kipwinger

At least anecdotally that doesn't seem to be true. What seems to make players turn to "enforcing" is not some love of violence or inherent acceptance of "wildness", but rather, a love for hockey paired with a lack of hockey skills. Guys who really want to play, and can't cut it any other way, turn to fighting. Here's a couple good articles on that subject: http://deadspin.com/what-happens-to-enforcers-when-hockey-uses-them-up-1690358212 http://www.theplayerstribune.com/why-we-fight/ Also, here's a good article about Paul Bissonnette, where he actually speculates that enforcers are MORE well adjusted than other players. Off the top of my head I can think of a number of enforcers who seem to be well adjusted. Kocur, Grimson, Parros, and Brashear. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/paul-bissonnette-and-the-long-term-health-of-the-enforcer--puck-daddy-interview-002221506.html

You're missing the point. Being an enforcer increases your chances of damaging your brain. And this type of brain damage has been conclusively linked to substance abuse issues. Being punched doesn't make you drink too much. Being punched a lot damages your brain, which causes headaches, anxiety, depression, poor impulse control, etc. And lots of people drink more when you have those kinds of issues (i.e. self medicate). This isn't some crap shoot where people are trying to villify hockey fights. Real doctors and researchers, who really study diseases, have conclusively proven a link between getting your head banged around, and a whole host of physical and mental health issues. It's real.

Interesting that Smith will be paired with Marchenko. Does that mean Kindl will be with Quincey on Thursday. And if so, is that an indication of anything?

It wasn't. But after rereading it I understand why it looks that way. I was just generally being snarky about many folks preference for overly simplistic answers on this particular topic. Again, not directed at you at all.

Are you saying that there could be more than one factor which causes a particular disease? That's just crazy. Everybody knows that degenerative diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, or CTE have one cause, and one cause only. Which is why they're so easy to prevent. Oh wait...

Imagine if you reported a physical assault, as in, a physical beating you received. Now imagine everyone assuming you're lying about it because earlier in the night you'd been seen drinking beer with the guy who later beat you. Seem crazy? That's because it is. NOTHING that happened at the bar earlier in the night precludes Patrick Kane from having committed a crime after they went back to his house. Nothing. Attempts to explain way the seriousness of the allegation based on something that was happening hours earlier are completely nuts. By that rationale a man couldn't rape his wife because she's probably agree to have sex with him at some point in the past.

Any more messed up than thinking that a woman who reported a crime is a money hungry liar (as quite a few around here have not so subtly insinuated)? This woman has done NOTHING to have her character called into question. She reported an alleged crime, and obeyed the directives of the legal system thereafter. What should she have done differently in order to be taken seriously? Not talked to the media...oh wait, she didn't. Reported the crime immediately...oh wait, she did. Refuse to settle the case out of court...Yep, did that too. Apparently, if you're a woman (and you want to be taken seriously when reporting a sexual crime), you better have never been drunk or horny in your life because god knows you can't be raped if you made out with a guy in a bar earlier in the night. This is shameful. What if you reported a stolen car and everyone assumed you were lying in order to defraud the insurance company? Oh, that's right, it woudn't happen because nobody is insane enough to assume that kind of thing regularly occurs. Unless you're a woman, and you report a rape...then you're obviously weaving a nefarious web of deceit. The most obnoxious thing about this is that nobody actually believe the b.s. they're spewing. If your daughter, or sister, or girlfriend, or wife, or mother reported an alleged sexual assualt, nobody here would think "well she was hitting on that guy at the bar, so I've got to consider the possibility that maybe she just wants his money". Nobody. Would. Think. That.

How's this for accountability. Top prospect shows up late for first ever training camp. Told to pack up and head back to juniors. Ouch. http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2015/09/18/ho-sang-late-for-training-camp-sent-back-to-junior/

And it's not like contributing factors don't exacerbate those problems either. I'm not really sure why I'm debating this. The link between substance abuse, depression, suicide, etc. and CTE has been proven demonstrably at this point. It wasn't, however, proven back when guys like Probert were punching each other in the head to the delight of fans. They absolutely had no idea the kinds of long term effects that those actions had, because nobody knew. If you want to think that they all knew what they were getting into, fine. But I don't agree, and I don't think most researchers would either.

