Fighting is commonplace in league play but rare in this type of high level international competition. The current strong anti-American sentiment is a contributor.
I have always thought fighting in hockey is stupid and would like to see it outlawed. However I am probably in the minority of hockey fans with that view.
Fighting has declined and will continue to decline but I don’t think it will never disappear. Teams no long carry goons like Dave Semenko whose role was to attack anyone who touched Wayne Gretzky. No one gets hurt in hockey fights unless they lose their hear gear and the power of a punch while on skates is limited. Much is made of well publicized cases of CTE but a recent study found this:
Among enforcers, they found 18 of 22 had CTE, but the difference between enforcers and non-enforcers was not statistically significant after accounting for years of play.
I would attribute the CTE more to repeated trauma from body contact and open ice hits (remember Scott Stevens)..
RE
I remember in the 90s fighting was very common place in the NHL. Super high PIM per game for quite a lot of teams as well.
Agree with AA. Fighting isn’t the most violent part of the game. Like cooke, I’m not a big fan of it, but many fans like it. At the end of the day, it’s entertainment. NHL hockey players are warriors. It’s not just the physicality of the game but they get pucks in the face, sticks in the face, lose teeth, etc.
Jean Chretien is 91 today and he gave himself a birthday present. He told Donald J. Trump to piss off in the The Globe and Mail. Here’s his column:
Relevant, the shawinagan handshake; Shawinigan Handshake - Wikipedia
Canada has to start pointing out Trump’s lies on our trade relationship such as “subsidizing Canada by $US 200 billion” and “our unfair practices”. We are too afraid of upsetting Mr Trump. Rather than scurrying around to address his trivial border security concerns, we should be raising our concerns about the large amount of fentanyl and guns coming in from the US.
I would be tempted to just tell Trump that we have addressed his concerns so bring on the tariffs if that is not enough. Let American business and the American consumer decide on the wisdom of his tariffs.
I would love for Canada to fund a national broadcast on radio, TV, internet that provides fact based, truthful alternative to US media which has devolved into a distraction/propaganda machine. A consistent steady voice of facts targeted at middle class and poorer Americans. Be the sane voice, the Americas need.
This is good.
The problem is that the US media and Americans are uninterested in Canada, except for sensational stories like the miraculous survival of all 80 people on board the jet that crashed yesterday in Toronto. I like your idea but I don’t think it would move many Americans.
Trudeau has reached out to most of these countries but they are afraid to speak out on behalf of Canada. Even “our king” King Charles III has been silent. Every country is just happy they are not being targeted as vigorously as Canada so they won’t stick their neck out.
I am reminded of Benjamin Franklin’s words: We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.
They could call it “Voice For America”
In fairness. there would be uproar here if he wasn’t
I understand. Even if the US was talking about annexing the UK, Charles III would have to stay silent. My disappointment is more with the elected European country leaders, including the UK.
I agree, the shock from Vance’s speech indicated that somehow they thought they could ride this out and it wouldn’t be their problem.
Defense spending is going to increase a lot in the UK and Europe. Europe can pool resources and ramp up spending.
Problem is..how are they going to fund this in the UK?
How will any country fund this except through borrowing?
Canada will be ramping up defence spending by many $ billions as well. Maybe Canada can source more of its military purchases from the UK rather than the US as a bit of a boost to the general UK economy?
I think thats possible as both countries are integrated into NATO. Won’t be a huge amount but every little helps.
What I am not sure about is just how dependent NATO is on US-hardware (probably high % of gear is US-made).
Another issue is, what is going to happen with Five Eyes?
The US cannot be trusted with sensitive information anymore. The people in charge could easily turn around and give it to Russia or other unfriendly countries.
Effectively, we all have to start building shared infrastructure with zero dependence on the US.
If he attends, the boos from the crowd will be epic.
They might have to change it to Four Eyes.