Sean Avery: We Were Wrong, We're Sorry (Plaschke)

[Tuggy]

So over/under on how long BG keeps his job after the CBA is signed?

 

[Hasbro]

Oh please.. thats because all shots are quality shots on net.. right?

And batters never put one hoppers to first?

How hard can baseball be if Curt Schilling gets lauded as a hero for playing with a bleeding foot? We expect hockey players with broken feet to play.

I think same basic action is all you have there.... aside from swining a stick at an object, that's where the similarities end. That pass isn't coming at 95 miles an hour and the person who is passing it to you isn't trying to make you miss, by changing speeds and location, with the added difficulty of wondering if that pitcher is going to "miss" inside.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying hockey is easy by any stretch of the imagination, but saying that hitting a baseball is not one of, if not THE hardest things to do in sports is just crazy.

Goaltenders have to guess on their 95 mile an hour oncomming target, but they aren't always hitting with their stick.

 

[barnburner]

I agree...but it's more than just Avery being a dumbass that annoys me about stuff like this. Sure, the players have every right to be mad at Goodenow and I don't begrudge them that...but it was by their own goddamn decision that they were misled and kept in the dark. The vast majority of players decided not to take an active interest in something that greatly affected their future livelyhood, and now they're crying about it? Give me a break. They remained ignorant to the true situation by choice, and all Goodenow did was tell them what they wanted to hear, and honestly, did what they wanted him to do. I see all these players crying now and saying "oh we wasted a year, I'm so mad at Goodenow, if we were going to give in to a cap we just should have done it at the beginning so we didn't miss a year". alright, so honestly what do you think would have happened if Goodenow came to the players last September and said "alright we have a deal if you guys will accept a cap and basically give in to all the NHLs demands". Do you really think the players all would have jumped on board and said "great! let's play hockey!" hell no, they would have balked at the idea and the lockout would have continued. It's crap for them to say after the fact, "we might as well have done this from the beginning" because it never would have flown that early in the lockout. I'm pretty damn sure all these players complaining now would have voted against this CBA if it was presented to them back in September.

Goodenow may have screwed up but ultimatley he did so because the players let him and honestly, the players wanted him to start down the road he did...now they say it was a mistake but at the time you can be damn sure they had no intention of playing under a cap

I agree. The players share the blame with Goodenow. They gave him blind loyalty, and ignored the facts staring them in the face.
Goodenow used every tactic in his book to avoid negotiating on any specific issue until pressured to do so from within the nhlpa. He should have been telling his membership the obvious - that some form of cost certainty was unavoidable, and worked to get them the best deal possible within that framework in a time frame that would have avoided a years disaster for them.

 

[Icey]

It's about damn time the fans get a formal apology! We're the victims. NOBODY else.

Nobody else? How about all the people who worked for the teams that lost their jobs because of the lockout. How about all the businesses surrounding the arenas who watched their business dwindle to practically nothing. How about all the people who relied on those $5 hour jobs working the concession stands on game nights. How about the media people who no longer had jobs. How about the refs that couldn't work because there were no games being played. How about the Zamboni driver and the parking lot attendants.

You lost a season of watching hockey, but chances are it cost you NOTHING in $$$$, actually I could almost 100% say you saved yourself money by not having a season last year. You may feel you were robbed of season, shortchanged, ripped off, use any adjective you want, but you certainly are not those I would classify as a VICTIM.

 

[Face Wash]

Ah, Bill Plaschke.

Inable to make multi-sentence paragraphs.

Let alone objectively discuss a player.

At least TJ Simers is funny from time to time.

Why Avery went to Plaschke with this boggles the mind.

Because Avery knows if he calls Simers, he'd be the first person to do it in about 5 years. And he might walk away from the conversation with a silly little nickname (just ask All Star 2ndbaseman Jeff "Mr. Chuckles" Kent).

I can see it now... Simers ends his conversation with Sean Avery going, "...uh huh, I'll transcribe you word for word ....What Sean... Of course I won't take anything you just said out of context...would I do a thing like that? (SUCKER!!!) have a good day.... (CLICK) .....Tiger Junior!!!

Only an idiot would actually seek out an interview with Simers. Why Avery didn't call Helene Elliott is beyond me.

 

[Jarqui]

Goodenow may have screwed up but ultimatley he did so because the players let him and honestly, the players wanted him to start down the road he did...now they say it was a mistake but at the time you can be damn sure they had no intention of playing under a cap

I agree. The players have to take some responsibility to examine these issues for themselves to the point of satisfying themselves that they stance they take would be the "correct" path to take. From the quotes of the players on the lockout as it unfolded, the majority of them didn't seem to have a good handle on the issues.

