Is Sidney Crosby a diver?

[russianswede919293 95]

not only is he a diver, but he whines more than anything in the world.

[eva unit zero 271]

Most of these incidents are quite old, but I'll comment anyway.

In the video, there are two separate spearing incidents. Crosby definately dives, or embellishes both of them, but to be honest, I have never seen a player get speared and not react the same way. I'm not sure why this is. Spearing is a big deal, but to me, it doesn't necessarily inflict anymore damage than a good slash. I suppose a spear is "capable" of inflicting a lot of damage, but most spears do not and they are result in the player falling to the ice like a criple.

The answer can be found in the differences in how the penalties are called.

Spearing shall mean stabbing an opponent with the point of the stick blade whether contact is made or not.[/font]A double minor penalty will be imposed on a player who spears an opponent and does not make contact.A major and a game misconduct shall be imposed on a player who spears an opponent. (See also Rule 43 -- Attempt to or Deliberate Injury of Opponents.)A match penalty shall be imposed on a player who injures an opponent as a result of a spear. (See also Rule 43 -- Attempt to or Deliberate Injury of Opponents.)

Slashing is the act of swinging a player's stick at an opponent, whether contact is made or not.(NOTE ) Non aggressive stick contact to the pant or front of the shin pads, should not be penalized as slashing.

A minor or major and a game misconduct penalty, at the discretion of the Referee, shall be imposed on any player who impedes the progress of an opponent by "slashing" with his stick.<a name="b">A major and a game misconduct penalty or a match penalty shall be imposed on any player who injures an opponent by slashing. (See Rule 43 -- Attempt to or Deliberate Injury of Opponents.)

As you can see, a spear is an automatic double-minor penalty just for the attempt. For a spear that actually connects, the spearing player is mandated to receive a MAJOR penalty AND a game misconduct. An injury will result in an ADDITIONAL match penalty.

With slashing, it is typically a two-minute minor, and there is some discretion allowed in whether the slash was aggressive or incidental. In other words, attempting to slash usually will result in no penalty, while attempting to spear will result in a minimum of four minutes. Successfully slashing will usually be two minutes, while most successful spears will be a major penalty and game misconduct. The most severe slashes will see a major and a game, or a match penalty. The most severe spears will see a major and a game, AND a match penalty.

Put simply? The penalties for spearing are far more severe, so drawing attention to the spear at the risk of a two-minute penalty for diving is a worthwhile gamble for a player willing to dive.

[swedishseven 9]

i would call him an embellisher as well,but not quite a diver.Although when he doesn't get the call you'll see him yapping at the ref,trying to sell it ..that kinda bugs me...my tenant is a huge soccer{football} fan...and those guys have got to be THE worst diver/crybabies in professional sports,nothing comes close to those nancy boys.

[RedArmy 4]

really who cares at this point. I would much rather watch caps at this point with Ovechkin. In any case I hope philly sweeps Pens. highly unlikely, but would be sweet... Malkin and Hossa have been more valueable during these playoffs so far:)

[ufcredwingfan 0]

AM I in Iraq

[datsyukonethree 0]

At times he can be one of the hardest players in the league to knock off the puck. His lower body strength is absurd. But like Forsberg, he spends way too much time getting knocked over in attempts to draw calls, on hits and nudges that he has no business going down for.

[imisssergei 0]

I'm tired of reading the 'he does embellish calls, but he doesn't dive' bs posts. The two are the same thing. It's a black and white issue, either you don't take a dive, or you do.

Crosby is no different than Claude Lemieux, Maltby or Forsberg in that he embellishes when he thinks he can get the call. Nearly every NHLer does it, Crosby is no different.

I've watched more Pens games than most here, probably about 50 games in the season, and all but 2 or 3 playoff games. I've seen enough of Crosby to have an educated opinion. I hate all the hype that comes with Crosby, and I hate Crosby for several reasons. One of them is not because he is a diver. What blows my mind is, as a ref when you see Crosby get knocked down easily you have to wonder what happened. As much as I don't like the guy, he is a beast with the puck. To me, it's pretty easy to tell when he takes a dive, but only because he is so strong on the puck, very much like Datsyuk.

