-The following is a transcript taken from the first period intermission of last night's game -- these were Mike Milbury's thoughts on the coaching situation in Ottawa:
"Coaches are responsible for conditioning, discipline and motivation. When a team quits on a coach, they lose their motivation and their discipline. They lose their focus. They can't seem to listen. They don't focus on the details. Their line changes aren't good. They miss assignments on faceoffs and they're very easily discouraged. All of that looks like Ottawa Senators to me tonight."
Just to add to that: You have to get the feeling that Paddock's tough guy act became extremely old at a rapid rate. After all, what kind of legitimate repercussions existed for poor attitude or play? Ray was sent home once, and I remember Robitaille getting benched...that's about it. A three-year-old can figure out the "all bark, no bite" routine pretty quickly. Paddock reportedly screamed his lungs out at the team during an intermission last Saturday, and it was barely enough to get them over the hump against Pittsburgh. How does he kick it up a notch after back-to-back shutouts? Does he rip out his internal organs Itchy and Scratchy-style and hurl them at the defensive core? Does he have to tear out his uvula and stomp on it? (Aside: I think Jon Gruden did this during the halftime of Super Bowl XXXVII.)
Have you ever heard the saying, "where teaching ends, frustration takes over"? I think I first read it a dog training book, but it definitely applies here. In short, when you no longer have any tricks up your sleeve to deal with (and subsequently educate) your subject -- be it German Shepherd or NHL franchise -- patience evaporates and tempers dominate. I think Paddock is out of tricks, and all he has left is an angry voice...one that this team has long since tuned out. Or maybe I should've just listened to The Driver when he insisted that Paddock never had any tricks in the first place. Jets fans always seem to know what's up.
And just to put a nice bow on all of this...here's your mid-week chewable:
The last time the Senators went through any kind of coaching staff/front office-related grief, team president Roy Mlakar was everywhere and anywhere, pompoms at the ready. Where the hell is he now?
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