Things that annoy me: Hockey edition.

As we all know by now, there are plenty of things that annoy me. Today, though, because it's a beautiful spring day and because the Rangers just beat the Flyers in a shootout to keep their playoff hopes very much alive, I'm going to address things that annoy me: the hockey edition.

"Sidney Crosby sucks. I hope he never plays in the NHL again."

For those who don't know, because not everyone I know is quite as obsessed with hockey as I am, Sidney Crosby is the young captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins. I'm what you would call a casual Penguins fan, and mostly because I adore Sidney Crosby, but they're my fallback team in case the Rangers don't make the playoffs.

Crosby has been out since January, having suffered from a severe concussion. A few weeks ago, my dad told me that it might be so bad that he actually might never play again, which, as a Crosby and a hockey fan, was disheartening to hear. And here comes the part that really pisses me off to the extreme end: when people say that they hope he never plays again and he sucks and he's a crybaby and whatever else their tiny little brains can think of.

Seriously? Can't we all, as hockey fans, embrace and respect the amount of talent that he has as a player? I'm sure if he played for whatever team you support, you'd be singing quite a different tune and praying for his swift recovery. But no. Instead, people have to narrow minded idiots who can't appreciate talented players on other teams.

I hate the Devils, but when Zach Parise was out with his concussion, I wasn't sitting around hoping he would never play again. He's a good player even though he plays for my least favorite team. I hate mindless idiots who can't even bring themselves to respect talent around the league.

Being a mindless idiot.

This just annoys me in general, mindless idiots, but when I heard about this story, I could do nothing more besides shake my head at the types of people that exist.

The Dallas Stars played the L.A. Kings last night, and the Kings won 3-1. I'm pretty neutral about Western Conference games, since, well, I live on the East Coast, and it's a lot easier to get access to Eastern Conference games, but I'm not even talking about the win.

Apparently after the game, a Kings fan was beaten close to death by a bunch of Stars fans. It could've been the other way around because I'm honestly not really sure and I can't find a story about this.

But the point is, why can't someone support their team without having to be afraid of getting beaten up by others? I mean, really, I don't think I can stress enough that people should be fans of hockey in general as well as being fans of their team. There really is no cause for an innocent fan to be beaten to a pulp in the parking lot after the game.

EDIT: That actually happened at a DODGERS game. Different sport, same story.

Pretending to know everything about hockey.

When I go to Rangers game, this is what annoys me the most. I'll be sitting there enjoying the game, and some idiots behind me will be talking very loudly about the game, thinking that they sound so smart when they actually just sound like pretentious imbeciles.

When the Rangers are on the powerplay, for example, more often than not, most people will be screaming, "SHOOT IT SHOOT THE PUCK SHOOT IT NOW WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING SHOOT IT." Um, hey, open your eyes, THE PLAYER ISN'T EVEN IN THE ZONE YOU FUCKING DIPSHIT.

Or, hey, look, someone on the opposing team IS STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM. That means THERE IS NO SHOOTING LANE. Do you want them to shoot it and have it blocked by the other player? That can result in the puck leaving the offensive zone and a potential odd man rush.

Something else is when the Rangers (or any team) pass the puck back to their defense. "HEY IDIOTS YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY," is a common phrase I hear when that happens. But sometimes, mindless-people-shouting, you have to go back in order to go forwards. If you just charge senselessly ahead without giving everyone on the ice time to prepare and organize themselves so perhaps a play can be run, usually nothing good will result. It takes patience, sometimes.

So just shut up, sit down, and watch the game. If you think you can do better, then get your skates and equipment on and prove it.

"The New York Rangers suck."

I'm sure I could say the same thing about your team. Get outta here before I rip you a new one.

The Philadelphia Flyers.

Suck it, Flyers. You might have made it to the Stanley Cup Finals last year, but everyone still hates you.