Sean Avery's Villainy Gets Better TV Ratings Than Sidney Crosby's Heroism

Sunday's Rangers-Bruins game featuring Sean Avery's first appearance at Madison Square Garden got better national ratings on NBC than the matchup between Alexander Ovechkin's Washington Capitals and Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins last month.

The network is promoting this coming Sunday's game as "Sean Avery and the Rangers against the Flyers."

A story in the Toronto Sun recently said talks about renewing a deal between the NHL and NBC have yet to "heat up." NBC is in the final year of its two-year deal with the NHL.

Sidney Crosby's fight—on the ice—with Sean Avery is immortalized on YouTube. But that battle between the No. 1 hockey hero and the No. 1 hockey villain was nothing compared to their battle of the brands.

If it's all about marketing and name recognition, Avery is kicking Crosby's butt with expensive shoes that match his designer belt and a not-too-masculine-looking shirt.
Crosby battles with Alexander Ovechkin for recognition as the best hockey player in the NHL today. The story about their feud has been well reported.

The two biggest names in the NHL don't like each other. Ovechkin is tired of Crosby's constant jawing, and Crosby has no love for Ovechkin's theatrics.

Meanwhile, Crosby's teammate, Evegeni Malkin, who plays with Ovechkin for Russia, leads them both and the entire NHL in the race for the Art Ross Trophy for the league scoring champion (goals and assists). That story goes under-reported.

Crosby battles two Russians for status as the No. 1 hockey hero, but he fights a fellow Canadian for fame in the USA.

Crosby is promoted by the NHL as the new face of the sport, which is trying to get greater recognition in a market obsessed with the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NASCAR. And Crosby is an excellent ambassador for the game.

Avery's PR company promoted him and he crossed over from hockey into the worlds of Hollywood, fashion, and celebrity.

Avery's in the new Gap ads, it was recently announced, and there's a movie in the works with New Line Cinema based on an Avery article in Men's Vogue about his adventures as an NHLer working at a fashion magazine.