News, Notes, and Why I Hate Dashiell Bennett (who, apparently, is male)

• In follow up to my pre-Game 6 post regarding how much better Pittsburgh is than Detroit, Pittsburgh was named as the most livable city in the United States by The Economist. Detroit, on the other hand, was ranked 135th out of 140th world-wide, right between Karachi, Pakistan and Lagos, Nigeria. No, that's not true... A respected periodical like The Economist would never call Detroit "livable".
  
  
• In Pittsburgh's red-headed step-child city, Cleveland, Mike Brown may be on his way out the door. In the interest of keeping LBJ, the Cavs are finally realizing that Mike Brown is not, in fact, Coach of the Year material. Although he was able to fool the country's basketball writers, the Magic series made it overwhelming clear that the team is successful for one reason alone, and that reason isn't Mike Brown's coaching abilities. Although Cleveland definitely needs to add another consistent scorer - I had a friend suggest a guy like Rip Hamilton, an idea I like a lot - Brown's incompentancy certainly aided in allowing Orlando to rob King James of his first trip to the finals. While Jalen Rose, the incompetent, babbling basketball analyst for ESPN may think that it was just a poor matchup, it became clear quickly that Brown's defensive scheme was not going to work. Brown, in response, did nothing. Adjustment during a game or during a series is why you have a coach in the first place.
  
  However, the most interesting part of the story is that the Cavs want to steal Pat Riley from the Heat organization. If I were him, and got this offer, I don't see how I could turn it down... The chance to coach perhaps the most talented player ever to play the game...
  
  
• Chad Johnson got tattoos on his face. Now he just needs to get himself on a decent team with a decent QB.
  

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Dashiell Bennett isn't all that bad all the time. I can admit that. But I definitely thought he was a girl when I first started reading his posts on Deadspin. I actually thought this until like yesterday, when I tried to find a picture of her (which is actually him).

Now, I will preface this by saying that his little avatar/picture thingy on the Deadspin is a Detroit Tigers logo. I'm pretty sure is a Michiganite, and a general Detroit sports fan. As you may have noted from some of my earlier posts, I do not like Detroit teams (except for the Tigers, thanks to Leyland and Van Slyke...plus their logo is cool).

But anyhow, I hate his guts. I don't like the way he writes. I don't like what he has to say. I don't think he knows much about sports. I don't think he adds anything to what used to be an excellent website. I don't like that he got on to Deadspin because he wrote for another Gawker subsidiary, Fleshbot, which basically means that I don't like him because he's clearly not a sports guy, and non-sports people really shouldn't be writing about sports, because it quickly becomes clear that they're obsessed more with their own writing than the subject they are writing about (I'm looking right at you Malcolm Gladwell...).

However, I will leave this subject for another time, because the true source of my ire is Bennett's comments below (although they certainly aren't his alone, and, actually, were probably stolen from one of the doofs on NBC who's doing the game... As an aside, Eddie Olcyzk and Mike Milbury are your guys? You do realize that Olcyzk proved himself completely incapable of teaching anyone how to play hockey, getting himself fired from one of the two teams that's been in the SC Finals the last two years, and that Milbury is the guy who built the Islanders. What next, a CNBC show featuring Fred Goodwin and Angelo Mozilo commenting on the banking industry?

• 6/10/09, "If you really want to solve a mystery, figure out how Rob Scuderi blocked three shots in the crease in the final seconds without committing a penalty. He's like the American Doug Henning or something."
  
  Well, you smarmy bastard, allow me to 'splain this to you (Oh, and nice "Doug Henning" reference... you're so fucking cool, I bet all your other piece of shit hipster friends think you're fucking awesome). NHL Rule 67.4 provides as follows:
  
  
  • 67.4 Penalty Shot - If a player, except a goalkeeper, while play is in progress, falls on the puck, holds the puck, picks up the puck, or gathers the puck into his body or hands from the ice in the goal crease area, the play shall be stopped immediately and a penalty shot shall be awarded to the non-offending team. See also Rule 63 – Delaying the Game.
  
  Ok. So now that we understand it, a non-goalkeeper is not allowed to do the following inside the crease: (1) fall on the puck, (2) hold the puck, (3) pick up the puck, (4) gather the puck into his body.
  
  So, Dash, if you look real closely at the following video (I suggest starting right at 8:47), you get a real good look at the fact that Rob Scuderi never fell on, held, picked up or gathered the puck into his body.
  
  
  
  
  
  Now, just so we're clear, let me show you examples that DO qualify for a penalty shot:
  
  Example 1: Falling on the puck in the crease (go to the 0:53 mark)
  
  
  Example 2: Gathering the puck into your body (0:54 mark, though mind you, this one is much less clear, but just watch his right arm and the white space between his arm and his body)
  
  
  
  So, basically, people need to get a set of eyes and a rule book, and not comment on calls unless the understand the game. I would expect this out of Seahawks fans, but I thought that Wings fans were better...