Boudreau, Fans Need to Shut It

Washington Capitals Coach Bruce Boudreau is under a lot of pressure. For the second year in a row, his Capitals are the number one seed in the Eastern Conference and are faced with huge expectations. Last year, Washington fell in 7 games to the eighth seeded Canadiens in a devastating upset.Boudreau took much of the heat, as it is rare for the Presidents Trophy winner to go out in the first round.

This year the Capitals were looking to shake off the continued postseason disappointment. Jumping off to a quick 2-0 lead in the series, including an overtime win in which Alexander Semin, known for his lack of postseason scoring, was able to put away the winner.

The series then headed to New York where the Rangers were able to pull out a gritty win in Game 3, winning 3-2 on a late Brandon Dubinsky goal. Game 4 was a pivotal game, with New York trying to hold home ice in the series.

Prior to the fourth game, Coach Boudreau appeared to be feeling the heat. He blasted the referees for their soft calls and questioned the toughness of certain Ranger players. When he appeared on a local radio station, he chose to rip Madison Square Garden and the Garden faithful. Excuses appeared to be flying left and right as Boudreau cited: "The locker rooms are horrible. The benches are horrible. There’s no room for anything" He would even go on to say that the Verizon Center fans were much louder than the fans at Madison Square Garden.

Whether you agree with Coach Bruce or not is not the issue. The issue instead is that why would you provoke the fans of another team when you were guaranteed to play at least one more game in their arena, and possibly two. It would be one thing if the Capitals were heading home and wanted to inspire their fans, but come on Bruce, the Caps were playing in NY in two days. Why give the team and its fans bulletin board material???

As you can imagine, the Rangers and their fans were just a little bit ticked off. An incredible second period saw the Rangers jump out to a 3-0 lead with goals by Artem Anisimov, Marian Gaborik, and Brandon Dubinsky. Feeling that a win was in the books, Rangers fans began chanting "Can you hear us" and other word play based off Coach Boudreau's comments prior to the game.

The only problem was that the game was not over. The Caps quickly made it a 3-2 game, and a second goal by Marcus Johansson tied the game at 3. Suddenly there was silence at Madison Square Garden. Now it is harder to condemn fans for supporting their team, as they cannot back it up themselves, but once again, it is unbelievable how people continue to run their mouth well before the result is in hand. Granted that a 3-0 lead at home after two periods should be as concrete as possible, the Rangers made their fans look foolish, and made Coach Boudreau look like a hero. Im not sure what Boudreau said to his team in between the 2nd and 3rd period, but it sure made him look like a hell of a coach.

The Rangers would go on to lose in Double OT on an incredibly flukey goal scored by Jason Chimera in which Marian Gaborik and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist appeared to have a miscommunication. A terrible loss for the Rangers, leaving them trailing 3-1 in the series and headed to Washington.

The lesson here is don't run your mouth unless you can back it up. In Boudreau's case, he got lucky and his team was able to bail him out. He would later retract his comments and apologize for his stupidity. Although he will receive a break from media and fans, his unnecessary risk to try and inspire the opposing team and fans almost bit him in the behind. If it wasn't for a comeback lead by everyone but star Alexander Ovechkin, Boudreau could be looking at a 2-2 series, and a flaming hot seat for a job.

A lesson to Rangers fans, be sure your team is going to win before mocking the opposing team. Although it is the playoffs, and it is unlikely to see a team lay down and admit defeat regardless, why would you want to give the Capitals players added motivation. Clearly they came to play in the third period and the Rangers fans helped the Capitals nearly end the series.

I admit, I was ready to pronounce Boudreau, Ovechkin and the Capitals dead after the second period of Game 4, but instead Im left saying, "Damn Rangers fans, you gave it to the Caps".

We will never know how the game would have ended without the crowd instigation, but the Rangers can now only hope the MSG will even get to see another game, as they fight for their series lives in DC for game 5. The lesson here, dont talk until you are sure you have won, or you are sure you wont have to see your opponent again.

NBA Goes Too Far with Latest Kobe Controversy

Who is the most prominent star in the game? If you didn't say Lebron James, then most likely you picked this guy, Kobe Bryant. Kobe has dominated the NBA pretty much since he skipped college and entered the league at age 18. Despite 5 rings on his hand, and challenging for another title this season, Bryant has faced his share of difficulties since joining the league.

We all remember the incident in Colorado that almost cost Kobe his marriage and almost landed him in jail. But he's a super talented and super rich guy, so with a good lawyer, and an expensive gift for his wife, Kobe moved past the rape accusations.

Most would forget his demons, as he brought LA many championships, and a new persona was created for Kobe.
No longer was it cute and young Kobe with a bit of an afro;now there was the mean Kobe Bryant, rocking the snarl across his face.

Which leads us up to the present day, where Kobe continues to establish himself as a brilliant player. The Lakers were backing into the 2 seed of the playoffs when Kobe was engulfed in a new controversy regarding questionable word choice in a heated situation.

If you havent seen it, here is what's causing all the buzz.

Did Kobe make a mistake in using the "other F word"? Yes. But is it a $100,000 mistake? Absolutely not. It is clear the NBA is trying to make an example out of Kobe and show Gay Rights organizations that the NBA is not at all homophobic. But c'mon Mr. Stern and all those who believe that Bryant was being malicious: he was in the heat of the moment. Does he really think that the referee is gay? Of course not. He was mad and that is the word that came out of his mouth.

I truly believe that Kobe was sincere in his apology and don't believe he should've been punished at all. Bryant got unlucky; he got caught on camera. That is a word that is likely often heard on benches across the NBA and other leagues during games. The truth is that these are grown men, and they are involved in a high-intensity sport involving lots of contact and requires high levels of fitness. They do not have the time to think through all their decisions in the spur of the moment. Kobe regrets his decision, and that is that.

Please America, lets not take this out of control and have groups protesting Bryant as a monster and hateful person. He messed up, got unlucky, and apologized. Let's drop it. Rather than fine him $100,000, we should just pretend it never happened. If we all had a camera on us, we would not want to justify every word we chose in the heat of the moment.

And please dont say that $100,000 is nothing to Kobe. Regardless of his financial status, that is a lot of money, and is a beyond ludicrous amount to ask any player to have to pay. The punishment doesn't fit the crime, and this just may make Kobe mad. Good news Lakers fans, opposing teams don't like to see Kobe mad.