Also Sprach Hockeyspieler

Good evening, everyone.  After a prolonged medical absence, Raccoon Inc. is back on the airwaves this evening with a stinging editorial that ventures to take a look into the two elephants in the room surrounding this week's NHL All-Star game, Tim Thomas and Alex Ovechkin.  Now, rather, Ovechkin cannot be considered an elephant in the room is the whole reason why he is an elephant in the room is because he has decided not to enter the room, but I will leave that topic for later.  For now, Tim Thomas shall be the first topic of conversation.

OBVIOUSLY

Now, if I have a pet peeve with hockey interviews, regardless of whether the interview is with a team president, general manager, coach, or even fellow pundit, the word "obviously" is everywhere.  I defy you to find a player interview that does not sport that word.  And it really is such a redundant phrase.  I don't know who started the trend, but it's like fingernails on a chalkboard to hear that over and over in every interview on TV, on the radio, or in print.

The real point that I'm trying to illustrate here is that professional sports players with all of their mediaspeak and clichés make for the most boring things to watch and listen to ever.  Granted, while they are entertainers, their entertainment comes from what they can do with the puck or a ball and not what they can do with the spoken word, but it is regularly to the point of self-parody how predictable the interviews have become, with a few notable exceptions.  Indeed, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods are three prime examples of professional athletes, huge professional athletes, that have never had anything to say about anything in interviews.

I just love this picture of him.  So bad ass.

So, now onto Tim Thomas.  Now, until now I've known his as a pretty cool cat.  Affable, friendly, etc.  When he was trading barbs with Luongo last year, I thought that was pretty cool.  But now when he was invited to the meet the President for the customary little meet'n'greet that he normally gives winning sports teams, the answer, on Facebook of course, was as follows:

Who needs sentries when you have Zdeno "The Heavy" Chara?

"I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People.
This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.
Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.
This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT"

Hm.

CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION

Immediately I thought of two very famous instances where sports figures have taken a controversial stand for something that the believe in right down to their core.

That's Liston laying on the floor, by the way.

"I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong... They never called me nigger."  Wow.  For me that is such an unforgettable line.  I feel the very same way about Iraqis, or Afghans, or Koreans, or really anyone that we are fond to antagonize in the west.  When it came time in 1966 for Ali to be drafted into the United States Armed Forces, Ali refused three times, was arrested, and convicted.  The case went all the way to the Supreme Court where the conviction was overturned, but Ali was this polarizing character.  Either you loved him for his stance on the way and his bravery, or you absoltely hated his guts for being the fly in the ointment that he was.

It doesn't get much more powerful of an image than that.

Easily the most memorable moment of the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City was this image here of Tommie Smith and John Carlos (now Dr. John Carlos), gloved fists in the air and heads bowed.  This to me is the most powerful protest I've ever seen in sports.  Although they loved their country, they protested what it had become with this single act of defiance that lasted the length of the national anthem.  They, likewise, were both loved and reviled for their statement.  They were tossed out of the Olympic village for this.  After all, the Olympics was to be a place that was pure, and much, much larger than politics, and they had muddied it with their statement.  However, you can't get a much larger, more global audience for your protest than the Summer Olympics.

MR. THOMAS DOES NOT GO TO WASHINGTON

Or at least the Establishment.

So what does it all mean when you take a step back and evaluate it?  For his protest, people have called Tim Thomas small, petty, selfish, or just downright nuts.  "Have you ever seen a goalie that wasn't nuts?" quipped one commentator.  And then there are all the old jokes:

-A goalie walks up to the counter and says to the guy at the register, "Hey, I'm looking to start a hockey team.  I'm going to need sticks and pads and pucks and..."

The man behind the counter cut him off.  "That's great, sir, but this is a restaurant."

-A goalie and a soldier walk into a bar and they get to talking over a couple of drinks.  The soldier says "It was horrible...  The shelling was non-stop.  Bodies were flying everywhere.  The locals wanted us dead.  I still get nightmares every night."

The goalie nods sympathetically.  "Me, too."

The soldier asks, "Where were you stationed?  Afghanistan?  Sarajevo?"

"Worse," the goalie replies, taking a sip of his drink with a shaking hand.  "Boston."

I could go on and on, but I think we all get the picture.  I've also heard the pundits say that the logo on the front of the jersey is more important than the name on the back of the jersey.  People are disgusted and miffed and cheesed about it, but let's compare for a moment.  When you compare Tim Thomas' protest to that of Muhammad Ali or Tommie Smith and John Carlos, you kind of see a similar thing emerge.  Most people hate his guts for the stand that he took by not going to the White House, and the majority of people hated Ali, Smith, and Carlos for the same reasons, as if to say, "Hey, these guys are sports figures.  They're sports figures.  They're a very small step up the ladder from clowns.  What right do they have to say anything?  We pay them to dance, so they'd best dance and like it."

