That's Just Grapes Being Grapes...
by J.P. on Jan 30, 2009 4:46 PM EST
21 comments
Don Cherry's latest take on Alex Ovechkin is a figurative seven-layer dip of jingoistic bloviation (as opposed to this, which is pretty much a literal seven-layer dip of awesomeness). Have a look:
True, he's the most dynamic player in the league, but Alex Ovechkin also has a tendency to hit from behind every once in a while and throws his body around more than any other star. Cherry believes this is because there's no accountability – opponents know what Donald Brashear is there for. Even if Ovie wanted to drop the gloves, it's unlikely he'd get a chance to square off before multiple teammates got in the middle; he's too valuable. Cherry thinks Ovie may even be blissfully ignorant of the chaos he causes.
"He doesn't realize it," Cherry said. "I've seen guys ready to go (after being hit) and then they realize it was him. If you were a Canadian hitting like Ovechkin, you'd be fighting all the time. Ryan Getzlaf would be dropping the gloves all the time."
Ryan Getzlaf is a great player [enter Eric Fehr crack here], but he neither scores nor hits like AO, so what does he have to do with anything? And Alex as "blissfully ignorant?" Please. The mind boggles when reading tripe like this.
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And there's nothing wrong with that...
by hotdog88gt on Jan 30, 2009 11:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Actually, there is. The use of the term “jingoism” generally refers to extreme patriotism “marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy”. I suppose in this case Grapes’ comments about AO and hockey in general is as close as he gets to true foreign policy.
by hotdog88gt on Jan 30, 2009 11:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
And THN’s Ryan Kennedy deserves derision too. Really? AO hits from behind “every once and a while?” Actually: He does so rarely, especially for a guy with as many HTs as AO. Look it up before you type, Kennedy…
by TylerG on Jan 30, 2009 5:05 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Related – I assume that “blissfully ignorant” are Kennedy’s words, making me cringe at the thought of what Cherry might have actually said.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Jan 30, 2009 5:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
It goes on in all sports with foreign guys, particularly in baseball. How many times have you heard the phrase “Manny being Manny” or have heard some other Latin player being described as “child-like” or “aloof”?
I hate when Grapes talks about foreign guys like this, because he’s missing the entire point of how WONDERFUL they’ve made the game of hockey.
I did it all for love my friends, for love I did it all
by YvonLabresMoustache on Jan 30, 2009 5:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Interesting
You think that “Manny being Manny” is in some way related to him being Latin? I’ve never thought that.
I hypothesize Canadians think of Cherry like someone might think of their grandmother that spouts off a bunch of racist garbage. ie, Making it okay by rationalizing it as a generation gap and just tolerating/ignoring what they are saying and loving them for tradition’s sake rather than any rational reason.
by Sct112 on Jan 30, 2009 6:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I’ve heard Pat Burrell described the same way. Jeff Kent too. I hear ya, but…. Grapes is one-of-a-kind.
by TylerG on Jan 30, 2009 6:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
OK, so Europeans first weren’t tough enough, they couldn’t make for effective captains (well, until last year), and now, they play too rough and are ignorant besides.
Gee, Don…maybe we should just give you a gun to shoot them all.
If you've read this far...seek help.
by ThePeerless on Jan 30, 2009 5:38 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Wait a second..
I’m getting mixed messages here. Does Ovechkin lack accountability because (1) Brashear is there to cover his butt and AO is “too valuable,” or (2) he’s not Canadian?
Because Kennedy attributes #1 to Cherry, but typically we only get the anti-Russian comment directly from the horse’s mouth.
by Natty Bumppo on Jan 30, 2009 6:11 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Don Cherry HIMSELF is a seven-layer Dip
I have never thought he was worth a moment’s notice. His nationalistic bullshit is so Seventies. Y-A-W-N
by Uncle C on Jan 30, 2009 6:14 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Yes, because Ovie is obviously “blissfully ignorant” to the emotional aspects of the physical game. Obviously.
…
by vi on Jan 30, 2009 7:41 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Don Cherry's Speech
THIS IS HOW I TALK I HAVE A SPEECH IMPEDIMENT AND I CANNOT LOWER THE SOUND OF MY OWN VOICE NOR CAN I STOP TALKING TO HEAR MYSELF TALK.
by Dimitri Khristich Dating Express on Jan 30, 2009 8:58 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Best username ever
Ron and Fez Noon to Three
by YvonLabresMoustache on Jan 31, 2009 9:07 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
He gets paid for how he speaks, not what he speaks… Kind of like Kornhole and Wilbitch, now that I think about it. Yikes.
tictactoehockey.blogspot.com
by turnituptoeleven on Jan 30, 2009 9:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Hey Cherry, of course if Ovechkin was Canadian (like me) you would be talking about how much you love the guy and the way he is both a scoring machine and hitting machine. Typically you love guys like him, but since he is Russian, you have to come up with some reason for disliking him. It is not because he hits from behind…that is just your cover for your real dislike…he is not Canadian (or American…Cherry also likes the Americans too).
by CapsFanSince1979 on Jan 30, 2009 11:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I certainly seems to trouble Don that a Russian is the best player around these days…
+1
by hotdog88gt on Jan 30, 2009 11:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
100% agreed…Cherry is an enormous nationalist and has long crafted justifications for why he just can’t stand European players (the visor thing being the most notable). I’m sure it kills him inside that Ovechkin is the Gordie Howe-esque super-stud that Canada wishes it could call its own. Has Ovi delivered some questionable hits from behind? I think so, but I also think Cherry would have no problem with them were Ovi Canadian.
by grapejoos on Feb 2, 2009 11:24 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Cherry says he’s seen people hold up before hitting OV. I’ve never noticed that; but if it’s true, it aint because of Brash. It’s because they know OV will likely survive the hit, seek them out, and punish them. He’s unique in that he polices himself. From the Bruins game the other day – OV got hooked into the board, a penalty but not an intent to injure — “a hockey play” as OV called it. Brash didnt go after anybody – but sure as heck OV was a hitting machine in the 3rd. Come to think of it, Brash’s fights this year (correct me if I’m wrong D’oghboy) have mostly been staged/tough guy fights, not the “payback fight” Grapes speaks of. Basically, it’s ignorance. He’s not watching our games, folks. He’s reading USA Today and watching the Leafs and Habs and Flames……
by Pi on Jan 31, 2009 5:42 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
The only reason Cherry doesn’t like him is because he’s not from North America (Cherry bigotry is targeted at all European players not named Mats Sundin.) Take him for what he is, the Rush Limbaugh of hockey, who says things not necessarily because he believed them, but because they’ll start up controversy.
There is a reason he dresses like a clown every week….
by MikeL-Caps on Feb 2, 2009 11:33 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
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