IT'S EASY TO ROOT FOR RONALDO ... NOT OILERS
Some soccer … much hockey ...
There was Portugal’s CRISTIANO RONALDO, one of
soccer’s all-time greats, unable to watch, hiding behind a
teammate, while his countrymen dueled arch-rival Spain
in a penalty shootout that determined the winner of the
2025 UEFA Nations League final. The score was 2-2 after
regulation followed by two overtime periods.
Coming on in the 61st minute, Ronaldo had scored the
tying goal … and tried but couldn’t continue because of a
leg injury late in the second half … and Fox, thankfully,
kept a camera on the 40 year old striker, emphasizing just
how important the result was to him.
And when it was over, and Portugal prevailed, Ronaldo
fell to his knees and covered his head, crying … with
glee, of course. So it wasn’t the World Cup but a
relatively new competition. Big deal.
“I can’t help but feel this is what it means to represent
your country,” said Landon Donovan, former U.S.,
standout working for Fox, adding that he wished the
current American team players felt the same … especially
the handful that opted to take time off and rest rather than
play in the upcoming Gold Cup.
*** The NHL Rangers reportedly are about to trade
K’ANDREMILLER, the highly-skilled defenseman,
and the Philadelphia Flyers are among a handful of teams
said to be interested. Surely they jest … Softie
Miller with a bunch of tough guys coached by tough-guy
RICK TOCCHET? They do their homework, don’t
they?
*** Boy, did the Edmonton Oilers make it easy (a) for the
Florida Panthers; and (b) to root against them in Game 3
of the Stanley Cup finals, eh? … Or did you miss the
litany of cheap shots … like EVANDER KAINE shoving
the blade of his stick in the face of CARTER
VERHAIGHE, who was laying on the ice, stunned and
exposed, the result of a nasty slash to the back of his legs
by Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard with 6:05 remaining …
Kaine got two minutes for roughing and a misconduct.
Bouchard got nothing.
Former Bruins’ tough guy TRENT FREDERIC made a
major mistake starting a dust-up with Florida’s SAM
BENNETT that triggered a seldom-seen (any more) five-
on-five brawl 9:31 from the end ... Frederic hit Bennett
twice from behind with his stick before Bennett had
enough … It was questionable who got the worst of the
fisticuffs in the featured bouts, Frederic or DARNELL
NURSE, by seldom-used 6-3 left winger JONAH
GADJOVICH who was fourth in Panthers’ penalty
minutes (60) during the regular season despite appearing
in only 42 games for a team-low average of 8.27 minutes.
“They’ve got to initiate, not retaliate,” said WAYNE
GRETZKYof the Oilers, with whom he won three
Stanley Cups a few years ago … now a member of TNT’s
first-star studio show crew. “Everything seemed to be a
response to what Florida did. They’ve got to play Oilers’
hockey … fast, crisp.”
Yeah, but … “The Great One” knows why the Oilers, in
their frustration, resorted to tough-guy tactics once the
game got out of hand … but couldn’t bring himself to
point a (middle) finger at goalie STUART SKINNER …
who let in five goals, three of which were stoppable, until
replaced with 16:33 to go … “He didn’t play his A-
game,” said Edmonton coach KRIS KNOBLAUCH,
“but we didn’t play our A-game either.” … So, who starts
Thursday night? … Skinner, who has allowed 13 goals in
three games (terrible .866 save percentage) but has a
history of being outstanding in games 4-7 the past two
years (14-1, 1.39, .942, 3 shutouts) after a dismal 7-14,
3.45, .870, 1 shutout the first three … or CALVIN
PICKARD, who is 6-0 (2.87) but has a shaky .888 save
percentage in eight games this year … before an injury
gave Skinner another opportunity and, said MIKE
JOHNSON on NHL TV, “He is incredibly resilient.”
Question: Do the Rangers really want Frederic, who was
seen getting his clock cleaned by Vegas Golden Knights’
NICOLAS HAGUE early in the playoffs? … Come to
think of it … Frederic (wisely) avoided former Boston
brawler and teammate BRAD MARCHAND.
Until next time …
Please send all comments to mbl749@comcast.net.
Thank you (I think).
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