The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

I took the time to get up to watch the Gold medal hockey final today (well, sort of...9:30am to catch the third period). I was rooting for Sweden, mostly because I wanted to see Daniel Alfredsson with a gold medal around his neck. Success hasn't come too often for Alfie, and maybe this experience will help for the Sens' playoff run this spring.

Anyway, although the worst result came out for the NHL (The United States and Canada both early exits in the tournament), there is a lot of moaning from the GMs of the league that they no longer want their players to compete in the Olympics. They look at Hasek who pulled his groin (btw, it's his groin that's injured, calling it an "adductor" injury is just smoke & mirrors), complain some more that they're the ones that pay their salaries and they owe more to their NHL clubs than their home countries.

Isn't it nice how everything revolves around the almighty dollar?

None of these GMs really care about the long-term effects of doing things like pulling their players out of the Olympics. A chance to have their players shine in front of the world. A chance to show how great the game is and get the casual viewers to pay attention to what the pros do, and maybe, have them tune in to an NHL game and see what the fuss is all about. Injuries can happen anywhere, not just on the ice. Hasek hurt himself making a routine save, something that would have happened in his next NHL game. The Canadiens' Jose Theodore slipped and fell on the ice IN HIS DRIVEWAY while putting salt on it during the Olympic break. He's out 6-8 weeks. He wasn't near a hockey rink when that happened.

Or how about giving something to the NHL fans who don't have much to cheer about this year?

Right now, if you're a St Louis Blues or Pittsburgh Penguins fan, you want this season over and done with. No chance at the playoffs, much less a Stanley Cup. So, at least for a couple of weeks, you can cheer your home country and look forward to them having a shot at the gold medal.

The league made good PR announcing its intention to support the players heading to the Olympics to represent their countries. Unfortunately, their comments up to and during the Olympics makes me feel they didn't follow through. 2010 might be the last time in a while we'll see the pros participate.

Side note: Some have suggested pros have no business participating in the Olympics. The look at the millions of dollars in salaries the players make and decree we should allow the amateurs, the true intended participants of the Olympics, represent their countries. In my view, in every event competed at the Olympics, you are seeing the absolute finest the world has to offer. They are called amateurs ONLY because an event like bobsledding or speed skating have no professional leagues where the athletes can make a living out of it. I want to see the best. If it just so happens hockey players can make a lot of money off it in the NHL, so be it.