WingNut24

I'm actually surprised that they didn't try to attribute Niedermayer's lightning speed to something Crosby did...

Crosby can't score on a penalty shot but Niedermayer blows out a breakaway...priceless!!!

Just watched the award show via DVR. I found it hilarious that almost everyone at the podium (although many seeming reluctantly) had to say congrats to the Pens. Seemed very forced on many occasions as if someone was holding a gun to the player's heads. Do they really have to remind everyone who won the cup...I thought getting their name on it was enough. I thought it was very fitting to award the Messier Leadership Award to Iginla. What a class act. I couldn't believe that Messier even considered Crosby in the same class. I've always thought that it takes some tenure and consistent performance or a couple of really amazing actions to display truly outstanding leadership and I didn't see either from Sid. Too bad for Lids. If they could consider the playoffs he would have to get the Norris on principle (anyone who plays with a ruptured ******** gets an award from me!!!). Chara definitely deserves his moment after being the bridesmaid for the past couple of years.

I agree with the rest. Sid is NOT the face of the NHL and your comparison with Peyton Manning is absolutely wrong!!! Problem is that the league went about it backwards and has alienated its fans. Peyton Manning is the face of the NFL because he is mature, has class, and speaks with his actions not his mouth. Noone had the audacity to make an outlandish claim like Peyton is the next Joe Montana prior to his entry into the league. Probably because we've seen too many Andre Wares and know that you establish your legacy on the field. The NHL decided that Sid was the next Wayne Gretzky before he even skated in an NHL rink. I haven't seen him score 50 in 35 or more than 90 in a season so I'm not buying. As for his great "Leadership Abilities" I'm not buying that load either. You didn't see Stevie Y or Nicky waving his stick around TRYING to hurt someone or cross checking them in the back of the helmet. And if either one did, you could be DAMN SURE that they wouldn't get away with it. Wow...what a role model. I won't even address what a LEADER would do with regard to the hand shake. Truth is that Sid has garnered a reputation for being a whiner and a player that has been protected and undeservedly promoted by the league. Maybe they've forgotten that hockey is the ultimate TEAM sport. Again, pick one face and you alienate every fan that doesn't agree with that face. If you don't believe that you're completely deluded. Finally, I'd really love to hear where you got your jersey stat. I'm sure that is a load of BS. I'd argue that you'd be hard pressed to find a Pens jersey in every arena in the nation. I would be willing to bet that the same isn't true of wings jerseys. I should know, I've seen them in great numbers in EVERY venue that I've had the benefit of watching a game in.

It's funny you should say that about NHL Center Ice and the NHL Network. I've had Center Ice since the first time it was available and I've been thinking the same thing. I'm tired of watching the players play by one set of standards during the regular season and then having a rule shift seemingly during each successive round of the playoffs. My issues run deeper than just the officiating, though. The change of schedule (which didn't occur for any of the previous rounds), the 3 game in 4 night scenario (or 4 in 6 if you wish), the constant focus on Crosby that the league has taken. It makes it easy to be a conspiracy theorist when the broadcasters, who in many cases played, coached and call games on a full-time basis cite non-calls and oversights and point out a media bias toward one team. One of my favorites was in an interview with Mike Babcock regarding the Pens fan Center Ice commercials in which it looked as if the Pens won the cup last year. I also disagree with the "marketing reform" comment. I doubt that the NHL is gaining fans and viewership based on their marketing strategy (push the Crosby, it's beginning to turn). Besides the cup lift commercial, which by the way is the best piece of marketing I've seen for the NHL, it is largely focused on a single team and single player. Unless you're a Pens fan you've got to feel slighted by the league. I full well believe that the NHL is going down the toilet. Short of some new "band-wagon" Pens fans this season, what have they actually gained. Any self-respecting hockey fan who watched the finals had to be utterly disgusted at the product on display. The league talked big about reducing the interference, clutching, and hooking in the neutral zone and at the blue line, but in the finals they rarely called it and when they did they called it inconsistently. That's why we had what boiled down to 6 one goal games and a blowout. I've spent my life watching hockey at all levels. I do a lot of travelling and have had the opportunity to watch AHL, ECHL, CHL, WHL, and NHL games. I've not seen what I saw in this series in any of the lesser minor pro leagues. I'm very much beside myself at what has transpired.

I'm sorry to all who may disagree, but I had a real problem with this series and how the league approached the finals in general. I can't remember having a real problem with any of the officiating during the first three rounds and I just find the bi-polar nature of the crew in stripes absolutely amazing. I'm normally not a conspiracy theorist and I've seen enough noobs get flamed on this forum to know that I'll probably get the same. I've been visiting LGRW for as long as I can remember, but I've never felt the need to write. Most all of you have managed to say what was on my mind but I find myself in pure disbelief tonight. I realize that hockey is a "Warrior Sport" and that no excuses should need to be made, but it just seems way too convenient that the schedule was changed on a very banged up Wings team in favor of a much healthier Pens team. I had a problem with this from the start and it made me feel as if the league were stacking the deck agains us. At the start of the series it seemed that we would be able to overcome in spite of the obstacle but the officiating was at an unbelievable low. I'm not saying that we weren't the recipient of some missed calls but the Pens were the beneficiary of many more by far. One image that really sticks with me is a shot of Gary Bettman in the stands at game 5 in Detroit looking as if some one had just run over his kitten. I know many of you will disagree, this is simply a regurgitation of my thoughts before I turn my attention away from hockey for a much needed break. I really just feel that the Pens (and Cindy Crosby) have been shoved down the collective throat of hockey fans all year and this was the way to justify tagging Crosby as the NHL's glory boy. When he melts the ice with 100 goals in a season I'll eat crow, but he's no more talented than at least 30 other players in the league who don't get their due. I admire Babs for being a consumate professional and playing the politics of the league and press to a tee. His ability to think on his feet in press situations has really impressed, especially with plenty of potential controversy. I watched the '95 loss to Jersey getting up every night at 3 a.m. in England but somehow that loss really didn't hurt quite as much as this one. I never thought I'd love a set of players as much as Stevie, Shanny, Fedorov, Larionov, etc., etc. but I have to say I really love the current iteration of our team (including Hossa).

Go Fils, Go Dats, Go Z, Go Mule, Go Huds, Go Clears, Go Homer, Go Drapes, Go Malts, Go Helmer, Go Sammy, Go Abs, Go Leino, Go Nick, Go Kronner, Go E, Go Lebs, Go Rafi, Go Stui Wake up Hossa AND FOR GODS SAKE OZZIE, OZZIE, OZZIE!!!!! "That's my puck baby, don't you ever touch my puck"

My beef isn't with the officiating being great, I don't envy thier jobs at all and they rarely get it right (even during the regular season). My problem is with the consistency, especially same-game consistency. The Ericsson interference penalty really had me going (I agree that it was a penalty, though) because it DID change the outcome of the game and the Pens defense had been holding up Wings on the dump and chase ALL GAME LONG. I saw much of the same in Game 6 and the Wings seemed hesitant to step up at the blue line and return some of the same. I can handle a little inconsistency between different games, but the calls should be made the same way for both teams during the same game.