Takes and trash talk from both ALL sides of the NHL's most obscure PATHETIC* rivalry

* Thanks, Kevin Lowe!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

This is Dumb But I Guess We Should Talk About It

[SLEEK EDIT 3/14: for whatever reason, the original YouTube has been taken down in lieu of some new footage (unavailable yesterday when Rudy posted this). I've gone ahead and replaced yesterday's version with the more current one.]

Look, I loathe Chris Pronger, but he did not "stomp" on Ryan Kesler. Kesler hits him, falls down, and his legs get wrapped around Pronger's foot. Pronger tries to get his foot out, loses his balance, and puts his foot down to regain it. His foot lands on Kesler's leg. I've had the exact same thing happen to me playing hockey. I feel like I'm crazy; am I the only one who sees this?

34 comments:

Niekon said...

*this is what I am seeing over on Hockey News in terms of responses*
ZOMG!!! How can the NHL not call that a deliberate stomp by the Anaheim Goons?

********
Okay, the commentators on TSN were crying foul last night about it... and if it was a deliberate stomp then wouldn't Pronger be looking down at Kessler instead of looking down the ice trying to get free and moving in the direction of the puck? But I digress...

Earl Sleek said...

Hey, if the Vancouverites want to bash Pronger, let them have their high-and-mighty picnic. It's easy with Pronger--most everyone assumes he's guilty before seeing a shred of evidence.

Besides, pointing fingers at Pronger probably will help them forget that Luongo gave up goals to nearly all of Anaheim's worst goal scorers: Marchant, Moen, Rob Niedermayer, and Weight.

Thinking about that might be depressing, so may as well start the "Damn you Pronger" chant.

Anonymous said...

A canadian broadcast crew. Big shocker. wahh wahhh.

http://www.daveyg.com/Pictures/dustinpennerwaaaaah.gif

Niekon said...

I think it's bloody hilarious to see the cries for Pronger's head over this one. Cries of conspiracies and the league being in cahoots with Burke.

I really need to stop refreshing that page over on THN... but I do love my afternoon entertainment. It sure as hell beats doing this paperwork in front of me... ^_^

Earl Sleek said...

So in a Duck uniform, Pronger has had his two elbows each villified, as well as one of his skates.

All he needs is an incident for his other foot and a headbutt, then Voltron will be complete!

Maverik said...

You are absolutely NOT the only one who saw it that way, Sleek.
I see it that way too.

But, as you know, it's Chris Pronger, so of course everyone is going to think it was a dirty play.

Niekon said...

All he needs is an incident for his other foot and a headbutt, then Voltron will be complete!

OK... your mission should you choose to accept it... you must assemble Prongtron before the next game ^_~

Earl Sleek said...

I've had the exact same thing happen to me playing hockey.

Suspend Rudy Kelly!

Mike in OC said...

The thing about all the comments over at TSN that really makes me chuckle is that out of the few hundred responses, majority of which want to give him 30 plus games, I think maybe 3 have actually watched the video.

Niekon said...

would you go as high as three people possibly watching the video or seeing the game?
I think I've come across at least half a dozen comments that state "haven't seen the video but it's Pronger..."

One comment that I loved seeing was that Pronger was pretty much a saint when he was Edmonton and a goon any other time. Yup... one season in Canada and he's a completely different player than any other time.

Anonymous said...

Luongo Sucks!!!

heed said...

i could care less either way. you can barely see what happened in that video. the video is so bad, you'd swear it's american nhl coverage. i'm just happy to see him wearing that protective face guard. his leather-faced old lady must have taken a serious round out of him for that to be necessary.

Earl Sleek said...

the video is so bad, you'd swear it's american nhl coverage.

Speaking of high and mighty...

So heed, are you referring to any U.S. city's telecasts specifically, or is "American" just a blanket synonym for "substandard" for you?

heed said...

So heed, are you referring to any U.S. city's telecasts specifically, or is "American" just a blanket synonym for "substandard" for you?

it is a joke. try and not take yourself so seiously.

Anonymous said...

the voltron reference has elevated u Mr. sleek in the elite few in my book....you sit next to jim morrison, bugs bunny, among others

canada needs to get over pronger..serisouly..im mean for fucks sake

MB said...

I'm a Canucks STH. I see no problem with that. If Kesler doesn’t want to get stepped on, he might try not laying on the ice at a guys feet. It is just that it was Pronger with a history of acts of thuggery that this is getting any play at all.

Earl Sleek said...

it is a joke. try and not take yourself so seriously.

Ah, my bad. It's tough sometimes to spot the humo(u)r in the sea of Canadian criticism.

Anonymous said...

On the topic of Pronger, why do Edmonton fans feel Brian Burke OWES them for that trade? Last time I checked they got the equivilent of 4 first round picks (2007, conditional 2008 (which they got), smid, lupul) and a 2nd rounder. That's pretty solid on paper and by this logic Edmonton OWES St. Louis considering how little the Oilers traded for him (Brewer, Woywitka, Weight).
Seriously I know this is old news but I would absolutely love some input on this. From a Canadian this is embarassing... at least us Leaf fans are realistic about out shitty players and team.

Anonymous said...

