Cherry on Ovechkin

Here's Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau on Don Cherry's rant against Ovechkin:

MSN Sports: "(Don's) a friend of mine. And he's an idol of mine. I mean, I love what Don Cherry has stood for for 30 years. I just think that even the smartest people in the world are wrong sometimes, and I just thought he was wrong," Boudreau said before the Caps' game against Florida on Sunday. "Because he doesn't know Alex like we know Alex."

Cherry put the hammer down on Ovechkin during Saturday's "Coach's Corner" segment on Hockey Night in Canada, spurred by the brewing off-ice rivalry between him and Sidney Crosby.

"I'm going to tell you about this guy: He's got a free ride. He runs at guys, does this stuff," Cherry said. "I am predicting somebody's going to get him. And somebody's going to get him good. There's somebody out there -some big defenceman is going to be sitting in the weeds. As he cuts across centre ice, somebody's going to cut him in half."

They're both right. Boudreau for standing by his player, Cherry for saying Ovechkin's an idiot who is asking for trouble. Ovechkin has a habit of celebrating a goal like an NFL wide receiver or European soccer player.

I saw Cherry's Hockey Night in Canada appearance last night. His words look sharper on paper. It didn't sound to me like Cherry wanted Ovechkin to get labelled. He just thinks it will happen sooner or later. I've been thinking the same thing for quite a while.

Cherry's also right about soccer being a lame sport. What's the old Simpsons bit? "Long games, low scoring, and ties? You betcha!"

Plus, when stuff like this passes for good tactics in a "sport," you know you've got problems: