Hack & Whack Rule!

I really miss those types of hits in hockey. You know what I mean, when you could flatten a guy out and not have three or four of his teammates start pummeling you. Vlady could do it like no other, and we all miss him. I'd kill four of our current D-men just to have him back.

I think the OP IS Gary Bettman, and he's trying to figure out why people still boo him and call him names. Don't fall into the trap! I seem to recall this article being referenced on another site. It was posted by a guy with the user name Bary Gettman...I can't figure out why, but that names seems very surreptitious, if you ask me.

And yet, living in Trashville, people aren't afraid of catching something from their "sister-cousin".

You almost had me there. Weber sniffling, Kostitsyn being the nice cuddly guy (possibly having been friendzoned by Weber). Unfortunately, it looks like Weber has a big grin on his face. To me, that's possibly the worst part of this picture. He should be telling his team mates that his actions reeked of douchebaggery, and should not be used as an example, or imitated even in jest. Seriously, I hope Detroit resigns D-Mac...just for one game will do, I think.

We already see that Crosby's a meathead. We're not all bandwagon s***tsburgh fans just because Crosby plays there. I think that's one of the worst parts for me. He was a star before he made his debut, and too many people proclaimed themselves Penguins fans the day he was picked. I don't like the guy because of a hot dog move he made while playing, possibly his last season, in the QMJHL. Don Cherry called it a hot dog move, and it got skewed by everybody east of Ontario that Cherry called Crosby a hot dog. I hope Sid the Squid matures and levels out. As someone said before me, that may happen, but it will take a couple of years for his rep to recover. Having said all that long winded BS, I agree with Cherry, Torts and Milbury.

Which takes it back to the issue. I'm paying for satellite tv with sports channels and regular channels that show sports. Now I need to fork out my $32 every month to watch the games. The problem is that I don't live in any NHL market, but I still get blacked out. The NHL sucks and they are shooting themselves in the foot with all their bulls***.

The NHL has, for years, found ways to milk more money from the fans, when it comes to viewing games. They have said before that if you want to watch your local team, you should buy tickets. But, here's the dealio...I live in Saskatchewan, but grew up south of Windsor, so I've been a DRW fan for many years. A few weeks ago, Detroit played in Vancouver, and the game was on SNETP (Sportsnet Pacific, I would assume) on Shaw Direct. I get that channel...I checked. At game time, I sat down in front of the boob tube, after claiming it in the name of the Legion of the Winged Wheel. I was greeted not with a pre game warmup by the teams...no poor grammar usage from announcers...no big talk about Sidney Crosby, even though he had nothing to do with this game but without him it couldn't happen and the entire future of the NHL could be in jeopardy. I got nothing but a black screen with a message telling me that I was in a blackout area, and essentially, I should buy a ticket and get my lazy ass to Vancouver. I hope the NHL gets nailed to the wall. I hope they get exposed for bending the fans over with every chance they get. I hope Gary Bettman spontaneously combusts. I hope this leads to more access to watch hockey.

Errorson because of his experience...he doesn't let it get to him when he screws up. Instant coffee or brewed?

Nope...went to bed at 11:30, woke up at 3:30, couldn't go back to sleep. The person below me can see those stupid Magic Picture 3D thingies. (been a while since I've been here in the Water Cooler)

I just died a little bit on the inside.

s***tsburg, St. Louis, Columbus, Vancouver and Montreal.

It was an assault by a grown man on a high school girl. Her sight could possibly be damaged...even by the run of the mill laser pointers that everyone has. The league shouldn't have to deal with that. Then again, if that goalie was my daughter, I don't think the police would be needed. Probably an ambulance, though.

I am with HaroldSnepsts on the Kronwall issue. There are times when he has left the ice before a hit, maybe even been guilty of an elbow here and there. I think there are times when he could have been suspended, and I would have said he deserved it. With Voracek, it's just not the case. He's admiring his own footwork, leaning forward, with his head being used to make himself more aerodynamic. Blammo (no, I don't often use the word "blammo")! In comes Kronner! If you want to play hockey with your head down, this is going to happen. The contact with the head was incidental, as far as I can see. By that, I mean that to deliver a hit, the head could not be avoided. What I think needs to be addressed, though, is the way players will go after another player for delivering a devastating hit on some numpty that can't keep his eyes up. If it's a clean hit, with no call from the ref, and players start taking shots at Kronwall and whacking him with a stick, why aren't they getting roughing penalties, or instigating penalties when someone (Abby) sticks up for him?

