Fans fight over Niedermayer's stick

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

I've had run ins with drunk fans at the Joe, thankfully nothing came of it. It was the home opener against Chicago where my dad and I both had standing room tickets next to a rowdy drunk-off-his-ass guy who was constantly blocking the view. My dad politely asked him to move out of the way because he couldn't see, the guy responded with an attitude. I stepped in, and he basically was like "Oh my god guys, I'm being an *******. Let me buy you both a beer!" (Don't mean to brag, but I am pretty well built ) The good thing was, he was sincere, and we spent the rest of the game talking hockey. Turned out he was from Los Angeles and he and his wife attend Kings games all the time and make it to Detroit every year for the home opener, turned out to be a pretty cool guy.

Too bad these douches from Duckland weren't like that.

[jollymania 162]

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Lawsuiit

[Kira 451]

It's a shame some people have to be really petty about things like this. How much do you want to bet that if the one guy had gotten it, he would have put it up for auction on Ebay?

[dat's sick 1,002]

That's pretty pathetic from the fans, but a player has to be smarter than to just throw it in there.. what you do is you point at the person you're giving it to, presumably the cutest, youngest kid there, and you make sure no one else gets to the stick.

[OsGOD 3]

lol!

some of you are a bit harsh. remember, idiots exists everywhere

ha yeah... if the wings ever gave their sticks to the crowd... i am sure it would result in a brawl. People fight over a puck from D-Mac when he tossed them!

[MotorCityMadness 388]

didnt something similar happen after the Winter Classic last season? something about Zetterberg handing a stick to a kid and then some douchebag stole it right out of his hand and made off with it.

I had a baseball thrown to me last summer at Wrigley while sitting in the bleachers and was very tempted to keep the ball, but gave it to a young kid a few feet over after realizing it would mean more to him than me

Edited November 20, 2009 by MotorCityMadness

[Mors 201]

didnt something similar happen after the Winter Classic last season? something about Zetterberg handing a stick to a kid and then some douchebag stole it right out of his hand and made off with it.

I had a baseball thrown to me last summer at Wrigley while sitting in the bleachers and was very tempted to keep the ball, but gave it to a young kid a few feet over after realizing it would mean more to him than me

Yea it was security guard at Chicago's arena who took the stick from the kid.

[VM1138 1,921]

lol!

some of you are a bit harsh. remember, idiots exists everywhere

There's just a lot more of them in Anaheim. That's what happens when you put hockey in a non-hockey market and throw in a bunch of goons.

[Seraph 240]

I've been to games in numerous cities and by far the crappiest experience I've had has been in Anaheim. I went to a few games in the playoffs last year including the one where the ducks started beating on our guys after the third period ended. At the same time, a bunch of fights broke out with their fans beating up Detroit fans. It's like, come on, really? Is this a gladiator match??

[Guest micah]

It looked like the guy in the blue might have been related to the little girl, and that the guy in the dark shirt was at the very least a drunk, belligerent *******. Blue shirt guy looks to be largely blameless in this one, and you can't fault the lady next to him, whom was probably his wife or girl friend, for trying to jump in there.

This is what I saw too. not a big crisis, not a whole arena full of dips*** drunks, just one guy being an *******. The other guy seems pretty innocent to me, looked like he was likely there with the girl. I'm glad he didn't let the bully get his way without fighting back. Had he just let the ******* have the stick, there would have likely been no intervention from security - by resisting (and risking personal injurry) he drew attention to the scene and the bad guy (from what I hear) got busted. Sweet. Way to not back down, guy-who-knew-that-the-stick-was-for-the-chick. Lots of lesser men would have sheepishly let it go, encouraging the ******* to be even more brazen in the future.

[Guest CaliWingsNut]

Yea it was security guard at Chicago's arena who took the stick from the kid.

I thought it was a kid who impersonated one?

[Datsasuk 2]

That is really disgusting. From that video, it looked like an all out brawl ensued. Here's my vote to ban Meat Heads as hockey fans for life.

[P. Marlowe 748]

Discussion in Ducks' forum: http://fans.ducks.nhl.com/topic/4000/t/Fig...ty-s-stick.html

[Danglesmith08 0]

I was standing about 8 rows up from the fight. It wasnt even his game stick they were fighting over but instead a cheap $30 wooden stick they give them to hand out. Of course, the average Ducks fan doesnt know that 99% of the players doent use wood anymore, but hey, it Anaheim.

