This is some advice that the NHL needs to take immediately or they're in serious trouble of becoming extinct. Over the weekend, the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins showed the pure brutality that surrounds the NHL. A brutality that is accepted and promoted by the league. The league that has people like Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly who says he's "completely satisfied" with how player safety has been handled in situations dealing with concussions. Add to it the mass of clowns, such as, Digital Journal's Rocco Pendola, who blames Orpik for the incident. Claiming "if Orpik fought Thornton the first time he "asked" him to, the ugly incident...never would have happened."
Are you kidding me?!?
Is that the type of rationale that should be utilized in the NHL? Welcome to the "Let's Blame the Victim" Hockey League. I know that Rocco Pendola isn't directly linked to the NHL, at least that I know of, but I'm positive he isn't the only one who possesses that view. How does that reasoning work in other situations?
Yes, I understand your car was stolen, sir. Did you ever think that if you wouldn't have left it that it might not have been stolen?
Here's another one:
So he robbed your purse from you, Ma'am? I see. Were you carrying a weapon? No? Well there's nothing we're going to do about it. You should have been carrying a gun and taken action yourself.
I'm all for personal responsibility. You shouldn't blame someone else for opportunities that you missed out on. But, let's get serious. If someone doesn't have enough self-control of their own to restrain themselves from going American History X on you, then I don't think the problem is on your end. Brooks Orpik is a very intelligent player. He knows how to rough guys up during the action of the game. There is no reason for him to be forced to fight, a.k.a hold another man's jersey and throw hay-makers to their head for 45 seconds until the refs step in. The goon culture of hockey is repulsive and outdated. In a period of evolution in sports pertaining to head and spinal injuries, how can a professional league continue to allow it's players to take fists to the temple to follow some meat-headed "code".
Hybrid Icing - Yeah they're making a stance.
Falling perfectly in line with the issue the NHL has, is it's acknowledgement of not wanting players to crash viciously into the boards racing to beat an icing call. But apparently, there is no major issue with guys crashing into another player's fists in a fight, that can be just as damaging, if not worse. The vote to change how icing is called is a minor step in the right direction. My next request of the NHL is that they step up in the face of their die-hard fans and evolve. It's time to take this gladiator style out of sports. There needs to be a strict change to hockey, or it's going to die off like boxing has.
Fighting is an integral part of the game that is a momentum changer to games and fuels rivalries, etc, etc.
I don't care. Fighting isn't tolerated in Olympic hockey and that never hurts the quality of the game. We don't need these goons dropping their gloves at the opening drop of the puck to "change momentum" and "make a statement". The NHL has to start an outlaw of fighting. If you get in a fight it's an automatic suspension. Also, the refs should break all fights up, immediately. Don't tell me that it gives anything positive to the game by watching two clowns skate around for 25 seconds looking at each other and holding jerseys. As soon as the gloves drop, the whistle should blow and the refs step in. This mindset that fighting is a core component of the NHL is ludicrous. It's time for the NHL to stop acting like they care about players with hybrid icing and start actually caring by taking away fighting and the behavior of these goons in hockey.
I love hockey as much as the next guy, maybe even more, but I hope all of the goons lose their jobs and the NHL makes the sport more focused on excellent play during game action. It's time to change the rules to protect players and evolve beyond a gladiator sport.
No comments:
Post a Comment