STFU.

I would say Mr. Fraser needs to get a grip.

The once-congenial and ultra-media-friendly Ovechkin has shown progressive cracks in his off-ice demeanor for some time now, culminating with his Olympic availability where he essentially ignored the English media during the tournament.

I love how the media have gotten pissy about his availability during the Olympics (which may or may not be his doing) are now acting like this is part of a longer trend of Ovechkin acting like a jerk off the ice.

This guy is the editor?

And by the way, where the fuck is the Boyle suspension, and why isn’t this pantywaist dickskinning about that? porcupine-eating douchebag

Wasn’t Avery’s sloppy seconds comments made in a NHL locker room? If my memory is in fact correct then this is apples and oranges….but if we’re to assume that Mr. Fraiser is right and this behavior is worthy of a suspension does that mean Boyle’s slew foot is also open season?

It was a completely dick move on Ovie’s part; he could have just kept walking.

That said, this article is fucking retarded.

guy’s probably just testing the limits of the canadian media suspension lobby.

if ovie gets suspended for something off the ice like this, it’s only fitting that boyle take a seat for his slew foot on semin

hmmm interesting so should the hockey player that got into a bar fight during the winter olympics (sorry forgot the name and too lazy to look it up) get suspended? How about that goalie that got arrested for DUI you know since driving drunk puts other individuals in danger? Funny that he call out this incident which didn’t cause any harm to the individual filming yet a bar fight and driving while intoxicated are okay? I get Ovechkin is a star but let’s get real for all we know the person filming was wearing a shirt that said f u ovi you and russians are an abomination to the olympics and hockey. So here’s a thought how about you get all the facts before printing up this ridiculous opinion.

…has no jurisdiction in this circumstance. Avery’s comment was made in an NHL building, meaning he was under their rules.

In the Olympic area where Ovechkin was, there is nothing the NHL can do. And as long as he was not at an Olympic venue, the IIHF and IOC have no jurisdiction either.

Nothing will come of this, other than perhaps an apology from Alex once his frustration wears off….

How many interviews Crosby gave with the Russian media, or the Swedish media? I hope they’re taking him to task for being such an inconsiderate monster. Of course I would love it if Ovie gave more English interviews by why should he have to, they do realize he’s Russian right?.

Inane pandering.

To say that North American Media (and Canadian media, in particular) have been fair and reasonable towards Ovechkin (and Team Russia… there are other players on that team, not that the coverage would indicate such) in the course of the Games is absolutely farcical. Almost all “sideline/rink-side” reporting over the past 10 years in major sports is maniacally inane and stupid to begin with, but watching this Olympics has given me new respect for just how depraved and stupid this kind of reporting can be. Asking Ovechkin if Russia was “intimidated” (a word that has been tossed around FAR too much for any reasonable, dignified media outlet) playing Canada in the quarterfinals wasn’t any sort of journalistic tactic for information gathering of any kind; it seemed much more like an extension of Canadian “hockey talking heads” and their glee in finally beating Russia when it mattered (heck, if Canada wins gold they will only be 5 gold medals behind Russia in the modern era [since 1956]! What intimidation!).

Ovechkin, all of 24 years of age, might have appeared terse, testy, and even downright unfriendly towards North American media outlets (ESPN has been pretty “hurt” by Ovechkin’s rudeness as well, recently). Based upon the limited bits that have made it to TV, most reasonable people would have been upset by the lines of questioning and over-reacted themselves or just walked away, even if they hadn’t just played in an all-important world-wide tournament and played well below their ability.

Combine inane (better word: STUPID) questioning with downright aggressive syntax (perhaps Ovechkin doesn’t understand the nuance in “intimidated”) and its reasonable to assume that ANY PERSON might react the way Ovechkin did. The fact that he has carried this malaise for days isn’t unusual either; consider the pressure of the Olympics and the consistent belittling nature of the comments directed toward him. Anyone that has dealt with TV media outlets also knows that camera-people are not worried about courtesy. I happen to consider getting shoved by a ticked-off, recently-post-game Ovechkin akin to getting run into on the sidelines in an NFL game; a consequence of being close to the action. Leave him alone already, Canada won, OK? 2010 Olympic quarterfinals goes to Canada… for all that that is worth.

What an embarrassingly stupid op-ed.