What cheating goes on in the NHL, according to Sports Illustrated

[CenterIce 83]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writ....nhl/index.html

Sports Illustrated wrote articles on the cheating that goes on in all sports. This is their NHL version.

[sergei_is_still_a_wing 1]

no one cares about stick curve. its NOT like a corked bat, where it gives a players an overwhelming advantage. you could give every guy in the nhl a tree branch and they would still score on goalies. plain and simple. it just makes the game more fun to watch.

i say do away with the stick curve rule. i'd love to see some bananas for blades out there...

[Rob the Badger 0]

I'm not so concerned about stick curvature either. What bothers me more are the goalies who use illegal oversized equipment (*cough cough Garth Snow cough cough*)

[puckloo39 5,686]

Quite a stretch to go find something "illegal" in the NHL to write about. Now, if you told me some of the refs were betting on games and fixing outcomes -- I might believe that, given some of the nonsense calls I've seen over the years which decided key games, not to mention Stanley Cup outcomes.

Edited July 26, 2007 by puckloo39

[eva unit zero 271]

I'm not so concerned about stick curvature either. What bothers me more are the goalies who use illegal oversized equipment (*cough cough Garth Snow cough cough*)

Garth Snow had legal oversized equipment, because he's 6'3" and 200lb. Most goalies are closer to Ozzie or Vernon in stature.

[Legionnaire11 0]

the stick curve rule is outdated anyway. they could do away with it totally for all I care. let kovalchuk and jagr bend their blades into a U... they won't have any kind of backhand or defense then.

[kozac 10]

I always use the face-off cheats like everybody in the NHL. Its not really a cheat anyway and if the ref spots it they toss you out. Its like saying getting away with a penalty is cheating. No its not, if you do get away with something its the ref's fault and good for you. Corcked bats and steroids, now THATS cheating.

[theman19 47]

Garth Snow had legal oversized equipment, because he's 6'3" and 200lb. Most goalies are closer to Ozzie or Vernon in stature.

and i suppose he needed a catching glove that could catch a bus because he's three inches taller than most goalies huh? When he came out for the 97' finals his goalie glove was the biggest i had ever seen.

[Guest jaytan]

How is anything cheating if it results in a penalty? Find them doing something that isn't taken care of in the rulebooks (doping, fixing games, etc.), and then you've got a story.

[Wing Nut 19 0]

and i suppose he needed a catching glove that could catch a bus because he's three inches taller than most goalies huh? When he came out for the 97' finals his goalie glove was the biggest i had ever seen.

It didn't do him any good did it!

[rick zombo 3,739]

And here I thought this article was going to be about Pronger's days in Edmonton.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzing

Edited July 26, 2007 by rick zombo

[BlakChamber 8]

no one cares about stick curve. its NOT like a corked bat, where it gives a players an overwhelming advantage. you could give every guy in the nhl a tree branch and they would still score on goalies. plain and simple. it just makes the game more fun to watch.

i say do away with the stick curve rule. i'd love to see some bananas for blades out there...

Actually, science has shown that a corked bat doesn't give the players an advantage when hitting homeruns, which is the reason they cork their bat. A corked bat might help a player make contact, but it won't help them hit the ball farther.

If the biggest problems in the NHL are stick curves and goalie gear, I'd say they're in pretty good shape.

[Opie 308]

A corked bat makes the bat lighter thus easy to generate more power. Yet it is not hollow so it dowsn't become more fragile.

A curved hockey stick is like throwing a curve ball.

[jagr68 0]

Yeah a curved stick just gives you a advantage in one way, but a disadvantage in another. It's not going to improve your game without a drawback. Sure, Jagr and Kovalchuk may cheat with their sticks, but look at their backhand. They give up a strong backhand for better curve which may give them a harder wrist shot and maybe better stickhandling (for me atleast).

But look at a guy like Crosby. Probably the best player in the game. His stick is anything but curved, it's almost straight. It's just about personal preference. He has a decent shot but he has one heck of a backhand pass and shot.

[BlakChamber 8]

A corked bat makes the bat lighter thus easy to generate more power. Yet it is not hollow so it dowsn't become more fragile.

That isn't how it works. A corked bat will generate more bat speed. However, because the bat is lighter and there's less mass, the collision between the bat and the ball isn't as powerful, and doesn't generate any real difference in distance. The increase you get in bat speed is canceled out by the reduced mass of the batt.

The advantage of a corked bat is since it takes less time to swing it, the batter gets more time to look at the ball and figure out what the pitch is and what it's location is. It helps when you're hitting for contact, but not if you're trying to hit homeruns.

Here's a good explanation. http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/bats-new/corkedbat.html

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

That isn't how it works. A corked bat will generate more bat speed. However, because the bat is lighter and there's less mass, the collision between the bat and the ball isn't as powerful, and doesn't generate any real difference in distance. The increase you get in bat speed is canceled out by the reduced mass of the batt.

The advantage of a corked bat is since it takes less time to swing it, the batter gets more time to look at the ball and figure out what the pitch is and what it's location is. It helps when you're hitting for contact, but not if you're trying to hit homeruns.

Here's a good explanation. http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/bats-new/corkedbat.html

For you baseball junkies, here's another pretty good article on the physics of a homerun.

As for cheating in sport, the Tour de France just had the race leader withdraw and get fired by his team, and there have been at least three other doping scandals. And this was the year it was supposed to be a "clean" Tour. By comparison, hockey has little to worry about.

[HuntsVegas Baby 0]

The only cheating I know that goes on ni the NHL is when I enter "SAPL TATH CUKP" in the Unlockables on Gretzky 06.

Perfect slap shots everytime.

[Guest jaytan]

Using one-timers on NHL 2001 is practically cheating. You score every time!

[puckbags 863]

I always thought it was only illegal if you get caught!!!

[OsGOD 3]

Cheating happens in all sports at every level... whether or not you get caught and/or written up in a Sport Illustrated article is all by the luck of the draw.

Using one-timers on NHL 2001 is practically cheating. You score every time!

spot on!

[auxlepli 17]

I'm not so concerned about stick curvature either. What bothers me more are the goalies who use illegal oversized equipment (*cough cough Garth Snow cough cough*)

Yeah I agree 100 percent. There are some goalies who sill play who oversized pad too IMO.

Quite a stretch to go find something "illegal" in the NHL to write about. Now, if you told me some of the refs were betting on games and fixing outcomes -- I might believe that, given some of the nonsense calls I've seen over the years which decided key games, not to mention Stanley Cup outcomes.

Yep. I agree with this statement too.

Calgary totally got hosed in '04.

Interesting that the last three Cup winners have been "sun-belt" teams.

[Dabura 12,207]

SCANDALOUS!

[uncle ovipositor 6]

So are they saying Pronger isn't on steroids, then? Really?

I would be amazed if there aren't some illegal drugs and blood doping going on. I've never heard anything about testing in the NHL, and hockey players have as much to gain from EPO as cyclists.

[Gordie Howe hat trick 110]

I do know there is some form of testing in the NHL, if I remember correctly one guy got suspended for doping for a while last season.

I also agree about the sun belt cups...really wierd isn't it?

[SweWings 45]

The goalie pad-size thing is a bit odd but I'm not sure how/if they want to deal with it. The curvature of the stick-rule is just old and needs to be rewritten. Nobody cares anyway...