My 2 cents on the Russians' taunting.

[MOGiLNY]

The other thread is full of crap, and I want to discuss this matter in a civilized fashion.. or at least try to..

Anyways, I'll start off by saying that I have not watched the game yet, and will only do so tomorrow when TSN *finally* shows it. I did however listen to the radio feed, and TSN has shown highlights from the game, so I came to some conclusions.

When the game started, Dowell (I think) took a run at Radulov who didn't even have the puck.. that was the first or 2nd penalty of the game (sorry, I don't remember for sure).. then a little later, Dowell again took a run at a Russian player, but this time it was from behind on Ovechkin.

Then as the game went on, somebody from the crowd threw a pink balloon on the ice, and chances are it wasn't a Russian fan considering most if not all of the arena was filled with Americans.

TSN then showed Shirokov listening to the fans after scoring his goal which btw was an amazing shot but that's not the point here, and I also saw Malkin taunting the American bench.

Now, while I'm extremely embarassed for these guys as I hate taunting and showboating, I think the Russians may not be as cocky as they are being shown up by the North American media. It seems to me that there have been some incidents prior to the Russian taunting that might've struck a nerve or two with the Russian players who paid back with taunting. Perhaps there have been more than a few dirty plays by the American players during the game that ticked off the Russian guys, and if that's the case, then I must say these guys came pretty close to taking the high road here.

Somebody in the US-Russia thread made a great point saying that it's better to taunt like this rather than go and break someone's neck like Bertuzzi did last season.

Lastly, Russia played 5 games so far in the tournament, scored 28 goals in these games. These guys obviously had plenty of opportunities to showboat and taunt other teams and players, but the only time such a thing happened is tonight. Maybe there was a reason for this? Maybe the US team did something to trigger this?

Ofcourse you could all just close our eyes and bash the Russians because a lot of you hate the team and the country and were raised to do so by the likes of Don Cherry.. it's just easier that way.. but watch the game tomorrow, and let's see that maybe the Russians aren't the only bad guys in this game.

Just my $0.02

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[Jacob]

I don't think anyone can really defend it. It was pretty lame, and it seemed like it was coaches orders considering how everyone was participating.

 

[Barnaby]

Watch the game, then tell us what you think. I do expect you'll defend your country, but if you see it objectively you'll see it was in very poor taste.

Dowell took a run at him? Believe me... there was no intent to injure or anything like that. It was just an average bodycheck that was away from the puck. I don't know what the call was, but it was your average interference/roughing penalty.

Pink balloon? What is that an assasination attempt? It was probably a little kid or a college guy like myself just drinking a bit too much and getting a little too rowdy. It happens in every sporting event. Beach balls in baseball, octopus in the Red Wings arena, rats in the Panthers arens. C'mon it halted play for 10 seconds at most. That was no sign of 'disrespect.'

Noone hates the Russians. After the Americans, they are probably my favorite team... or were. I personally respect that teams talent, but I lost a lot of respect for them as players. (I'm not saying I don't respect Russians - just those players on the team who laughed at, and taunted the Americans.) I have the utmost respect for Russian hockey, but wait til you see the dives every other shift. The Americans played undisciplined, but then you have players flopping all over the ice and then laying down til they saw their was no penalty then jumped right back up and rejoined the play. I would think those players would take some pride in their play.

There is no reason to try and embarass a team like that, it was just out of hand. Isn't a 6-2 win good enough? They'll show up the Americans then your AO, Malkin, and Radulov will come and make MILLIONS in the NHL. Bet they wont complain then. You should show some respect to the opposing team. I think the US deserved that much.

 

[MOGiLNY]

I don't think anyone can really defend it. It was pretty lame, and it seemed like it was coaches orders considering how everyone was participating.

And maybe it seemed like it was the coach's orders for the US players to start running the Russians early on in the game?

 

[Jacob]

I didn't see anybody "running" anyone.

 

[McDonald19]

The worst thing was the Russian Player who pushed the net off in order to get a whistle when USA had a scoring chance.

That was pathetic.

 

[Barnaby]

The worst thing was the Russian Player who pushed the net off in order to get a whistle when USA had a scoring chance.

That was pathetic.

That was just a hockey play that shoulda been called. I don't blame that at all.

It was the taunting and disrespect that I didn't like.

 

[Grave77digger]

It didnt bother me... The US played dumb, dirty hockey...

 

[MOGiLNY]

Watch the game, then tell us what you think. I do expect you'll defend your country, but if you see it objectively you'll see it was in very poor taste.

