Sports Thread #2 For 2/24/10: A Hapless Goalie Is The Main Victim Of Revenge

It was a long night for (Photo from the IOC)

A lot of casual fans watching hockey seriously for the first time ever (or in a long time, and yes, last year's wondeful Stanley Cup Finals count as in a long time ) probably developed a myriad of jokes for the pain that was watching Evgeni Nabokov this evening.

I couldn't help but be apart of that cabal, but it was more in total jaw dropping shock than taking glee in the Russian goalie's worst nightmare of his career.

In what was suppose to be the final transformed into the de facto final, the ruthless Canadian assailment on their bitter rivals right from the opening moments of the contest made most wonder "Did Germany dress up in Russian uniforms to enact some sort of payback for losing 8-2 last night?"

And then it hit me and virtually everyone else the minute Ed Olczyk said "Nabokov has got to come out of this game".

No matter how much coach Vyacheslav Bykov may try and console him, along with an invincible Alex Ovechin and the rest of his teammates, the San Jose Sharks' man between the pipes is as dejected as a kid right now after his performance.

The 4th goal he conceded exemplified how his confidence level diminished rapidly to zero. He was in no man's land, way outside of his blue zone area and letting Brenden Morrow blunt all the momentum Russia received from Dmitri Kalinin putting them on the board. It was the key point in the game, ruining any chances of a comeback. Instead, it was the continuing of a beatdown.

Just three days ago, all the goalkeeping condemnation rest on the shoulders of Mike Babcock. Probably every Canadian sports radio talk show, from the small towns in Newfoundland to the impoverish streets devastated by this Winter Olympics coming at their discretion, were in unison with the obvious message. "Babcock has got to solve our goalkeeping problem by getting rid of Bordeur and returning to Luongo or else!"

That sentiment of deflating and frustration is now felt times three over in the land Sarah Palin can see from her window. And you can here the calls now of "Bykov is in an idiot for not replacing Nabokov with Ilya Bryzgalov. He should have took him off the moment the third goal has scored."

Because unlike Bordeur's elderly stumbles, there was no room at all for Nabokov's (and his defense's) mishaps for the world to see.

And no room at all now for anything to console him as the main target of the host nation's desired revenge.