Yahoo Sports 
Nicklas Backstrom's grandmother: 'He will make a fool of himself'
For most Olympians, family is a wonderful and joyous support system, a way to help you achieve your dreams through shared sacrifice. But every once in awhile, family can cut a little deep.
Nicklas Backstrom is on the eve of his Sochi debut, representing his home nation of Sweden. And while the Washington Capitals center is surely excited about the experience, his grandmother is leveling some pretty harsh criticism at him.
[Photos: Olympic crush: Sarah Hendrickson]
"He will make a fool of himself," his grandmother Britt said in the Swedish publication Aftonbladet. (Well, what she really said was, "Han kommer att göra bort sig. Han har spelat så dåligt. Länge." But you get the idea.)
Whoa! Thanks for the support, grandma! Oh, but she wasn't done. She fired some one-timers at Backstrom's entire team:
"On the whole, they've got no game," she said. "I'm up and looking at some periods ... when it's bad I go to bed."
[Video: Halfpipe conditions play role in final]
Perhaps granny ought to be taking a bit closer look at what Backstrom is doing. Playing in the shadow of Alex Ovechkin, Backstrom has amassed 45 assists, third-best in the NHL. True, the team is buried in the standings, but that's not entirely Backstrom's fault.
For his part, Backstrom declined comment, which is probably a wise move. It'll be an awkward next family reunion, though.
____
is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter.
More Winter Olympics coverage on Yahoo Sports:
