Sid the Kid

Re: Hockey’s dark secret: ( Some) fans despise Sidney Crosby, Joe O’Connor, May 3 Joe O’Connor goes to great lengths to suggest that some fans despise Sidney Crosby for no other reason than he’s playing in an era where he has to “protect himself.” And to achieve this, he needs to be able to stick people, dish out cross- checks and chop fingers off.

This is utterly preposterous. Sure, the rules of the game are a little different now. While it’s no longer “the Golden Age of the Goon,” that didn’t sway the Edmonton Oilers from signing slugger Milan Lucic — who skates like he has a bag of cement tied to his behind — to a seven- year deal worth $ 42 million ( in the salary- cap era). Lucic wasn’t acquired for his scoring prowess; he was brought in to ensure no one takes liberties with star forward Connor McDavid.

So, without a Lucic- type deterrent lurking nearby, Crosby is in a similar position to another Pittsburgh Penguins superstar — Mario Lemieux. Super Mario never gained admittance into the witness protection program that safeguarded Wayne Gretzky. And though the Penguins legend was bigger in size than Gretzky, he was ultra- soft. Lemieux was infamously ridiculed by his teammates in his first season for being the only player who couldn’t bench press 180 pounds.

Just l i ke Sid t he Kid, Lemieux was hacked and whacked throughout the majority of his career. Yet, unlike Crosby, Mario fought t hrough t he abuse and played through the pain, without having to resort to spearing opposing players in the groin. Mike Doyle, Ajax, Ont.