WEDNESDAY COMMENTARY – OVIE SHUTS EM UP

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 & Rock 98.5 FM)

IT’S A CASE OF “HERE WE GO AGAIN”.

THAT SITUATION WHICH I LOATHE; WHERE SPORTS CROSSES INTO POLITICS, OR THE NEWS.

BUT IT’S FRONT AND CENTRE THESE DAYS … WASHINGTON CAPITALS STAR ALEX OVECHKIN UNDERFIRE FOR HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH RUSSIAN LEADER VLADIMIR PUTIN.

IT’S NOT THAT I’M CLOSED-MINDED ENOUGH NOT TO DIGEST AND CONSIDER ALL OPINIONS ON THE MATTER, BUT THE CAPITALS CAPTAIN WAS BOOED REGULARLY TUESDAY NIGHT BY FLAMES FANS IN THE SADDLEDOME.

FOR ME, I FOUND THAT TO BE VERY UN-CALGARY-LIKE.

FOR THOSE NOT UP-TO-SPEED ON THE SITUATION, OVECHKIN HAS BEEN PHOTOGRAPHED ARM-IN-ARM WITH PUTIN OVER THE YEARS AND HE’S BEEN CRITICIZED MIGHTILY FOR NOT CHANGING HIS SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILE PICS OF SUPPORTING HIS HOME COUNTRY DURING RUSSIA’S INVASION OF THE UKRAINE.

WHEN PRESSED ON THE MATTER, OVECHKIN SAID HE’S NOT IN FAVOUR OF THE WAR BUT HAS FACED HEAT FOR NOT OUTRIGHT CONDEMNING PUTIN LIKE EVERYONE ELSE AROUND THE GLOBE.

PERSONALLY, I FEEL THE HATRED TOWARDS OVECHKIN – INCLUDING THE BOO’ING ON TUESDAY NIGHT – HAS BEEN MEDIA-DRIVEN.

THOSE WHO’VE TAKEN OVECHKIN’S SIDE POINT OUT THAT HIS FAMILY BACK HOME IN RUSSIA COULD BE IN JEOPARDY IF HE TAKES A STANCE AGAINST PUTIN.

THE RUSSIAN LEADER HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS “UNSTABLE” AND GETTING ANGRIER BY THE NEWS OUTLETS. AND WE EXPECT OVECHKIN TO TICK HIM OFF MORE?

IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN IN ALEX’S SHOES, I’D SUGGEST IT’S PRETTY HARD TO JUDGE HIM.

BUT THAT’S NOT ENOUGH FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE. SOME POINTED OUT THAT OVECHKIN CONTINUES TO FOLLOW PUTIN AND HIS CRONIES ON TWITTER.

SO WHAT? I FOLLOW JUSTIN TRUDEAU ON TWITTER BUT I’M NOT A FAN OF HIS AND HAVE NEVER VOTED LIBERAL IN MY LIFE.

NEWSFLASH: SOCIAL MEDIA ISN’T REAL.

TO HIS CREDIT, OVECHKIN SHRUGGED OFF THE BOO’S AND WENT OUT AND SCORED TWICE ON TUESDAY IN A 5-4 CAPS WIN.

LET’S GRUMBLE ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE. LIKE GAS PRICES.

THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY.

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV across Canada and the USA. Call your cable provider for details. You can also watch on YouTube Live and listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)