Crosby Nails Guy In The Cubes; Nobody Cares?

Sidney Crosby is the NHL's golden boy. That's a statement that shouldn't surprise anybody. And because of this, and because the NHL has sunk tons of marketing dollars into Sid he gets away with a lot.

That apparently includes punching an opposing player in the groin repeatedly from behind. You read that right.

During last Thursday's game between the Penguins and the Thrashers, Crosby proceeded to sucker punch Thrashers d-man Boris Valabik in the head and then in the groin while he was down on the ice. I kid you not. (Video is down below for proof)

Why this story hasn't been covered more, or why Crosby hasn't been suspended or fined is a mystery. Or technically conspiracy is the right word. I just hate to throw around conspiracy theories too much for fear of sounding like a hillbilly from down south who believes everything is a conspiracy.

But conspiracy seems about right this time around. If any other player did this, every single media outlet, hockey analyst, or talk radio host be outraged. So far the only people covering this have been sports blogs Deadspin and Puck Daddy.

Also, no word from the offices of Gary Bettman about this incident. Even though it happened almost a week ago. By comparison, as soon as the words "sloppy seconds" slipped out of Sean Avery's mouth, Bettman had Avery suspended indefinitely.

Puck Daddy made a great point when they wrote about this. If it was the other way around, if Valabik sucker punched Crosby in the family jewels, he wouldn't see any action for a long time. And because Valabik is such a huge dude weighing in at 6'7", 240 pounds, Crosby wouldn't be seeing any action of a different sort for a very long time. If you follow what I'm saying...

I guess the lesson from this for all you kids out there is that it doesn't matter how you act or what terrible things you do. As long as you're really good at something you will be let off the hook. Get good grades in gym class? Go out and punch some math nerds in the crotch during the reccess. If the principal gets all up in your business, just tell him that the NHL said it was okay.

Morning After Meltdown: The NHL

Usually the Morning After Meltdown is reserved for a team or player that did so terribly the night before, that it is my duty as a hockey fan to point out their terribleness in this daily segment.

Only one problem. There weren't any games on Sunday. None at all.

Instead the NHL decided to have all 30 teams in action on Saturday and give them the day off on Sunday. Why you ask? Well as to not compete with Game 4 of the World Series.

Oh yes, you know that exciting ratings juggernaut that is the 2008 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays? That's why they couldn't play any hockey games! Honestly, I'm a baseball fan and I forgot that thing was still going on.

The NHL isn't alone in this scheduling head scratcher though. The NFL didn't have any Sunday night games either. They had Sunday afternoon games, which maybe the NHL should've considered.

So for leaving me with nothing to watch on Sunday night besides the God awful boring Phillies-Rays World Series, or the now past it's prime Entourage, the NHL (notably it's scheduling department) is awarded the Morning After Meltdown.

The Cap Goes Up

For the fourth straight year, the NHL's salary cap is on the rise.

This upcoming season the cap will jump to $56.7 million. That's a $6.4 million increase from this past season.

The floor, or the least amount the cheap bastard teams have to spend also rose to $40.7 million.

The most an NHL player can earn in a new contract next season is $11.34 million/year.

This is the fourth straight season the salary cap has risen since the end of the NHL lockout when the cap was set at $39-million.

This is obviously such a great system right? Right? American teams struggle as owners are busted for fraud or file for bankruptcy because their team can't sell tickets. Meanwhile hockey thrives in Canada as usual and because of high Canadian revenues, it drives up the salary cap. Yet another wonderful idea from Gary Bettman that has worked magnificently...

Source: TSN