Don't tick off Mama Ovie! Alex Ovechkin is a pretty big boy who's capable of defending himself, but that doesn't mean his proud mama isn't going to rise to his defense.
In the wake of his knee-on-knee collision with Hurricanes' defenseman Tim Gleason, Ovie's mom is sounding off. And as a proud mother does, she sees no evil in her boy, but in those who take him on.
Ovie's mom did an interview with Sovietsky Sport, which Japers Rink helpfully translates.
"That defenseman Gleason should wear glasses when he's out on the ice!" said mama Ovechkin indignantly. "So he can see what's happening on the ice and have time to coordinate his moves. He even came back and played the rest of the game, and here Sasha could have been seriously injured."
"This is how I saw it: The defenseman got the puck, and Sasha went towards him to try and force a turnover. At that moment another Carolina player skated by him and blocked his view..."
"Again, Gleason should get him some rose or dark colored glasses. Or contact lenses. He shouldn't be staring at the ice, looking at the color of his laces or the puck. You can't play like that! A hockey player has to keep his head up! And my son was out the rest of the game..."
Get that, Gleason? Get your head in the game, and your knees out of the way of the bulldozing Ovie! Don't you dare get in the way of her dear Sasha ever again.
It's a shame the NHL's Wheel of Justice -- which handed out a two-game suspension -- doesn't quite see it through the same lens.
There's nothing quite like a mama's pride and joy, is there? If the Caps were smart, they'd fly Mama Ovie over here to do color commentary on a game. Who wouldn't tune in to hear that?
