The Latest and Greatest Hockey Fights
You're a serious hockey fan and part of the game is those tense moment
which inevitably lead to a few fists flying. So what are the latest and
greatest hockey fights to be recorded?
Contrary to what many believe hockey has never been a non violent sport.
Some believe it was once a sport of grace and ice dancing. Just a little
research will reveal hockey has always been a testosterone sport. After
all it's those fight or flight moments that often keep you glued to your
chair.
Even a clean, well played game with no fighting and no stick work can still
be brutally physical. And lets be realistic folks. Isn't that what keeps
us coming back. If hockey was as graceful as women's figure skating, with
no controversy, or heated moments do you think you'd stay tuned for long?
What about the Todd Bertuzzi fight? This seams to be the latest and greatest
controversial fight to talk about. Of course there are the nay sayers that
want hockey to be as friendly as an afternoon of English tea, but then there
are the other group who think the punishment dealt to Bertuzzi was harsh
and unrealistic.
No matter which side of the coin you fall on, one has to wonder if the
events that occur in a sporting event really do belong in our court systems.
After all the courts are already clogged up with real criminals, and team
members have chosen to put themselves at risk by climbing on the ice so
do they really belong in the courts? Wouldn't these issues be better dealt
with internally.
One has to wonder how we'll stop players from the heat of the moment decisions.
Let's see we've got a rink full of competitive guys with the testosterone
flowing out to get the puck home safely. Now suddenly we want them to leave
their competitive testosterone on the bench. You have to wonder if this
is at all possible and still maintain the integrity and the hook of the
hockey game.
What sets Bertuzzi's sucker punch to Steve Moore aside from other sucker
punches that occur on the ice. Was it because Steve Moore was hurt? Well
that might be the logical conclusion, but doesn't every sucker punch have
the basis for injury? So why are other sucker punches accepted with little
or minimal discipline and why was Bertuzzi penalized severely?
Or how about the big fight in 2002 when Kyle McLaren flattened Richard
Zednick? In the fifth game of the Boston-Montreal series just as things
were slowing down Zednick took a pass and blew across the Bruins' blue line
towards the net. McLaren, the Boston defense man was out of position and
threw an arm out to block Zednik, but he caught him square in the face sending
him to hospital with a broken nose and a concussion.
Was Zednik's intent to do grave physical harm to McLaren or was his intent
to simply stop the opponent from reaching the net and in the heat of the
moment he did what he thought was right. Whether it was right or wrong,
I'll leave the discussion to you.
What we are hearing from some these days is that hockey is too violent,
but isn't this a culture that goes back to the beginning. Is it not that
in the violent world we live in we have become more attuned to violence
not being acceptable.
Can someone please tell me what the difference is between two hockey players
pounding on each other and two boxers beating the crap out of each other?
Sorry folks I don't have the answer, but the controversy continues and
one has to wonder where the sport of hockey will go in future. Think about
this for a moment. What gets your blood boiling through the game?
Isn't it that check into the boards, the stick that comes up to trips your
favorite player, or that long run down the ice across the blue line to score
that ultimate goal? Without the action what is going to keep you tuned in?
What's going to keep you whooping and cheering and coming back for more?
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