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Post by riley on Dec 23, 2005 6:47:02 GMT -5
Question: With so much talent to draw on, did Gretzky et al. make the right decision in naming Todd Bertuzzi to the men’s Olympic team? tinyurl.com/dnls8I think he fits nicely in the lineup, but my wife and i were both saying it was a really bad call. Whether you believe he should be back in the NHL or not (I don't), the Olympics carries national ambassadorship with it and I think it looks really poor. What's done is done I suppose, but they could/should have chosen someone else. |
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Post by Dr. Drum on Dec 23, 2005 8:32:43 GMT -5
Yeah, ambassadorship is one thing but Canada has so much talent to choose from here. We could put two or three different teams on the ice for the Olympics and they’d all be competitive. Which means you’ve got a lot of guys who weren’t going to be on that team anyway, who by any normal measure 'deserve' to be there. Put one of them on.
I can see, with Bertuzzi, in a tight fraternity like pro hockey, the impulse to "give the guy a second chance". Don’t even necessarily disagree with that (though I wonder sometimes why there doesn’t always seem to be a similar level of concern for Steve Moore). That said, Bertuzzi’s in the predicament he’s in of his own making. He should have to earn his way back. This doesn't feel like that to me.
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Post by riley on Dec 23, 2005 14:15:41 GMT -5
I think the fact that Moore is still not playing diminishes the extent to which Bertuzzi has done his time so to speak. He lost some pay, a fair amount of respect and missed some hockey. What's the proper penalty? No idea.
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Post by phil on Dec 23, 2005 14:30:43 GMT -5
What's the proper penalty?
Pay a 1 000 $ fine
each time some TV newscast
shows us the replay of the mugging !!
I heard even the Pygmés in the Bornéo jungle
are sick and tired of seeing the incident ...
And they don't even have TV down there !!!
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Post by Dr. Drum on Dec 26, 2005 9:24:44 GMT -5
Very much looking forward to this:  |
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Post by Dr. Drum on Jan 1, 2006 11:38:33 GMT -5
Great game last night!!
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Post by riley on Jan 1, 2006 12:17:43 GMT -5
Best I've seen in the tournament so far. Canada and the US have very evenly matched teams this year. Nice to see the boys pull it out late. Too bad about the cheap shot Johnson delivered to Downie.
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Post by Dr. Drum on Jan 5, 2006 22:15:14 GMT -5
Was that a great game or was that a great game!!! |
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Post by riley on Jan 6, 2006 8:45:59 GMT -5
Those kids played their hearts. I'm willing to bet there are some pretty bruised Russians this morning. Tough to lose, but also tough to get levelled just about every time you end up with the puck.
Good for them.
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Post by Dr. Drum on Jan 6, 2006 9:57:02 GMT -5
You know, I thought we’d get a good game out of it last night, but I was expecting it to be a lot closer. Figured it would have to be if Canada was going to stay in it with all that Russian firepower.
And what an intense game! You figure the Canada-Russia hockey rivalry isn’t what it used to be, that the Americans have supplanted the Russians, that the emotion won’t be there the way it once was – but that game was easily the most exciting of the tournament. Played their hearts is right!
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Post by tuneschick on Jan 6, 2006 16:30:11 GMT -5
I missed the game, but looked great from the coverage on the news this morning! Though what was the deal with that Russian goal that was called back? It obviously crossed the line, but I didn't catch why it wasn't counted.
As far as Bertuzzi goes - god, I'm just sick of hearing about it, frankly. The guy did something ridiculously stupid. I'm not arguing that at all. I think it was a dumb move from a really talented player who doesn't need to resort to that kind of thing.
That being said - I can't help but think that we never would have heard boo about this if Bertuzzi had done the same thing but Steve Moore had just skated off. I mean, obviously the degree of his injury plays into this too. But players have pulled stunts like this before and have never (to my recollection - I could be wrong) but held up as a poster boy the way Bertuzzi has. Something should have been done about the violence in hockey a long time ago... unfortunately, what that "something" is, I'm not quite sure.
That being said - wasn't Dany Heatley named to the national team too? Why isn't there any buzz about that?
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Post by RocDoc on Jan 7, 2006 14:50:37 GMT -5
 Rusø ledo ritulininkas Sergejus Ðirokovas labai nusiminë pralaimëjimus rungtynes dël aukso medalio Vankuveryje. Great picture... |
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Post by Dr. Drum on Jan 9, 2006 7:09:37 GMT -5
tunes, no doubt you’ve picked this up somewhere by now but basically what happened was, with the score 2-0 for Canada, the puck went in for a split-second and bounced back out under Pogge’s pad without anyone – goal judge, ref, Russian players – realizing it. I doubt Pogge even realized it himself. Play resumed and was going for a good minute or so before someone caught wind of the fact that the replay clearly showed the Russians had scored, so at that point they spoke up. Of course, the rule is once play resumes you’re out of luck, so it was ruled no goal. Tough break for 'em and who knows what would have happened if the score had gone to 2-1 but this stuff happens. We got one this time but I’ve seen the breaks bounce the other way on enough occasions, too.
But players have pulled stunts like this before and have never (to my recollection - I could be wrong) but held up as a poster boy the way Bertuzzi has.
Not to drag this stuff out but I can't help but think of Marty McSorley here. Suspended for a year for the attack on Donald Brashear and basically drummed out of the league afterwards. Granted, McSorley ended up with a criminal conviction but unlike Moore, Brashear resume his career in the NHL the next year and, if I’m not mistaken, is still playing,
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Post by skvorisdeadsorta on Jan 9, 2006 14:36:24 GMT -5
Pittsburgh Penguins all the way, man!
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Post by tuneschick on Jan 9, 2006 16:26:31 GMT -5
Not to drag this stuff out but I can't help but think of Marty McSorley here. Suspended for a year for the attack on Donald Brashear and basically drummed out of the league afterwards. Granted, McSorley ended up with a criminal conviction but unlike Moore, Brashear resume his career in the NHL the next year and, if I’m not mistaken, is still playing, Hmmmm... I stand corrected. Forgot about him, Drum - good point. I'm just really sort of torn on the whole thing - it's one of those things I have some pretty conflicting feelings on. There's no denying what he did was completely boneheaded and fucked up another guy (though all those guys who then piled on top of Bertuzzi surely made matters worse.) But I don't know where the line should be drawn, I really don't. And to be perfectly honest, I think most of my conflicting feelings come from the personal connection that you don't usually feel to these guys. His parents and my parents are best friends. His dad drove me to the church on my wedding day. Todd and Steve played hockey together as kids and pictures from a bunch of Steve's childhood birthday parties include a (very small!) Todd. So I guess that's why I have a harder time with this one. But I do have general issues with the ridiculous violence in hockey - I just think something a little more consistent needs to be done about it across the board. What that is... I'm not quite sure. |
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