KMAX: Sports

Babcock, players try to avoid negatives

By KEN PETERS
AP Sports Writer

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Sometimes the Mighty Ducks don't listen to their coach. ``I tell the guys every day that they shouldn't read the paper, but there is no point. They all read it every single day,'' Mike Babcock said, smiling and shaking his head.

``I read it myself when things are going good.''

The Ducks' rookie coach wants his players to focus completely on themselves and what they're doing, and not be affected by outside influences.

Babcock, a square-jawed former Western Hockey League defenseman with an intense stare, seems to be flashing his dry wit more as he grows accustomed to the spotlight.

After a pair of 3-0 Ducks' losses at New Jersey to begin the Stanley Cup finals, he wasn't tempted to read sports pages or watch television sports reports.

``I hadn't read at all since we had been as ugly as we had,'' he said Sunday after the Ducks held a voluntary workout. ``Today, I thought about turning it (the TV) on, but I'm not going to.''

The latest reports were considerably more favorable to the Ducks, virtually declared dead after the Devils dominated them in the first two games. Anaheim came back to win 3-2 in overtime on Saturday night.

Still trailing 2-1, the Ducks will try to even the series Monday night at home in Game 4.

``The point is, it's about what we do in the room and how we prepare. We want to be proud of how hard we prepare and play and what we do,'' Babcock said of the reading/watching ban that he and his players violate.

``When you get to the Stanley Cup finals and all the people who have been writing real nice things about you suddenly start burying you, you realize the only people that matter are in the dressing room.''

Even without reading papers or watching TV, Babcock said negatives can creep in.

``We walk out after Game 2, I see two of my scouts beating each other up over a cup of coffee. We get to the airport, they're frustrated with the security people,'' the coach said. ``Do you think they're really frustrated with the security people?

``You always want to feel good about yourselves and what you're doing. It's way easier to read the newspapers when everything's going good because you get to find out how great you are. And you can beat yourself up in this business all by yourself (when things aren't going well). You don't need to read the paper to get that done.''

Not all the Ducks sneak peeks at the paper.

``We've tried not to read negative things. In the series against Detroit, everybody said they would win in five games,'' said Ruslan Salei, referring to the Ducks' surprising sweep of the defending Stanley Cup champions in the first round.

Salei, whose goal 6:59 into overtime gave the Ducks the Game 3 victory over New Jersey, has another reason why he doesn't pay much attention to what's written about the team.

``It's tough for me to read English,'' the native of Minsk, Belarus, said.

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