NHL.com ran an article yesterday on Cristobal Huet and teased it on their front page with a curious caption that really wasn't expounded upon in the article itself. Take a look:
Now, I'll let you decide whether it's "Russian sniper stereotyping" or just sheer stupidity (hint: it's the latter), but "selfish" is probably one of the last words I'd use to describe Alex Ovechkin - right after "clean-cut" (which I recognize is two words, but go with me for a second) and before "unhappy."Anyway, I'm guessing the site got some blowback on the caption, as today's front page is all too quick to mention that just because he has more than 23% more shots than the second most trigger-happy player in the League, it doesn't mean he's - you guessed it - selfish.
3 comments:
Unrelated but related - I saw that NHL Center Ice will be doing the OvechKam on one channel and the game on another for the Calgary game. Good news for me!
Let me first say, I am not a conspiracy kind of guy. That said:
NHL.com Executive Editor 1: Man this Russian kid is becoming quite popular! How will that affect our Crosby as the face of the NHL campaign?
NHL.com Executive Editor 1b: In a not-positive way, I am sure, eh?
Ex. Editor1: What can be done?
Ex. Editor1b: Subliminal phrases that cast doubt on Ovechkin's character?
Ex.Editor1: Oh yeah? But he's so nice and enthusiastic, what sort of blemish can we attribute to his character?
Ex. Editor1b: We could hint that his initial reactions to a potential threat to a beloved team mate are selfishly motivated.
Ex. Editor1: Do we have to say it like that?
Ex. Editor1b: No, eh. We're editors, we can be much more subtle. We could even project selfishness by negating selfishness. As long as the word "selfish" is used people will relate it to the non-Canadian kid.
Ex. Editor1: Brilliant!
another mention of selfishness by the canadian media (and by AO himself), with a more positive spin:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/sports/story.html?id=ff1b9985-de4e-4752-95a6-83279e3d0b64
And if the team misses the playoffs and he gets 60?
"It's not good for the team, you know," he responded. "Maybe some fans, maybe some people will think: 'Oh, he's selfish, he just want to score goals, he don't want to win.' I don't want to look selfish, you know."
So far, Ovechkin is the furthest thing from selfish. Selfless might be more like it.
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