According to the New York Post, Sean Avery's incident with the LAPD — in which he was arrested early Friday morning and charged with battery against a peace officer — played out like a short-form version of "The Three Little Pigs."
(Or as TMZ reported, perhaps that should be "The Three Fat Little Pigs.")
The Post reports that the police first arrived at Avery's West Hollywood house, where he was holding a party for 10, at 10 p.m. on Thursday night on a noise complaint, but left when Avery's neighbor said the noise level was tolerable.
They returned three hours later, knocked on the door, and that's when Avery allegedly shoved one of the officers and slammed it shut. The police — and we're paraphrasing here — said they would huff and puff and blow his door down … after which Avery opened the door and cooperated.
From the Post, here's Avery on the arrest:
"I'm all right, I'm good," a relaxed, smiling Avery, 31, told The Post at his Spanish bungalow in the West Hollywood hills after posting $20,000 bond on the battery charge.
"It'll all work out at some point," predicted Avery, whose on- and off-ice antagonism toward opponents and coaches have made him one of the NHL's most-hated players during his career.
The Rangers issued a "no comment" on the incident, as expected. Again, Avery's not the first NHL player to get in trouble with the law during the offseason — he's just the first that happens to also be Sean Avery. So that's going to lead to questions about his status next season with the New York Rangers, but Adam Rotter of SNY Rangers Blog had it right:
"His next court date is September 2nd and training camp begins on September 16th. The Rangers have given Sean Avery a second chance after his incident in Dallas and they may give him another after this. He only has one year left on his deal and Glen Sather loves him."
And, as we said on Friday, the incident is a regrettable mistake and Avery doesn't exactly have an off-ice rap sheet. Barring something more than a fine or probation, it shouldn't affect him in the NHL. Well, outside of the "beat up any cops lately?" chirps.