...Fighting in the NHL: Should it stay or go is an article written by Ryan Kennedy stating that fighting should be taken out of ice hockey. Ryan believes that hockey will have less injuries, be more of a skilled game, and create more fan base if fighting is taken out of the game. The main idea of this argument is about fighting in hockey. I believe fighting should be kept and allowed in hockey. Fighting draws fan base, makes the game more interesting, protects the star players and takes out more of the cheap shots. The first point Ryan tries to address about fighting is that hockey will have less injuries. Ryan uses his interview with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman as evidence. Gary says, “We are trying to take fighting out of the NHL because GMs are tired of seeing the cheap shots and grudges carried from game to game across the season.” I argue differently, fighting takes out the injuries and cheap shot instead of increasing them. for instance, If a player is cheap shoted and results in an injury, is a six foot eight inch player coming at another scarier than a fine? When players stand up for one another...
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...While watching hockey, 62 percent of die-hard hockey fans observe fighting as a ‘significant part of the game’ (Zelkovich 1). Unaware of the hardships and consequences hockey fighters experience, passionate fans continue to support ruthless fighting in the National Hockey League. As a result of fighting, life-threatening injuries often leave players with a variety of challenges. Fighters, also known as enforcers, receive a slew of brain complications, shattered bones and many alternative setbacks. Fighting in the National Hockey League, while an exciting aspect to the game, must be banned due to the negative effects it causes players and to the game of hockey. As shown by other skill levels and game styles around the world, that are different...
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...The Great Game Called Hockey It is 3-3 going into overtime, it is the Chicago Blackhawks versus the Philadelphia Flyers vying for the most coveted trophy in sports- the Stanley Cup Trophy. The Blackhawks have a 3-2 series lead. If they win this game, they win the trophy. It is “do or die” for the Flyers, force a game seven or go home. Then it happens, a few minutes into overtime, Patrick Kane, a young superstar on the Blackhawks skates down the rink, takes a shot, and he scores! Just like that, the game is over. The Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup! … The Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup! I, together with millions of other fans watching this nationally televised game, witnessed this great phenomenon live. Now you might wonder why millions of other fans and I tuned in to see the game. The answer is because millions of fans and I love and appreciate the game of hockey. In my opinion, it truly is the most exciting game both to play and to watch. While playing hockey and watching hockey are obviously two very different activities, they have at least one thing in common; they are both very fun. Let us take a closer look at each activity individually and see why so many others and I enjoy it so much. I sincerely enjoy the thrill that I receive while playing hockey. I am not alone about this feeling. If you were to ask someone that plays hockey, as to why they play, one reason he or she will almost definitely tell you is something along the lines of that...
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...Violence in ice hockey has been an identifying staple in the sport since “the first hockey leagues formed in the mid-1880’s,” (Ice Hockey Origins, Growth and Changes in the Game). Since the modern era of hockey, and the creation of the Stanley Cup, hockey has been viewed as one of the most violent sports in western civilization. Clarence Campbell, former NHL President has even said that “[w]ithout violence, there would be no such thing as hockey,” (Coakley). To an extent hockey is unmatched in illegal assaults by any other sport, in both amateur and professional leagues, (Colburn). This does not mean that the contact in other sports is not as intense as hockey, for example rugby and football are both very “violent” sports, but this “violence” is carried out within the rules of the game. Hockey is different because it allows fistfights, which are acts of violence that are carried out outside the rules of the game. Hockey fights occur during stoppages of play, or if one breaks out during the play, the play is whistled down immediately in order to break up the fight. What makes this phenomenon interesting is the fact that in many amateur leagues and most professional leagues a five-minute penalty is assessed to the players involved in a fight. In other sports, where similar interactions between players do occur occasionally, an immediate ejection from the game is the penalty. What this does is “tacitly permit fighting by imposing a relatively lenient penalty,” (Colburn). During...
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...any moment, they could pass out. It has been seen in sports for as long as they have been around and now it is really coming to light. Concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy are gaining more and more attention in the world of hockey as more and more athletes are being diagnosed with concussions and CTE is being diagnosed post-mortem. The biggest question that arises when CTE is discussed is the most simple. What is CTE? Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes (and others) with a history of repetitive brain trauma, including symptomatic concussions...
