WHEN OVECHKIN HAS AN UNBREAKABLE MARK, WHO CARES ABOUT LAMAR JACKSON?
The NFL quarterback thinks No. 8 belongs to him for eternity, and if he legally disputes Ovechkin’s commercial use of “GR8” after breaking hockey’s goal-scoring record, what if he angers the Kremlin?
How many nights has he skated the crazy eights, in menacing circles, while scoring 895 goals? Forget about Alex Ovechkin’s ice gumption and legendary fiber. He wears No. 8 because his mother wore No. 8 for the Soviet Union, when Tatiana was a basketball player who won two Olympic gold medals.
No. 8 left us with a pulverizing memory, blasting the definitive vision of a goal-scorer by taking a cross-ice pass from Tom Wilson and driving a wrist shot past goaltender Ilya Sorokin, another Russian. Then No. 8 fell face-first to the ice in New York and slid wildly while his teammates mobbed him. No. 8 broke a record, surpassing Wayne Gretzky, that likely won’t be shattered.
“I’m probably gonna need a couple more days or maybe a couple weeks to realize what does it mean to be No. 1,” Ovechkin said.
“They say records are made to be broken, but I’m not sure who’s going to get more goals than that,” Gretzky said.
“Wayne, you’ll always be the ‘Great One’ and you had a record that nobody ever thought would be broken. But Alex, you did it,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said.
Let’s hope No. 8 is regarded as Ovechkin’s number, or Cal Ripken’s number, or Kobe Bryant’s number. Because as we celebrate and wonder which sniper is better than the other — I posed the question when they were tied at 894 — I’m wondering what Lamar Jackson might have in mind. He seems to believe No. 8 belongs to him for eternity, and if his legal challenges against Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Troy Aikman are chilling indications, Ovechkin’s lawyers should be doing their homework.
He is known in Washington and throughout the league as The Great 8 and just finished the GR8 Chase, a slogan he has trademarked. At what point does Jackson, a dual-threat NFL performer who hasn’t reached a Super Bowl in Baltimore, fire away at Ovechkin and demand courtroom protection for his “ERA 8” and “ERA 8 by Lamar Jackson” apparel logos? Why would he think a buyer considering Ovechkin today would be confused about Jackson’s brand? Stunningly, he forced Earnhardt to use a stylized version of 8 after a dispute forced him to abandon his original design. Did Jackson read the international take that is a bit bigger than the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office?
Does he want to be on the bad side of Vladimir Putin? Does he have the address and phone number of the Kremlin?
“I congratulate you on your outstanding record. You have surpassed legendary masters in the number of goals scored in National Hockey League regular-season games," the Russian president told Ovechkin in a statement Monday. “It has become not only your personal success, but also a real celebration for fans in Russia and abroad I wish you health, good fortune (and) fighting spirit to conquer new heights in life and in sports.”
What if Putin, who allegedly stole a Super Bowl ring from New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, wants to buy a “GR8” memento? Jackson might notice how Ovechkin supports Putin and said, “He’s my president. I’m Russian, right? I am not in politics. I’m an athlete.” Would Lamar sue Russia, too?
The quarterback has been asked several times about his stance. Last summer, after staring down Aikman and risking a torch job on “Monday Night Football,” Jackson said, “We're going to keep this about football. That's outside noise. We're sticking with (talking about training) camp and football, and that's it.” Why does Jackson, who can’t beat the Kansas City Chiefs and lost to the Buffalo Bills in January, think he’s worthy of distinction over Ovechkin, Ripken, Bryant, Aikman, Earnhardt, Yogi Berra, Joe Morgan, Steve Young or any other No. 8?
Fortunately, Earnhardt remained a cool guy and updated styles. “Through the USPTO, we successfully secured the right to the stylized 8. Therefore, we will be moving away from the original 8 we have used since 2019,” the NASCAR legend said last week. “We are looking forward to the remainder of an already successful season.” Aikman has yet to budge on “EIGHT,” still tending to his beer brand and apparel.
Not that Ovechkin cares. He is absorbing the plaudits and admiring his portrait with Gretzky, who is in second place while Jack Nicklaus, Michael Phelps, Joe DiMaggio, Cy Young, Wilt Chamberlain and — boo — Barry Bonds remain sacred. “It’s a testament to Ovi,” said Capitals center Dylan Strome, who passed the eventual record-breaker to Wilson. “Everyone wants to see him succeed because he’s such a happy guy. It doesn’t matter if he scores a goal or someone else scores a goal: He’s just as happy. And I think that’s a credit to him and his character, and you could see why other people are so happy for him because of the way he treats other people.”
“I’m really proud for myself,” Ovechkin said. “I’m really proud for my family, for all my teammates that help me to reach that milestone and for all my coaches. It’s huge. It’s unbelievable. It’s unbelievable moment, and I’m happy.”
He should remain that way and continue to score deep into the playoffs. Let Jackson call his lawyers. I would prefer he win a big game in the NFL, just one.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.