The Chicago Tribune was trying to get under the skin of Flyers’ defenseman Chris Pronger, but instead ticked off three-time Olympic medallist Angela Ruggiero with its “Chrissy Pronger” photo, which ran in the Tuesday edition of the paper. (The photo shows Pronger wearing a skirt beside a headline that reads, “Chrissy Pronger. Looks like Tarzan, skates like Jane.”)

From SI.com:

“I don’t read what you guys write, good or bad,” Pronger said Tuesday. “I really couldn’t care, to be honest with you. I’m worried about playing the game.”

Others weren’t so dismissive of the poster.

“I’d like to see that editor out on skates. I’ll take them one-on-one on the ice any day,” three-time Olympic medalist Angela Ruggiero told The Associated Press. “They obviously have never seen women’s hockey and are living in the dark ages.”

“For her and others who took offense, I apologize. No qualifiers, I’m sorry,” Chicago Tribune sports editor Mike Kellams said in an e-mail. “We were just having a little fun with a guy who has come to personify all that has gotten under the collective skin of Blackhawks fans. Pronger is talented that way. And we were trying to connect to that emotion in a fun way.

“I grew up in Indiana and came to hockey as an adult. Ruggiero vs. me on the rink would be no contest. I know that from what she and her team did at the Vancouver Olympics.”

“Some people are still ignorant,” Ruggiero said. “Our sport doesn’t get a lot of exposure, so you have to see us play in the world championships or the Olympics to see what the highest caliber of women’s hockey is.

“Obviously, it’s offensive. It’s disappointing more than anything. I grew up playing with boys, trained with NHL players. I would go head-to-head with Pronger any day I could.”

Not to piss Ruggiero off even more than she already is, but I think she’s being a little defensive here. She needs to consider the context of the joke. The Tribune wasn’t taking a shot at women’s hockey or suggesting that it’s not on par with the NHL; it’s taking a shot at Pronger by suggesting he plays like a woman figuring skater. (Hence the women’s figure skater skirt that he’s wearing in the photo.)

That said, I’m not Ruggiero and I don’t want to qualify what her or anyone else takes offense of. The photo obviously offended her and I thought it was right for the editor to apologize and explain the paper’s intentions. He also did well to put Ruggiero up, while putting himself down in the comment about how a match between those two would be “no contest.”

Again though, people have to keep in mind the context of things like this. For there to be even a little outrage over this photo (which comes from a Chicago paper, directed at a boisterous Philadelphia player in the middle of the Stanley Cup finals mind you) is kind of absurd in my opinion. We’re way too sensitive as a society.

We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the Chicago Blackhawks…

Team Play: ISSUE – It’s all between the pipes, baby. Going into the free agency free-for-all which began July 1st, it seemed the Blackhawks’ plan was to trade goalie Cristobal Huet (who has three years remaining on his contract) and re-sign Nikolai Khabibulin (who was an unrestricted free agent). The ‘Hawks found no takers for Huet, and “The Bulin Wall” signed with Edmonton. Thus, Chicago enters the 2009-10 season depending heavily upon a goalie who was deemed second-best going into last seasons’ playoffs. As I mentioned in a post earlier this summer, the ‘Hawks can only hope Huet is able to rediscover the magic of his thirteen-game run with the Washington Capitals at the end of the 2007-08 season, in which he put up all-star numbers (11-2, 1.63 GAA, .936 sv%). Simply put, Huet must consistently play at a level which gives his teammates confidence. When a team lacks confidence in their goalie, they tend to go into a defensive shell, playing much more conservatively than normal. The current Chicago Blackhawks squad is not built to play a conservative, defense-first, don’t-take-chances type of game. If a lack of confidence in Huet causes the ‘Hawks to attempt to play that style of hockey, the season will be a miserable failure.

Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

Blackhawks’ winger Patrick Kane was arrested with his cousin in Buffalo over the weekend on charges of assault and robbery after giving a cab driver $15 for a $13.80 cab ride and then allegedly punching him in the face and head when he didn’t have change.

Per TSN.ca:

Buffalo police said the 20-year-old Kane and his 21-year-old cousin, James Kane, had apparently caught a cab from the city’s downtown nightclub district at about 4 a.m. ET. The cab driver suffered cuts to his face and his glasses were damaged, police spokesman Michael DeGeorge said.

Both men were charged with felony robbery and misdemeanour counts of theft of services and criminal mischief. Patrick Kane, who earned US$875,000 last season, pleaded not guilty in local court Sunday, WIVB-TV reported. It was not immediately clear when James Kane will appear in court.
The driver said he was punched and hit by both men because he did not have 20 cents in change to give them, according to the police report.

Average playing salary in the NHL: $3.725 million.
Cab ride in Buffalo: $13.80.
Putting your hockey career at risk by punching a cab driver in the head and face over not having the correct change: Priceless.

What a pathetic act by a professional athlete and an embarrassment to the Blackhawks organization. I’m sure EA Sports will be happy to hear about this, seeing as how Kane was supposed to grace the cover of NHL 10 this year.

