Unfortunately, there is a segment of fans that watch the games for the same reason that people watch NASCAR (which has started up again ). They want to see the mayhem. Red Imp mentioned what might happen to the ratings if the goons were marginalized. I don't know how dramatic the effect would be considering that the Devils, who are perhaps one of the worst offenders when it comes to fielding goons, can't even sell out playoff games!
But hockey may not be as violent as it used to be. When was the last bech-clearing brawl; did viewership dwindle as a result of the third-man-in rule?
I agree about how penalties are called differently during the playoff than the regular season. However, it generally seems that the goons are more restrained then. Probably because your penalty-killing unit can only do so much and even one goal can wind up costing you the game/series. At least during last year's playoffs, we didn't have a series as brutal as the Leafs-Islanders of '02. I hope that continues.
Perhaps if the "players really played" they could attract a wider/better fan base. What gets your heart racing more: a fight at center ice or a third period break away with the score tied and less than a minute to go?
And did Don Cherry ever dare call Gretzky a "wimp"?
Phil Skayhan wrote:
Perhaps if the "players really played" they could attract a wider/better fan base. What gets your heart racing more: a fight at center ice or a third period break away with the score tied and less than a minute to go?
I'd watch more if they did that. I actually liked the women's Olympic hockey better than the men's and a heck of a lot more than the NHL. Less contact, more passing etc... the game of speed, skill, endurance, fineses. If I wanted to watch a fight or rugby I'd watch those instead of hockey.
Having a bunch of fights, or face-offs or anything that stops the game makes me not want to watch.
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Open, locks,
Whoever knocks.
"Of course, what would really happen is that in Game 7, with the Red Sox winning 20-0 in the 9th inning, with two outs and two strikes on the last Cubs batter, a previously unseen meteor would strike the earth, instantly and forever wiping out all life on the planet, and forever denying the Red Sox a World Series victory..."
Something I think the people who defend him are forgetting is that he is a public servant. He is paid by the CBC, which is government-funded, so the "Frenchies" that he routinely bashes are paying his fucking salary with their taxes.
As more than one pundit has put it, if you simply replaced "Frenchie" with "Jew" or "black" in his rants, he would quickly find himself in a lot of trouble. Now I know it's common for people to bash the French; hell, we do it here all the time. But we're not being paid with tax money to do it, are we?
Free speech only goes so far; he has the right to speak his mind but his employer (which happens to be the federal government) also has the right to reserve broadcast of his comments if they don't like them.
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zombie84 wrote:Its not "more protection equals more injuries"--the added "protection" of a visor creates a false sense of security whose potential injury outweighs its protection.
By this logic, we would have safer highways if seatbelts were taken out of cars.
Not to derail this thread, but that's actually true. Seatbelts have statistically reduced the lethality of accidents, but increased the number of accidents due to decreased sense of consequences from reckless driving (I assume). The total number of fatalities has remained basically the same, but with more accidents.
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HemlockGrey wrote:I'll start watching hockey if they stop having utterly contrived, boring, pointless fights every 5 minutes.
So I take it you've never watched hockey before?
And you may ask yourself, 'Where does that highway go to?'
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zombie84 wrote:Its not "more protection equals more injuries"--the added "protection" of a visor creates a false sense of security whose potential injury outweighs its protection.
By this logic, we would have safer highways if seatbelts were taken out of cars.
Not to derail this thread, but that's actually true. Seatbelts have statistically reduced the lethality of accidents, but increased the number of accidents due to decreased sense of consequences from reckless driving (I assume). The total number of fatalities has remained basically the same, but with more accidents.
Does this take into account the fact that there are by far more drivers on the road at any given time now than there were before seatbelt laws were passed?
And you may ask yourself, 'Where does that highway go to?'
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Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:
Not to derail this thread, but that's actually true. Seatbelts have statistically reduced the lethality of accidents, but increased the number of accidents due to decreased sense of consequences from reckless driving (I assume). The total number of fatalities has remained basically the same, but with more accidents.
Does this take into account the fact that there are by far more drivers on the road at any given time now than there were before seatbelt laws were passed?
I believe so. I think it was just a simple regression that held all other variables constant.
