Comments on: Reader Ideas

By: Aarone

Aarone — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:48:03 +0000

I also subscribe to the Jbrown’s view. Concerning authorities should devise some new rules to avoid the critical Injuries to the players that are becoming the root cause of ending up their careers.

By: ink-stained-wretch

ink-stained-wretch — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:21:36 +0000

Re: North Dakota — I remember thinking, “Man, that kid’s the tallest Squirt I’ve ever seen win the “Skate With the Seawolves During Introductions” contest.

Keep up the good work, Justin — you’re doing terrific stuff.

By: fish

fish — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:20:51 +0000

re pre game Anthems: i just don’t get them. I don’t know the words to the Belgian anthem, I might recognise the tune as “our anthem”‘ when someone sings it, but that’s a BIG maybe… So every time I record an NHL game the anthems get fast forwarded. See, I respect people, and to me, flags, nations boundaries are dividing people into groups that differentiate themselves from other groups. Diferentiating leads to misundertanding for a lot of uninformed/intellectiually challenged people, and from there it can go anywhere up to genocide… I do not digg that… So, imho, anthems are useless… No, I am not a patriot… I’m proud of my cultural, historical heritage and surroundings but I’m also proud of others cultural and historical heritage. We are all one you see (or you don’t as suits you best)

Head shots? no discussion, take ‘em out. and do it consequently, suspend for example Mike Richards after his dirty hit a couple of weeks ago. Not just tha Jarko Ruutu’s and Sean Avery’s and Chris Neil’s of hockey.

Fan behaviour? remember, people have a different opinion, someone likes the Ducks, another likes the Islanders, I like the Sabres, we’re all here to have a good time. And the people that are here to get drunk and obnoxious, or the people that want to get in a fight have cheaper alternatives available that will have a better return on what they’re after…

By: Travelchic59

Travelchic59 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:33:22 +0000

The minute an NhL hockey player dies on the ice (and unfortunately, it WILL happen), everyone will be up in arms over it and will be making stupid comments about how it could have been avoided. It’s too bad everyone involved would rather be re-active instead of pro-active. I can’t get that upset or spend time worrying about this issue if the players and people who run the league don’t care enough to take precautions to prevent it from happening. Basically, if they don’t care, why should I? I just can’t wait to see all the lawsuits and government inquiries once a death does occur. Should be some side show.

By: Deirdre

Deirdre — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:40:38 +0000

It’s ironic that the ineffectual ways they’re trying to “clean up the game” is taking away the very real fear that kept players on the level.

On the other hand, hearing an interview with Ruutu before he knew what kind of suspension/fine/whatever he was going to hit where he said (basically) “I know I’m going to get a suspension, but I’ve already talked to him (Tucker) and he’s going to be fine, so I feel much better” just made my day.

By: Dan n St Paul

Dan n St Paul — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:39:32 +0000

Bourne, you may be interested in reading this. http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/68801117.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUo8cyaiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

Thoughts?

By: Marc

Marc — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:07:45 +0000

Please, lets try to leave out the Green Bay / Minnesota thing out of it. Having lived in both states for multiple years (without being “from” either state) I can tell you right now the relationship is not healthy. Saying your “from Wisconsin” is enough to put some people in Minnesota on edge. It’s not just a pro football thing, its not just a college hockey thing, its a day to day dick contest between the two states on everything from beer to conceal and carry laws to higher education admission agreements. One on one people seem like they can get alone but put a group of 10 together and have the numbers be uneven and I promise some people are gonna argue about something trivial, or at least yell “your team sucks” at some point.

By: Firestorm

Firestorm — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:58:19 +0000

@Jbrown: Very nice. +1.

By: Jbrown

Jbrown — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:44:03 +0000

We’ve covered NFL and NHL in this thread, but what about MLB? Baseball is responsible for some of the worst head injuries around. The other day I accidentally left the TV on Sportsnet and the World Series was on when I walked by. I vaguely recall being overcome with an intense malaise and dizzying level of apathy. When I came to, I was laying on the ground beside the coffee table with a small cut on my forehead.

By: Beckmann

Beckmann — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:55:55 +0000

Agreed, the suspensions need to be longer and major penalties need to be called. At first they will go overboard and call everything but in the long run it will be much better for the game. The NFL is a horrible example though, they have had more of a problem with the head shot thing than the NHL has. They implemented additional penalties for the same types of hits this off season and so far there has still been plenty of head shots (helmet on helmet). There was a hit last year were a player (Boldin) pretty much broke his face and was the main reason for implementing the new stiffer penalties and fines. They did do the right thing by implementing something before someone dies but the problem is the same thing the nhl will face. I think they fine someone say 50,000 dollars but how much does that really deter someone when you are making millions of dollars a year. Unless they come up with very stiff fines and suspensions it won’t change much……..