Bottom line, 90% of the league is doing it, once again, Crosby is just the posterchild. Something needs to be done about this.

And yes, it would be very 'Don Cherry-ish' to say that the Euro's brought diving to the game. One thing I can't stand about Cherry is that everything negative about the game is somehow the Euro's fault. He next to never gives them any credit for enhancing the game. Great example is his review on Marleau jumping over the puck instead of blocking the shot that ended up in the net. He said that Marleau shouldn't be at fault for not blocking the shot (against Dallas) because he played a great couple of games in Calgary. A few months ago, he showed a few clips of Kovalchuck (I think) doing exactly what Marleau did, without the jump, Koalchuck just stood straight up to block the shot, he didn't go down. Cherry ripped Kovalchuck for not dropping down to block the shot, he said good Canadians block shots, and then showed 3 or 4 clips of Canadians blocking shots. There is patriotism, and then there is racism. Unfortunately Don is more often then not, closer to the latter.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

He's a bit of a whiner, but not really a diver. Still take him on my team anyday though.

[Yzerfan1999 81]

The amount of time people on this board devote to Crosby bashing is unf***ingbelievable.

Get a hobby.

[Yzerfan1999 81]

not only is he a diver, but he whines more than anything in the world.

P.S. Marty Biron put it nicely today on OTR when he said - yeah Crosby whines, BUT SO DOES EVERYONE IN THE NHL. Heck, I know I constantly ***** at the refs when I play hockey and soccer.

[eva unit zero 271]

P.S. Marty Biron put it nicely today on OTR when he said - yeah Crosby whines, BUT SO DOES EVERYONE IN THE NHL. Heck, I know I constantly ***** at the refs when I play hockey and soccer.

I must be a rare breed then...I've only ever bitched at a ref once, when he called a penalty on me because the other team's coach said I punched his guy. Now I did, but the ref didn't SEE it...so he shouldn't have called it.

That penalty constituted exactly half of my career penalty minutes. The other half being a tripping call when a jackass stomped on my blade (and broke it) and ended up flat on his ass from doing so.

[Yzerfan1999 81]

I must be a rare breed then...I've only ever bitched at a ref once, when he called a penalty on me because the other team's coach said I punched his guy. Now I did, but the ref didn't SEE it...so he shouldn't have called it.

That penalty constituted exactly half of my career penalty minutes. The other half being a tripping call when a jackass stomped on my blade (and broke it) and ended up flat on his ass from doing so.

You and Pavel Datsyuk.

[Izzy24 44]

AM I in Iraq

I dunno, are you?

[Frozen-Man 144]

I'm tired of reading the 'he does embellish calls, but he doesn't dive' bs posts. The two are the same thing. It's a black and white issue, either you don't take a dive, or you do.

Crosby is no different than Claude Lemieux, Maltby or Forsberg in that he embellishes when he thinks he can get the call. Nearly every NHLer does it, Crosby is no different.

I've watched more Pens games than most here, probably about 50 games in the season, and all but 2 or 3 playoff games. I've seen enough of Crosby to have an educated opinion. I hate all the hype that comes with Crosby, and I hate Crosby for several reasons. One of them is not because he is a diver. What blows my mind is, as a ref when you see Crosby get knocked down easily you have to wonder what happened. As much as I don't like the guy, he is a beast with the puck. To me, it's pretty easy to tell when he takes a dive, but only because he is so strong on the puck, very much like Datsyuk.

Bottom line, 90% of the league is doing it, once again, Crosby is just the posterchild. Something needs to be done about this.

