Canadians Upset With Cherry's Snub Of Crosby

I'll admit ahead of time I have no idea what this is ultimately about, but apparently Don Cherry has something against Sidney Crosby. According to the Globe and mail the HNIC and ESPN analyst purposefully didn't bring up the Penguins young star after Game Three and he's ultimately hurting viewers....

On Wednesday, Sidney Crosby scored two of the Pittsburgh Penguins' three goals and logged almost 20 minutes of ice time to lead the Penguins back into their series against the Detroit Red Wings. It was a terrific performance.

But guess who received the attention during the Hockey Night in Canada postgame coverage? Gary Roberts.

The show's grudge against Crosby has gone well beyond ridiculous. Yes, host Ron MacLean interviewed him last Saturday, but the show's most influential commentator, Don Cherry, doesn't like him. And MacLean certainly defers to his elder.

When Cherry did his postgame spot for ESPN, he continued to ignore Crosby and wax lyrical about Roberts. Finally, ESPN commentator Barry Melrose said, “What about the Crosby kid?”

“Oh,” Cherry said. “I forgot. Yeah, he played a great game.”

Crosby should be a Cherry favourite. He's a Canadian, he's tough and he has been in at least one fight. But the two got off to a bad start when Crosby was in junior hockey and was rapped by Cherry for being a hot dog because he used a lacrosse-style stick manoeuvre to score a goal. For his part, Crosby has a bit of an edge and he probably hasn't been appropriately deferential to Cherry.

Canadians sure do know how to hold a grudge don't they? It's an odd situation, but if a viewer has eyes he knows how good Crosby was in Game Three. They don't need a joker in a ridiculous suit to tell them that.

Hockey Night snubs Crosby, and viewers (Globe and Mail)