Michael Wilbon: Hockey Sage

Did you read Michael Wilbon's article about Alex Ovechkin in the March 2, 2010 edition of the Washington Post? You can check it out at the following link:

http://views.washingtonpost.com/world-wide-wilbon/wilbon/2010/03/crosby_miles_ahead_of_ovechkin.html

I'm admittedly not a big Wilbon fan and it is always a little scary when he writes about hockey. But this article, for the most part, was right on. Wilbon suggests Cap fans may want to stop with the argument Ovechkin is better. I agree, Crosby has won a Stanley Cup and an Olympic Gold medal; on both occasions he went through Ovechkin to attain them.

Wilbon also points out a bigger concern with regard to Ovechkin's behavior in Vancouver. In one incidence he shoved a female fan's camera and sustained bruises as a result. The second incidence occured when he broke the camera of a man asking for an interview. Wilbon suggests somebody needs to get Ovechkin under control - I couldn't agree more. Ovechkin's behavior at the Olympics is reprehensible and symptomatic of future issues if not checked. I also applaud Wilbon for surfacing this behavior and telling the Caps, they too, should be concerned.

I like the way the Pittsburgh Penguins handle their younger players. What better situation for Sidney Crosby than to live with Mario Lemieux and his family. Crosby has become a true ambassador of the game under Lemieux's tutelage. Moving forward, the Caps may want to take a chapter from the Penguin's book. The Pens learned this lesson the hard way with Pierre Larouche in the mid-70's.

While I agree with most everything in the above article, which really surprises me, Wilbon is off on one point. He suggests if Ovechkin were black, the media would be making a bigger deal of the two Ovechkin incidences. Michael, not true, Ovechkin knocked a camera out of someone's hands he didn't show up at work with four guns as did Gilbert Arenas - big difference. There is no race issue here!