Rangers Quote Of The Week (12/6)
John Vittas
"We're not going to stop taking risks to make our team better because sometimes I think you have to. You look at the Texas Rangers and Josh Hamilton and there's a very good example of how a risk turned out well. Sometimes they work out and sometimes they don't and you look forward."
A comment you've probably viewed at some point this past week, that is Dallas Stars Co-General Manager Brett Hull using Josh Hamilton as an example of a risk going right. Of course I'm speaking of the National Hockey League, and the six game suspension given to left-winger Sean Avery for some stupid comments he made before a game in Calgary earlier in the week.
It's an okay point that Hull makes, and one that sort of rings true in a sense. But let me tell you why I have a problem with his comparison: Discussing the types of risks Hamilton and Avery were when they arrived at their respected Metroplex teams is like comparing apples to veal parmigiana. You cannot compare the type of risk you're taking on a man who overcame a potentially life-threatening addiction to drugs and a serious bout with depression to a guy who's risky because he's been nothing but a pompous jerk and a blockhead his entire career. I know the point Hull was trying to make here - but there's nothing to compare beyond that.
And I don't pretend to know a hockey (because I really don't), but you don't have to be Barry Melrose to tell that signing Avery was beginning to damage team chemistry before a single game was even played. The Rangers, on the other hand, surrounded Hamilton with warmth from the moment he sat down at a desk in the front of a room for his introductory press conference.
The only kind of warmth Avery deserves is the heat he's getting from his teammates.
Reader Comments (1)
Well said.