Milbury calls McGuire a "soccer mom" for supporting sterner rules on headshots

[dumpthemonarchy]

Milbury calls McGuire a "soccer mom" for supporting sterner rules on headshots

On the subject of player concussions in the NHL. I saw on Saturday Milbury saying "plenty of people have to be involved in this" meaning there will be so much talk nothing will happen. And he said he was worried about "losing the physicality of the game." That last statement means the Rocket Richard, Dave Keon et all were all pansies and sissies because they didn't even wear helmets decades ago.

Milbury is a lunatic, safe and sound in his chair, away from all the action, supporting brain damage to athletes. Now even Crosby is out.

"Witness Milbury calling analyst Pierre McGuire a “soccer mom” on NBC on Sunday for advocating sterner rules."


Media complicit in continuance of hockey violence - The Globe and Mail

Usual Suspects

Media complicit in continuance of hockey violence

[FONT=8ab81fa82ce3002706701408#ac0f00]Bruce Dowbiggin[/FONT] | Columnist profile | E-mail From Monday's Globe and Mail

Published Sunday, Jan. 23, 2011 8:57PM EST

Last updated Sunday, Jan. 23, 2011 9:00PM EST

The media (including this paper) buzzed this past week about head shots, concussions and how to prevent devastating damage to NHL players such as Sidney Crosby. Reading the output, the greatest impediment to any change in the NHL seems to be a hockey subculture that often views players – even Crosby – as expendable at the expense of preserving the game’s culture of intimidation.

Lost in the debate, however, is the role of the media, particularly the electronic media, in fostering this culture. With a few exceptions – mostly former goalies – network TV analysts are players who owe their careers to the it’s-a-man’s-game” culture. They act as if their church is the one true hockey church. Be honest, are Don Cherry, Mike Milbury, Nick Kypreos, P.J. Stock, Matthew Barnaby, Brad May or Tie Domi going to appear on nationwide TV and say, “We need to get guys like me out of the sport?”

Of course not. They lionize the code that put food on their plates and their faces on Hockey Night in Canada or TSN’s SportsCentre. (Witness Milbury calling analyst Pierre McGuire a “soccer mom” on NBC on Sunday for advocating sterner rules.) Typically, the network voices against the code are lowly journalists who never experienced the NHL. So who are you (the viewer) supposed to believe?

The networks also emphasize fights (Sportsnet’s weekly Friday Night Fights package, for example) and include fights disproportionately in highlight packs.

Punch-ups and big hits are low-hanging fruit for programmers. TV craved them, the NHL delivered them. There are remedies to prevent injuries like the ones suffered by Crosby and a legion of other players. But perhaps the solution starts with the media taking a good look in the mirror at itself.

 

[talloola]

Re: Milbury calls McGuire a "soccer mom" for supporting sterner rules on headshots

millbury was a dirty player, and he hasn't changed at all. He can't seem to see the difference between
an intentional head shot, and a coincidental hit between two players. He is just a big mouth, and
his controversial stand will keep him on tv.

 

[Mowich]

Re: Milbury calls McGuire a "soccer mom" for supporting sterner rules on headshots

Okay, I know next to nothing about hockey but have tried hard to catch up these past three years. That said, when arguably the best player in the league is sidelined because of a head-shot - accidental or otherwise - I think it is time to really address the harm done due to resulting concussions. As our medical knowledge about the long lasting affects of concussions improved, we have learned that the longterm consequences can far out weigh the intial hit.

The CFL and NFL having been working hard to reduce hits that cause concussions. They got the message, now it is time that the NHL do so too.

 

[talloola]

Re: Milbury calls McGuire a "soccer mom" for supporting sterner rules on headshots

I agree with sterner rules too, and longer suspensions for repeat offenders, till they are
out of the game permanately.

But, there sure is a grey area. Some of these hits are intentional, (easy to address), some of
them aren't intentional, but careless, (easy to address), but some of them are pure accidents,
and in the high speed of the moment, two players come together, one doing the bodycheck and the
other also moving and twisting and sometimes gets himself into a position that creates his head to
be hit, caused accidentally by himself alone.

One can't suspend a player who was the hitter, when the hitee created himself to be injured, so what
happens in that case, in football it is helmet against helmet, easy to eliminate, but in hockey it
isn't like that, it is the whole body moving at very high speeds, and sometimes it just ends up wierd.

They can't eliminate body checking alltogether, that is part of the game, needs to be there.
I have seen improvement in the players adjusting themselves to avoid running another hard into
the boards 'from behind', and that is good, but the problem still exists.

The hit on crosby was intentional and dirty, (but some disagree), now, because it is the best player
in hockey, more attention is being payed to the situation and over all problem, and that is good,
but too bad crosby has to suffer to create more talk about it.

The game is the fastest it has ever been, and the players bigger than they have ever been, but the
ice rink is the same size. Some say that enlarging the playing surface will help this problem, but
I can't really see that analogy, guess it's because it takes longer to get from point A to point B.

