Avery = Giant Douche

Did you know that you get 164 hits for Googling the search string "Sean Avery is a douche"? The things you learn.

I'm all for intensity. I'm all for ingenuity. But there's this line - and moderately intelligent/sane people seem to be able to see it - between being passionate and innovative, and being an unsportsmanlike jackass.

There's a reason we've never seen anyone else screen the goalie by facing them and waving their stick in their face. It's dumb. It's also incredibly unsafe. Where do shots typically come from on the PP? Oh yeah, the point. At approximately what, 70-85mph (I'm assuming they can't shoot quite as fast in game time situations as the optimal conditions produced in skills competitions). Depending on where you get hit by the puck you cannot see coming (ankles, SPINE) you could really do some damage. There's also the whole high stick part of the deal (though I think the play would be equally ridiculous with Avery dancing in front of Brodeur with his stick on the ice). It's a hockey stick...not a pitchfork.

Honestly, I'm less concerned about Avery injuring himself, or about high sticking, as I am about the fact that it's textbook unsportsmanlike conduct. There are just things you...don't do. Things that end up on the news as "*shakes head* And here's the latest from the NHL...isn't this ridiculous?" tend to be unsportsmanlike. I'm not surprised, nor am I against the fact that the league has amended the unsportsmanlike conduct rule to assert that this type of play is not acceptable.

Again, I think he looked like an absolute idiot doing what he did, but it was within the rules as they were written, and he wasn't penalized for it. The league has reacted, and ensured it doesn't happen again. Good on them.

In other news - my Capitals jersey is now 1-2. I'm not sure if that means I shouldn't wear it for game four, or give it a chance to get back up to .500.