As for the author of this article, I don't think it really matters. There are many quotes in that article that stand on their own regardless of who incorporates them into an article.

 

[shakes]

And batters never put one hoppers to first?

This makes no sense. Do you know how batting averages work?

How hard can baseball be if Curt Schilling gets lauded as a hero for playing with a bleeding foot? We expect hockey players with broken feet to play.

It was a torn tendon in his ankle... He either has to push off or land on that ankle, throwing a 90+ hour baseball trying to get major league hitters out.

Goaltenders have to guess on their 95 mile an hour oncomming target, but they aren't always hitting with their stick.

I guess thats why they are reducing equipment sizes then.

 

[Hasbro]

This makes no sense. Do you know how batting averages work?



It was a torn tendon in his ankle... He either has to push off or land on that ankle, throwing a 90+ hour baseball trying to get major league hitters out.



I guess thats why they are reducing equipment sizes then.

Understand where I'm coming from, I hate the undeserved reverence the sports press treats baseball with. At the same time, we have to put up with "Who knew hockey was gone comments" Yeah baseball players are athletes, but they do one thing at a time. The other three major sports are alot more taxing and much harder.

 

[Takeo]

Nobody else? How about all the people who worked for the teams that lost their jobs because of the lockout. How about all the businesses surrounding the arenas who watched their business dwindle to practically nothing. How about all the people who relied on those $5 hour jobs working the concession stands on game nights. How about the media people who no longer had jobs. How about the refs that couldn't work because there were no games being played. How about the Zamboni driver and the parking lot attendants.

You lost a season of watching hockey, but chances are it cost you NOTHING in $$$$, actually I could almost 100% say you saved yourself money by not having a season last year. You may feel you were robbed of season, shortchanged, ripped off, use any adjective you want, but you certainly are not those I would classify as a VICTIM.

Yes, you're right. I was thinking the same things but meant fans as opposed to bratty players and inept owners. Then again, if the fans didn't shell out their money to attend games and purchase merchandise, then none of these jobs would be needed in the first place because franchises wouldn't be viable for owners. The league rests squarely on the shoulders of the fanbase and very few of these talking heads are acknowledging it.

 

[Larionov]

The funny part is that Goodenow probably remains fully convinced that the owners would have broken after another half a season. Get ready for a, "If they had only listened to me, the fools", style of interview or book from him after he walks the plank.

 

[Face Wash]

Wow... poor hockey players... First Alan Eagleson, now this...

My thinking is...Hire new leadership every 4 or 5 years and preferably a recently retired player who would have the player's interests at heart (and hopefully the fans, too)

Mike Gartner would be a good start.

 

[shakes]

Understand where I'm coming from, I hate the undeserved reverence the sports press treats baseball with. At the same time, we have to put up with "Who knew hockey was gone comments" Yeah baseball players are athletes, but they do one thing at a time. The other three major sports are alot more taxing and much harder.

That's all well and good, but your comment was about hitting a baseball which many consider the single hardest thing to do in sports. Whether, you consider the rest of the game less taxing, is not the point.

 

[Hasbro]

That's all well and good, but your comment was about hitting a baseball which many consider the single hardest thing to do in sports. Whether, you consider the rest of the game less taxing, is not the point.

When baseball players skate full speed for 15 minutes while having a marshmellow man in the way of their hit and the first baseman trying to decapitate him with his own bat then it will be the hardest thing in sports.

 

[Brewleaguer]

Interesting article that features remarks such as "Bob brainwashed the players" and "The cap will be at $38 million"... Avery's now sounding off an apology to the fans, along with anger at a lost season.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/hocke...012711.column?page=1&coll=la-headlines-sports

That’s Mr. Penalty Box Man for ya.

 

[pens66]

Avery is an attention whore. I would not take anything this punk says seriously. His circus antics on the ice speak for themselves.

Are you really Scotty Bowman? I seriously doubt that you are.

 

[Brewleaguer]

Hmm, I wonder if you would have said that if Avery was still a Red Wing.....

Why do you think they moved him out, the NHL should install revolving penalty box doors for Sean.
I'm a Wings fan and glad he is gone.

 

[shveik]

I just found some new respect for Avery. I don't like his style on the ice but having the balls to admit that PA was wrong and apologizing to fans for wasting the season takes guts.

Regardless of what you think of the (ex)lockout, I would not say the man has guts just because he is blaming somebody else on top of his lungs.

 

[ScottyBowman]

Hmm, I wonder if you would have said that if Avery was still a Red Wing.....

Don't worry, I hated him in Detroit too. He's nothing but a punk.

