| | Violence begets more violence. Not exactly an original thought, but it's certainly an appropriate one when attempting to rationalize Marty
McSorley's well-chronicled sneak attack on Donald Brashear.
Don't misunderstand. There is no reasonable explanation for the
Boston Bruins defenseman's decision to swing his stick at the
Vancouver Canucks forward's head, a despicable act for which he will
sit out the remainder of the season and possibly longer.
Brashear lay bleeding on the ice with a concussion, and reports out
of Vancouver say he suffered a grand mal seizure. It's doubtful
Brashear will play again this season, but he should feel fortunate
just to be breathing.
Naturally, the incident has garnered all kinds of negative coverage
for the NHL, which ought to be used to it by now. At least league
officials had the sense to act swiftly and come down fairly hard on
McSorley, whose career probably is over.
Problem is, a similar incident is going to happen again. In a
league that condones fighting -- a cynic might say encourages it -- why
is anyone surprised that a "tough guy" who otherwise would be
selling shoes for a living eventually would "cross the line"? That's
the phrase used by practically every NHL "enforcer" who's been asked
to comment on McSorley's vicious two-handed slash.
There is an unwritten code that exists among NHL "tough guys,"
and McSorley broke it. See, if you're going to break somebody's face,
you're supposed to drop your stick and do it with your fists, then
saunter to the penalty box while smiling at your blood-spattered
jersey.
And the people who run the NHL still can't figure out why so many
people view professional hockey as a bush-league sport, sort of a
Mortal Kombat on skates. This is especially true now that Wayne
Gretzky is gone.
The irony for McSorley is that, several years ago, when I was
covering the Los Angeles Kings and he was playing there, I wrote a
piece about a movement (since abandoned) to rid the NHL of fighting.
McSorley, who was a decent player then, scoffed at the idea.
Eliminating fisticuffs, he insisted, would lead to an increase in
dangerous stick fouls and cause irreparable damage to the game.
McSorley, 36, apparently was angry at Brashear because he couldn't
goad him into a rematch after getting pummeled in an earlier fight.
Bruins coach Pat Burns said Brashear "flexed his muscles" near
the Boston bench shortly before McSorley hopped on the ice. "You have
to be careful with that stuff," Burns said. "Some guy's going to
lose it."
Welcome to the NHL's version of the WWF. Now there's something to
get excited about.
How about this post-McSorley comment from San Jose Sharks rocket
scientist Brantt Myhres (six goals, 599 penalty minutes in 128 NHL
games). Asked to expound on the "proper etiquette" to use when an
opposing player doesn't want to fight, Myhres said: "Either you'll
ask him (to fight) or give him a little hook or cross-check -- nothing
to hurt him, but just to let him know you're there. If he doesn't want
to fight, he doesn't want to fight."
Somebody help me here. Why should a skill player feel safer on the
ice when a couple of Sluggos decide they feel like beating each
other's faces to a bloody pulp?
How come there are hardly any fights in the Stanley Cup playoffs,
when the best hockey of the season is played? How come nobody fights
in the Olympics, or in Canada Cup games, when the best hockey on the
planet is played?
As for the nonsense that no one ever gets hurt in a fight, tell that to Nashville Predators "enforcer" Patrick Cote, who led the league with 30 fighting majors last season. Cote recently underwent surgery on his right hand to repair a tendon near a knuckle. He'll be in a cast for 2½ months and his career, such as it's been, is in jeopardy.
Rick Sadowski is a reporter for the Rocky Mountain News. | |
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