Drop the gloves gives this offering:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=frei_terry&id=2595580
I thought he made some very excellent points such as
``The true enforcer, in fact, always was more deterrent than combatant.''
and
``The true enforcer wasn't so much part of the slug-vs.-slug sideshows that make it onto the unofficial Ring Record books of the sport, as he was the guy who ... always ... was ... there.''
Comments
i feel special to have my name of the page
thanks blake
Yes Blake we know the NHL has done everything to take out fighting without actually legislating it out completely. They have a 2 referee system to call clutching and grabbing. While I was once a NHL fan and purchased NHL center ice I have stopped because the NHL has become boring. ESPN drop them because the product is boring!!! I am going to give the K's and the UHL one more year and if they put "euro" hockey teams on the ice, then I will just stay home. Has the game changed yes. Has it changed for the better, imo NO.
Rockford Update:
The IceHogs, who have signed 16 of an expected 20 to 22 players who will come into training camp, previously announced the signings of forwards Francis Belanger, Jesse Bennefield, Nicolas Corbeil, Erick Lizon, Preston Mizzi, Rob Voltera and Steve Yetman and defensemen Jared Bourassa, Dan Boeser, Matt Gens, Lee Jacobson, Mike Letizia and Tom Zabkowicz as well as Cuthbert.
Forgot to give the source of this information...Hockeyfights.com under the UHL listing
Adding more of that article:
.....Martinson said he has yet to announce the signings of another 6-foot-4 defenseman and another skilled forward before training camp. He said those announcements will come later because of salary cap considerations and not
David there is alot of talent there. But I look at that roster with those personalities and I see chaos.
OK, voice of reason time. What do we really know about the IceHogs? Nothing. What do we really know about the Komets? Same thing. Right now anybody can say anything and just about anybody else will buy it. It's all hype. Right now no one, Steve included, has any clue if any of those guys can actually play.
If Komets coach Pat Bingham had come out and said the same words, I'd say the same thing. We CAN'T know anything yet.
So, what does all this mean? We start to find out in two weeks.
BTW, your mother named you Drop the Gloves? Where was your father?!?!?! I'll bet you had a very difficult nickname to deal with as a kid. LOL.
And if the IceHogs are that good, FANTASTIC! It means the Komets will have to match them and we'll be the winners then because we'll be super entertained all year. That would be so cool.
You know that no matter what kind of team Martinson puts out there...they will be competitive and physically tough. No matter what the talent level is, it will be fun to watch the Komets and Pigs tangle.
I agree. A healthy Komets/Icehogs rivalry is good for the UHL. They have great fans as do the Komets.
Blake is correct as far as not knowing anything. If you look at the list of players both on the Komets and on Rockford you see a bunch of guys who can play. The question is, can they play TOGETHER.
could that top tier AA goalie be Lawson?
sorry hit didnt see you posted the exact comment on justins blog....
Martinson is a tool. I'm not at all shocked that he's flapping his gums.
I kinda of liked the Frei article, and I think he right with respect to cheap shots and high stick infractions. Players will fight to get revenge on just those type of things, so the way I think to "try to eliminate fighting is to "try" and eliminate those stupid penalties. I know I'm going way out on a limb here, but if we want sticks kept down then how about giving the offender a 5:00 major and a game misconduct, then suspensions for every infraction after that. I think the loss of playing time might curtail those infractions and make fighting less necessary.
Sounds perfectly logical, and thus unlikely to ever happen.
I kenw I'd be going out on a limb.
I don't know about some of you, but I really ENJOYED the NHL games I saw last year, especially the playoffs.
Maybe some of you didn't watch games last year, but the ones I saw had hitting, scoring and desire. With the rule changes that were adopted, pro hockey became fun again.
As far as ESPN, yes they did drop the NHL (now they've left us with a dirge of NBA games, eating contests, streetball, very lame movies and series), but if you can get the games on OLN, they have some good broadcasters and commentators, but sadly, no Barry Melrose.
Tom Lawson was released from the Chicago Blackhawks yesterday. He is going to land somewhere....
Well it shows the popularity of a guy like Domi (and I liked him too) but there are a large number of Leafs fans who want them to retire his number! That is absurd when you think of several great Leafs players who do not have that honour. Domi was very polarizing though. Either you loved him or you hated him