That's all he can stands. He can't stands no more.
While he didn't down a can of spinach in microseconds, didn't have steam coming out of his ears, and his muscles didn't unnaturally bulge out of his arms to the terror of his enemies, Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov definitely had his Popeye moment last night.
Following Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on home ice, Bryz did what we all would have liked to see last year, and unloaded collectively on the Philly media regarding one of the slimiest bits of "news" to come down the pike.
"You know guys, to be honest, I don’t know where you get this information. Be honest, did you read yourself what you wrote? That’s embarrassing. You have to prove your sources. That was never happening. You became not professional journalist, it’s embarrassing, seriously. You’ve got to do your job better. I’m only pointing at guys who were involved in this because it’s really embarrassing and you have to be better. Step up, guys. Prove your information, find a reliable source.”
The 32-year-old netminder referred to "Sleepgate," a collection of reports, stemming from Crossing Broad's alleged "well-placed source," which stated on Wednesday that Bryzgalov was benched in favor of Steve Mason on Tuesday at Uniondale because he fell asleep in a team meeting.
If that wasn't bad enough, 97.5 The Fanatic picked up and reported on that rumor in the persons of Tony Bruno and Harry Mayes, with the latter directly referencing that salacious tidbit with a tweet from his account strongly implying Bryzgalov did what he was accused of doing.
If that wasn't bad enough, one local mainstream outlet took off with the piece and published.
Things spiraled out of hand so fast that not one, not two, but three independent Flyers veterans had to personally refute any and all insinuations, while captain Claude Giroux was forced to have a face-to-face meeting with the unlucky beatnik who went public.
Whether you think he should be here next year or not, whether you believe the compliance buyout should be used to rid the club of that $51 million, eight-year albatross, there is no way Bryzgalov or any other member of the Flyers should be subject to this kind of TMZ crap win or lose.
Bravo, Bryz. You finally took your head out of the cosmos and put together your most lucid statement since you've arrived from Phoenix. Don't let the bastards grind you down, and let's hope you unleash the Tiger a little more often to preserve the integrity of the locker room.
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