Acceptable Behaviour - In the NHL...

Great quote I heard the other night: "Nobody leaves their seats to get popcorn when there's a fight"

I want to see more unwritten rules in other sports. I would love to see a day when a good player for one baseball team gets beaned and then later that inning a good player from the other team would get beaned...

You are simply misinformed. Downie's hit was not from behind. Downie was suspended for leaving his feet and launching himself at an opponent's head. I am confused by the point of your article though because Downie was suspended for 20 games.

Well, MetsJetsDevils, the point is that I share Jason Blake's opinion, quite obviously! Downie deserved more than 20 games. His hit on McAmmond is legendary now! I may have not seen the footage (don't care about either Sens or Philly - or even the pre-season, for that matter), but I heard that panel mention it SO MANY TIMES... And the all-important "intent" was THERE, which is the key. For the record, the coach who cannot read did state once again that that hit was truly shameful. STILL, everyone would rather shut Blake's mouth. Seems like everyone wants me to shut it too - what, so soon? I just got started ranting about sports! *lol*

Well, of course, I've done for it YEARS. And the above text is an excerpt from a BLOG, not an article. I reserve the right to rant and ramble as much as I see fit, especially if I'm throwing a fit! If any label needs affixing, the above excerpt is an editorial - opinionated as well it should be and unapologetic about it!

There!

Jason Blake was right to say what he said - wouldn't you point it out too, if you saw your boss go easy on a co-worker who committed some heinous act while on the job?

Case closed!

I am confused as to how you can comment on a hit that you never saw. Basing in on what you have heard about the hit just doesn't cut it. And your constant reference to Jaques Demers illeteracy comes off as a shallow, irellevant ad hominim attack. It engenders you no support. You may read better than Jaques Demers, but I am very very confident that he knows hockey much better than you.

you should probably know the name of the guy who hit patrice bergeron before you go off on a rant...

Guys, GUYS...

I never said I never saw the hit. I vaguely recollect seeing it on the news, back then - how could I not have? EVERYONE is STILL talking about that vicious hit and the renewal of the Broad Street Bullies! (Now you'll focus on that statement, I suppose? When it is clearly made in jest...)

Anyhow - what I'm "basing in" here (whatever that means) is on Jason Blake's right to speak his mind, in a very brave way, and he certainly HAS seen the hit more often than anyone, I'll presume...!

I don't need to know the name of the guy's whose intent was so pure and noble - do I? At least HE did send an apology to his "victim". Did *you* know that? Hence, I consider it also a closed case. It is NOT another Ulf Samuelsson-cowardly-hit type of thing (and Bergeron is not Neely either, for that matter.)

And give me a break with Demers (wowee - you know who I'm talking about!) he is a coach who got more lucky (in 1993 specifically) than tons of others did in their whole careers...

I repeat: he is PROUD of his story. How else would "you" have identified him, if I had not mentioned that fact about him - hmm? No shallowness here - and no attack! I am not "mad about the guy" and disagree with his point of view, once in a while, but I am not mad at him either. I lament the fact that his alleged wisdom did not kick in though - HE should have told his fellow panelists that Blake had a REAL GOOD POINT. He did not quite do that. He allowed his former role player to rant about those OMERTA rules that make the NHL what it is...!

Demers knows hockey better than YOU and all of us, due to years of being involved in the sport - but he seems clueless as when to step in and say the right thing. I am AMAZED he acted heroic one time, in his native area, in the summertime... I forget the details, but he basically sounded the alarm when an injustice was happening, on the street somewhere. Why couldn't he stand up for Blake then? It wasn't HALF as risky...!

And his name is JACQUES, by the way...

Ah, I could have sworn I had added the all-important word "recently" right after my earlier sentence "I may have not seen the footage" and right before the parenthesis that read (don't care about either Sens or Philly - or even the pre-season, for that matter) - makes aaaaall the difference.

Also, doing too many things at once is not good for commenting/replying... But it is good that one can test one's "controversiality" here! The best sportscaster are the more entertaining ones - the likes of Cherry indeed. And they are almost always colorful and controversial, yes!

They're my heroes - especially because they dare to voice things others will not! What I like to do myself!

I'm sorry Randy Jones almost ended Bergeron's career...its called hockey

and yes, jones called Bergeron/his family later that night and stated (as i heard second hand through a friend in the area) the he was sorry...

Please get out of your own ass and relax...

I am perfectly relaxed

And we have a winner - the first adversary (or whatever they call them here) for LucXV! Yay!

(Derrière talk is so vulgar. And coming out of nowhere, it is dumb too.)

