‘Chrissy’ Pronger skirt poster called sexist

Chris Pronger isn't upset, but some women are.

A poster in Tuesday's Chicago Tribune shows the Flyers stalwart defenseman in a skirt, along with a headline that reads, "Chrissy Pronger. Looks like Tarzan, skates like Jane."

Clever like sixth grade.

Not only is the Tarzan joke as old as Tarzan, the skirt thing rips off the New York Post. "The Frillies Are Coming to Town!" its front page declared in October, next to a picture of outfielder Shane Victorino in a skirt.

Pronger barely bothered to react."I don't read what you guys write, good or bad," Pronger said Tuesday. "I really couldn't care, to be honest with you. I'm worried about playing the game."

That game is Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight at the Wachovia Center against Chicago's Blackhawks, who lead the series 3-2.

Some women were bothered, though.

"Here we go again, this time from a newspaper that is led by a female managing editor, Jane Hirt, who clearly should know better," writes USA Today columnist Christine Brennan. ". . . How is it acceptable for a newspaper to resort to tired old sexist comparisons of this sort, trying to diminish Pronger by saying he plays like a girl?"

When broadcaster Jim Rome once compared quarterback Jim Everett to tennis great Chris Evert, that should have been a compliment to the football player, since she was "much tougher," Brennan said.

Also unhappy with Trib sports editor Mike Kellams was Angela Ruggiero, who won gold, silver and bronze playing ice hockey at three Olympics. The Harvard grad was also once played for a men's team, the Tulsa Oilers.

"I'd like to see that editor out on skates. I'll take them one-on-one on the ice any day," Ruggiero told the Associated Press. "They obviously have never seen women's hockey and are living in the dark ages."

"Obviously, it's offensive," she said. "It's disappointing more than anything. I grew up playing with boys, trained with NHL players. I would go head-to-head with Pronger any day I could."

"For her and others who took offense, I apologize. No qualifiers, I'm sorry," Kellams responded. "We were just having a little fun with a guy who has come to personify all that has gotten under the collective skin of Blackhawks fans."

Fans in Philly hope that even if the Flyers aren't offended - do they need more motivation? - that the hockey gods will be, resulting in bad karma for the Blackhawks.

Maybe they'll skate like Cheetah.