There's just no honor online
It'd be nice to have a Stars-Sharks preview up, but I got off work at 10 p.m. and am unable to put together a steady stream of thoughts (so instead I'll direct my energy to things I don't need to think about: Joe Thornton and NHL 08).
For the record, I'm half-drunk.
Now that we have that out of the way, a few things I need to say:
- After spending a week or so on X-Box Live with NHL '08 I have a lot of complaints, but let me keep it simple. I'm a Pittsburgh Penguins fan at heart, but seriously, there are just under 30 teams in the NHL. Does every fucking person have to use the Penguins? Seriously. It's getting fucking old. *That being said, playing online is the video game version of discovering fire. So, really, this is a minor complaint.*
- Of all the things I've ever posted on the BoC, calling Joe Thornton an underachiever is easily the last thing I ever thought would be received with ridicule/hatred. Especially since the same people who threw a shitfit over this flippant comment are the same people who make fun of Marty Turco for imploding in the playoffs after he posted three shutouts in a single series.
Still, it's pretty unfair to place such unreasonable expectations on a Hart Trophy winner who is paid more than $7 million per year.
Whatever.
- Oddly enough, the interesting thing about the Stars-Sharks series is that I can't see Dallas shutting Big Bird down. Expect at least some sort of preview tomorrow, although a fuller, thicker version might have to wait until the weekend...
8 comments:
You've seen anger towards your Thornton comments because since he's put on the fin, he has 27 points in 29 playoff games.
In the eyes of Sharks fans, he's had two 100 point seasons and a 90 point season, back to back 90 assist years in that time, an MVP trophy, a division championship, a major assist on a Rocket Richard, and about a point per game in the playoffs in six series, all in 3 years.
I feel quite strange defending my team with so many words, because I'm not a homer or a jock licker, but Joe Thornton has nothing to preserve his playoff choker label since playing in San Jose.
For the record, I'm half-drunk.
I'm half-Irish, too!
Sorry about the Turco comment, I was just being a dick. (In my defense, that was hilarious.)
Turco's a good example of what I think, though. He has a lifetime GAA or 2.15 and a lifetime Sv% of .913, yet he carried the choker label for years because of a few bad games that happened to take place in the playoffs. He's played well since, and right now has... a playoff GAA 2.18 and a Sv% of .910. He wasn't unclutch in one playoff series and clutch in another; he's just a really good goalie suffering from small sample size.
Joe Thornton's the same thing; really, he's called a choker not because he has a 50 points in 70 games, he's called a choker because he had 1 playoff series where he didn't score a point. Was it because he's a huge pussy that can't handle pressure? Maybe. Was it because it's only 6 games and anything can happen in such a small sample? That seems more likely.
And of course, even when he does average a point a game (like he did in the last series), it's implied that they weren't important points and he still choked a little bit.
he's called a choker because he had 1 playoff series where he didn't score a point. Was it because he's a huge pussy that can't handle pressure? Maybe. Was it because it's only 6 games and anything can happen in such a small sample? That seems more likely.
Wasn't it that he was playing with bruised ribs or something? Or am I thinking of the wrong series?
I can say this--whatever G7 where the Habs held Thornton pointless, JT was easily the best Bruin forward on the ice.
There's no doubt Jumbo Joe has improved as a San Jose Shark. Just had to point out the Turco comment because it was basically the same situation: a common punchline that the whole family can learn to love.
There's no taking away from Thornton's play since I called him an underachiever (which, I think is a slightly nicer term than choker...right...right?). That goal he scored in Game 7 was HUGE and basically made Calgary's lucky break something of the past. If SJ doesn't tie it quickly then maybe the Flames would have had a chance...
Honestly, I expected the joke about Cammi Granato's menstrual cycle to get the most heat. Now THAT one made me a jackass.
(Oh, and btw, I loved the Joe Thornton = Alex Rodriguez post. Remind me to bait you into bickering in the future [albeit this time wasn't on purpose], because it obviously benefits the BoC.)
You're right, that was kind of shitty for me to mock Turco for the same thing I defended Thornton for. Let's hug it out, bitch. It's what guys say to another after a fight. (Not a good idea to say that to a woman, however, I have found. Doesn't translate.)
You're correct there Earl in that Joe had played with a serious injury in one series. I think Thornton actually had 2 broken ribs if I remember correctly during a 7 game series against Montreal in 2004. In that series he went pointless.
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