I didn't say the games would suck. I'm implying that your average 22 year old American kid probably doesn't care enough about it to endure John Tortarella for two weeks.

That's the thing though. One of the main symptoms of CTE is drug and alcohol dependency. It's not like he had CTE AND substance abuse issues. They weren't separate. CTE dramatically increases the likelihood of substance abuse issues. People have got to stop acting like these are different things. When you get punched in the head a lot, you are more likely to suffer from depression, anger issues, anxiety, and substance abuse as a result. And NOBODY knew that in the 1980s and 1990s. No. We know that he had CTE. And that he suffered from symptoms of depression. And that when people have depression they often self medicate with drugs and alcohol.

Exactly. Maybe if you'd asked "do you think getting punched repeatedly is bad for you" he'd have said "yes". But that's a pretty different thing than him "knowing the risks" of CTE.

I wonder if this will effect which players decide to participate in the tournament? I wouldn't want to spend my time off playing for Torts in a World Cup. Being an Olympian, and getting a gold medal still has some prestige, so guys want to do it. But a World Cup of Hockey? Who cares? I'd rather be on vacation.

But isn't that a little like saying that a soldier understands the long term risks associated with PTSD just because guys in WWI reported being "shell shocked"? There's a difference between a vague notion, and specific knowledge IMO. Sure people knew that some boxers ended up like Ali, but most boxers seemingly lived "normal' lives. But only because nobody knew about the drinking, depression, suicide, etc., and these things hadn't been linked to the sport yet. It was easy to see that Ali was messed up. A little harder to see what affect it had on others because nobody knew what to look for. Again, I'm not trying to absolve these guys of their responsibility for their own well being. But I don't think that it's fair to imply they knew the specific risks they were facing just because there was a vague understanding that some guys (like Ali) weren't right after their career.

Mike Keenan? Doesn't he currently coach in Russia? It would be fun if Keenan got the gig. Him, Babcock, and Tortarella could compete for the "Most Overrated Blowhard" award.

Everybody knows that getting punched hurts, and that it's less healthy than not getting punched. But I'm not sure everybody knew that getting punched a lot in the 1980s and 1990s would cause depression, substance abuse, anger issues, and ultimately suicide in 2015. Those types of causal linkages just hadn't been made yet. I think that's where your argument is a bit too simplistic.

Good question. Apparently hockey USA has no interest in actually winning the World Cup. Can we get someone to photoshop Tortarella's head on Vinny Mac?

Did they? I thought much of the research on CTE is fairly recent?

Dang, that AA, Bert, and Mantha line is on fire.

This is an affront. How dare he mock a legend? Don Cherry is an institution. A deluded, old, xenophobic, blowhard, institution.

Same here. I figure Abby for around 15-18 goals. Tatar, Nyquist, Datsyuk, will all have 20. Zetterberg and Franzen may each make it to 20 if they're healthy. Beyond that, probably a bunch of guys around 15-20, including Abby, Helm, Richards, Pulkkinen, and Jurco. Our team offensive may improve overall with Blash behind the bench. But I don't think individual goal totals will fluctuate that much.

Wasn't he a healthy scratch for the first two games of the Tampa series?

Hear that everybody? His parents let him do it so it's all good. Just a big misunderstanding. Good luck with that kid. Jack Capuano totally seems like the kind of guy who's willing to tolerate back talk from an 18 year old. Totally.

I honestly don't know anything about the kid. I've never heard of him before I read the article.

"Tavares can wait, I need my ZZZs" - Josh Ho Sang. Reminds me of that time Evander Kane showed up on game day in a track suit. Too bad Dustin Byfulgien wasn't there to throw all of Ho Sang's gear in the shower or something. Side note: Imagine having to deal with Dustin Byfuglien every time you did something s***ty. Yikes indeed.