The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Courtesy of Transcontinental Printing, Kevin Adshade Will he or won't he play? The mystery of Sidney Crosby's health status has people in an uproar. Well, at least some people. I've got my own hockey problems to deal with (Maple Leafs) although I do hope, as a hockey fan, that Crosby's head issues aren't as long-ranging as some people are beginning to suspect, and of course speculate on. Which is what I'm about to do, now that I think about it. Nova Scotia's favourite son Ð and the game's best player Ð has not played hockey since early January, when he suffered two concussions and ultimately had to be shut down for the rest of the season. A Halifax sports scribe even demanded this week that the Penguins come clean about Crosby's condition, even if it isn't really the public's business Ð although the interest is certainly understandable. Maybe the Penguins honestly don't know if Crosby will even attend the start of training camp, let alone whether he'll be ready for the regular season. Maybe Crosby will be out until January, or longer, and the Penguins don't want to affect season ticket sales (I write that without having a clue about their season-ticket base right now, nor would we accuse anyone of worrying about maximizing profits. It's beneath us). Moving to Flin Flon? Or, maybe Crosby is going to start an acting career, or maybe he plans on moving to Flin Flon to take up forestry, or mining... or whatever it is people do in Flin Flon. The point is, who really knows for certain? Then on the other hand, some people (a few of them might be doctors, the vast majority not) would say that Crosby may be better off avoiding another concussion, and the possibility of more serious long-term damage by retiring Ð or at least sitting out a year. He's won an Olympic gold medal, a Memorial Cup, a Stanley Cup (what truly separates Crosby from Alex Ovechkin is that Crosby is a winner, and has won championships at just about every level of hockey you could imagine). And, no doubt Crosby has banked a few dollars so it's not like he'd walk away from hockey empty-handed. Sure, it'd be an already remarkable career sadly cut short at the very young age of 24, but it could be worse. A lot worse. For the short-term, we'll find out what's in store for #87 relatively soon Ð maybe not today or next month, but soon enough. The above commentary was originally printed in The News, the paper of Pictou County, NS, on August 26, 2011. It was reprinted with permission.