And yes, it would be very 'Don Cherry-ish' to say that the Euro's brought diving to the game. One thing I can't stand about Cherry is that everything negative about the game is somehow the Euro's fault. He next to never gives them any credit for enhancing the game. Great example is his review on Marleau jumping over the puck instead of blocking the shot that ended up in the net. He said that Marleau shouldn't be at fault for not blocking the shot (against Dallas) because he played a great couple of games in Calgary. A few months ago, he showed a few clips of Kovalchuck (I think) doing exactly what Marleau did, without the jump, Koalchuck just stood straight up to block the shot, he didn't go down. Cherry ripped Kovalchuck for not dropping down to block the shot, he said good Canadians block shots, and then showed 3 or 4 clips of Canadians blocking shots. There is patriotism, and then there is racism. Unfortunately Don is more often then not, closer to the latter.

I agree I think that Crosby embellishes, which is a form of a dive, sometimes but so do most players. One portion of the problem is that if often times things that are actual ligitimate penaltys will not be called unless the player really embelishes the infraction. All the time you hear commentators say "they had to call that one because it stopped a 2 on 1" or something like that where it is a slight hook or interference but if the play just loses momentum (which often takes him out of the play or at least behind the rush) there is no call unless the player falls. Samething happens with crosschecks and high sticks. If Homer gets cross checked while in front of the net it often may happen 2 or 3 times but no penalty is called until he is knocked to the ground - similarly if a player gets high stick but it is not very hard it sometimes is not called but if the player throws off his gloves while falling to the ice and grabs his face there is a strong shot that it gets called. I am not saying that players are only diving/embellishing because they won't ever get calls when there is a ligitimate penalties but it seems to happen too often that they don't get called. It seems to me fairly often that the defense should get penalties against players like Dats but until he falls or almost falls no call is made.

Therefore, I think that there needs to be a crack down on both the players and the refs. Any time that the ref thinks that there is a dive is should call a penalty (which they don't) and every time that the ref sees a penalty they should call it (which the don't).

[hockeyfreak_09 0]

Crosby is a strategic diver. But he's good so i dont care

[ufcredwingfan 0]

I dunno, are you?

Yes I am!!

[Real1 2]

AM I in Iraq

Yes I am!!

Not trying to start something, but why did you post in this thread? All the posts you have here have nothing to do with Sidney Crosby being a diver.

Edited May 6, 2008 by Real1

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

I'm tired of reading the 'he does embellish calls, but he doesn't dive' bs posts. The two are the same thing. It's a black and white issue, either you don't take a dive, or you do.

Crosby is no different than Claude Lemieux, Maltby or Forsberg in that he embellishes when he thinks he can get the call. Nearly every NHLer does it, Crosby is no different.

I've watched more Pens games than most here, probably about 50 games in the season, and all but 2 or 3 playoff games. I've seen enough of Crosby to have an educated opinion. I hate all the hype that comes with Crosby, and I hate Crosby for several reasons. One of them is not because he is a diver. What blows my mind is, as a ref when you see Crosby get knocked down easily you have to wonder what happened. As much as I don't like the guy, he is a beast with the puck. To me, it's pretty easy to tell when he takes a dive, but only because he is so strong on the puck, very much like Datsyuk.

Bottom line, 90% of the league is doing it, once again, Crosby is just the posterchild. Something needs to be done about this.

And yes, it would be very 'Don Cherry-ish' to say that the Euro's brought diving to the game. One thing I can't stand about Cherry is that everything negative about the game is somehow the Euro's fault. He next to never gives them any credit for enhancing the game. Great example is his review on Marleau jumping over the puck instead of blocking the shot that ended up in the net. He said that Marleau shouldn't be at fault for not blocking the shot (against Dallas) because he played a great couple of games in Calgary. A few months ago, he showed a few clips of Kovalchuck (I think) doing exactly what Marleau did, without the jump, Koalchuck just stood straight up to block the shot, he didn't go down. Cherry ripped Kovalchuck for not dropping down to block the shot, he said good Canadians block shots, and then showed 3 or 4 clips of Canadians blocking shots. There is patriotism, and then there is racism. Unfortunately Don is more often then not, closer to the latter.

