Wilson's Hot for Trotz

Will Ron and Barry knock off their lovers' quarrel already?

This non-stop bickering in the Sharks/Predators series between coaches Wilson and Trotz began with Scott Hartnell's knee-on-knee collision with Jonathan Cheechoo in Game 1. Trotz was like, "Dude, our bad." Wilson was all, "OMG, he had cuts on his left cheek and eyebrow and lost a tooth and stuff! What if that happened to Forsberg or Kariya, jerk?" Then, in Game 2, Alexander Radulov earns a 1-game suspension for sending Steve Bernier headfirst into the boards from behind. Trotz was like, "LOL, he totally saw it coming." Wilson was all, "Sure, Bernie put a sign on his back that said, 'Hit me. Knock me out."' (Actually, that's what Wilson said.) And then Trotz was all, "WTF, you guys started it," and Wilson was all, "If we did, I would have gone all Mark Bell on you," and then he proceeded to scare the living bejeezus out of a Nashville reporter who engaged Wilson in a debate about what a video tape did or did not show.

Are these guys ready for a pillow fight or what? Chip Ramsey's had enough:

Ron Wilson, on behalf of humanity, please accept this fifty-five gallon industrial drum of STFU. You must go through a case of kleenex a day, you blubbering baby. Even with the fact that Alexander Radulov deserved his suspension, you hurling accusations at Barry Trotz is laughable. Barry would laugh right at you if his face wouldn't crack.

Blogger and San Jose season-ticket holder Chuq Von Rospach of Two for Elbowing has other ideas:

I don't particularly enjoy this kind of hockey -- this isn't the hard hitting of Scott Stevens or Cam Neely, This is Broad Street Bully crap. But now that we're in it, either finish it or go home.

I suggest the Sharks finish it. Let Barry Trotz whine and posture, let's play hockey and make the Predators stop us, if they can.

To be honest? if I were Ron Wilson, I'd dress Doug Murray as a forward, and I'd put two pictures up on the board -- Vokoun and Forsberg. And I wouldn't say a word to the team before the game, let the pictures talk.

And personally, for as good a player as Forsberg is, I'm already very tired of his dirty play and stickwork, and his incessant whining every time the refs call him on the blatant penalties he's been taking...

Whatever the case, this series will probably never reach the postseason boil we all hope it will because the NHL has a funny way of not allowing bad blood to spill between teams that desperately want to spill it. Perhaps, after one team has moved on to the second round and the other team has packed up its teal jerseys, Ron and Barry can have a laugh about everything that's transpired between them. Seriously, they have a lot in common: very snappy dressers, both great with a postgame quote, both have had the pleasure of coaching Nolan Baumgartner and, based on last postseason's less-contentious battle between the two, they both really can't stand when the referees call everything. Which, considering their recent behavior, seems a little hypocritical.