Putting them on the map

Dallas Stars agitator Sean Avery was suspended indefinitely by the NHL on Tuesday after his remarks about how "it's become a common thing" in the league "for guys to fall in love" with his "sloppy seconds"

So let me get this straight. Sean Avery called over every news camera in his locker room and made remarks about Calgary defenseman Dion Phaneuf dating his former girlfriend, Elisha Cuthbert. His comment, which many news outlets are calling "offensive to some" made Jim Rome's First Burn and was the top story on Pardon The Interruption on Wednesday, and the NHL decided that it would be in their best interest to suspend the one man responsible for the league's largest amount of publicity in recent history?

I understand it wasn't positive publicity, but let's get serious here folks, was it really that offensive? It's 2008. I've heard far worse comments in the world of sports. Sure, maybe those comments didn't have to do with "sloppy seconds" but count me as one of the few who isn't the least bit offended by that term.

For those who want to throw the guy out of the league for this, let's remember what exactly Avery is. He's an agitator. At the end of his brief message to the media before Tuesday's game in Calgary, he said, "Enjoy the game tonight."

That game was against the Flames, the very team that Phaneuf plays on, the very player that has "fallen in love with his sloppy seconds." Avery's message wasn't meant to show bitterness towards his past relationship. It was simply a tool to take Phaneuf, one of Calgary's best players, out of his game later that night. And even though Avery couldn't be on the ice because of the suspension, it looks as if his tactics may have worked. Phaneuf finished on the losing side of a 3-1 game, with zero points and a minus-3 rating. Avery wanted to get into Phaneuf's head, and he did just that.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Jim Rome probably wouldn't have even muttered the letters NHL on his show until the Stanley Cup playoffs if this hadn't happened. And when's the last time you went to ESPN.com, and an NHL story was the No. 1A headline and graphic? And again, I understand it wasn't positive publicity. But nobody got hurt, did they? Nobody was even remotely put in serious harm after these comments, maybe other than Avery himself, the next time he sees Phaneuf on the ice.

So the fact that this was even the top story on these shows and websites was shocking to me. I mean, it's not like Antonio Pierce helped Plaxico Burress hide his gun early Saturday morning, and is still allowed to play in games on Sundays (sarcasm). We don't know what happened with Plax and Pierce until it's proven in a court of law (sarcasm again).

Please.

There are many people who have gone overboard trying to portray Avery as some sort of villain after Tuesday's comments. Anyone who pays attention to the NHL knows what Avery stands for, and what he does, and how he does it. Nobody is saying his antics are normal, because they are not, by any stretch of the imagination.

But it frustrates me to see his own teammates take shots at him for this. For example, here's what Dallas goaltender Marty Turco had to say, via ESPN.com:

"It's just so disappointing for guys who have been around here for a long time and have taken a lot of pride in how this organization has been perceived. The disrespect of this morning and other things over the course of the season have been extremely disappointing for us. It's a slap in the face."

You know what else has been extremely disappointing for the Stars? The fact that this is the same Turco who ranks 40th in the NHL in goals-against average (3.48) and is dead last in the league in save percentage (.874). If you know goaltenders, you know that most of them are in their own world. Turco certainly cannot put any blame on Avery for not being able to stop the puck from going in the net.

And then you have Mike Modano, according to ESPN.com, on how Avery will be able to "repair the damage he's caused in the Stars dressing room":

"It's going to take some time. It's a situation we'll have to address when that time comes, if it does."

This is the same Modano who only has seven more points than Avery on the season. The same Modano, who threw Avery under the bus after the game in Boston on Nov. 1:

"Tonight it seemed to be idiotic," said Modano after Dallas' 5-1 loss to Boston, in which Avery was thrown out for a hit from behind on Milan Lucic. "It's stupid. It's one of the more embarrassing things I've seen. In 20 years, I haven't seen anything like it. If that's what we're going for, maybe I need to find myself an office job."

For all that talking, Avery scored Dallas' only goal in that game, and had four shots on net and a plus-1 rating, while Modano had no points and a minus-1, and Turco allowed five goals on 25 shots.

And the more I write about this, the more I realize, wow, are we really talking about the NHL right now? I mean, I'm currently a beat writer for the Boston Bruins, but never would I think there'd be such an intriguing league-wide topic other than the Bruins this early in the season.

Never did I think I'd see such a national reaction to such a not-so-serious comment by a hockey player. And it's that reaction that makes me realize more and more that Avery isn't the problem.

We could go on and on about how the league promotes itself, or the lack thereof. For a perfect example, if you happen to find the Versus network on your cable or satellite provider, you may notice a commercial in which 20-year-old Chicago Blackhawks captain/up-and-coming star Jonathan Toews (24 goals and 30 assists in rookie season last year) tells the camera that he "plays for the name on the front of his jersey, not the one on the back."

Yikes. Not really what the league should be looking to promote during a national game, especially when more than half of the sports world doesn't even know how to correctly pronouce the kid's name (T-a-v-e-s).

So how do you promote the sport? You promote the players themselves, not the teams. We all understand the aspect of a "team game." But studs are studs. Personalities are personalities. Toews is a stud. Avery is a personality. Both can be promoted in ways that suit the league better than they are right now.

It seems as if Avery has taken that into his own hands. And while most of you may not like what he says or does, very rarely is someone getting injured. And publicity that doesn't involve injury (see Ron Artest fighting fans in Detroit) or criminal activity (see Plaxico Burress and Antonio Pierce) shouldn't be portrayed as "inappropriate" - which NHL commissioner Gary Bettman called Avery's comments.

I heard Jim Rome tell us all, "Avery's acts bring publicity to the game, but for all the wrong reasons." I wonder if Mr. Rome will happen to tune in on Feb. 3, when the Dallas Stars host the Calgary Flames at 8:30 p.m., just to see what Phaneuf tries to do to Avery. Versus will be airing the St. Louis/Columbus game that evening, for now at least. The network would be wise to change their schedule, and you can bet it will lead to their largest ratings of the regular season.

The bottom line is, people show up when Dallas comes to town. Not to see Modano. Not to see Turco. But to see Avery, and to boo Avery.

Does he bring publicity to the game for all the wrong reasons? Well, it may not be for the reasons Gary Bettman has in mind, but if Avery can get people to watch, then maybe people will see just how exciting the game is.

Otherwise, nobody's even giving it a chance.