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Entertainment: fans want to see fights. it's one of the things that hockey has that no other sport has (besides boxing/UFC). it makes hockey unique and it often intensifies rivalries and puts fans in seats. Traditional: getting rid of fighting in hockey is like making american football 2 hand touch Protection: turtling rarely happens, and when it does it's seen as quite shameful. at least in pre-lockout hockey you usually had to answer for dirty plays one way or another. heavyweight bouts are more of a sideshow, but do bring in fans and thus money. a win in a fight often boosts the energy and attitude of a team as well, occasionally changing the course of a game. heavy suspensions for fighting is bad because it would change many dynamics of the game. i believe refs should return to their pre-lockout attitude of allowing enforcers to make dirty players "pay" thus curtailing many dirty plays. now the nhl is suspending players instead of letting enforcers do their jobs. as a result the number of dives r increasing because players kno they can get others suspended for long periods of time. if enforcers were allowed to perform their jobs, the only thing a dive would accomplish is maybe a pp, and the one not diving getting his butt kicked. personally i think they should allow enforcers to beat on divers. fighting is very much a sideshow but also very functional

Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the fight thread!

Why not instead of signing Brunnstrom, we just give Nyquist the spot? Brunner looked good his first couple games then started to resemble Hudler, who looked like garbage. Start Gus on the 3rd line and then let him dangle from the 2nd line. This is Americuh and we speak American, not Mexican or Scandinavia or what ever the hell the people in Twilight speak! Nascar!!!!!

I agree with this. I love hockey and am the first to admit I may not be "savvy" with the rules and regulations, etc, but Crosby is just too high maintenance drama queen. I Firmly believe that those hits to him were not as bad as they make out. The guy played still after the 1st one, and then went on to another game. I don't understand, if the concussion was soooo bad, why would they even take a chance to LET him play. He should have been a scratch and stay out of the games a few days to make sure he was really OK but they had no worries. I also think that Crosby was pissed off AND embarrassed they were losing the game . He is such a whiny narcissistic ass, complaining all the time. My question is if he is cleared to play and goes back on the ice, and , everyone is going to go easy on the on his ass in case he decides to take a dive or instigate because what player wants the wrap for being the one who knocked the miracle kid down once again, because everyone is ganging up on him. Ug. I hate that guy. Bottom line, I don't think his injuries were as bad, either. I think even before the hits the guy comes off as ignorant ass and is NOT a team player. He feels privileged and expects to be treated that way. So if he plays again or not, it is pretty much a given he will have to be handled with the kid gloves he demands. and gets it one way or another. Everything about this ordeal is vague. I did hear they said he won't play because his equilibrium is shot from the concussion, but than I have to question. Is he driving? If ya can't skate how is it okay that he drives a huge piece of steel around with no worries that his lack of "equilibrium" could cause a severe accident, hurting himself, or more importantly, hurting another innocent bystander? That's been bothering me. Just my thoughts............. I'm not wishing injury on anyone,and I'd love to give them the benefit of the doubt, but the lack of info they give really hurts their credibility. BTW, since he is not playing as of yet, he is going to the games to cheer his team on, isn't he? Crosby is a joke. I do think he is an excellent player, absolutely one of the best, but that's where it ends and comes to a screeching halt. . His deliberate embellishing instigation's, his constant whining, attention seeking tantrums, and his ever present poor sportsmanship pretty much cancels out "He's a good player", in my opinion, of course!!

2 points... 1. The NHL should be more relaxed about fighting. Theyre giving out all these crazy suspensions to try and curb dirty hits, when the way to curb dirty hits is with fear. Not fear of missing a few games, but fear that your going to have your face pounded in if u make that dirty play. Reality is hockey is a fast high impact sport. Players are going to leave their feet, use their size (especially if they dont have the skill), and lose their cool. 2. If shanny has anything to do with fighting leaving the game gordie will kill him. plain and simple. i kno shanny is a tough guy but he should legitimately fear for his life if gordie comes looking for him. so its in his best interest not to get rid of fighting.

You've become quite a troll lately.

Hey Guys. Found a site that might work. Its a pick'em pool site for hockey. They have fri thru sunday option. One point per win. Maybe this can cut down on the work. http://www.pooltracker.com/game_info/nhl_pickem.asp#.TooP-kSouKV Does not have option for bonus picks or toss out of worst three weeks. But it can do the totaling and then you can use that in Conjunction with bonus and worst weeks on the LGW site. They have pay and free sites. The free just calculates for us. Free Pools Scores calculated nightly no Banner Ads Free means Free; No Fees Unlimited Players

haha think whatever fairytale in your head you want, it was a bad play plain and simple, right now you are just being a gigantic homer and a half, it is a joke how biased you are. Clear dive/embellishment, horrible suspension.

Well I hope you get up in arms whenever someone protests a play or call from now on, because that is what you consider a "mockery of the sport." And word-prick? Grow up.

It wasn't a flop either. He got knocked off balance and put his arms up in protest. The only reason it can be considered embellishment is because him trying to get the referee's attention on a weak hit. Sorry, not a dive.

For a guy who didn't grow up in North America, would someone please explain a few things about hockey fighting to me? I don't have any objection against fighting in hockey, but except for being entertaining and traditional, I don't see any useful function for it. The way I see it, a cheap shot artist (like Cooke, Casparaitis) can always avoid being beat up by turtling (and does if the odds are unfavorable). So as a deterrent, I don't see fighting working. Or if an agitator A(very) does something bad, and as a result heavyweight from the other team challenges an enforcer from A(very)'s team, then how is A(very) punished? He is not the one with the black eye. Or if the two heavyweights line up for a faceoff and drop'em right away, what's that but a sideshow? I understand when a spontaneous fight, especially by a scorer/team leader who doesn't normally fight, can change the momentum of the game, but that situation does not arise often, and the existing rules can deal with such adequately. So my question is, what do we want fighting in hockey for, and why would heavy suspensions for fighting be bad?

If guys are going to start diving to get a player suspended, just call diving penalties. Done and done.

I understand that you're just trying to provoke, but I'm bored so I'll play along. What's your answer if I say that while diving is ugly and childish it has never ended anyone's career?

if you didn't think he dove i don't know what you are looking at, maybe ice at the corner of the screen

He didn't dive. Sorry.

Abdelkader should have been suspended for diving, sorry.

Joe Louis forever. New arena is only going to help the rich. The old arena is for the middle class.

Good for him. He needs to come to work every day and give a 100%. He has the skill, size and tools to help this team, it's all up to him. Looking forward to seeing him become the next reclamation player that helps the team win a cup

great, here comes another stalker.

While we'r at it: Filppula Datsyuk Holmstrom Bertuzzi Zetterbeg Franzen Cleary Helm Eaves Miller Abdelkader Brunstrom Emmerton/Hudler

WHAT?! A BLUEADAMS LINES THREAD?! I've never seen one of these before... s***E

No Ericsson? What a shame.

Hell, it's been a few months, so I'll bite. Flip- Dats- Homer Bert- Z- Mule Huds- Abby- Cleary Brunnstrom- Helm- Eaves Miller, Emmerton Lids- White Kronner- Stuart Commie- E Kindl IMO Homer is most effective when playing with two skilled players, so he needs to be on the top two lines with Cleary, Eaves, Abby, etc double-shifting in Homer's position throughout the game.

Look at the bright side; at least someone cares about proper grammar and punctuation. So few people do anymore.

I heard a good point about fighting, the NHL should treat it like other sports, you can fight, but you'll get tossed for the rest of the game, maybe more. The game would be better without guys like Chris Neil and Colton Orr.