Thanks to a 2-1 victory in overtime against the Blackhawks on Wednesday night, the Red Wings have set up a rematch with the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Detroit won the Western Conference finals 4-1. The Red Wings and Penguins, coming off a four-game sweep over Carolina in the East, will open the championship series Saturday night in Detroit.

The series will start nearly a week ahead of schedule because NBC and the NHL didn’t want a long layoff to stunt the excitement about the matchup.

I think plenty of casual hockey fans wanted to see some new blood in the Finals, but it’s hard to beat a matchup between Sidney Crosby and the red hot Penguins vs. the defending champs. This will also be the first rematch of the Stanley Cup finals since the Islanders and Oilers battled each other in back to back years in 1983 and 1984.

The 21-year old Crosby draws a lot of comparisons to the “Great One” Wayne Gretzky and legend Mario Lemieux, but even he’ll admit that until he wins a cup, people will always question the legitimacy of those comparisons. A Cup victory over the powerful Wings would go a long way in helping Sid Kid gain even more backers.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Wings get Nicklas Lindstrom and Pavel Datsyuk back on Saturday. Both players were scratched from Wednesday night’s game after expecting to play. Hopefully Detroit will be at full strength come Saturday, because this series should be a battle.

The Penguins are heading back to the Stanley Cup Finals after beating the Hurricanes 4-1 on Tuesday night and sweeping the best of seven Eastern Conference Finals series. The Pens will now await the winner of the Blackhawks-Red Wings series, which Detroit currently leads 3-1.

After battling the Capitals for seven games in the semifinals, some pundits believed that the Penguins might be worn down for their series against the Canes. But Pittsburgh put those doubts to rest when it took the first two games on its home ice and then crushed the Canes 6-2 in Carolina in Game 3. Game 4 Tuesday night turned out to just be a formality as Carolina struggled offensively.

Now the Pens will wait to see if the Red Wings can finish off the Blackhawks tonight at Joe Lewis Arena. If Chicago plays as bad tonight as it did in Game 4 on Sunday, then the Stanley Cup Finals could kickoff this weekend.

Making matters worse for the Blackhawks, the Wings could get both Nicklas Lindstrom and Pavel Datsyuk back from injury tonight. Detroit coach Mike Babock won’t make a decision on their playing status until each get the opportunity to skate in pregame, but chances are both players will be on the ice tonight.

If the Wings do finish off the Hawks, they would set up a rematch of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, in which they beat the Penguins in six games. Some hockey fans wanted to see a new matchup, but it’s hard to beat the drama that comes from watching Sidney Crosby try to take on the juggernaut that continues to be the Detroit Red Wings.

“Gentlemen, start your engines.”

These four words begin one of the grandest traditions in auto racing, as the 93rd Indianapolis 500 will take place this weekend. The Old Brickyard has been home to some memorable finishes and characters that make this one of the marquee events on the racing season.

The NBA Conference Finals are really heating up. Arguably, the four best players (LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard) in the league are fighting tooth and nail for a title. All four have shown the determination and drive needed to win a NBA crown.

All times ET…

NBA Playoffs
Fri, 8:30 PM: Orlando Magic @ Cleveland Cavaliers (TNT)
Sat, 8:30 PM: Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets (ABC)
Sun, 8:30 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Orlando Magic (TNT)

NHL Playoffs
Fri, 8 PM: Detroit Red Wings @ Chicago Blackhawks (Versus)
Sat, 7:30 PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Carolina Hurricanes (Versus)
Sun, 3 PM: Detroit Red Wings @ Chicago Blackhawks (NBC)

MLB
Sat, 4:10 PM: Philadelphia Phillies @ New York Yankees (FOX)
Sun., 1:30 PM: New York Mets @ Boston Red Sox (TBS)
Sun., 8 PM: Milwaukee Brewers @ Minnesota Twins (ESPN)

Auto Racing
Sun, 1 PM: The 93rd Indianapolis 500 @ Indianapolis Motor Speedway (ABC)

Tennis
Sun, 5 AM: The French Open (ESPN2)

It has been over 30 years, but is this finally the year that we’ll have another Triple Crown winner? Mine That Bird carries the hopes of the entire horse racing community into the Preakness on Saturday, as this sport desperately needs a feel-good story.

Sunday going to be a special day for all couch potatoes. We have an original six matchup in the NHL Western Conference final and not one but two Game 7’s in the NBA playoffs. Enjoy!

All times ET…

NBA Playoffs
Sun, 3:30 PM: Houston Rockets @ Los Angeles Lakers (ABC)
Sun, 8 PM: Orlando Magic @ Boston Celtics (TNT)

NHL Playoffs
Sun, 3 PM: Chicago Blackhawks @ Detroit Red Wings (NBC)

MLB
Sat, 4:10 PM: New York Mets @ San Francisco Giants (Fox)
Sun., 1 PM: Minnesota Twins @ New York Yankees (TBS)
Sun., 8 PM: New York Mets @ San Francisco Giants (ESPN)

Horse Racing
Sat, 4:30 PM: The Preakness Stakes (NBC)