San Jose Sharks center and video game legend Jeremy Roenick hasn't laced up the skates since Dec. 11 due to a shoulder injury. Clearly, he's been spending his time scouring NFL box scores and scouting reports in order to make himself a Cris Collinsworth-level football analyst.
From his journal on RoenickLife.com, here's Jeremy opining on the NFL postseason and the upcoming championship games -- unedited, of course:
How about the week in football...AZ Cardinals, Holy spanking!!!!! Lets hope AZ fans are on the bandwagon, the team deserves the support. Jake Delomme was just terrible...5 interceptions. It's going to be a long off-season for him! What a choke effort from Tennessee! I will say the refs blew it big time in that one. How can you miss a delay of game call that badly? The ball was snapped at least 2 seconds after the play clock expired. HMMMMMM...makes you wonder doesn't it??? I think it cost them the game, or maybe it was the loud mouth complaining, Lendale Whites, and his weak running efforts and fumble in the red zone. Maybe you shouldn't complain about your coach not giving you the ball, bud, if you're not going to step up.
Have to love my Eagles beating the Super Bowl champs, and I love how Donovan is playing. How great would it be if the Phillies and Eagles win championships in the same year. WOW, Philly fans deserve it big time! Although, my buddy Big Ben in Pitt played great and has the Steelers poised for a Super Bowl run. Eagles vs. Steelers super bowl...now that would be sick!!
That's a man who loves his punctuation. Holy spanking!
The joy of Jeremy is that he's a player unafraid to speak his mind. In The Hockey News, he offers some very, very valid advice to NHL players for when they speak to the media.
Roenick was named the best interview in the League by THN's hockey observers, and writer Adam Proteau reveals Jeremy's rules for candid player interviews:
Sports
"There are two ways players can be better interviews," Roenick said. "No. 1: speak your mind. If you feel passionately about something, then grow a pair, grow a thick skin, and say so. Don't be afraid that you're going to say the wrong thing. If it comes from your heart, if you know that you're right, step up and let people hear what you have to say.
"And No. 2: for christ's sake - for christ's sake - show some (expletive) enthusiasm during interviews," Roenick said. "I see too many interviews where young guys say the same thing night after night after night. It's (expletive).
"You know what, guys? Don't just give us the usual clichés. Don't do interviews where your eyes are just staring off into space when they should be looking into the camera. Say something funny once in a while! And if somebody scores a sick goal, it's OK to say 'damn, my teammate scored a sick goal!'"
And with that, Roenick explained the subtle difference between Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Rock on, sir. A newspaper guy e-mailed the other day asking why the Russian-language interviews that run on Puck Daddy are much more interesting than your typical English-language ones. There are plenty of factors involved, from asking the right questions to having the right inquisitor; but mostly it's because these Russian guys haven't been schooled by media-loathing coaches from junior on up. They haven't seen how pro athletes are "supposed to" talk in countless postgame interviews on football Sundays or after other sporting events.
That's not to say they aren't savvy; most Russian players understand what not to say regarding the game, their opponents and their teammates. They're just more open about their lives in a way other North American players are not. Hopefully, for the NHL's sake, that changes.
