Hockey fans may wish it wasn’t so…
…but it is.
The sport is out of control.
Say what you will about baseball pitchers plunking batters, bullpen clearing brawls, or Shaq chasing down Doug Christie in an arena tunnel. But hockey as a sport is free-falling into moral oblivion.
The long standing toleration of fights, an integral part of the game according to many, led to a bloody display of “sportsmanship” Tuesday night. The Canucks’ Todd Bertuzzi punched Colorado’s Steve Moore “from behind, and then smashed his head to the ice, leaving him lying in a pool of blood.” [whole story]
The result: A broken neck and facial lacerations for Moore, a suspension for Bertuzzi, and some long overdue attention paid to this “integral” part of the game by the NHL.
NOTE: Before posting your pro-hockey flames in the comment section, I’m not picking on hockey. I’ll be posting a harsh piece on baseball and steroids in the coming days… Nonetheless, if you still feel the urge to rant about how hockey is the gods’ gift to mankind, go right ahead.
doug,
thanks for pointing out that hockey is “out of control” but its not. at least in the way islam is “out of control” for example. hockey players, the NHL, most everybody on the inside of hockey is saying “this is wrong”. everybody is saying bertuzzi did something very stupid. just like marty mcsorely whacking some dude in the head with a stick several years ago, this was an abberation. bertuzzi did a very bad thing. however, this in no way means that hockey as a sport is walking down this morally obtuse path.
consider this: when 19 muslim men fly planes into buildings and the arab world rejoices, we can call islam “out of control”. the majority of muslims, at least abroad, seem to agree with the out-of-control group. when todd bertuzzi attacked that dude on the avs, he was “out of control”. but when the entire sport denounces his actions as wrong, you can’t say the sport is “out of control”. does that make sense?
i don’t think anybody in hockey is defending bertuzzi. when you have a score to settle, you drop the gloves like a man. aaron burr, alexander hamilton…you know?
got milk?
Very well done Doug…
I have to agree with you, Travis. Though violent it can be, usually it is at least face-to-face (though I’m not sure how much better that is). Correct me if I am wrong, but in hockey if you want to fight someone you will usually shove from the behind, enticing the one shoved to turn around and comense punching. The whole attack from behind was really stupid and very unfortunate.
So, what can be done? Should anything be done? What will happen if there are charges brought against Bertuzzi? Seems to me like it would set a precident for any athlete that gets into a tisk on the court, field, or rink a legal avenue of retribution.
What do you guys think?
http://www.ericmcerlain.com/offwingopinion/archives/003035.php
Obviously hockey is not terrorism, and I never suggested such. So put the straw man away.
The fact is that hockey condones and even encourages physical confrontation. Most (if not all) fans don’t mind. These “aberrations” are the natural consequences of the climate of violence. That’s all I’m pointing out.
What about Marc Crawford’s Involvement? This bum of a coach was the coach of the Colorado Avalanche when Claude Lemiux decided to bust apart Kris Draper’s jaw of the Detroit Red Wings…I don’t care if this coach has won a Stanley Cup, he is the sole reason Bertuzzi is going to sit for the rest of the season.
The $250,000 fine against the Canucks was not enough when you figure Crawford into the equation. And if you are a coach and don’t have a clue as to what your team is doing or about to do, they shouldn’t be in that position. I don’t buy his ignorance.
A week before Bertuzzi “fell” on Chris Chelios, of the Detroit Red Wings injuring his shoulder. Chris was PC (read: Politically Correct) when he said it was his own fault that he fell and injured himself but Bertuzzi outweighs him by 50 lbs. If Darrian Hatcher had been playing there would have different story and a different outcome.
I have always thought Bertuzzi was a dirty player…He is a cheap shot. I don’t care how many goals or points he scored, I have never liked the guy and then he puts on the crying act these last few days with his wife and crying for the kids who watch the game. Well my 9 year old nephew plays hockey and you can bet your bottom dollar that I will rip Bertuzzi every chance I get when I see my nephew. This guy is a fake of the first order.
He knew full well in advance what he was doing and he should reap the full penalty…which we know is not long enough.
As much as I have the ugly taste in my mouth, I agree with the most hardened Av’s fan, that Bertuzzi needs a longer penalty for what he did.
Hi!
Some good insights expressed here. I would only add that there is a significant difference between the game of hockey and that travesty they play in the NHL and call hockey. There are plenty of neanderthals out there who think hockey is just an excuse for assault and battery. There many others, however, (myself included) who are disgusted by such lowbrow lunacy and love the sport for its grace, altheticism, speed, and emotional intensity. In my own experience hockey has been at its best when my kids are playing: checking, but no killing; handshakes after every game; friends on both teams.
Ciao!
Ed
do any of you have jobs? maybe even a night job? every game has it’s “neanderthals”, no offense, but especially hockey, that’s why people go to watch it. so many concussions sustained that no one knows what their hitting anymore, walls, each other, whatever pretty much goes. that’s why we love it, so don’t try to defend yourselves away from it.