Yuku free message boards

Alright, all of you just shut up about the "diving".

It happens all the time, and it happens in every professional sport. You've got flopping in basketball, faux hit by pitches in baseball, fake pass interference calls in football, and diving in hockey. If a player can get an advantage occasionally by embellishing a call, they use. it. Unfortunately for Crosby, he's been labeled a diver, and now everyone picks up on them. Other players, without the label, flop just as much but get away with it because the focus isn't on it. I'm guarantee Yzerman has embellished occasionally...as did Gretzky, Lemieux, Sakic, Modano, etc. Its a part of the game. Its a part of sports. I like when its caught by the refs, but I don't fault them for geting sucked in occasionally.

I was in a bar with a bunch of people cheering for Pittsburgh yesterday. They were of the "everyone hates Detroit" mindset and thus were rooting for the Pens. I've also come across people who are of the "everyone hates the Pens" mindset, so they're rooting for the Wings. They were all Leaf fans in reality and had to elect to root for one of them. Back in the Norris division days, it owuld make sense for a Leaf fan to not support the Wings...division rivalry and all. But now the Pens are bigger rivals than the Wings. The Leafs play the Wings once a year...sometimes not at all. Seems to make more sense to dislike the Pens who they play 4 (ish) times a year. I don't get evil empire vibes from the Wings like some people seem to.

Back to the series....coming into it, the Pens were quite vocal about their score three goals a game to win. In the one game they managed to score three goals, they won. Had they scored three last night, we would have had an even series going back to Detroit. Its been established that they aren't going to win a tight checking war of attrition with the Wings. I know defence wins championships, but defence isn't going to win this one for the Pens. I'd like to see them throw caution to the wind in game 5 and see a run and gun game. The Pens have averaged 22 shots a game so far. I think we need a game where the Pens generate 30 - 35 shots on net. Its going to open it up the other way...and will undoubtedly result in a number of odd-man reushes the other way, but I'd rather see the Pens go down 4-2, 5-3, 5-4 than 2-0,3-0, 3-1.

I think this series is pretty much over, but Pittsburgh will be back, not next year, but in 2010.

I think Detroit is going to have to re-build their defence and goalie situation soon, and will probably be done for a few years.

Page 6? Guess everyone's decided this is over.

Watching the pre-game naw...there's a guy with a big "JESUS IS GOD" sign behind the TSN crew.

Made me google "Jesus Hockey". I figured it would just find Ryan Smyth (he loves god...a lot). Instead, I got this:

Instead of "God Is My Co-Pilot"..."God is My Left Winger".