The referring is poorer than it's ever been, and I think that is caused from the higher speed, they
cannot keep up with the calls when the players are going so fast, it is obvious, lots and lots of
calls are missed, and many calls are made that are considered phantom.
Burrows accidentally high sticked thornton right in the face-off circle the other night, all officials
are focused to that area at that second, not one of them saw it, it was not called, he was bleeding
heavily from the eyebrow. It was definitely an accident, but should have been ruled a double minor
for careless use of the stick. (high sticking).
How can they all miss that.

Some say that any hit to the head should be penalized, and possibly a suspension, I don't agree, because
many of them are accidental, not caused by the stick, just two bodies coming together at high speed,
with no 'intent' to hit high at all.

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

Re: Milbury calls McGuire a "soccer mom" for supporting sterner rules on headshots

The NHL can delay on this issue because there is no conclusive medical evidence that the concussions are causing long term damage to hockey players. That could change with Mark Savard of Boston getting yet another concussion. The NHL is scared of instituting rules reducing headshots because that might damage the popularity of the game in the USA, believing it's violence that really sells the game there.

The fear that players will stop hitting because they will have to worry about headshots makes little sense. Sure, for the psychos that will be a problem, but not for the average player. The idea of flying into a player and "taking his head off" has got to go. Who supports this?


Savard will convalesce at home - The Boston Globe
Savard will convalesce at home

Concussed center resting in Ontario

 

[talloola]

Re: Milbury calls McGuire a "soccer mom" for supporting sterner rules on headshots

The NHL can delay on this issue because there is no conclusive medical evidence that the concussions are causing long term damage to hockey players. That could change with Mark Savard of Boston getting yet another concussion. The NHL is scared of instituting rules reducing headshots because that might damage the popularity of the game in the USA, believing it's violence that really sells the game there.

The fear that players will stop hitting because they will have to worry about headshots makes little sense. Sure, for the psychos that will be a problem, but not for the average player. The idea of flying into a player and "taking his head off" has got to go. Who supports this?


Savard will convalesce at home - The Boston Globe
Savard will convalesce at home

Concussed center resting in Ontario

there is much evidence that repeat concussions, or even one can cause permanent damage to ones brain.
that is why it is no longer called 'getting your bell rung', but it is actually a 'concussion.

most players and fans and yes, even the NHL is concerned about this matter, but to act in a big way
by penalizing all hits to the head is not 'realistic', because the game is a game of body checking
and hitting. They have begun by changing one rule last year, and as time goes on, the NHL will again
change the rule.
It is not easy to do, as I explained above, the grey area prevents a black and white solution, and
as I also said, it is evident that many players have improved their hitting techniques allready, as
I have noticed, and even in tonights game, I made a point of watching very closely when body checks
were made, and it is apparent to me that improvement is there.

The marc savard incident was one of the reasons for the rule change. A blind hit to the head, which
is now a penalty with suspensions. He has had many concussions, this last one will probably end his
career.

The Sydney Crosby concussion will keep the subject open for a long time, because of who he is, and the
fact that 'he' being out of the game creates more attention than most others.

Changes don't happen overnight, it takes time, and suspensions will bring the players attention to
this matter, especially when they repeat and get longer suspensions.

That part of the game will change, and it won't affect the quality or speed or hitting at all, just
hits to the head.
There will always be some accidental hits to the head, just part of the risk in a game that is so
physical.

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

Re: Milbury calls McGuire a "soccer mom" for supporting sterner rules on headshots

there is much evidence that repeat concussions, or even one can cause permanent damage to ones brain.
that is why it is no longer called 'getting your bell rung', but it is actually a 'concussion.

most players and fans and yes, even the NHL is concerned about this matter, but to act in a big way
by penalizing all hits to the head is not 'realistic', because the game is a game of body checking
and hitting. They have begun by changing one rule last year, and as time goes on, the NHL will again
change the rule.
It is not easy to do, as I explained above, the grey area prevents a black and white solution, and
as I also said, it is evident that many players have improved their hitting techniques allready, as
I have noticed, and even in tonights game, I made a point of watching very closely when body checks
were made, and it is apparent to me that improvement is there.

The marc savard incident was one of the reasons for the rule change. A blind hit to the head, which
is now a penalty with suspensions. He has had many concussions, this last one will probably end his
career.

The Sydney Crosby concussion will keep the subject open for a long time, because of who he is, and the
fact that 'he' being out of the game creates more attention than most others.

Changes don't happen overnight, it takes time, and suspensions will bring the players attention to
this matter, especially when they repeat and get longer suspensions.

That part of the game will change, and it won't affect the quality or speed or hitting at all, just
hits to the head.
There will always be some accidental hits to the head, just part of the risk in a game that is so
physical.

The players are rich and smart, they know how to keep their jobs and keep working. Therefore a tough crackdown is not hard to implement because the players will learn very quickly. The current grey area is all speculation which is what over the top commentators like Milbury like. Players are most expert in their movements and will define what is black and what is white far sooner than some may think. They will figure out a way to play hard and stay away from opponents heads if penalties are called fairly.