Really, the right that they have is that they are human beings.  Everyone has opinions, but not every one stands up for them.  Whether I agree or not in Tim Thomas' philosophy (and I do not, for the record), we cannot deny him the right to express it.  If there is one thing that America has every right to be proud of, it's that everyone has freedom of expression.  Everyone can have their say, right or wrong, and I think that, you know, people are too hard on the dude. 

Now that's a cigar!

Don't forget: when the Boston Red Sox broke the Curse of the Bambino and won the World Series in both 2004 and 2007, General Manager Theo Epstien did not involve himself on the meet'n'greet with the White House, either, on account of the inhabitant being one George W. Bush, and to my recollection Theo didn't get anywhere near the slagging that Tim Thomas is getting.  After all, is there really anything more American or even democratic than the right to dissent?  I think not.

And, you know, to get back to my original point, everyone, myself included, makes fun of hockey players for their laughably wooden responses to questions.  So now, when a hockey player speaks up and has something real and substantive to say, the very same media jumps all over him for openning his trap.  It all just seems more than a little hypocritical.

Moving on.

RUSSIANS BEING RUSSIAN

Alex, on the other hand, has no problem going to the White House it seems.

All talent, no heart.  As John Buccigross of ESPN.com puts it, "The old stereotype of Russian players was that they were dour, aloof, gloomy, boring and soft."  Well, that sure is not a good description of Alex Ovechkin.  In fact, I would say that the whole reason for his recent three game suspension was just that: heart.  I think that one of the things that makes him great (or at least made him great before this statistically dismal season) is his passion.  He's a player on the edge, and like many players on the edge, sometimes they go over... and sorta launch themselves at other players.

At any rate, the suspension that he receives is for three games, which just so happen to cover overtop of All Star weekend, and Ovechkin says, I'm paraphrasing, "If I'm suspended, I'm suspended.  I don't want to be a distraction at the event, so I'm just going to stay at home."  So all the talking heads on the television and elsewhere have interpreted this as being the equivelent of him taking his toys and going home to sulk.

Now as a point of order, what has happened is that he was suspended and decided himself not to attend the event.  This is quite a different thing from him being suspended and being told by the league not to attend the event, which is certainly not what happened.  Bill Daly remarked that while they would have liked to have had Alex at the event, the league accepted Alex's decision and would not pursue the matter further.  So, this is all Alex deciding on his own not to attend while suspended.

PUTTING THE SKATE ON THE OTHER FOOT

That's right.  Laugh it up, Alex's head.  Laugh it up.  We'll see how hard you're laughing when you're 41st in the league in scoring.

So what if we turn this around.  Say it's the beginning of December.  The boss pulls you into his office and tears a strip outta you cause you screwed up.  You screwed up royal, and they have no choice but to suspend you for a week without pay.  However, the staff Christmas party is on the weekend.  Oh, you're still invited, but would you want to go to it?  When you put it like this, it now seems a little different.  I, for one, would be wearing my best ._. face and would rather sit out the weekend and mope, and I doubt that I'd be alone in this.  What, you want me to stiff upper lip this one and hang with the guys?  Forget it!

Do I have some sympathy for Alex Ovechkin?  You bet I do, cause that's kinda what happened to him.  Whether you sit at a desk and make a mediocre salary or you're a superstar hockey player, to get told you messed up and suspended, it still hurts and if his heart's not in it, his heart's not in it.  In fact, I really wouldn't be shocked if he went on a redemptive hot streak once he gets back onto the ice to prove himself.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

The moral of the story here is pretty clear.  In Tim Thomas' case, the media snivels and complains that sports players are devoid of personality and opinion, but yet when one expresses an opinion they turn on him.  In Ovechkin's case, he takes a stand and elects not to take part in a league event while suspended and the media bullies him again.  This is a situation where you have to be careful what you wish for, cause you might just get it.  Is it any wonder that sports figures are as wooden as they are when it seems that every time they step out of line they get harrassed?  The media's treatment of Thomas and Ovechkin this would most likely act as even more reason for an athlete to not step out of line, lest they get dogpiled, and that's sad.  Professional athletes are people, too, with ideas and feelings all their own, and to at once goad them for being made of cardboard and then again for expressing individuality is absolutely asinine.  There are more than a few talking heads that ought to be ashamed of themselves.  In fact, this whole affair has opened my eyes.

No neck?  No problem.

During this past provincial election, I was... critical of Gene Makowsky's bid to be the MLA for Regina Dewdney.  He's an offensive lineman!  That would be great if we were electing him as the Legislature's bouncer, but this is a serious job for serious people, not football players!

Well, the editorial board here at Raccoon Inc. admits when it's wrong, and it was wrong to make that assessment earlier, and even though they did not receive our board's endorsement in the last election, we will nonetheless give our support to Mr. Makowsky and wish him well in his fledgeling political career.  Now, if he turns out to be a collosal failure as a lawmaker, Raccoon Inc. reserves the right to say "I told you so."

And that's all the time we have here tonight.  Tune in next time for another scintilating conversation that peels back the layers and takes good, hard, objective look at the story behind the story.  And whether that story has a neck or not, Raccoon Inc. will be there with the brass tacks.

Good night.