I started to post a comment ont he issue of the Richards "dive" and realized that it I had much more to say on the issue than I thought.

Was it a dive? Yeah it was. But look who they were playing. He's just trying to even the playing field. If Malkin can topple over like an Oak when someone breathes on him, and get a penalty called, and Crosby can piss and moan for 60 minutes, and get phantom penalty calls, then why can't Richards embellish what WAS a trip to get the officials attention? Am I wrong? Richards was obstructed, and because he never quits on a play, unlike 71 and 87, he kept charging the point. Then he quickly, and wisely, realized he could get a call if he fell, so he lunged to make a play at the puck and got the tripping call. Can you really blame him? He's just playing the the blind officials just like everyone else in the league.

If you read National bloggers you start to see a growing trend of people that are starting to lump Ritchie in with the real whiners in the NHL and its getting really annoying. I've been watching hockey a long time and I haven't seenanyone work as hard as Richards does, night in and night out, since Messier!

Hey Ritchie, I woulda dove too, and you got the call, so who really cares?! The key is to know WHEN to dive, *cough* Biron *cough*