image from mobilwi.typepad.com
There are two types of people when it comes to athlete-media debates: There’s the all I care about is how they play get out of the way you brainwashing scriptuals you’re part of the problem people, and there’s the gee, my Russian goaltender is used to a carefree hockey market and I’m beginning to suspect that he’s feeling the pressure of playing in Philadelphia people.

We will likely hear from both in the comments.

Last night, after urinating away the Flyers' 4-2 lead in the span of 25 seconds – and not with the Cliff Lee golden-hued excellence kind of piss, but the putrid, I’ve been drinking coffee and eating asparagus since I’ve woken up kind – Bryz declined to speak with reporters. Or the Flyers declined to let Bryz speak with reporters. One or the other.

Predictably, Flyers beat writers chimed in. Shenanigans!

 

 

I’m telling you, angering a group of hockey scribes is like poking a hornet’s next with Max Talbot’s fucking penis— it stings.

More.

Seravalli: [Philly.com]

After last night's game, a team spokesman originally said Bryzgalov was not available because he was receiving postgame treatment in a hot tub. Usually, someone with flulike symptoms would want to steer clear of anything warm.

The Flyers spokesman said he was instructed by general manager Paul Holmgren to "not make him speak" since he was sick.

When asked, Holmgren reiterated that Bryzgalov was ill and that they wanted him to leave the facility as quickly as possible to avoid contaminating the rest of the team.

 

Dave Isaac: [Philly Sports Daily]

Bryzgalov was not available for comment after the game. A team spokesman said that he was feeling ill and didn’t want to talk to the media. But at 10:45 p.m. he was well enough to tweet about the World Junior Championship where Russia lost 1-0 in overtime to Sweden.

His tweet praised Andrei Makarov, the Russian netminder who came up with the loss. Bryzgalov got his first win in almost a month, but apparently didn’t want to talk about that.

 

The Tweet they are passively irked by – because it’s unfathomable that a Russian goaltender with a chest cold could have the strength to pick up his iPhone – is this one:

 

Bryz is talking about the goaltender for Russia in the World Junior Championships. Russia lost last night's gold medal game, which would have been entering the third period around when Bryz was due to speak with the media…

So, it seems we have three options, only one of which is acceptable for a goaltender avoiding his post-game obligations: A) Bryz was sick, B) the Flyers don’t want the media messing with his psyche, or C) he wanted to watch the end of the World Junior Championships gold medal game.

I’m going with option C. And no, that wasn’t the acceptable answer. 

Comment on this post, and you'll entered to win a “Quality Grooming Experience” from American Male, a full-service salon for guys in Center City, Berwyn and Reading that has been helping men look their best for over 12 years. The “Quality Grooming Experience” features shampoo, haircut, scalp massage and much more. We’ll be picking two winners per week. Must enter your email address to be eligible.