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General Sports

And this is why I love hockey!

(originaly posted 2/12/2004)

At any point in a hockey game, a real brawl can break out. And by real brawl, I’m not talking about the no real damage done of pushing and shoving in football or the big haymakers intended to miss of basketball. Strangely enough, baseball is the closest to hockey in terms of real fighting.

During an otherwise uneventful 4-1 blowout of the Thrashers by Edmonton, a huge fight broke out with 2 minutes left. As they say in ‘ockey, things got a little chippy during the 3rd period and the next thing you know, guys are squaring off in the neutral zone. Then, one of the Oilers (Mike Bishai, trying to win brass balls of the year award) gets thrown into the Atlanta bench and he comes up swinging. Only in hockey will a guy start a fight in the opposing team’s bench and get congratulated on it by his coach.

But that’s not even the best part. The goalies, who really have no reason to be fighting each other get into it. This is my favorite part of a real hockey fight. It’s not as if these guys were elbowing each other back and forth throughout the game. It’s not like any high sticks were thrown. It’s just a matter of you skate to center ice, find your counterpart and say “fuck it, let’s go!” And the icing on the cake has to be that the Thrasher goalie, Nurminen was actually playing in relief of the starter and was the last goalie on the bench. Atlanta had to finish the game with an empty net.

It seems everyday, there’s another article about how to fix hockey. And then there are all the people who claim hockey is too violent and that the fighting detracts from the game. Let me tell you ladies something — fighting is the best part of hockey. Not because I enjoy fights, but because of what fighting in hockey represents. I love the idea of an eye for an eye. I love that there’s an enforcer whose sole job is to make sure no one gets any cheap shots in on the superstars without paying a price. I love the fact that if a guy face washes you all day and gives you elbows when the refs aren’t looking, that you’ll have a chance to get even.

I’m thinking that the NBA could benefit from this. I’m sick of all the swings and misses, when just swinging will get you an ejection. we know there’s rough play in the lane, let the players do a little bit of policing themselves. I watched a basketball game where Charles Barkley repeatedly elbowed someone in the kidneys. No call because Charles was smart enough to shield it from the ref. Would Charles have done this if he knew that the other player could just turn around and go mano – a – mano?

They should just let them fight, give them 5 minute majors and play some 4 on 4 ball. It’d certainly make the game more interesting. There’s your solution to hack-a-Shaq. There’s also your solution to people mugging Iverson in the lane every time. The problem with the NBA these days is that there’s no one to really hate because of their play. Sure, there’s plenty of players to hate because of their towel waving or lack of skill or whinyness, but gone are the Lambiers and Oakleys of the world.

How great would it be if during an NBA bench clearing brawl, the two trainers went at it just for the hell of it? That’d be reason 1001 that I love this game. The chances of the NBA allowing fighting are about the same as the chances of a Nascar fan being able to actually read this sentence. But I can dream.

By Vin

Vin is a Philly boy who shouldn't be invited into your house because he'll judge you on your book and music collection. He owns Dawkins, Utley, Iverson, and Lindros jerseys, which is all you really need to know about him. He can be reached at [email protected].

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