All this no handshaking is really making people angry

The lack of handshaking in sports has been in the news lately as both Lebron James and Sidney Crosby skipped out on handshakes after their respective playoff series. Now James was probably distraught from losing to Orlando in the Eastern Conference Finals and Crosby was just excited he won the Stanley Cup at age 21 - but hey! This is tradition! This is a sign of respect!

Boy, all these sports traditionalists sure get the panties in a twist, because obviously if they hadn't had their careers derailed in middle school, they certainly would have shook hands.

When it comes down to it, it's not that the lack of handshakes were a show of bad judgement but rather a sign that our society with pick apart people any chance we get. And you wonder why so many athletes are reclusive and shy away from any disclosure of their public life? This is why.

Because people (in the media and fans) are so insanely obsessed about something as meaningless as a handshake, and since they've apparently done nothing wrong or questionable in their life (ha!) they can rain down judgement on anyone they want.

Give me a break, go back to complaining about cornrows and players with tattoos. Let me know when you get out of the 1940s.

JustSON the Numbers: Penguins Dynamic Duo

When penguin and dynamic duo are mentioned together most people (Casey included) would think of Batman. In this case I'm referring to the tandem of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins. These two have played together since the 2006-07 season and have been in opposing teams nightmares ever since.

Crosby has played one more season in the NHL than Malkin, having entered the league in the 2005-06 season. They have combined to play 532 games, score 247 goals, and dish out 454 assists for a total of 701 points in the regular season for their careers. They haven't slowed down in the playoffs either. There first season together in 2006-07 netted a short lived playoff run as they were knocked out in the first round by the eventual Stanley Cup runners-up, Ottawa Senators, 4 games to 1. In that series Crosby & Malkin combined for 3 goals and 6 assists.

The 2007-08 playoffs saw Crosby & Malkin make a huge jump from their first taste of the postseason as they led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Final. There they were beaten by the Detroit Red Wings (hockey's version of the New York Yankees) 4 games to 2. The two combined to net 16 goals and 33 assists in 20 games.

This seasons playoffs have the Penguins on a collision course with the Red Wings to meet again in the Stanley Cup Finals. Both teams lead their Conference Finals series 2 games to none. So far in 15 games of this postseason Crosby & Malkin have combined for 23 goals and 26 assists.

Compare that with last year when the duo averaged 2.45 points per game, and this year they are averaging about 3.26 points per game.

Both have gotten a hat trick (scoring 3 goals in one game) in this seasons playoffs already, which is not an easy task. Crosby actually got his in the Penguins semi-final series against the Washington Capitals in the same game that his rival Alexander Ovechkin netted a hat trick.

If the Penguins can manage to finish off the Carolina Hurricanes then defeat the Western Conference champion, Crosby & Malkin will have another shot to add a 3rd Stanley Cup to the franchises collection. It would be the teams first Stanley Cup since they won back to back Cups in 1991 and 1992 when they were led by current part owner Mario Lemieux as well as Jaromir Jagr.

If anyone has any requests for this column let us know. I don't discriminate, no matter the sport or the stat.

The Faceoff

We're breaking new ground here at Just South of North. FishBeart Sports and us have joined forces to bring you "The Faceoff" which is basically when Joel Willits (Seattle-area sports reporter) and I try to answer questions and make the other guy look like an idiot. It's good fun.

1. How do you think the NHL should raise its popularity?

FishBear:They need to market their stars. The NHL is full of young, exciting talent such as Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, just to name a few. But, other than die-hard hockey fans, few people have seen these guys play, which is a shame, because they are electric.

The first thing the NHL needs to do is get back on a major TV network and re-work its TV deal. Sorry, Versus just isn't cutting it. Get back on ESPN, get NHL Tonight fired back up again.Also, get some funny-ass commercials; that always helps.

The Swede:The solid thing about the NHL is the minor-league system that they have working under them in Canada and the United States. Much like Baseball, Hockey isn’t going to disappear because there is so much of it in Smalltown, U.S.A. and Canada. You’re going to have your diehards that follow every aspect of the sport, every prospect coming up through the ranks. It’s a pastime.

Now with that said, the NHL has been marketed horribly. What the league needs to do is pull a page from the NBA in the 90s and market its stars. Not so much the teams as the NFL and baseball does, but rather “Come to the arena and watch this guy kick ass” sort of marketing that basketball seems to pull off very nicely. If they don’t do that, I’m left trying to pronounce a bunch of Eastern European names and cursing Fox for taking away the glowing puck.

2. How do you feel about the Final Four being all four No.1 seeds?

FishBear: I'm fine with it. The best four teams (theoretically) are the last four standing. Sure, it'd be nice to have an underdog, but besides Davidson this year, I can't picture any high seeds that could stand toe-to-toe with these No.1 seeds. George Mason was a fun story in 2006, but they got their asses beat. I'd rather watch some good basketball then a 20-point blowout.

I'm just glad Duke's gone. Fuck Duke.