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...Fighting Fighting is a part of the game of hockey, but should fighting be a part of high school hockey? In professional hockey, it is rare to see a game without a scrum, melee or fight that will break out and in those games the offenders are given penalties and the game continues. High schools usually have a no-tolerance policy when it comes to fighting whether that is in regular school or in sports. This fight is no different when it comes to the no-tolerance policy set by the schools but where the problem is that the referees took it upon themselves just to cancel the whole game and punish all parties even when all did not participate. I believe that the school district did not do the right thing when it punished the whole team. The school board should have looked at precedents of fighting that has in other sports. When a fight occurred in another sport, did the district suspend the team and the season for one person or multiple members of the team? This should set any policies in place that would be known to all teams Also the district needs to look at all incidents and parties involved to see what lead to the brawl in the first place. While fighting has no place in high school sports, suspending the entire team for the remainder of the season was too harsh of a punishment. In the state of Oklahoma, the governing body of high school sports, the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association states in their rule book that if an official catches a player fighting then...
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...Summary of “I Was a Teenage Hijabi Hockey Player” In Shema Khan’s essay “I Was a Teenage Hijabi Hockey Player” she humorously defends some of the stereotypes associated with her religion. As she begins a casual conversation about hockey over lunch, Khan notices her colleagues’ disbelief. Female Muslims aren’t expected to follow or be interested in hockey, or any sport for that matter. In response, Khan goes on to display her knowledge and passion of the Montreal Canadiens. She lists players, stats, and facts just like any true hockey fan would. Furthermore, Khan recounts playing street hockey as a child; choosing a player she idolized to play as. Lastly, Khan further shows her passion for the sport as she describes her efforts to start a women’s intramural league at Harvard. Khan concludes her essay in the present; playing street hockey with her kids as she did in her childhood. Thus, further proving her passion for hockey, and shattering a stereotype. Summary of “What We Are Fighting For” In his essay “What We Are Fighting For”, Rex Murphy clarifies the reasons for Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan. To begin, Murphy states Canada’s aid in eradicating the Taliban Government was because of our country’s alliance with the USA, as well as in retaliation of the Candians killed on 9/11. He continues on to say that in order to protect against future attacks, the afghani citizens would need assistance in building a new type of government. In addition, Murphy explains that Canadian...
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...Violence has been a part of ice hockey since at least the early 1900s. According to the book Hockey: A People's History, in 1904 alone, four players were killed during hockey games from the frequent brawls and violent stick work. Fighting in ice hockey is an established tradition of the sport in North America, with a long history involving many levels of amateur and professional play and including some notable individual fights. While officials tolerate fighting during hockey games, they impose a variety of penalties on players who engage in fights. Unique to North American professional team sports, the National Hockey League (NHL) and most minor professional leagues in North America do not eject players outright for fighting but major European and collegiate hockey leagues do. The debate over allowing fighting in ice hockey games is ongoing. Despite its potentially negative consequences, such as heavier enforcers knocking each other out, some administrators are not considering eliminating fighting from the game, as some players consider it essential. Additionally, the majority of fans oppose eliminating fights from professional hockey games. Examples In an NHL preseason game between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues on September 21, 1969 Bruins defenseman Ted Green and Blues left wing Wayne Maki, attacking Green, engaged in a bloody stick-swinging fight that resulted in Green sustaining a skull fracture and brain damage, forcing him to miss the entire season of 1969–70...
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...row, my hockey team was defeated in the last minutes of the first overtime period. Everyone worked so hard to get to the championship, winning would have made us the best team in the league. Hockey is a game of strategy and knowledge. Knowing the plays and making quick smart reactions is as important as being physically in shape. To become hockey smart you must master vision. Vision is the concept of constantly scanning the ice making it seem like you have eyes on the back of your head. By doing this you will know where everyone is supposed to be at any given time. Patrick Kane is not the strongest guy on the ice neither is he the biggest but he has some of the best hockey senses in the NHL. He is able to pass to people without...
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...Hockey in the 1950s was very popular and very competitive, many Canadians played hockey and looked up to the players and wanted to be in the NHL with them. Maurice Richard was born in 1920 in Quebec and grew up with eight siblings, he played for the Montreal Canadians for most of his career. He played in the NHL from 1942-1960 or eighteen seasons. He grew up in a poverty stricken family during the Great Depression. Before he played he was thought of a weak player because some injuries stopped him from fighting in World War II. Later in his career he was switched to right wing and was in a line called "the punch line". His playing style was very aggressive and violent, early in his career his nickname was the comet but later on changed to...