Opps, not Weight, Doug LYNCH

Anonymous said...

I'm not willing to give Pronger the benefit of the doubt, but since it's a crap quality video, this really *does* drive home the point that it would be great if the Discipline Braintrust would decide to be a shade more transparent with their verdicts.

Just SAY "we've ruled it was an inadvertent contact" and at least it would slightly alleviate the not terribly-well refuted argument that the guy gets a free pass because of his skills.

Though I still think it's funny that Scott Niedermayer's been suspended for a longer amount of time than Pronger has.

Anonymous said...

Wow. Has anyone here actually watched the video? There's no way you can argue he "lost his balance." You can see very clearly that once Pronger pulled his foot from Kesler, that same foot came down immediately on Kesler's leg. There is nothing in the clip that could suggest that Pronger at any point lost his balance.

I've had the exact same thing happen to me playing hockey

Yes that's nice, but so what? Just because in your case it was an accident doesn't mean anything here. Every incident is judged individually.

if it was a deliberate stomp then wouldn't Pronger be looking down at Kessler instead of looking down the ice

I'm just curious as to at what point in the clip did you see Pronger looking down the ice, cuz I certainly can't tell.

At any rate, the only reason there was no suspension is because Kesler's unhurt.

Earl Sleek said...

On the topic of Pronger, why do Edmonton fans feel Brian Burke OWES them for that trade?

This is best-answered by an actual EDM fan, but I assume it has to do with the hasty fall-from-grace (SCF G7 to the golf course) added to the fact that Burke dared criticize the Penner move.

I guess I understand the need for a GM scapegoat, but why that scapegoat's name isn't Kevin Lowe is a bit beyond me.

Earl Sleek said...

At any rate, the only reason there was no suspension is because Kesler's unhurt.

Well, that and the lack of meaningful evidence. Seriously, if everyone's watching the same video and coming to wildly different conclusions, I don't know what screams "this needs to be a suspension" other than fans with hurt feelings.

I'd hope the NHL would wait for something more conclusive and less speculative, wouldn't you?

Earl Sleek said...

Well, at least Bob McKenzie agrees. With the video available, the best the league can do is suspect Pronger, not suspend Pronger.

Niekon said...

if everyone's watching the same video and coming to wildly different conclusions

There lies the problem... I'd figure at least half of those who commented over on TSN never even watched the video of it.
And where did one really see talk about this "stomp"? In the Canadian media. If it was something worth mentioning it would have caught more than TSN and THN. Even the coverage at those two outlets was minimal.

TSN seems to have caught it on camera but I certainly don't recall seeing it on FSN here (must have been that fifth pint of Guinness fogging my vision). Media bias I'd say... ^_~

Mike in OC said...

I guess I understand the need for a GM scapegoat, but why that scapegoat's name isn't Kevin Lowe is a bit beyond me.

You sure can tell it Earl.

I guess we can take solace in watching them play their asses off with the collective goal/reward of "not letting our pick be to high in the draft"

Earl Sleek said...

Yeah, I do feel a bit bad for EDM fans (I still maintain the best bloggers in hockey write about the Oilers), and I know they're trying so desperately to stay out of the bottom five lottery, so I don't really have the heart to tell 'em...

...I'm perfectly happy with a sixth or seventh or eighth pick. First overall is nice, but regardless of what it ends up being, it's a free draft spot that the Ducks didn't have to tank to get. I'm happy that Burke will pick in the top third, but I'm not that picky about where specifically it ends up.

At least, it certainly seems I care less about the specific spot than the Oiler fans do.

RudyKelly said...

I can't believe this post has more comments than my gameday post.

Anonymous said...

There is no singular Canadian media, and the Canadian teams don't operate as one unit. It's a huge country, and most fans of one team do not like, or cheer for, the other ones who happen also to be in the country. No one in Ottawa cares more about this because it involves a team from Vancouver who they see once every three years.

It is not "Canada" calling for a Pronger suspension. It is hockey fans.

Earl Sleek said...

It is not "Canada" calling for a Pronger suspension.

This statement is true. Red Wing fans are supportive of suspending Pronger, also.

Doogie2K said...

I would love to flay Chris Pronger on teh intarwebz, believe me. Oilers fan, hate the Ducks, hate Pronger, though granted, I also don't care much for Kesler or the Canucks, especially after last game, so there's my "biases" out of the way.

The NHL made the right call here.

Okay, not totally right. Colin Campbell can issue a brief press release calling it "incidental contact," for that's exactly what it was, but that's about it, really. It just doesn't look malicious. It really does look like he lost his balance, or misjudged where to plant his skate, because he was tied up with Kesler. Maybe a high-def feed would be more definitive, one way or the other, but as far as I can tell, there's nothing to see here.

Pronger's done some shady shit on the ice, no doubt, but I don't think this fits that description.

VeryProudofYa said...

I somehow think a full blown stomp from a 6'6" 220 pound man would do a little bit more damage than what occurred. He lost his balance, regained it, and skated off.

Anonymous said...

oops, bob mckenzie changed his mind:

http://www.tsn.ca/blogs/mckenzie/?id=231994

Earl Sleek said...

What the hell? They pulled the video again?!