All of us in the sports press crowd – and yes, I guess that includes teh gays – got a bit of a jolt this week. No, not Teddy’s win, or Romney kick-boxing the President to a pulp…although that comes close.

This is what bravery looks like

Puerto Rican featherweight Orlando Cruz left no doubts about exactly who he is this week when he came out as a gay athlete in a taped interview on Telemundo. Less tippy-toeing out of the closet and more busting the door off its hinges, he said unprompted: “I have always been and always will be a proud gay man.” Pretty much says it.

I admit, I don’t follow boxing much…too Mad Men and all for me. I get all the fighting (or occasional bongo-playing) I need watching insanely strong and fast men dart around the rink on razor-sharp blades.

I don’t know if gay rumors or scandals had followed Cruz for a while or not. His promoter Tuto Zabala, Jr. (now there’s a boxing name) told ESPN he’d heard rumors about Cruz for about a year, and just assumed he was gay, but never asked him. Where this placed on the “Anderson is gay” (duh)  to “Gareth Thomas is gay” (woht?)  spectrum, I can’t judge.

Go get ‘em, Orlando

But it appears there was no pressure on Cruz to come out at this point…other than just being honest with himself. “I’ve been fighting for more than 24 years and as I continue my ascendant career, I want to be true to myself,” he told Telemundo. “I want to try to be the best role model I can be for kids who might look into boxing as a sport and a professional career. I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man.”

Let’s just repeat that for a third time. “I have always been and always will be a proud gay man.”

So far, I haven’t seen one boxer, promoter, bookie, sharp guy, blogger or journalist say anything about this other than: good on him. Won’t affect his career in the least. He’s just the first of many.

So true. In sport (soccer) after sport (wrestling) after sport (tennis and diving and golf and lacrosse and skiing and I’ll stop now) we’ve seen active players come out not to boos but cheers, and with no impact on their performance. Every sport – including boxing – has players who’ve come out after the fact. In the “It Gets Better” column, more and more athletes are coming out while in uniform.

Good for Cruz – good for him being a good person, a role-model to kids, and just honest with himself and his fans. This truth always sets one free.

And so some day, perhaps soon, someone in the NHL is going to do exactly what Orlando Cruz did. Stand up as who he is, with no apologies and no regrets. I expect the reaction will be exactly the same: good on him, good for the sport, everyone will go back to not caring and watching good plays, just goodness all around.

Oh, that and, I expect, that certain first NHLer will have a long line of literary agents waving fat checks to get him to publish his story.

Finally, we have one request of Orlando, please use your skills to kick the snot out of Don Cherry. We bet you could beat the plaid off of him.

Although we’re known for our maniacal devotion to the home team (imagine Hezbollah and Shining Path as hockey moms and dads and we’re their sons), the truth is that this is a house divided, a mixed marriage.  While we claim Hockey Capital as our adopted home, one of us hails from Hockeytown, hence the occasional domestic violence. So of course, the news about banning the Wings’ traditional launching of the cephalopod has us concerned.

Aside from throwing tradition out the window, end-running what should be cause for a drawn out and ungodly expensive legal battle, Wings management tell us they’re enforcing a League dictate; they’re just following orders.  Luckily, our brothers at The Provocation Production Line have enjoined the battle. Rob, Michael and Chris are best known for their highly effective (yet low casualty) Operation Curly Fries campaign (The fast food Battle of Agincourt for Red Wing fans), which saved another cherished Detroit custom.

Nevermind that these eight-legged creatures (binomial name: Octopus vulgaris) are slimy and disgusting, we’ve scraped up far worse from the Verizon sheet (see: Avery horribilis vulgaris, Cooke criminalus insufferablus, etc.).  That got us to thinking.  We have icons steeped in history such as Slapshot and the Red Knockers Rockers, but why don’t we hurl things like other teams have come to do (varieties of seafood, snakes, rats and waffles)?

