Wizard of Oz
Remember the old Sparky Anderson quote, “If you don’t like Dave Rucker, then you don’t like ice cream”?
Rucker is only remembered by the most hard-core Tiger fans, but that quote works when applied to Chris Osgood.
How can anyone not like the Detroit Red Wing goaltender?
The baby-faced veteran has endured lots of ups and downs in his career, but through it all has maintained his demeanor as a friendly, classy athlete.
It was so great to see him get the shutout Sunday as the Detroit Red Wings closed out their first-round playoff series against Nashville.
Osgood outplayed Dominik Hasek during the regular season, but coach Mike Babcock decided to go with Hasek when the playoffs started. Osgood had good reason to be upset, but he never complained. He just kept working hard and was ready when his opportunity arrived.
Kudos to Babcock for making the switch and to Osgood for making it work.
What a great story it will be if Osgood led the Wings to the Stanley Cup.