 

[DBL]

That's all well and good, but your comment was about hitting a baseball which many consider the single hardest thing to do in sports. Whether, you consider the rest of the game less taxing, is not the point.

I'd have to say your right, but I figure it's almost as hard for a hockey player to get a good quailty shot on net then it is to hit a baseball. The team defence has been top notch in this sport recently, good quailty shots are rare, I'd say almost as rare as a good pitch to hit, don't you think?

 

[Enoch]

That's all well and good, but your comment was about hitting a baseball which many consider the single hardest thing to do in sports. Whether, you consider the rest of the game less taxing, is not the point.

It is not hard to hit the baseball, it is hard to get a BASE hit. A ton of people, not even proffesional baseball players can foul of a ball, or send a dribbler into the infield. There is a difference between hitting the ball and getting a hit. Just like it isn't hard to shoot a hockey puck, but it is infinitely harder to score. In that your comparison doesn't matchup. Baseball hits have no equivalent in hockey, just like a goal in hockey doesn't really match up in baseball other than a HR, but even then.........they are different.

 

[norrisnick]

That's all well and good, but your comment was about hitting a baseball which many consider the single hardest thing to do in sports. Whether, you consider the rest of the game less taxing, is not the point.

Bah, redirecting a 95+ slapper (a puck is smaller than a baseball) with a hockey stick (smaller than a bat) while standing with skates on ice (no digging into the dirt with your cleats) with Chris Pronger crosschecking you in the small of the back and/or kidneys and past a goaltender is harder than hitting a baseball. Not to mention you'd better be in a tad bit better shape than Cecil Fielder to be able to get on and off the ice.

 

[shakes]

I'd have to say your right, but I figure it's almost as hard for a hockey player to get a good quailty shot on net then it is to hit a baseball. The team defence has been top notch in this sport recently, good quailty shots are rare, I'd say almost as rare as a good pitch to hit, don't you think?

What I'm talking about here is the individual act itself. Shooting on a goalie is, in itself, not all that difficult, hitting a thrown ball is. A pitcher does not want to give a batter a good pitch to hit if he doesn't have to, which is why I'm saying hitting is so difficult. It's very hard to explain if someone hasnt stood in a batter's box and faced a quality pitcher.

 

[shakes]

Bah, redirecting a 95+ slapper (a puck is smaller than a baseball) with a hockey stick (smaller than a bat) while standing with skates on ice (no digging into the dirt with your cleats) with Chris Pronger crosschecking you in the small of the back and/or kidneys and past a goaltender is harder than hitting a baseball. Not to mention you'd better be in a tad bit better shape than Cecil Fielder to be able to get on and off the ice.

So being able to touch something going 95 miles an hour is harder than hitting a thrown ball with enough force to get it out of the infield eh? Right... I should know better than to discuss baseball on a hockey board.

 

[transplant99]

What I'm talking about here is the individual act itself. Shooting on a goalie is, in itself, not all that difficult, hitting a thrown ball is. A pitcher does not want to give a batter a good pitch to hit if he doesn't have to, which is why I'm saying hitting is so difficult. It's very hard to explain if someone hasnt stood in a batter's box and faced a quality pitcher.

Sorry...hitting abaseball is no where near as hard as so many claim.

Hitting it safely? Thats a different story.

To say that a player only hits a baseball 30% of the time and is considered a good hitter is so flat out wrong. That player likely hits the ball 90% of the time, just not to spots where the ball clears a fence or touches the ground.

Ground outs....the hitter hit the ball.

Fly outs... the hitter hit the ball.

Pop up and foul out?.....the hitter hits the ball.

The ONLY time you can claim that a hitter doesnt hit the ball is on a strike out. That DOESNT happen 70% of the time.

Getting a bat on a ball happens in about 95% of the AB's in any given game. Doesnt matter if its a 95MPH fastball or a Tim Wakefield knuckler.

Saying that its hard to hit a baseball is a misnomer...hitting the ball is easy. getting it in play is the hard part.

 

[Dr Love]

Because Avery knows if he calls Simers, he'd be the first person to do it in about 5 years. And he might walk away from the conversation with a silly little nickname (just ask All Star 2ndbaseman Jeff "Mr. Chuckles" Kent).

I can see it now... Simers ends his conversation with Sean Avery going, "...uh huh, I'll transcribe you word for word ....What Sean... Of course I won't take anything you just said out of context...would I do a thing like that? (SUCKER!!!) have a good day.... (CLICK) .....Tiger Junior!!!

Only an idiot would actually seek out an interview with Simers. Why Avery didn't call Helene Elliott is beyond me.

Nowhere did I advocate that he should have gone to Simers.