Love that the Red Wings offloaded Commodore, finally Brendan Smith might start getting some ice time. He is expected to eventually step into the breech that Lidstrom leaves, why not give him some time next to the great man.
Have you seen the article that was in SportsNet magazine on the fall of the empire? One of the best I've ever read.
I know I'm a little late, but I haven't seen anyone post about this yet. <a class="postlink" href="http://espn.go.com/new-york/nhl/story/_/id/7712034/new-jersey-devils-pete-deboer-rips-new-york-rangers-john-tortorella-following-testy-game" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://espn.go.com/new-york/nhl/story/_ ... testy-game</a> Bickel taking faceoff? Three fights breaking out as the puck drops? Awesome.
Ugh. It was stupid for so many reasons. I think I've said it here before, but I think fighting should be banned (and something orchestrated like this even more so). I don't see how you can talk about player safety and then allow (often even encouraging) two men to hit each other in the head often until one is knocked down/out. Beyond that, I think fighting deters more people from the game than it attracts. Would somebody really stop watching hockey if it didn't have the fighting? I highly doubt it. Arguments I've heard for fighting: 1 - "Guys do it when their team is lagging to give them a boost." Okay, maybe. Let's say that it does. Is that reason enough to let 2 men pummel each other, potentially subject themselves to injury (both long and short term), all while losing potential viewers? 2 - "It helps enforce the game and keep out dirty play." If that's the case, then it does a terrible job. We've seen tons of players lost to dirty hits over the past couple seasons. It seems like the threat of getting into a fight didn't stop the people who injured them. Beyond that, lots of guys let others do the fighting for them. I consider Ovechkin to be a rather dirty player. (Video - keep in mind this video is now 3 years old, so plenty of more have occurred since). And to be unbiased, a friend of mine believes Malkin is as well, and that's fine. Nevertheless, do you know how many fights Ovechkin has been in? TWO out of 581 regular season and playoff games. So this whole spiel about fighting helping to police the game is just rubbish. Additionally, we don't see any increased rate of injury at the college or level or in Europe, where fighting is not tolerated. (For the record, Malkin has only been in 1 regular season/playoff fight.) 3 - "Each player consents to the fight before it begins." About the only argument I'm willing to give any consideration. However, we as human beings volunteer for a lot of stupid and unhealthy stuff. Beyond that, a large number of fights occur between enforcers who quite often wouldn't have a job but for this one task and skill. So if they don't fight, they're just a waste of a roster spot. Thus, many might feel obligated to drop the gloves out of a necessity to justify their paycheck. Is it then really consensual if they do it because of these pressures? /end rant
While I understand your offense to what seems like a lag in safety evolution in sports, I think of it differently, in a very simple manner. Holy crap, this is awesome. Is this because I'm a meathead douchebag chugging a ten dollar beer at MSG, enjoying a break in rule sanctioned sports to see some guys pummel each other? Well, probably. But a hockey fight is old school, almost romantic. It brings you back to the days where your life wasn't completely caged in by rules and sanctions and social niceties. A hockey fight isn't about anything except human reaction. You see someone on your team get fucked up, or someone is playing dirty, you have a gentleman's agreement to drop your gloves and go at each other. It's direct, honest and efficient. If everyone in every situation was allowed to do this, I bet you'd have a very many fewer bitches in the world. Also, it's pretty hard to feel bad about a pro athlete feeling obligated to keep their $2.5 million (average) contract. PS. I became a hockey fan MOSTLY because at my first game, Boyle performed a textbook BJJ knee bar, in full gear. That is some impressive dexterity.
I am down with fighting, you can always not fight. But this is just fucking dirty, he should of atleast gotten a 10 minute major with a minimum of a 10 game suspension, all he got was a 2 minute minor. Sedin is out indefinately with a head injury.
This thread hasn't been posted in since January, but since I'm on the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals bandwagon, I think we need to talk about it. 20T Hat trick? CRAZY! Oh and I'm also going to the game on Friday. WOOHOO!
This will be the first Stanley Cup I watch in years. I'm currently unfettered by employment so staying up until stupid o'clock to watch it isn't a problem. Although last night's double OT was pushing it a bit. I'm not sure who to root for really. Probably Chicago though, as Johnny Oduya's brother played for a season in Edinburgh. He was a really nice guy, if a little strange and unfortunately died in a motorbike accident a few years ago. He also beat up Theo Fleury twice in one game.
They play on Saturday. If you want to be a bandwagon fan and obnoxiously boast, at least get the schedule right. Sweet Jesus.
Don't you have poisonous snakes to avoid or something? Foreigners have no part in the venom that accompanies regional rivalries.
As far as I'm concerned and it holds true with any sport I follow and have any sort of emotional stake in. There are only two teams, the team I'm supporting and anyone else. I don't really have second favourites, I have favourite players but other teams can fornicate themselves with a poison coated iron stick.
Bump for new season. I recant my above post, I want to get into following the NHL for this year. But I need a team. As someone born/raised in CT till I was 10, I can't decide if it's OK to root for the Bruins. On the one hand, they're New England; on the other hand, they were the Whalers' rivals back in the day, and they were good last year so everyone will think I'm a frontrunner. Also, I imagine every other hockey fan hates them, since everybody seems to hate Boston teams.