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...from the public who created that image of sports. In addition, athletes are benefited if they follow that conception. Because of the media coverage, they will be contracted by great sport clubs, and they will be recognized as a true professional player. The society already gave meaning to sports, so the media transmits and shows what people want to see. Secondly, part of the violence is attributed to some gender ideology. Nowadays, a great part of the population follow some gender ideologies about sport. For example, they believe that brutal contact is an important part of becoming a man. For this reason, it is hard to convince some Canadians that fighting is not part of ice hockey. It is so rooted to the history of hockey that it has become part of the identity of that sport. As the hockey player, Tie Domi, said “If you take out fighting, what...
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...The Risks of Resisting Change Author Rachel Blount is a writer for the Star Tribune, in Minneapolis Minnesota. The article she wrote is titled: Despite tragedies, hockey reformer finds resistance to change. The author attempts to show how the play of hockey on the younger scope is not healthy, safe, nor productive. Despite the overwhelming evidence of tragedies in youth hockey in Minnesota; parents and hockey fans resist any safety changes on that level. One lone parent in the state of Minnesota is trying to change the mindset of lifelong hockey fans. The author has shown the enthusiasm that the fans have for the children that are under the age of 15 years old are slamming each other into the wall of the ice rink. This has been a common practice since the peewee leagues. The players are encouraged by fans, parents, coaches, and other players that this is what is expected in hockey. Rachel mentioned that two teenagers were paralyzed in the hospital from being injured playing hockey. Spectators see that as tragic but part of the game of hockey. She also mentioned how one person, Hal Tearse, which is a boys' varsity coach at Providence Academy -- and as chairman of the safety committee and coach-in-chief for Minnesota Hockey is fighting to change some safety rules. He advocated a USA Hockey proposal to delay checking until age 13, he was met with outrage from a majority determined to preserve the spectacle of 11-year-olds smashing into each other. The author also stated that...
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...Hockey Hockey is a national symbol of Canada. At some time or another almost every person has watched or played a game of hockey. Every day families across the country sit down to watch men battle it out on the ice and play the game we have all come to love. Hockey is the most exciting sport in the world. The fast pace game is made up of of three, sixty minute periods. If there is no winner in regulation time. The teams will play a 3 on 3 overtime period. The main purpose of the new format is entertainment. It creates a lot of thrilling odd man rushes. This is more exciting than the old 4 on 4 format. It was also designed to solve more games before they go to the shootout. The format change is designed to bring an extra level of excitement. Players are faster there ever being able to travel up to 40kph. These are speeds you just don’t see in soccer or baseball. What makes this exciting is the faster the pace of the game the more it keeps the fans on the edge of there seats, anxious to know what’s going to happen next. Secondly hockey is also exciting because it is very physical. Nothing gets the crowd going more than a hard body check or a big fight. Hitting has always been an important part of the game and a big hit the right time can change the momentum of a game. It brings your team alive and gives the something to cheer about. Fighting does the same thing by bring the crowd into the game. Teams have players that are out there just to throw big hits and fight with...
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...Quebec This moment in my life took place in October-April 2012. The final minutes of the game in October we were about to win a paid trip to Quebec City to play in the biggest hockey tournament in the world, and we would be sponsored by the Colorado Avalanche Pro hockey team. We did it, we just won the Quebec Qualifier. It was a long 5 months of waiting for our gear to arrive. We had NHL stock jerseys that were exactly the same as the Avalanche wore, we got the same tracksuits, pants covers , and winter gear for the cold Quebec weather and the proud name of the JR. Colorado Avalanche. We had 1 more month of waiting and we would be playing the best teams from around the globe as we would be fighting to be crowned the best PeeWee team in the world. The 6 months of waiting were over and now we only had the traveling, we had the worst flight there it was a total of 7 hours of flying to Montreal from Dallas. We arrived at the Montreal airport at about 11:00 - 12:00 am, then we had to then go through customs, we were finally in Montreal Canada. I guess we had it lucky the other flight lost their bags in Chicago, but they arrived the next day. Now, all that was left was the 2 hour bus drive to Quebec. After the 10 hours of crazy travel we arrived at the Fairmont hotel which was the nicest hotel I have ever seen, if not the nicest 5 star hotel in the world. It used to be a castle for royalty and is surrounded by stone walls and cannons are still visible. Everyone was so...
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...like fighting were given in 42 games, compared to the season before this which was an increase in 44%. Increase of violence in sports during times of war is no coincidence, it is a representation of what is happening in society. Some questions to consider will be is there an explanation to this increase? What are some extreme cases that have led to investigation? And who has spoken out about this correlation? A theory called the cultural spillover theory...
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