Hockey

[Limeoutsider]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...=757&e=10&u=/nm/20031217/od_nm/hockeyfight_dc

 

[phatteus]

Most people don't understand hockey fights. Ask most Americans what they think of hockey and they'll more than likely tell you "It's a very violent game".
While this is true, (hockey is very violent) the misunderstanding exists as to where this violence comes from. Ken Baumgartner, retired tough guy, once commented that "Hockey is a game that lends itself to retalliation." body checks and spectacular body hits (two totally different things) are just as much a part of hockey as skating and scoring goals. Anyone can move a puck around on ice with a curved stick, but not many people, including most people in the NHL today, can properly defend againt it. There are several popular methods of defense in hockey. The most famous is the neutral zone trap. Repopularized by the Detroit Red Wings of the early 90s, perfected by the New Jersey Devils of 2000, and truly beautiful when done correctly, is achieved by preventing the puck from entering the defensive zone, or the area behind the defense's blue line. This is done by intercepting passes, throwing hits, and knocking the offesive players off their game(s). Most of these body checks are completely harmless. The simple purpose of a body check is to remove the puck from a player's stick. Contact with a player who is not directly involved with the puck (either in posession or attempting posession) is punished by a two-minute penalty for interference. Use of the stick on the body is punished by two to four minute penalties (depending on the severity of the infraction) ranging from spearing, to hooking, to high-sticking, to unsportsman-like conduct. The first five minutes of the film classic "Slap Shot" explains this part of the game nicely.
Certain hits are still legal, but more flagrant and dangerous. These include head-on collisions and hip checks. A hip check is the most spectacular hit, wherein the defender goes into a crouch and allows the offender to fall over his body, then, extending the knees, the unfortunate player tumbles end over end, high into the air, and usually gets the wind knocked out of him. (I was a master of the hip check when I played.) A violent hit, but a vital part of the game. THis type of play takes one offender (or defender, if you're really dirty) out of the picture, turning the tide of any play.
This kind of activity naturally gets on players' nerves, and emotions flare, and hits start to hurt. Pain in a hit usually indicates one of two things. THe hit was illegal, or the game is almost over, and I need an ice pack. At this point, when no penalty is awarded, a player will want to get revenge, and rather than expending the energy and thought processes to throw a well-executed hit, he will drop the gloves and throw punches instead. THis is where fist-fighting comes from. In recent years, fightinmg has become glorified. The fighters have become stars, and rivalries have become more pronounced. P.J. Stock, currently of the Boston Bruins claims that fighting, to him, is a relaxation technique. He gets lost in the game, and has to get his head knocked around in order to get back into the game.
In the new millenium, hockey fights are just as much a part of the game as cotton candy. At twenty-five dollars a seat, the crowd expects to see the blood bouncing across the ice, and the players know that, so they give it to them. Sometimes the fights get out of hand, like the assholes who crack each others skulls open, or throw sticks at each other. This is NOT hockey. This is violence, plain and simple. The difficulty is trying to discern the difference.
To have a competition pitting fighters against each other is interesting. While not a real part of the rules, fighting is a part of the game, and should be acknowledged as so.

 

[AphxA]

i love hockey. Its a fast- paced excited sport. I tried skating once and i fell on my rear.

 

[Moses25]

Hockey Night in Canader

Hockey is the stuff dreams are made of...

Mmmmm...hockey.

Cheers.😀

P.M.S. Y'all should come up to Ottawa during the cold season - the city maintains open air ice rinks throughout.

Come home after a hard day at work, slap on some skates and go take out yer boss!!

 

[Limeoutsider]

Moses, that sounds tempting, really really tempting

 

[Knox The Hatter]

Thursday night I went to the fights and a hockey game broke out. 😕

 

[phatteus]

ugh

Knox, that joke is ALMOST as old as you are!!