Inglorious Backes

In his three seasons at Minnesota State, I often went to David Backes (shown in this AP photo falling on top of Sidney Crosby after dishing the puck to Chris Drury for a goal against Canada on Sunday) for a quote. Sure, he was a great player who usually accomplished something worth talking about in a game. But he usually had something to say, too. Always thoughtful. Rarely cliche. Funny. Smart. Basically, a sportswriter's dream.

Well, it appears that the folks covering the U.S. Olympic hockey team are finding this out in Vancouver, as he has become quite quotable. Here are a few of his recent comments:

On beating Canada and moving to the medal round: "We haven't done anything. All of Canada is in a panic but we can't act like we're done. ... It wouldn't be too hard to be proud of our accomplishments so far and get a little ahead of ourselves, but the truth is, we lose the next match, we're out with nothing around our necks. ... We need to keep getting better and stay humble. If we take care of business in the next two games, we're looking at a finish we're worthy of."

Also: "We could act like we've done something big already. But in the eyes of the guys in the locker room, we knew we had to play another game. The stakes will be bigger this time."

On his play in front of goalie Martin Brodeur, which led to Drury's goal: "I just had to get in front of the net and use my big butt."

On U.S. goaltender Ryan Miller: "I'm starting to wonder if his heartbeat ever elevates. He's cool, calm, collected. Even after that 42-save performance against Canada, we might have got a half a smile out of him."

By the way, Backes and Team USA will play Switzerland in the first round of of the medal tournament at 2 p.m. (CST) today.