Hockey

[shadows]

Ila, it looks like Wayne did show up to the ceremony after all. Although I would not have blamed him if he did not show up, I think it just shows how classy Wayne is. He showed up for his friends that were being elected into the HHOF and not for Bettman or the NHL.

[Hedonistman]

Gee,,, I was surprised by the neg comments on goons having no place in Hockey. I grew up in NYC and loved going w/ my Dad to the old Garden. I guess we were a rowdy bunch,, but I'll never forget how we'd heat up dimes, and toss them on the ice to mess w/ the refs (not during play). The original teams have decades of heritage,,,given time teams like our Avs will too. To me there'll always be a place for the Hanson bros types in the NHL.......
GO AVS,,,,,,yea

[shadows]

Originally Posted by Hedonistman

Gee,,, I was surprised by the neg comments on goons having no place in Hockey. I grew up in NYC and loved going w/ my Dad to the old Garden. I guess we were a rowdy bunch,, but I'll never forget how we'd heat up dimes, and toss them on the ice to mess w/ the refs (not during play). The original teams have decades of heritage,,,given time teams like our Avs will too. To me there'll always be a place for the Hanson bros types in the NHL.......
GO AVS,,,,,,yea

I guess I should elaborate. By goons, I don't mean the players that play a particular role(every team has one or two players of that type) but I mean the players that try to hurt other players deliberately and take them out of the game for good. That is not sportsmanship at all. I like watching hard hits and I like watching fighting, but I do not like people trying to cripple other players every time they are on the ice. Thankfully, players like that are rare otherwise the teams would be shorthanded all the time.

[ila]

Originally Posted by shadows

I guess I should elaborate. By goons, I don't mean the players that play a particular role(every team has one or two players of that type) but I mean the players that try to hurt other players deliberately and take them out of the game for good. That is not sportsmanship at all. I like watching hard hits and I like watching fighting, but I do not like people trying to cripple other players every time they are on the ice. Thankfully, players like that are rare otherwise the teams would be shorthanded all the time.

There is nothing wrong with a good clean body check. You're right that hard clean hits are part of the game. If done right a good clean hit will not injure another player, but it does have the potential to change the game in favour of the team doing the hitting.

I don't like to see fights and I don't like to see one player deliberately injuring another. I agree with criminial charges being pursued in cases of deliberate injury. However, one must take into account intention and method when deciding on criminal charges resulting from a hockey injury.

[shadows]

Originally Posted by ila

There is nothing wrong with a good clean body check. You're right that hard clean hits are part of the game. If done right a good clean hit will not injure another player, but it does have the potential to change the game in favour of the team doing the hitting.

I don't like to see fights and I don't like to see one player deliberately injuring another. I agree with criminial charges being pursued in cases of deliberate injury. However, one must take into account intention and method when deciding on criminal charges resulting from a hockey injury.

One thing I disagree with you about is fighting, Ila. I enjoy watching a good fight in hockey, but it cannot be started by one person attacking the other from behind. They both have to be willing to "go at it" to be a good, clean fight(well, relatively clean anyhow). It's hard when the player is someone like Sean Avery, a player that will antagonize and then either turtle right away or scamper away onto the bench.

Some things that I think constitute assault would be:

1. Using your stick like a weapon(such as McSorley did on Brashear a few years ago).

2. Attacking an unsuspecting player or a player that is not involved in the play whatsoever(such as the gutless son of Patrick Roy when he attacked the opposing goalie for NO FREAKING reason at all). Sucker punches are not cool.

3. Attacking someone with your skate. As evidenced by the injury to Cam Ward, the skate blade can cause massive injuries. Players who stomp on other players should be charged as there is NO call for that BS. Look at what happened to the Detroit player last year(or was it the year before?), for example. He was accidentally nicked in the neck area with a skate and he bled everywhere. If he hadn't had the presence of mind to cover the cut with his hand and skate immediately to the bench, a lot of experts say he could have easily bled to death. That was a scary sight to see(there was a huge trail of blood leading from where he got cut to the bench), and it looked like something out of a slasher movie.

There may be a couple of other things that players could do that would warrart an assault charge, but it usually goes by a case-by-case scenario.

[ila]

Originally Posted by shadows

One thing I disagree with you about is fighting, Ila. I enjoy watching a good fight in hockey, but it cannot be started by one person attacking the other from behind. They both have to be willing to "go at it" to be a good, clean fight(well, relatively clean anyhow).

I will always argue that fighting is not a part of hockey. I can understand tempers flaring, but it doesn't have to result in a fight. I don't recall Wayne Gretzky ever getting in a fight and even though he never played for the right team I respect his ability and the fact that he never had a fight.

Watch some of the classic games from the 50s and 60s on the NHL channel. Sure there is the occasional fight, but nothing like what happens now.

[ila]

Calgary at Montreal tonight. SportsNetWest is showing the game live. Six minutes into the second period and Calgary is winning 1 - 0. Does Montreal not realize that they are playing at home?

Later tonight the TorontoSportsNetwork is showing the Boston - Philly game. I won't be watching that one though.

[ila]

Originally Posted by shadows

Ila, it looks like Wayne did show up to the ceremony after all. Although I would not have blamed him if he did not show up, I think it just shows how classy Wayne is. He showed up for his friends that were being elected into the HHOF and not for Bettman or the NHL.

Interesting discusssions at work today, shadows. It was generally agreed that Wayne Gretzky is just too classy to not show up for the HHOF induction ceremony. I think he showed true class in his interview when he told reporters that the game is bigger than one person (sorry had to paraphrase here). He was, of course, referring to himself.

[shadows]

Originally Posted by ila

Interesting discusssions at work today, shadows. It was generally agreed that Wayne Gretzky is just too classy to not show up for the HHOF induction ceremony. I think he showed true class in his interview when he told reporters that the game is bigger than one person (sorry had to paraphrase here). He was, of course, referring to himself.

I read quotes from that interview as well. I agree that he is the epitome of class, something a lot of players(not just in the NHL, but other sports as well) need to adopt. Look at him and someone like Allen Iverson for example. Two great players, but one that is a whiny, spoiled diva. AI is unhappy that he has been relegated to being a bench player for Memphis and now it sounds like he wants to retire because of it. Waaaaaaaah! You make millions of dollars so suck it up buttercup! I feel no sympathy to you at all. Perhaps if you would show up for practice then you might not have this problem.

"Practice? Practice? It's just practice, man! I don't need practice!"(almost an exact quote from AI from a year or two ago). And no wonder why people are disgusted by many athletes these days. Be a freaking role model, or at least be LESS of a jackass, especially to the fans. We DO pay your salary(for all intents and purposes) after all.

(Sorry for the mini-rant. LOL!)