Worth the price of admission

Thanks to Gary Bettman and his crap schedule, Red Wing fans get to see Eastern Conference teams at the Joe once every other year. So the fact that Alex Ovechkin is coming to town is cause for celebration. Outside of DC, no town pulls for Ovechkin more than the D. And it's all due to the Sidney Crosby vs. Ovechkin debate. We'd pull for Saddam Hussein over Crosby.

On WDFN this morning, they were chatting about players who are "worth the price of admission," with Ovechkin being a player who qualifies. Despite a down year in terms of goals, he's still an electric player and personality. So, with all the negativity lately in sports and on this blog (thanks, NFL) , I thought it would be worthwhile to spread some positivity. What athletes, in my humble opinion, are worth the price of admission?

Let's start with hockey.

Pavel Datsyuk

We're lucky that we get to see Datsyuk and his sublime skill every single game. I've not seen a player in my adult lifetime that can match his sheer trickery. Each time he touches the puck, it's a chance for something special. It's players like Datsyuk that make hockey so much fun. There may be better goal-scorers and passers, but, for entertainment value, Datsyuk is #1.

Kevin Durant

Quietly, this kid has ascended to NBA knighthood. Perhaps it hasn't been that quiet, but he's certainly still in the media shadow of Kobe, the Celtics, and the Big 3. In fact, Blake Griffin probably gets more pub. Yet, all Durant has done this season is average 28 per game with 7 boards. And that's slightly down from last season's 30 and 7.6.

When he came into the league, NBA fans dogged him for being weak. He was the only player who couldn't bench press 185lbs. Perhaps those fans forgot that the game is played on a court, not in a weight room. Shutting those testosterone junkies up forever, Durant proved the stupidity of all those draft camp drills. Can the dude play the game? See for yourself (with or without a shoe):

Or how about this gem from his rookie season (on the now-defunct Supersonics):

In football, the search was a bit tougher. As a fan of the worst franchise in professional sports, my first instinct was Ndamukong Suh. Yet, for every sack and/or fumble recovery, there are countless plays where he ends up in a pile. There's only so much excitement a defensive tackle can really bring to the table.

Since Barry Sanders retired, there just aren't any RBs that can do this:

But, of course, that doesn't mean there's not any excitement. (By the way, watching those clips reminded me how spoiled we all were to have such a dynamic player wear Bubbles the Lion on his helmet. Perhaps the Millen years were our penance for taking Barry for granted?)

We're currently living through the prime of the NFL's greatest quarterback...

Peyton Manning

I've watched this kid carve up defenses like pork chops. He's a popular player, for sure, but it's somewhat shocking to me that rivals like Tom Brady and Brett Favre steal headlines. In Brady's case, he receives the benefit of the Boston (aka ESPN) treatment. Yet, Favre has no place on the front page. This is the best thing that ever happened to football:

Thank you, Corey Wootton. Now, we can move forward and appreciate the brilliance that is Manning. He's 3rd all-time in passing yards, passes completed, and passing TDs. Despite also being 3rd all-time in passing attempts, he's only 28th in interceptions. For his career, Peyton has completed a sterling 65% of his passes. Oh, and, by the way, he's not missed a start since he was drafted. That's 208 games and counting. All told, he's notched a 141-67 record as a pro. As a Lions fan, those are numbers we just drool at. The wins. The consistency. It's incredible. All that, and the dude even helps the kids.

What about baseball? Is there a player worth the price of admission? I suppose there are sluggers like Pujols and Cabrera. But who wants to watch home run after home run? As the mainstay on Sportscenter broadcasts during the Summer, the home run is about as exciting as a new Weezer record. And I can't claim to get overly interested in a pitcher's duel. Sure, I appreciate the ability to throw 95mph and still pick out corners of the strike zone. But I'm not sure it's worth the price of admission (unless, of course, you're sitting in the bleachers... and why wouldn't you?). So who's left? What athlete in baseball performs the unthinkable?

The best fit, I'd say, is:

Ichiro Suzuki

He can throw like Willie Mays: (crowd reaction is the best)

And he's an astounding hitter. He's on pace to get 3,000 hits before his 40th birthday, which is astonishing considering he was 27 when he started in MLB. Oh, and in a pinch, the dude can pitch:

So there you have it. My players who are worth the price of admission. Most fly under the radar. They don't always grab the headlines. But, when folks look back on this era of sports, they'll remember those names.