Denial Ain't Just a Mispronunciation of "The Nail" Mangled by the Thick Winter Scarf of a Canadian in May

...And for the record, I have no idea what that title means either.

Ok, so I'm going to employ the "I probably don't know enough about this sport to judge" caveat that we like to use on this blog, but I heard something on the OLN Stanley Cup playoff coverage that set off my bullshit alarms.

Eddie Olczyk, Bill Clement, and that dude with the wicked mullet were talking earlier tonight about the Devils' 3-0 defecit to Carolina, which has been marked by Martin Brodeur's uncharacteristically average goalkeeping. As the conversation turned toward the reasons why "Marty" has been struggling, my ear for broadcaster-speak began to perk up.

"Aww, it's 'cause he's tryin' to over-do it, eh."

"Ya, his defensemen jus' aren't doin' it, eh."

(git it? cuz their canadien so they talk funny harharhar?? ;))




Ok, so maybe I'm absolutely wrong in assuming so, and maybe Martin Brodeur's game has not diminished at all.

...But I highly doubt it. The man is 34 years old (as of five days ago in fact...happy belated 34th, Marty!!), and although I realize the ageless quality of many sports greats (particularly NHL players), the notion that Brodeur's skills have not begun to diminish seems highly suspect.

Why can't broadcasters seem to admit that the "greats" in sport are as just as subject to time as the rest of us? Why do they seem to deny the transient nature of sport and all those that shape it? Is it some denial of their own mortality?--or just a slow learning curve?