Update on Crosby's thoughts

Tuesday, 13 November 2012 13:30

Written by Shelly Anderson

For the second day in a row, Penguins center and captain Sidney Crosby answered questions about his frustration over the lockout and collective bargaining. We want to point out a couple of things that go a little behind the scenes.

First, Crosby does understand and always has understood that when he speaks out about topics such as the lockout, fans and media probably pay more attention than anything from most if not all other players. He won't speak out or criticize unless he feels strongly, and his frustration is real, not a tactic. Second, Crosby in no way means for his venting to be any form of griping about the type of money NHL players make. He's frustrated within the context of negotiations, and it wouldn't matter if they were in a standoff over $3 million or $3 billion. It's about the process and what he thinks is and isn't happening, and is or isn't fair bargaining.

Beyond that, you can draw your own conclusions. We have to say we are somewhat surprised that Monday's story on TSN.ca based on quotes from the Post-Gazette as well as today's story based on Crosby's follow-up quotes have drawn pages and pages of comments on that website, most of them heavily critical of Crosby, even though we would guess most of the commentors are Canadian. It seems to us that Crosby is a sharp and thoughtful guy who is following the talks closely, that his frustration is understandable, and that his opinions are well-formed, regardless of whether anyone agrees. We would be interested in knowing how you feel in the comment section below this post.

Crosby didn't say much different today from his answers to our questions on Monday. This time, it was in front of a couple of cameras, including a crew hired by Canadian network TSN, who scrambled to Southpointe based on reading what Crosby had to say Monday.

You can read what Crosby said Monday on an earlier entry on this blog and in today's story. There is a video from today here as well as a TSN video.