Dowell took a run at him? Believe me... there was no intent to injure or anything like that. It was just an average bodycheck that was away from the puck. I don't know what the call was, but it was your average interference/roughing penalty.

Pink balloon? What is that an assasination attempt? It was probably a little kid or a college guy like myself just drinking a bit too much and getting a little too rowdy. It happens in every sporting event. Beach balls in baseball, octopus in the Red Wings arena, rats in the Panthers arens. C'mon it halted play for 10 seconds at most. That was no sign of 'disrespect.'

Noone hates the Russians. After the Americans, they are probably my favorite team... or were. I personally respect that teams talent, but I lost a lot of respect for them as players. (I'm not saying I don't respect Russians - just those players on the team who laughed at, and taunted the Americans.) I have the utmost respect for Russian hockey, but wait til you see the dives every other shift. The Americans played undisciplined, but then you have players flopping all over the ice and then laying down til they saw their was no penalty then jumped right back up and rejoined the play. I would think those players would take some pride in their play.

There is no reason to try and embarass a team like that, it was just out of hand. Isn't a 6-2 win good enough? They'll show up the Americans then your AO, Malkin, and Radulov will come and make MILLIONS in the NHL. Bet they wont complain then. You should show some respect to the opposing team. I think the US deserved that much.

Well then you have 2 different schools of thought here. In North America, where tough hockey is customary, it's perfectly fine to take a few interference/roughing penalties.. In Russia it may be different.

In Russia, and the rest of Europe on the other hand, it's not out of place for players to dive, and they don't look at it as something extraordinary, instead they look at it as a way to get an edge on the other team through the ref..

To me, both are wrong. I in no way defend the taunting, I can't stand it. But taking runs at players without the puck, or shoving sticks up players' mouths is not very nice in my books neither.

 

[Barnaby]

And maybe it seemed like it was the coach's orders for the US players to start running the Russians early on in the game?

Seriously watch the game. Noone ran anybody. The 3 times anyone even got close to a bodycheck on AO they were the ones who hit the ground. The only intent to hurt anyone was Callahan right at the end who was probably humiliated, and was trying to stick up for him and his team.

 

[Reilly311]

The other thread is full of crap, and I want to discuss this matter in a civilized fashion.. or at least try to..

Anyways, I'll start off by saying that I have not watched the game yet, and will only do so tomorrow when TSN *finally* shows it. I did however listen to the radio feed, and TSN has shown highlights from the game, so I came to some conclusions.

When the game started, Dowell (I think) took a run at Radulov who didn't even have the puck.. that was the first or 2nd penalty of the game (sorry, I don't remember for sure).. then a little later, Dowell again took a run at a Russian player, but this time it was from behind on Ovechkin.

Then as the game went on, somebody from the crowd threw a pink balloon on the ice, and chances are it wasn't a Russian fan considering most if not all of the arena was filled with Americans.

TSN then showed Shirokov listening to the fans after scoring his goal which btw was an amazing shot but that's not the point here, and I also saw Malkin taunting the American bench.

Now, while I'm extremely embarassed for these guys as I hate taunting and showboating, I think the Russians may not be as cocky as they are being shown up by the North American media. It seems to me that there have been some incidents prior to the Russian taunting that might've struck a nerve or two with the Russian players who paid back with taunting. Perhaps there have been more than a few dirty plays by the American players during the game that ticked off the Russian guys, and if that's the case, then I must say these guys came pretty close to taking the high road here.

Somebody in the US-Russia thread made a great point saying that it's better to taunt like this rather than go and break someone's neck like Bertuzzi did last season.

Lastly, Russia played 5 games so far in the tournament, scored 28 goals in these games. These guys obviously had plenty of opportunities to showboat and taunt other teams and players, but the only time such a thing happened is tonight. Maybe there was a reason for this? Maybe the US team did something to trigger this?

Ofcourse you could all just close our eyes and bash the Russians because a lot of you hate the team and the country and were raised to do so by the likes of Don Cherry.. it's just easier that way.. but watch the game tomorrow, and let's see that maybe the Russians aren't the only bad guys in this game.

Just my $0.02

You didn'y even watch the game, but you're giving you 2 cents? What is wrong with you? That ball was on the ice when the Americans had the puck and going down ice.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

I don't think anyone can really defend it. It was pretty lame, and it seemed like it was coaches orders considering how everyone was participating.