If I was the coach of that team, I would have been embarrassed enough over the actions of a parent of my player, I would have forfeited the game. I would have just called the game and gone home, never to have that parent at a game again. The goalie would have got my sincerest apologies and the laser pointer guy would have got a serious ass-whoopin'.

I was good while it lasted. Thanks for running it as long as you did. Maybe someone should start up a freepenguins.tv site and only show Wings games...it would probably go unnoticed, and maybe even receive funding from the NHL.

Although I'm no fan of Kriss Kross, I did get the reference. It was chuckle-worthy.

I'm torn between my man-love for Joe Mac and my man-love for Jimmy. I have to give the edge to Jimmy, though, and throw in Joey once in a while. Conklin can go away, though.

Well, that just doesn't make sense...they should apply for the job first, then quit their day job when an offer comes along. If they can't get that job, it sounds like they might not be qualified. You're right about one thing...they can stop showing up and giving up their money. There is no other option. Why public pressure? Is the team owned by the public? Most people, including me, haven't got a single clue as to what happens behind the closed doors of an NHL team. While some things might be made public, others are not. If you don't like what's going on, hit them in the pocketbook. People who protest about a hockey team's lack of success are just looking for attention. I guess it worked...kind of. I think they look pretty silly when you compare them to all the protesters in the Middle East last year.

I, personally, don't like how the All Stars are picked...it could easily become a popularity contest, rather than a "Mr. Awesome" contest. One surefire way to make any ASG better than this years, though, is to NEVER...EVER...allow Drake to be the entertainment.

If there is even a one game suspension on this play, it will push the NHL one step closer to being out of my life. I don't disagree that Zetterberg's hand was on Nikitin's back, but there is zero evidence that it caused the fall. Common sense will rule on this one. The player lost his footing as he neared the boards...maybe he panicked, maybe it was a bad spot on the ice, maybe it was a skate issue. What you really have to watch is Zetterberg. His hand comes off the player's back and kinda circles down before coming up. If it was a push, the hand would have jerked forward as if you were pushing on a door that someone suddenly opens. Watch Zetterberg's body...for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction...Z's body movement doesn't change. If he had pushed the player, the player's body would have pushed back, which would have been indicated in Z's movement. I agree that the players must have some kind of protection, but if this is going to a no contact league, I will not be watching. In my, not so learned I'll admit, opinion, the reason that there are so many injuries is that the players are trusting some new rules too much. Why wouldn't a guy skate hard to the corner, knowing that just about any hit will result in a penalty and possible suspension? It's making them reckless and they aren't watching out for themselves. I'm predicting that no suspension will come down, Shanahan will release a video detailing why there is no suspension, and Evgeni Malkin will always look like a potato from the neck up.

I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that one...I would say that about 5-10% think that way. The rest think that every English speaking Canadian should learn to speak French. I lived in Quebec for about two years, and my father grew up there. I don't speak French, and that's when you become a second class citizen there...except for in the peeler bars.

Easy, cowboy. I don't call that a clean hit. After re-reading my post, I see that I wasn't very clear with that statement. What I mean to say, is that eventually clean hits will be punished for unfortunate endings. I don't think Bouchard got the high stick on him on purpose, rather it slid up the other guy's stick. He was going to give him a whack with it, but lost control. Just about every other player in the league does the same type of stickwork, just not with the hit to the face...usually. I know that a player must keep control of his stick, or suffer the consequences, but that's why there are high-sticking penalties with the extra two minutes for blood.

I just don't get it. Shanny's video spells out, literally, why the suspension is being handed down, but the reasons he gave are for a double minor penalty. It even sounds like he is explaining why he wouldn't suspend Bouchard, stating that he has never received supplemental disciplinary action before. I just don't understand why it wasn't four minutes in the box, call it a lesson learned and move on. It just seems that clean hits are going to be punished if they have an unfortunate outcome. This "new NHL" is going in the crapper if you ask me. It's almost more exciting to watch women's Olympic hockey...ok, scratch that last part. *edited for spelling.

"On her"? Did you really put that? I think you're screwing with me? Don't get mad, I'm just messing around. I wasn't trying to be an ass with the OP, either. Well, not much of one. The point I was trying to make is that it doesn't take a lot to annoy me. This particular topic is not one of those things. And, since I'm here, Ad Hominem, isn't really the case in this situation. I pointed the OP's spelling mistakes, but I did not use those mistakes to prove that he is wrong in his opinion. Okay, now I'm being an ass. I'll stop.

Your sixth (not 6th) grade teacher would have, in all likelihood, just stamped a big "F" on your post.