words used on twitter regarding Kovalev include lazy, doesn't care, doesn't try....umm yeah, because YOU know everything. When he had possession of the puck, the game paused, literally. The opposing players stopped in their tracks because they had no idea what he was going to do. I call that RESPECT. When the puck couldn't be taken off him and he made a play or scored..I call that SKILL. When he scored through a hole no bigger than the size of the puck, I call that TALENT. As a HAB, Kovalev played 314 games and had 264 points. In 33 play-off games, he had 31 points, but he's not a good player.
I've noticed that a lot of people in Montreal found it necessary to either be a Kovalev OR a Saku Koivu fan.The people criticizing Kovalev are the ones that were supporting Koivu. I for one, was a fan of both. Each player had their own style, so there was no need to choose one over the other. I hate to remind everyone that Kovalev was the one chosen by the organization. Bob Gainey offered a contract extension to him, only (and Komisarek, but he doesn't count), so you ask yourself why would he do that if Kovalev was such a bad player and apparently a problem in the lockerroom. Just ask yourselves that.
Montreal never had a more exciting player on the ice since Stephan Richer and Guy Lafleur, before that.
These recent events have made me realize that there are a lot of people out there who do have a problem with European players, like Milbury and Don Cherry, and I personally, feel sorry for them.In this new day and age, I thought prejudice didn't exist anymore, I guess I'm naive.