Hey Sergei, is Crosby still a disspointment based upon your comments from awhile back that he couldn't take his team out of the 1st round? He's now in the conference finals, does that change anything for you?

I'm not talking about diving here or whiny about calls. I'm talking about getting out of the first round of the playoffs. You specifically said he was a dissappointment becuase he didn't get them out of the 1st round.

Even though people pointed out that most of the Pens key players had never been in a single playoff game and that the Ottawa Senators were the best team in the East you still stated he was a disappointment b/c he should've been able to get them past the 1st round on his 1st try based upon the hype.

Do you still feel he's a disappointment

[imisssergei 0]

I must be a rare breed then...I've only ever bitched at a ref once, when he called a penalty on me because the other team's coach said I punched his guy. Now I did, but the ref didn't SEE it...so he shouldn't have called it.

That penalty constituted exactly half of my career penalty minutes. The other half being a tripping call when a jackass stomped on my blade (and broke it) and ended up flat on his ass from doing so.

Have you played more than one game? If you have, then be honest. There is no way you've played and entire 'career' and only gotten 2 minor penalties. Datsyuk is the perfect example, you are going to get a call against you every once in a while even though you didn't do anything wrong. It's just the nature of the game.

[imisssergei 0]

Hey Sergei, is Crosby still a disspointment based upon your comments from awhile back that he couldn't take his team out of the 1st round? He's now in the conference finals, does that change anything for you?

I'm not talking about diving here or whiny about calls. I'm talking about getting out of the first round of the playoffs. You specifically said he was a dissappointment becuase he didn't get them out of the 1st round.

Even though people pointed out that most of the Pens key players had never been in a single playoff game and that the Ottawa Senators were the best team in the East you still stated he was a disappointment b/c he should've been able to get them past the 1st round on his 1st try based upon the hype.

Do you still feel he's a disappointment

Crosby hasn't even been the best player on his own team in the playoffs. Both Malkin and Fleury have been more important to the Pens success than Crosby.

[SnipeShow 0]

not only is he a diver, but he whines more than anything in the world.

Ever seen his teammate Fairy Boberts cry to the refs? It's like daytime soaps. Same goes for his ex team mates in Toronto (Darcy Tucker I'm looking at you)

[Yzerfan1999 81]

Have you played more than one game? If you have, then be honest. There is no way you've played and entire 'career' and only gotten 2 minor penalties. Datsyuk is the perfect example, you are going to get a call against you every once in a while even though you didn't do anything wrong. It's just the nature of the game.

I dunno, go look up Kyle Wellwoods stats. Pay close attention to his PIMs. They are ridiculous.

[KATIEBARTHEDOOR24 426]

My answer to this question. Is Ovechkin better? The answer is the same. YES.

[eva unit zero 271]

Have you played more than one game? If you have, then be honest. There is no way you've played and entire 'career' and only gotten 2 minor penalties. Datsyuk is the perfect example, you are going to get a call against you every once in a while even though you didn't do anything wrong. It's just the nature of the game.

Unlike many on this board, I am completely honest when it comes to my hockey 'career.' I also have never claimed to be some amazing wunderkind, nor did I pose it as 'look how awesome I am, I only ever got two penalties!' nor did I ever claim that I never got away with stuff. But your argument of 'it's impossible' doesn't work. One of the things that gets professional hockey players where they are is the ability to cheat and only get caught a small percentage of the time. As a personal rule, I typically abhor cheaters. I include intentionally committing a penalty to gain an advantage in play as cheating, and therefore refuse to do it. Kind of like how I don't like complaining to the ref about a call that was an obvious penalty. That's my personal style. I never claimed it made me a better person or a better player; simply that it made me rare if what was stated was true.

[KATIEBARTHEDOOR24 426]

Not trying to start something, but why did you post in this thread? All the posts you have here have nothing to do with Sidney Crosby being a diver.

A muff diver sorry i had to