[titanium2 867]

That's pretty pathetic from the fans, but a player has to be smarter than to just throw it in there.. what you do is you point at the person you're giving it to, presumably the cutest, youngest kid there, and you make sure no one else gets to the stick.

Why not the ugliest?

[jollymania 162]

i dk what was funnier that or this:

[dallas27 7]

That's pretty pathetic from the fans, but a player has to be smarter than to just throw it in there.. what you do is you point at the person you're giving it to, presumably the cutest, youngest kid there, and you make sure no one else gets to the stick.

At the 10 second mark he points the blade of his stick right at the little girl.

[RedWingAbner 13]

Wow, this happened with Ducks fans?

Not really that surprising.

[ManLuv4Clears 7]

Disgusting.

[Jake Ryan 1]

That drunk guy was looking for the 4th star of the night!

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

Reminds me of this *******

If memory serves, this guy was even getting death threats at one point. Total ass.

I've never caught a puck or ball or anything at a game. But I will tell you this, if there is even a kid within 10 feet of me, unless its some historically significant ball that the player might want back,etc..., i'm going to give it to some young kid seated around me. Seriously, what would be more satisfying to you? To tell people you caught a foul ball or a home run (like they are rare or something) from so and so player and it's relatively worthless. Or handing it over to some kid who, at their age, might think it's the greatest thing ever? I'd rather see the kid smile and enjoy his experience vs having a meaningless souvenir collecting dust.

Rangers fan showered by others' good will

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Associated Press

# Watch the video of this play in ESPN Motion ESPN Motion

ARLINGTON, Texas -- A 4-year-old boy who lost a foul ball to a not-so-grown-up adult is getting a windfall worthy of a game-winning home run hitter -- and now he'll get that ball, too.

Nicholas O'Brien

Nick O'Brien is held by his mother Edie after losing out on a foul ball Sunday during the Rangers-Cardinals game. Between innings, St. Louis' Reggie Sanders gave Nick a bat and ball.

Matt Starr, who was sitting behind Nick O'Brien at a Texas Rangers baseball game Sunday knocked the boy against the seats as he dived to get a foul ball. Fans started chanting "Give him the ball!" but Starr wouldn't give it up.

He changed his mind Wednesday.

Starr has also agreed to send a letter of apology to the family of Nick O'Brien and buy his family tickets to future Texas Rangers games, club official John Blake said Wednesday.

"The fan let it be known to us that he wanted to give the ball back, and we informed the family that it indeed is going to happen," said Blake, Rangers senior vice president.

Another club spokesman, Gregg Elkin, said the Rangers did not orchestrate Starr's decision.

"He did this on his own, through an intermediary," Elkin said. "Someone that knows him said, 'hey, he wants to do this, can you help him get it to the O'Briens,' and that's all we're doing."

O'Brien's mom was surprised by the behavior at the game.

"I couldn't believe someone would do something like that to a 4-year-old boy," said Nick's mother, Edie O'Brien.

O'Brien said she swatted Starr with a cardboard fan and called him a jerk, among other names. "I said, 'You trampled a 4-year-old boy to get this ball,' and he said, 'Oh, well,' " she told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, adding that the man seemed proud he got the ball.

Video shows Nick was standing up as Starr dived across the boy's seat to grab the ball at Nick's feet. Starr's leg strikes the boy, and the boy is jostled a second time as the man stands up with the ball and appears to exchange words with the mother.

Nick wasn't hurt, but fan outrage mushroomed, and even Rangers announcer Tom Grieve voiced his disapproval on TV, calling Starr "the biggest jerk in this park." Starr and a woman with him left before the game was over.

Meanwhile, the Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals quickly made sure Nick got souvenirs of his own -- two bats and four baseballs, including one signed by Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, a former Ranger.

Cardinals outfielder Reggie Sanders came out between innings to give Nick a bat and ball. "In my heart, I thought I should do something," said Sanders. "It's all about the kids."

The Dallas Morning News identified Starr, a married, 28-year-old landscaper and former youth minister. Starr did not immediately return a telephone message left by The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Starr is "not the bad guy he's been made out to be," said Rick DuBose, senior pastor of the Sachse Assembly of God Church. "He probably got a little aggressive and did something he regrets. But that's not Matt. He's a good kid, a good young man."

On "Good Morning America," host Charles Gibson gave the O'Briens more souvenirs Wednesday -- this time from the New York Mets. The family got tickets to Wednesday night's game against the Cleveland Indians.

