TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
DALLAS - Bird and Magic.
You knew those names would be invoked when Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin sat together during All-Star week festivities.
Fittingly, they spoke to reporters in an auxiliary gym that was converted into a media work room for the week. Two basketball hoops, raised to the ceiling, hovered above them at American Airlines Center.
The question came early, when a reporter referenced Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and how they'd re-energized and popularized the NBA in the early 1980s, before Ovechkin, 21, and Crosby, 19, were born.
What's it like to be in a similar position, fellas?
What's it like to be the faces of your league?
"I feel fine," Ovechkin said, laughing. "I feel comfortable, and I think Sidney feels comfortable, too. We concentrate on the game and don't think about our faces, NHL, or Magic Johnson or Larry Bird."
Later, in a quieter setting, Crosby answered the question somewhat differently.
"It's our second year," he said. "A lot of people might forget that. We're still experiencing things for the first time. Sometimes, we're still a little wide-eyed."
So are we, in watching them.
If one were to be cast as Magic and one as Bird, Ovechkin is definitely Bird -- less pretty, less polished. He can pass, but his game is scoring, and he plays with a nasty edge, as evidenced by his recent, vicious hit against Buffalo's Daniel Briere.
Crosby is more refined, more measured. He can score, but his game is passing -- and he's downright Magic-like in his ability to elevate teammates' play.
Ultimately, Bird and Magic were more alike than different and more about winning than anything. The same is true of Crosby and Ovechkin, who have quickly transformed their teams from lottery contenders to playoff contenders.
When either man visits your city, you buy a ticket. You want to see the talent, sure, but you also want to see the heart and pure joy with which they play the game.
Tonight, Crosby and Ovechkin will open the 55th NHL All-Star Game on the same line, skating for the Eastern Conference. Savor it, even if it is only an All-Star Game. Bird and Magic got to play together once, well past their primes, with the 1992 Dream Team.
By that time, the two had become friendly. They admitted to having admired each other's careers from the start, despite what appeared to be a frosty relationship.
Crosby and Ovechkin already are becoming friendly. They enjoyed a night out together after the NHL awards ceremony in Vancouver last year and have spent some time together this week.
They study each other's games, too.
"When we play against each other, when I sit on the bench, I like to watch his moves," Ovechkin said. "It's unbelievable when you see how he controls the puck, how he moves, how he skates, how he passes."
The feeling is mutual.
"When he's on (television), definitely I watch him," Crosby said. "He's an exciting player, shift after shift. You can see the things he creates. That's when you turn more into a fan than an opponent."
The real fun, however, comes when they are opponents. That's what made the Bird-Magic relationship a rivalry, the fact they faced each other three times with championships on the line. It gave us a legitimate and purely visual gauge by which to measure their careers.
It made their legacies inseparable.
We can only hope to be so lucky with Crosby and Ovechkin. So far, the only measurements we can take are career points (Crosby has 174, Ovechkin 171) and major awards (Ovechkin beat Crosby for the Calder Trophy last year).
We need more. I asked Ovechkin if he has imagined facing Crosby in the Stanley Cup playoffs someday, if he has wondered who will win more Cups.
"No, I don't think about it," he said, smiling mischievously. "But I will."
Joe Starkey is a sports writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com
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