Are ex-King Sean Avery's 15 minutes up at last?

Sean Avery has created controversy?

It must be Tuesday.

Avery chirped away after the Dallas Stars' morning skate Tuesday, making highly suggestive comments that the NHL hierarchy felt were out of line. The league's response was quick: an open-ended suspension pending a hearing.

Reporters on the scene said that some of Avery's teammates were appalled by his comments, with an obviously annoyed Marty Turco saying, "The show continues." Stars ownership answered without mincing words.

"I completely support the league's decision to suspend Sean Avery," team owner Thomas Hicks said in a statement. "Had the league not have suspended him, the Dallas Stars would have. This organization will not tolerate such behavior, especially from a member of our hockey team. We hold our team to a higher standard and will continue to do so."

Of course, one might accuse Hickey of shutting the door after the horse's behind has escaped. The Stars knew who Avery was when they signed him.

So, let's review. The Kings trade Avery to the New York Rangers. Dustin Brown -- Avery's whipping boy -- blossoms into a quality NHL player and team leader, as the Kings begin moving forward. The Rangers allow Avery to leave and immediately zoom to the top of the Eastern Conference.  And the Stars? Well, they wallow in last place in the Pacific Division.

The belief is that at some point Avery's rap sheet will scare off every general manager in North America. And then? Well, does Avery speak Russian?

-- Chris Foster

Photo: Last week, Sean Avery chatted with fans during warmups before a game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Credit: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

Comments

[H]

what did he say

[Jack Grapes]

I began reading the article about Sean Avery and immediately grew fearful that the Times would actually print what Avery said. My old ticker is not what it used to be, and after reading about 700 billion dollar bailouts, the whole capitalistic economic structure about to collapse, the Big Three automotive companies about to go down, the thought of reading what Sean Avery actually said sent shock waves of palpitations through my heart. If I wanted to find out what was going on in the world, I would not go to a "news" paper, I'd ask my neighbor, Richard, who gets his "news" the old fashioned way, by calling his friend Brian in Portland who calls his friend Garth in Tallahassee who calls his friend Steve in Anchorage. Who needs a newspaper anyway.

[Andy]

Hickey? Who is Hickey? Do you mean Owner Thomas Hicks? As for Avery, he is a mess the NHL does not need. Leave the foolish antics of players to other sports. The saddest part is that the only time the NHL gets publicity is when something wrong happens. What's up with that, media? Complain all you want about the games being on Versus which supposedly no one can find, but when USC's games are on that very same channel, no one says a peep. How can that be???