"Wow," Nick responded.

[Jake Ryan 1]

Reminds me of this *******

If memory serves, this guy was even getting death threats at one point. Total ass.

I've never caught a puck or ball or anything at a game. But I will tell you this, if there is even a kid within 10 feet of me, unless its some historically significant ball that the player might want back,etc..., i'm going to give it to some young kid seated around me. Seriously, what would be more satisfying to you? To tell people you caught a foul ball or a home run (like they are rare or something) from so and so player and it's relatively worthless. Or handing it over to some kid who, at their age, might think it's the greatest thing ever? I'd rather see the kid smile and enjoy his experience vs having a meaningless souvenir collecting dust.

Rangers fan showered by others' good will

Email Print Share

Associated Press

# Watch the video of this play in ESPN Motion ESPN Motion

ARLINGTON, Texas -- A 4-year-old boy who lost a foul ball to a not-so-grown-up adult is getting a windfall worthy of a game-winning home run hitter -- and now he'll get that ball, too.

Nicholas O'Brien

Nick O'Brien is held by his mother Edie after losing out on a foul ball Sunday during the Rangers-Cardinals game. Between innings, St. Louis' Reggie Sanders gave Nick a bat and ball.

Matt Starr, who was sitting behind Nick O'Brien at a Texas Rangers baseball game Sunday knocked the boy against the seats as he dived to get a foul ball. Fans started chanting "Give him the ball!" but Starr wouldn't give it up.

He changed his mind Wednesday.

Starr has also agreed to send a letter of apology to the family of Nick O'Brien and buy his family tickets to future Texas Rangers games, club official John Blake said Wednesday.

"The fan let it be known to us that he wanted to give the ball back, and we informed the family that it indeed is going to happen," said Blake, Rangers senior vice president.

Another club spokesman, Gregg Elkin, said the Rangers did not orchestrate Starr's decision.

"He did this on his own, through an intermediary," Elkin said. "Someone that knows him said, 'hey, he wants to do this, can you help him get it to the O'Briens,' and that's all we're doing."

O'Brien's mom was surprised by the behavior at the game.

"I couldn't believe someone would do something like that to a 4-year-old boy," said Nick's mother, Edie O'Brien.

O'Brien said she swatted Starr with a cardboard fan and called him a jerk, among other names. "I said, 'You trampled a 4-year-old boy to get this ball,' and he said, 'Oh, well,' " she told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, adding that the man seemed proud he got the ball.

Video shows Nick was standing up as Starr dived across the boy's seat to grab the ball at Nick's feet. Starr's leg strikes the boy, and the boy is jostled a second time as the man stands up with the ball and appears to exchange words with the mother.

Nick wasn't hurt, but fan outrage mushroomed, and even Rangers announcer Tom Grieve voiced his disapproval on TV, calling Starr "the biggest jerk in this park." Starr and a woman with him left before the game was over.

Meanwhile, the Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals quickly made sure Nick got souvenirs of his own -- two bats and four baseballs, including one signed by Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, a former Ranger.

Cardinals outfielder Reggie Sanders came out between innings to give Nick a bat and ball. "In my heart, I thought I should do something," said Sanders. "It's all about the kids."

The Dallas Morning News identified Starr, a married, 28-year-old landscaper and former youth minister. Starr did not immediately return a telephone message left by The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Starr is "not the bad guy he's been made out to be," said Rick DuBose, senior pastor of the Sachse Assembly of God Church. "He probably got a little aggressive and did something he regrets. But that's not Matt. He's a good kid, a good young man."

On "Good Morning America," host Charles Gibson gave the O'Briens more souvenirs Wednesday -- this time from the New York Mets. The family got tickets to Wednesday night's game against the Cleveland Indians.

"Wow," Nick responded.

Sounds like that guy being a jerk is the best thing that ever happened to that kid. Damn, I want to have someone elbow me out of the way for a foul ball.

[mjlegend 155]

The league should punish them by making them play in front of a half-empty building.

Oh, wait, they already do.

[mjlegend 155]

And now the cops are involved...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blo...in-anaheim.html

[updated at 12:07 p.m.: The Anaheim Ducks said today in a statement, “Following the incident last night, the Anaheim Police Department questioned the individuals involved and filed a police report. The Ducks cannot comment on any further action that may be taken at this time. As an organization, we do not condone or tolerate this type of behavior, and will treat this case accordingly.â€]