)

right...

anyways...when a guy named MetsJetsDevils agrees with the Flyers fan, then maybe...just maybe...you might be the incorrect one here...

i mean, just taken a stab at it...

The hit was illegal, according to the rules... wow, that's the miracle you refer to there? I sure do hope that further extremes than you two would agree on such a thing.

Anyhow, I speak of apples, you bring up not the oranges but the turnips (meaning the WORST of the NHL - must be why you're a Philly fan, eh?)

I prefer to speak of J.B.'s right to speak out - and note that he is not asinine as you are when he does too! AND HE GOT PUNCHED IN THE MOUTH - for saying the truth! A 20 game suspension is peanuts - when the INTENT is there, they should be BANNED! Chris Simon is a repeat offender and he is still not banned for life from the NHL... UNBELIEVABLE!

That's what makes the NHL appear to be so Bush league next to the other Big 3 sports...

And it's no wonder you like the Gladiators too... You would have like them even more back in BCE era, eh?

Oh - and I don't care if the devil agrees with you. And I don't care if they deem you to be an "mvp" here (just noticed that - just now!) - you are no mvp.

My kind of MVPs can tell what is right from what is bullcrap.

)

uh.... Ok?

Well...

first of all, what does the rulebook say about suspensions...because if you're gonna follow it to a T (as you seem inclined to do) then perhaps you should review the whole thing...

secondly, who are you to decide intent...honestly, a hit can look as vicious or mean-spirited as possible, there's no way in hell you can decide, all by your lonesome, who was doing what and why

you're right bergeron [is] a guy who would never hurt a fly", but that's why the bruins have chara isn't it?

the point is, besides the fact that people do get hurt from checks in the NHL, is that people are playing an intense sport where, inevitably, someone does something stupid...there are degrees of this...think of a hocky player like Jones hitting Bergeron and then think of John Chaney sending in a goon to wreck someone under the net...there's a huge difference...

And as far as gladiators...well if you took the time to figure out that i wrote that article, then you could have at least read it to figure out what i was talking about...the events, besides the fact that most of them aren't terribly violent, aren't that interesting...its the unintentional comedy and production, i enjoy...its TV!

And as far as the MVP thing...well that is a designation i got just for being here a long time...you can get one too...

with that said, I don't think i've ever seen anyone pull rank so don't let that be a stopgap in your thinking

but, when you say something that people disagree with, they will...well, they'll disagree with you...

I could quote somebody and go "uh... Ok?" here.

Or I could take lunchtime away from (well... lunch!) and go on a diatribe again... No need to, really.

Just a few quick points: - there's an intelligent way to disagree with people, and there's a brutal way to do so. - my editorial (it is my 'article', isn't it? I'll call it what I want to call it!) was not about the "intent" of ANYBODY... - only Gladiator I ever liked was Spartacus - I abhor Terry Bollea, btw... - I don't give a damn about any ranks here (just like I didn't care about votes or unvotes)

AND... I expect comments about the core of the 'article' - not comments about other comments!

ciao ciao

I'd like to see Philip Rivers get punched!

Who wouldn't?

whoops =)

Aww - just stating facts there. That former NHL coach is very at ease with his illiteracy, had a book ghostwritten about his journey through an entire NHL coaching career without ever bothering to learn to read and is now an analyst for a reputed network, somewhat derivative of ESPN...

Nothing malicious there.

You just read it that way!

The hit was both illegal and "on purpose" in that it was not an accident. JuTMSY4 is correct that while the hit was both illegal and "on purpose" you can certainly make the case that Jones did not intend to injure anyone. Nor did Harntell when he knoced out Alberts. However, Downie certainly was trying to injure McAmmond and BowlofRice was trying to maim, if not kill Kesler when he swung his stick at his head. The latest act by Downie would likely go into the intent to injure category as I have never heard of a sucker punch that was intending to injure.

Vote or unvote, I don't care!

I'm just venting - and I know what I'm talking about! Or rather, what I'm venting about!

There is the unwritten rule I'd like to see in the NHL, effective NOW: when you see that an opposing player has his his back turned to you, ESPECIALLY along the boards, DON'T FINISH YOUR BODYCHECK! DON'T EVEN START IT! PUT ON THE DAMN BRAKES!

What is best, what is preferable? To 'play the game hard - the way it's supposed to be played" (and the way these kids were taught to play it, at a very early age - by coaches who were probably huge fans of Dave Schultz!) and then wind up "so sorry the other guy got hurt - boo-hoo"

Or is it best to concede a play being made at your expense (it won't lead to a goal, more than half the time) and not have anyone get carried out on stretcher?

Hmm?

Un-unvote now?

Don't bother!

)

Coco Crisp only got 7 games...