The Swede:Funny you ask, one of my friends had picked all the No. 1 seeds in his NCAA Bracket, causing me to call him such dirty names as “a moron” and “a frontrunner”.

But he was right, the No. 1 seeds were solid in the tournament this year, and while that means there will be no Cinderella I’m looking forward to seeing some AWESOME matchups in the final four. These games are going to be intense, and you really can’t predict who’s going to take it all because they’re all the best teams in college basketball.

3. Who is your favorite underrated player of all time?

FishBear: Stan F'ing Javier. Look it up. The man was a catalyst

The Swede: Trent Dilfer needs to get more credit. Sure, he runs an offense like a senior citizen drives down a freeway corridor, but if you have a solid defense and a good run game, you can win games with this guy.

When Matt Hasselbeck was first traded to the Seahawks (which seems like forever ago), he sucks. Plain and simple, he sucked balls. Dilfer came in and almost led the woeful ‘hawks to a playoff berth.

I can’t tell you how much I resented Hasselbeck and loved Dilfer for his “never-die” attitude. I’m pretty sure this guy would step in front of a train if it meant winning the game.

He doesn’t have the skill-set, looks like he should probably be like a master bass fisher or something, but he’s definitely a solid field general. And the Ravens are morons for letting him go.

4. Would you rather be a Cubs fan or a Devil Rays fan?

Fishbear: I'd rather be dead than a fan of these two teams. I'd lean more toward Tampa Bay. The Ray's (they dropped the Devils) are on the up and up; at least they're not cursed like the Cubs.

It's gonna be a cold day in hell when either of these teams wins a World Series.

The Swede: Hmmm, Wrigley Field of the Tropicgarbagecan Dome? I’ll take Da Cubs.

5. Do you find any redeeming qualities in NASCAR?

FishBear:Absolutely none. I don't understand how people can sit there and watch cars drive around a track 500 times. But NASCAR has to be doing something write because its wildly popular. File this under "Redneck".

The Swede: No none, whatsoever. NASCAR is like the group of kids in high school that would go outside all day and play hacky sack and smoke pot. There’s really no point to it, and all the popular kids, while not annoyed by them, don’t really pay attention.

I think most sports fans aren’t really annoyed by NASCAR, sometimes the crashes and driver fights are cool, but they really don’t pay that much attention.

6. Is Gonzaga on the rise or fall as a college basketball program?

FishBear: I'm going to go with on the rise. Sure, they haven't made it further than the Elite 8 appearance a while back. But the foundation's been set. Kids WANT to go to Gonzaga for basketball now.

They're getting the good recruiting classes (see: Austin Daye and Stephen Grey) and big transfers from other schools now eye the Little University that Could.You can't argue one thing though-with the facilities the Zags have to offer, they should always grab top-notch talent. The bars been set now.

The Swede: They’ve gone from being a team that is really fun to watch in the tournament to a team that you expect to get upset every year. Wow, what a reversal of fortunes. They’re definitely on the fall.

7. How must Oriole fans feel that their team was picked to finish behind the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the AL East by Sports Illustrated?

FishBear: They feel worse than Travis Henry on Father's Day. Which is why I feel horrible for Adam Jones and George Sherrill, for being traded (or exiled) to Baltimore for Erik Bedard. Baltimore sucks.

The Swede: Like hell is freezing over. The Sammy Sosa experiment really panned out for O’s fans. Their pitching is so bad that Candem Yards vendors must actually plan on shutting down their stands by the fifth inning of every given game.

8. What is better? A hockey fight that results in blood on the ice or a bench clearing brawl in baseball?

FishBear: I think you know my answer: hockey fights. Pedro beating up old men aside, nothing interesting happens in bench clearing brawls. Seriously, the coolest baseball fight happened before the benches even cleared, and that was when Nolan Ryan beat the living shit out of Robin Ventura.

Anybody who doesn't hockey fights are better should just watch this video .

The Swede:Considering most baseball players don’t want to fight and just kind of push and shove, a hockey fight is definitely where its at.

Best moment on sports: Blood on the ice. There’s nothing more horrifying and “I was there!”-ing when somebody gets their nose broken and red starts spurting out all over that nice white ice.

9. Reality TV Show you WOULDN'T want to see made?

FishBear: Law and Order: Cincinnati Bengals Unit.Actually, come to think of it, that's a great idea and I would love to see it.

The Swede:Anything involving New York. Anyone see that girl of Flavor of Love? She looks like she’s recovering from a bad experience with a Cricket bat. PLEASE stop showing her face on television.

10. What "50 percent off" NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB jersey have you thought about buying?

FishBear: I'm going to give you a few of these: NFL: Rod Smart AKA HEHATEME; NBA: Ruben Patterson Seattle Sonics jersey (Maid not included); NHL: Marty McSorley; MLB: Anything with the name "Canseco" on the back (preferably the original Tampa Bay rainbow design)Oh and I'd include a Michael Vick jersey, but I already have one.

And if you thought "federal dogfighting charges" would make me stop wearing it, you'd be wrong.

The Swede: Shaun Alexander. To burn.