I only watched the 10 last minutes. When your team captain does it, the rest of the players will probably see it as a green light. (That being said, maybe they were taunting before Ovechkin did so, I didn't see the rest of the game).

I don't really think a coach would "order" such a thing but that being said, it's been many years of Russian cockiness and I think they aren't brought right as far as sportsmanship goes.

Not that I particularly care. Those things do not offend me but I think it hurts them in the grand scheme of things. As far as I'm concerned, it just adds to the drama. As long as it doesn't go overboard and the game can still be watched by children and nobody gets hurt, they can do whatever they want.

 

[Moskau]

My $0.02 is that if Russia did this to say, Switzerland; you would all be raving about how entertaining Russia is to watch.

The simple fact is, the Americans played a very dirty game (O'Sullivan's high stick at the end was intentional), and deserved all that they got.

It will probably benefit many of these players who think they are on top of the world playing for their respective teams in Juniors and NCAA. Maybe they will get a reality check.

 

[Jacob]

The biggest problem I have with it is that, as Russians, that's something they're going to carry with them for a while. An example would be Kovalev's "performance" in the playoffs, followed by the media dragging out the story from that game where Kovalev took a dive in the playoffs 10 years ago.

 

[Reilly311]

The simple fact is, the Americans played a very dirty game (O'Sullivan's high stick at the end was intentional), and deserved all that they got.

No, it wasn't intentional, and even if it was, Russia still got the 4 min power play. If the US got a pp for when the russian player cover the puck up in the crease or for knocking his own net off or diving then I probably wouldn't care. I hope #20 has to eat through a straw the next 2 months.

 

[c9orf]

I watched everything BUT the last ~4 minutes. Dammit, the game was *over*, and I hadn't seen that particular Law & Order re-run before... but up to that point, the situation was clear: the Russian team definitely deserved to win. It was not a dirty game. There was the usual BS in an intense game (an "accidental" net dislodged, and an "accidental" high stick to the head), but it was within the usual boundaries.

 

[shveik]

Lastly, Russia played 5 games so far in the tournament, scored 28 goals in these games. These guys obviously had plenty of opportunities to showboat and taunt other teams and players, but the only time such a thing happened is tonight. Maybe there was a reason for this? Maybe the US team did something to trigger this?

I haven't seen the game. And among a great number of angry posts I have yet to see one that would attempt to address this point. The taunting indeed is in poor taste. I would not go as far as declare it classless. IMO it is more like a lack of proper manners, sorta like eating with your hands . That said, I have yet to see anybody trying to address the above point raised by Mr. MOGiLNY. Why did they do it in this of all games? Those who have seen the game, or better yet, been there, perhaps could shed some light on this.

 

[IkeaMonkey*]

My $0.02 is that if Russia did this to say, Switzerland; you would all be raving about how entertaining Russia is to watch.

I think of it the other way around. People would still be whining if Russia did it to the Swiss. However, if USA did that to Russia(assuming USA won), I know for a fact we'd see, "Hahhaah did j00 see Kessel do that cool dance move after scoring that goal?! Man he's so sweet! Kessel > Crosby" ...Followed by alot of and

 

[Barnaby]

My $0.02 is that if Russia did this to say, Switzerland; you would all be raving about how entertaining Russia is to watch.

The simple fact is, the Americans played a very dirty game (O'Sullivan's high stick at the end was intentional), and deserved all that they got.

It will probably benefit many of these players who think they are on top of the world playing for their respective teams in Juniors and NCAA. Maybe they will get a reality check.

LoL, yea right. The Americans are putting on pressure to tie the game and a smart player like O'Sullivan is going to hit someone in the face with his stick? Not to mention it was a follow through, he was swinging his stick back down to the ice to get back into the play after he threw the puck in the zone.

Think they are on top of the world? Who were the ones taunting? The US played hard. They knew the two best players in the tourney were on the the other team. Noones saying they were perfect, but that was totally out of hand.

 

[NYR2]

I don't think anyone can really defend it. It was pretty lame, and it seemed like it was coaches orders considering how everyone was participating.

No, no one can defend it. They are, but it's ridiculous.

wait til you see the dives every other shift. The Americans played undisciplined, but then you have players flopping all over the ice and then laying down til they saw their was no penalty then jumped right back up and rejoined the play. I would think those players would take some pride in their play.

There is no reason to try and embarass a team like that, it was just out of hand. Isn't a 6-2 win good enough? They'll show up the Americans then your AO, Malkin, and Radulov will come and make MILLIONS in the NHL. Bet they wont complain then. You should show some respect to the opposing team. I think the US deserved that much.

