Links to the Labrum

You know what really bugs me about the NHL? The fact that we never, ever know a player is playing through serious injury, unless it's obvious. I mean, I get it. You don't want to disclose that a player is hurt, therefore offering the opponent the chance to attack said player's injured body part(s).



In case you're wondering, yes, this is in regard to Mike Richards needing surgery to repair a torn right labrum. If I had known that Richards was playing with a torn labrum, perhaps I wouldn't have been so hard on him with my criticisms. Then again, I probably would have because hurt or not, it's your responsibility as a player to play up to your abilities. If you're too hurt to allow yourself to do that, maybe you shouldn't be playing. Not that Richards sucked or anything playing hurt. He just wasn't quite the same Mike Richards.

Either way, I respect his courage for playing through the pain, and as always, it's more proof that hockey players are tough as shit. Now, let's link …

-Speaking of Richards, he addressed his team's, and his own, shortcomings.

-Tony DiLeo and Stan Van Gundy get snippy.





I gotta tell you, Van Gundy cracks me up. Just watch him on the sidelines and try not to be entertained. He flails around like a maniac, and it's fantastic. Without question, Stan and Jeff Van Gundy are my favorite coaches ever in the NBA. They're hilarious, ridiculous-looking and no one would ever guess in a million years they'd be associated with the NBA if they didn't know it. Love the Van Gundys. Love them.

-Seriously, this is just pathetic:



-Speaking of Richards yet again, he's a finalists for the Selke along with Pavel Datsyuk and Ryan Kessler:

Why Mike Richards deserves the Selke: If anyone can take this award away from Datsyuk, it might be Richards. The drum beat started earlier this year for his candidacy, and like Datsyuk he has a great balance between offensive and defensive glamour stats. Richards had 30 goals and 80 points; he also had seven shorties and nine shorthanded points to lead the NHL. (Datsyuk, by comparison, had just two.) Richards was a plus-22 with 90 blocked shots, according to the NHL.

-What a jerk:

Crappiest Player of the Week: I could have picked Jimmy Rollins. I could have picked Emilio Bonifacio. I could have picked Anderson Hernandez. But I went with the true shit of the shit. Oliver Perez. 2 starts. 9 innings. 11 Earned Runs. 8 Walks. 15 Hits. 2 HRs. 7Ks and a 0-1 record. Oliver is really earning that coin. Fucking Omar.

Team of the Week: Your Defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies! Ugh. They went 5-2 behind mediocre pitching and explosive offense. Fortunately for them, the Nationals blow because they rescued themselves from a loss last night with Grand Slams from Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez.

…

For the Mets (3-4 last week), more capitalizing on the Marlin fall from grace and then a weekend from hell in Philly.

…

For the Masochists, Oliver Perez vs Jamie Moyer in a Bandbox on a late Saturday afternoon. Hanging myself is an option.

-How about some power rankings:

5. Phillies| Previous Week: 14
The World Champs have some good news: they're apparently over their championship hangover. Well, in theory. Also, the Marlins met Earth this past week. Bad news might be on the horizon too, though: Cole Hamels is dealing with another injury. That, clearly, would change things.

-It's always nice to see the Devils collapse.



-Why, exactly, does the NBA even have a rule book?

-Yeah, why aren't any college analysts featured on NFL draft coverage?



It almost makes too much sense to have guys who know just about everything there is to know about college football talk about college football players.

-This one's for silver fox:



-A few clever Caps fans came prepared last night:



No word as to how many water bottles John Tortorella threw into the stands.

-Happy anniversary, Both Teams Played Hard.



-'Duk apologizes to Raul Ibanez.

-A lot of Basketbawful worsts last night.

As far as tonight goes, we got the Phils at 7:05 taking on Washington one last time before the Mets come to town Friday. The Sixers play the Magic, with or without Dwight Howard tomorrow at the Wachovia Center at 7:30.