Although shy and retiring by nature, Washington Capitals fans may want to consider some of these items as suitable, DC-centric projectiles:

BlackBerrys
Dippin’ Dots
AOL Time Warner stock certificates
Redskins season tickets
Employee photo IDs
NPR executives
Volumes of the Congressional Record
Freshman members of the 112th Congress
Jagr jerseys
Bipartisanship
@twolinepass tweets
NBC and Versus announcers
Lobbyists (freshman members of the 102nd Congress)
Unused Game 7 Caps-Rangers tickets
Supreme Court Justices (You pick ‘em)
Don Cherry

*3pm is cocktail hour: We’re back to Nellie’s for this afternoon’s Ranger drubbing.

The prose here is occasionally tortured but we’re not nearly so lame as to lean on such shopworn clichés as “perfect storm” and “tipping point,” but the past week has seen a fair number of positive elements surface in the game, the media and on campus.  And then there’s the story about what happend when readers from the most right-wing political website in the solar system stumbled across a gay hockey fanboy blog.

Think Pink: HLH gowns provided by Dion Cheri

Those Vancouver scamps, the Hockey Luvin Homos, got most of the ink and attention this week with their gutsy and camera-ready display at the Canucks – Kings game on Thursday evening. 

In no time at all, those two provocateurs in boas and lipstick were front-paged on Deadspin, Puck Daddy, OutSports, the MSM and dozens of blogs.  We’ll use that instant media saturation as an excuse for us not jumping in on the initial news cycle, but we’ll take this opportunity for a more thorough look at that event in the context of the other significant news that transpired this week. (Cue the Newshour theme).

We’re rascals ourselves on occasion but don’t think we’d ever go the HLH route to make a statement or grab some notoriety – yet our hats go off to them for their creativity, brass balls and media-savvy. 

No one wants to see us in drag, no matter how campy.  Trust us – no one.  They fired a shot heard ’round the hockey world and we hope they surface and continue to make news and noise.  Well played ladies gentlemen. 

In a more serious vein, a few other items popped up on that crowded RADAR screen that is gay hockey news – not mere blips, but rather important events that may herald a move towards a broader acceptance of diversity in the sport. Diversity – a clever and value-free euphemism, no?

Stand (or sit) with Brian Burke

At the NCAA level this week, two other notable events took place. 

Leafs president and general manager, Brian Burke, visited Maine’s Bowdoin College this week as part of their highly successful ”Anything But Straight in Athletics” series.

As if he hasn’t done enough already, Brian keynoted the campus event and the Bowdoin Orient has this to report:

As a representative of the notoriously macho culture of professional hockey, Burke seems an unlikely gay advocate, but his tenacity in confronting homophobia in the sport has been unrivaled.

“My goal is to throw the weight of an NHL front office at the issue,” wrote Burke in an email to the Orient. “This bias needs to disappear, and I think pro leagues and teams can add useful muscle to this issue.”

Burke has pushed for greater acceptance of homosexuality in a league that, while showing progress, has remained less accepting of social differences.

Let's Go Redhawks!

In CCHA news, OutSports reports from the home of the Redhawks, Miami University, once the team of Brian Burke’s son, Brendan. 

Team members, including player of the year, NCAA scoring champ, Hobey Baker Award Hat Trick finalist, and brand new Phoenix Coyote propect, Andy Miele, spoke to Cyz Zeigler about their effort to combat homophobia in the sport:

Miele’s staggering numbers don’t feed into the stereotypical image of a man who would champion gay equality, but Miele has become an outspoken advocate for acceptance of gay people both in sports and beyond.  A close friend of Burke, Miele remembers times dancing with his gay friend at a local bar; And he doesn’t care who knows it…

Patrick Burke, brother of Brendan and a scout for the Philadelphia Flyers, could not praise Miele highly enough.  “The fact that numerous NHL teams are competing to sign Andy shows how well-respected he is,” Patrick said. “Whatever team he chooses is getting a tremendous hockey player and an even better person.”

Miele said he has learned not to fear the mythic pack of crazed gays wandering through locker rooms looking for naked straight men to attack. “They see you as teammates and nothing else,” Miele said. “You’re not going to be put into situations where they’re going to make a move on you.”