I completely agree. Excellent post. I'd love to see them try and pull that bs in the NHL, they'd be choking on their teeth, as they should be.

And maybe it seemed like it was the coach's orders for the US players to start running the Russians early on in the game?

What about the run at one of our players with like a minute left? I can't remember the exact time but it was at least a minute or two left, and the score was already 7-2. And what about that second empty netter, was it really necessary?

How pathetic is it when a COACH is doing taunting as well? It's one thing when it's 17 and 18 year olds, even at that age you should know better than to act like a child, but a coach that's supposed to be an adult? Man.

My $0.02 is that if Russia did this to say, Switzerland; you would all be raving about how entertaining Russia is to watch.

I don't know how anyone can defend it against any team. It's ridiculous.

No, it wasn't intentional, and even if it was, Russia still got the 4 min power play. If the US got a pp for when the russian player cover the puck up in the crease or for knocking his own net off or diving then I probably wouldn't care. I hope #20 has to eat through a straw the next 2 months.

No, it wasn't. And you bring up great points about the nets being purposely knocked off. That happened at least twice didn't it? No call.

I think of it the other way around. People would still be whining if Russia did it to the Swiss. However, if USA did that to Russia(assuming USA won), I know for a fact we'd see, "Hahhaah did j00 see Kessel do that cool dance move after scoring that goal?! Man he's so sweet! Kessel > Crosby" ...Followed by alot of and

Oh, you know for a "fact" do you? Look around the board and you'll see differently.

 

[Jacob]

I completely agree. Excellent post. I'd love to see them try and pull that bs in the NHL, they'd be choking on their teeth, as they should be.

I hear this response a lot. "I'd love to see them try that in the NHL, they'd get knocked out." I've seen Kovalchuk taunt players before, and he's still breathing.

 

[IkeaMonkey*]

Oh, you know for a "fact" do you? Look around the board and you'll see differently.

Yes, I do know for a "fact" because there are more than enough "Kessel Homers" and "USA homers" that give me "more than enough" "evidence" to "throw out" this "prediction" upon which my "fact" was "based" on.

 

[Skroob*]

Yes, I do know for a "fact" because there are more than enough "Kessel Homers" and "USA homers" that give me "more than enough" "evidence" to "throw out" this "prediction" upon which my "fact" was "based" on.

" " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " "

there ya go, just in case you run out.

 

[Haute Couture]

Taunting's not really a problem if it's done at the right time and not excessively - i.e. I saw no problem with Shirokov scoring that penalty shot back in the first game and showboating in front of the crowd; a lot of kids would do that. That's called satisfaction from a very strong adrenaline rush after you score a goal. That celebration after his third goal also wasn't that out of place - it was indeed a great play.

But when it's so blatantly overdone it gets pretty stupid. Russia was having a three goal lead... No need to rub it in and agitate. Obviously the other team will get disappointed (understatement intended ).

As far as diving is concerned - well, it's a plague out there in Europe. Nothing new here, and even though it's a problem, I don't think it's that much of a cancer to the game as some people think. Exaggerating penalties is common on every level now and is considered to be an advantage with all the borderline contact and annoying small hooks and grabs that became oh-so-prevalent on every level of hockey in the past ten years or so..

One thing I disagree with is comments like this: "If these [Russian] players ever want to make it to the NHL, they'll have to get some class." This **** is being said about the Russians on every WJ tournament - and yet there hardly is any problem when some of the more talented ones integrate into the NHL. Right now they might look distant and alien to the Canadian and American nat. teams, North American fans, broadcasters, and reporters - since they play on the other side of the world, but when they arrive here, they assimilate without a problem. A few years back Kovalchuk was looked at as a cocky, arrogant Russki from another planet (yes, that "oh, those Russians" austere mysteriousness) - but he seemed to have no problem once he got into the league and brought some of his likeable energy. (It took him a couple of diving penalties in the first few games to get that point, as well..) So don't sweat it, they are just kids playing hockey..

 

[Boomhower]

Pink balloon? What is that an assasination attempt? It was probably a little kid or a college guy like myself just drinking a bit too much and getting a little too rowdy. It happens in every sporting event. Beach balls in baseball, octopus in the Red Wings arena, rats in the Panthers arens. C'mon it halted play for 10 seconds at most. That was no sign of 'disrespect.'

The original poster may have believed the pink balloon was a political statement.

Heck, it may have been Don Cherry who threw it.