"I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark." - Muhammad Ali
"Dating is not supposed to be easy. It's supposed to be a heart-pounding, stomach-wrenching, gut-churning exercise in pitting your fear of rejection and public humiliation against your desire to find a mate. Enjoy." - Darth Wong
Darth Wong wrote:Something I think the people who defend him are forgetting is that he is a public servant. He is paid by the CBC, which is government-funded, so the "Frenchies" that he routinely bashes are paying his fucking salary with their taxes.
Isn't that a good thing? I find it hilarious that the Quebecois who are sucking my tax dollars are in turn helping to pay the salary of a guy who's bashing them in front of millions of Hockey fans. It makes me laugh to think that they're paying to have their asses burned. I love this country.
aerius: I'll vote for you if you sleep with me. Lusankya: Deal!
Say, do you want it to be a threesome with your wife? Or a foursome with your wife and sister-in-law? I'm up for either.
Note: I have nothing against the people of Quebec, I just hate the separatist assholes there who go on & on about their culture & politics & all that crap. I just find the situation incredibly funny.
aerius: I'll vote for you if you sleep with me. Lusankya: Deal!
Say, do you want it to be a threesome with your wife? Or a foursome with your wife and sister-in-law? I'm up for either.
Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:
Not to derail this thread, but that's actually true. Seatbelts have statistically reduced the lethality of accidents, but increased the number of accidents due to decreased sense of consequences from reckless driving (I assume). The total number of fatalities has remained basically the same, but with more accidents.
Does this take into account the fact that there are by far more drivers on the road at any given time now than there were before seatbelt laws were passed?
I believe so. I think it was just a simple regression that held all other variables constant.
Could you provide a source for this? The notion of automotive safety systems actually costing lives seems absurd to me, particularly when highway fatalities have gone down as opposed to flatlining.
"It's not evil for God to do it. Or for someone to do it at God's command."- Jonathan Boyd on baby-killing
"you guys are fascinated with the use of those "rules of logic" to the extent that you don't really want to discussus anything."- GC
"I do not believe Russian Roulette is a stupid act" - Embracer of Darkness
"Viagra commercials appear to save lives" - tharkûn on US health care.
IIRC The aformentioned dinosaur coached the Bruins to a couple of Stanley Cups in the 70's, so as far as i'm concerned he throw his own feces at the camera and i'd be ok with it.
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Col. Crackpot wrote:IIRC The aformentioned dinosaur coached the Bruins to a couple of Stanley Cups in the 70's, so as far as i'm concerned he throw his own feces at the camera and i'd be ok with it.
At least I can understand where you're coming from
"It's not evil for God to do it. Or for someone to do it at God's command."- Jonathan Boyd on baby-killing
"you guys are fascinated with the use of those "rules of logic" to the extent that you don't really want to discussus anything."- GC
"I do not believe Russian Roulette is a stupid act" - Embracer of Darkness
"Viagra commercials appear to save lives" - tharkûn on US health care.
Actually, the number of Stanley Cup champion teams with which Don Cherry is associated is zero. The teams he coached never won, and, I'm pretty sure, never got past the semi-finals. He still bemoans the time he *almost* got to the finals, but lost to the Habs thanks to a penalty for too many men on the ice.
Also, here's another trivia question: how many regular season NHL games did Cherry play? The answer, again, is zero.
I should've checked before I shot my mouth off. He did make it to the finals, but lost against the Habs, in the very scenario I described. Still, he lost to Scotty Bowman, so he's still in great company.
Actually I love hockey. Why? Well there are many reasons...HOWEVER...the main reason that I watch hockey is for the fast paced action. At the top of this action is hard checking and fighting. While the finesse part of hockey is downright beautiful at times, you gotta love the goons. While they do get a bit out of control at times, they make the game MUCH more entertaining (especially if you are watching the game on TV, as opposed to being at the game). While I don't consider wearing extra equipment "unmanly", I think that the goons in hockey are important to the game. What would hockey be without them? Soccer on ice. BAH
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I still think that outburst was inappropriate and uncalled for however, and Cherry should still face the music for it...
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). They want to see the mayhem. Red Imp mentioned what might happen to the ratings if the goons were marginalized. I don't know how dramatic the effect would be considering that the Devils, who are perhaps one of the worst offenders when it comes to fielding goons, can't even sell out playoff games!