Also ahead of Thursday night’s theatrics in Vancouver, our pal Pete Olsen at Wide Rights, had a piece on a trio of Gay Nights Out at hockey arenas around the League – Phoenix, Columbus and San Jose.  With any luck, Red meets Pink at Verizon next season; Doug and Matt at Nellies Sports Bar are willing to help us organize a similar event.  And just today we got an email with another offer for an assist - a household name in NHL circles said he was willing to lend his Rolodex and juice to help us make it happen. 

But what really caught our attention this week is what we saw in our stats.  Thursday and Friday saw a surprising number of hits come in from an unlikely source, the Internet’s most strident base for conservative politics, Free Republic.  How strident?  Denizens of Free Republic, known as Freepers, populate such discussion forums as: Prayer, StatesRights, Tyranny, NaturalBornCitizen, TeaPartyRebellion, RINOFreeAmerica  and our personal favorite, HomosexualAgenda. 

Well, Freepers are people too, and hockey fans as well apparently. One of them whose screen name is xsmommy, came across our Thursday Sasha post and lobbed in a comment to the board.

A handful of responses followed and we weren’t all that surprised by the tone. What did surprise us was how the thread ultimately ended – not in a torrent of homophobic rants, but with what could be characterized as a grudging acceptance and best of all, a compliment on our efforts:

To: secret garden
Funny, true, yet DISTURBING AS ALL GET OUT!?
For boys who like boys who like hockey
Thursday, March 31, 2011 1:49:34 PM by xsmommy

To: xsmommy
Is that like a Sid/MarcAndre kind of thing ?
Thursday, March 31, 2011 2:43:03 PM by hobbes1

To: xsmommy
That picture of the two of them with the medal is a little too chummy.
Thursday, March 31, 2011 2:49:41 PM by secret garden

To: secret garden
What skeeves me (and no doubt Sasha) is that the authors who are swooning over him are FAIRIES!!
Thursday, March 31, 2011 3:46:40 PM by xsmommy

To: SoothingDave
Fleury, who reminds us all of the gay driver from Talladega Nights.
Thursday, March 31, 2011 7:03:50 PM by secret garden

To: SoothingDave; hobbes1; secret garden
well it’s official…
posted on Friday, April 01, 2011 1:47:54

To: xsmommy
LOL…. As much as we like to fun him (Crosby) , that’s not a very nice April Fools joke by that site.
posted on Friday, April 01, 2011 2:05:44 PM

To: xsmommy
Money Quote – In our wide-ranging interview, Sidney Crosby discussed the difficulties of keeping his secret, the reaction of his team-mates, and working with Pens coach Dan Byslma. “I love Dan as a coach, and he’s been nothing but supportive.” he said. “But his fashion sense? Oh my God, it’s just tragic.”
Friday, April 01, 2011 2:07:18 PM by hobbes1

To: hobbes1
Paula and i were roaring over this website yesterday, with the sexy Sasha pix etc. So she texted me today about the Sid piece. i was howling aloud reading it. Gay men are funnier/more clever than most women.
posted on Friday, April 01, 2011 2:09:34 PM

This little exchange, from deep within the recesses of Tea Party Nation, may explain our new twitter followers #260-264. Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.

And to tie a small bow around The.Gayest.Hockey.Week.Ever., a gift showed up in our inbox from reader Emily, a straight woman who put together this short video in the wake of the Vancouver shenanigans.  Emily cleverly riffs on the NHL “History Will Be Made” promotional campaign.  History will be made thanks to the hard work of many courageous men and women. We’ll be happy to document it whenever it happens.

Boys Don't Cry

Hockey lexicon is so rich, but for the casual fan, and depending on said fan’s demographic, it’s occasionally pretty confusing. 

While watching a game, it’s sometimes easy to be misled by the announce teams.  “Did he just say what I thought he said?” 

The first of a PBs semi-regular feature:  “Hockey slang that sounds gay but isn’t.” Contributions are welcome.

1. The Five Hole

2. Odd Man Rush

3. Don Cherry

4. Chip and Chase

5. Puck Daddy

6. Backside Look

7. Drop the Mitts and Dance

8. Wrap around

9. A Two Goal Bulge

10. Sidney Crosby