The kids are all right

Broad Street Hockey lists reasons why the Flyers’ 2011-12 season was actually a good one.  I agree, I hope Paul Holmgren does too.  Still, the team lost, seemed to be hopelessly outplayed by their second round opponent.

Scott Hartnell didn’t blame the rookies:

“I give our young guys a lot of credit. They played with a lot of guts that first series. A few of our young guys were banged up there but they’re still putting on the skates and battling for us. It wasn’t a case of inexperience. I think they were the better team almost every game. It’s frustrating to say, but they played better than us. We’ve got a long summer to think about it.” (from Dave Isaac’s Twitter feed)

I think he’s partly wrong there– inexperience absolutely was a handicap for the Flyers, but that isn’t the same thing as blaming the rookies.  They did great, as he pointed out. I argued that they over-achieved, DGS said the team under-achieved, according to predictions he made based on mean scoring to be expected from each player. His numbers were remarkably close to what transpired.

Why contact sports probably aren’t going anywhere fast

In the wake of Junior Seau’s death, I’ve seen commentary proclaiming the impending end to contact sports, beginning with American football.  I wouldn’t miss football but no matter how guilty Ray Ratto makes you feel watching it, I don’t think it will go away, and neither will Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.  Here’s why: it’s everywhere.  That’s also what makes Seau’s suicide, like all suicides, so upsetting.   He probably could have been helped.   Instead of pretending he couldn’t have been, we need to be thinking of how to help others.

Instead, we get stuff like this:

..it is time to accept the reality that football is every bit as dangerous as its detractors and some brain specialists say it is – and to accept the fact that we as a nation aren’t really prepared to give that much of a damn about it.

We looked the other way with boxing. We looked the other way with hockey, and we’re going to look the other way with MMA when more data comes in. We tolerate nearly anything that happens to others in pursuit of our own entertainment, and if we are the entertainers, we will tolerate nearly anything that allows us to get paid for it. -Ray Ratto

Well, that’s helpful Ray.  “Contact sports are dangerous, they will always be, we don’t care because we’re a bloodthirsty mob…”

That’s not my take. I would bet that all those uncaring people really do care, would like to have a way to channel their caring, like accepting adjustments to the game and better protection for the players, not only in equipment and play but also testing and treatment.  No matter how horrifying a thing is, caring is not all it takes.  We need information.

Who cares about concussions in the NHL? Who should?

We should all care about head injuries, as we should care about cancer and broken necks and environmental destruction, and so many things that can make a pessimist’s assessment of life a real drag.  That’s what the serenity prayer is for.  There are a lot of things we can change, but we may need more than courage to do it.

Yesterday I read this post about the lack of passionate, immediate media response to Marc-Andre Bourdon’s confession that he hid a concussion from his team back in February:

I think the fact that we didn’t mention it just goes to show how awful the NHL’s concussion culture is right now, which was the basis of Lambert’s post back on April 13. I read probably 95 percent of the Flyers stories written, as does Geoff, and when I read Seravalli’s original story, you know what my reaction was?

Oh, okay. That sounds about right. *close story, move on with the day*  -Broad Street Hockey

Is it possible that Bourdon’s admission came too close to Van Riemsdyk’s?  I can’t even remember when JVR fessed up to that or when it happened.  I’m as guilty of blocking things out as anyone.  I know the Toews revelation came much later.  Was Bourdon’s case less visible because, by then, it was technically an AHL story?  Whatever, I don’t think people care that little, they’re just at an impasse.  I haven’t written much on the subject for a while, but I can tell you that when that story popped up on my radar I did kind of flip out.  That’s me.  I’m a worry-wort and a rookie.

Jagr in English

OMG #SJSharks trade talk. Want 2 vomit. Or cry. Or punch some1. Then cry more.—
M Walsh (@petshark47) April 25, 2012

In times like these, I turn to my own Pavlov’s bell.

Everything is going to be just fine.

I was a little disappointed to see this yesterday:

Jagr surprised me. Fully focused and committed all season long. Mentor and example to young Flyers. Didn't resort to Jaromir being Jaromir.—
Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) April 24, 2012

Gotta right something here

Two losses in a row. Really, Flyers?  Oh pony pucks, what did I expect, with Grossmann concussed, Bourdon concussed,  JVR playing with a barely healed foot, Couturier getting his brains rattled every game by Malkin… what did I expect?  Can they pull off another win at all?  With predictably questionable calls and non-calls, the fourth game will indeed be the toughest one to win.

Speaking of elimination games, yesterday’s ousting of the Red Wings by Nashville made me sad.  Babcock’s post-gamer made me more sad, with him conceding that Nashville had more depth than Detroit did.  That has to fuel the talk about Holmstrom and/or Lidstrom retiring.  It isn’t that Detroit could find better, but they could be replaced by more and younger bodies.  Is it time?  So melancholy.

Respect

Roenick said the players need to show more respect, not do recklessly brutal things to each other.  These guys talk about how respected enforcers are:

Hm.  Enforcers are highly respected?  How do we show that respect?  They don’t get paid much on the NHL scale.  Most of them go from one short contract to another.  They are expected to go ask for head injuries.  Is it respectful to think twice about taunting them or poking them in the eye?  Is that respect or fear?

I know the players have some regard for the guys who have to do the dirty jobs.  Not only do they not want to do it themselves but basic human compassion will make you feel warmly toward the guy who does that job.  But I’m not sure respect is the right word.  In too many ways, these guys are treated with blatant disregard for their well-being.  That sounds like disrespect to me.

Blowout

It just dawned on me that the term “blowout” for a 10-3 loss is just like a car tire exploding at high speed.  The term doesn’t refer to the winner but to the loser.

That is really all I have to say about tonight’s Flyers loss to the Pens in Game 4 ofthe 2012 ECWF.

That, and I would not be the least surprised to see Leighton as backup on Friday.  Jumping in to a losing cause isn’t Bob’s forte. No idea if Bryz is any good at it.