Our hockey media: nauseating

TSN's Darren Dreger, a guy I normally like, er... don't hate... set off a firestorm last week when he reported the Pittsburgh Penguins let Sidney Crosby play with a concussion.

The Penguins claim Crosby suffered the injury on a hit by Victor Hedman in a game against the Lightning. Dr. Dreger and some guy from Sportsnet nobody has ever heard of say it happened one game earlier, on the David Steckel cheapshot (my words, not theirs) in the Winter Classic.


Some idiot who writes for Sun media chimed in with his own two cents about how the Penguins organization has to live with its decision.

The fact that these insiders/Neurosurgeons went as far as to even suggest the Pens let their FRANCHISE play with a concussion against Tampa is just a little bit on the ridiculous side. Do you really think the Penguins and their medical staff would put Crosby and their entire season at risk by doing something so foolish? The answer is no, you don't think that.


This is just the latest example of TSN trying to make something out of nothing, basically trying to create news where there is none, or at least none of severe stature.

I understand they have a job to do, but over the last couple of seasons the network has become sort of a hockey news whore. The sad thing is, TSN is still the best of the bunch when it comes to covering the game in Canada. Really though, look at their competition:

You have Sportsnet trying WAY too hard with their "business-casual" looking anchors. Actually I don't even know if their still doing that, I haven't watched Sportsnet since the FIRST time I saw Bill Watters in a blazer and blue jeans. By now, Sportsnet could have its on-air people wearing the black framed-Taylor Swift-nerdy-look at this f*&$ing hipster-glasses and skinny jeans.

Then you have The Score, who, when it comes to hockey, isn't even trying anymore. They are a basketball and MMA channel now, and that is about it. Besides classic wrestling, there is no reason to watch that network.

CBC has become almost unwatchable. Don Cherry continues his descent into senility to the point now where is quite evidently a bigot and racist (PK Subban isn't allowed to show confidence). The Satellite Hotstove used to be my favourite part of HNIC, but now its a weekly cock measuring contest between Mike Milbury, Pierre LeBrun and Glenn Healy. Jeff Marek is a dweeb and the biggest jock sniffer on television. PJ Stock and Kelly Hrudey are the only reasons I even consider not flipping channels during the intermissions.

So unless you have the NHL Network, which is just a TSN subsidiary anyway, you're left with uber geek James Duthie hosting another tired, played out panel discussing head shots for the 674th consecutive broadcast.

Too much of something good, even when that something is hockey, isn't always a good thing. Actually, it is terrible.