the Bertuzzi incident

[EternalBahamut]

For those of us who watch hockey we know about this and it is starting to get alot of play in the news too. About a week ago, Steve Moore if the Colorado Avalance too a cheep hit on Marcus Naslund of the Vancouver Canucks - their star player, and put him out with a concussion for a few games. When they played a few days later Tod stuck up for his fellow top liner and took vengance on Moore by grabbing him from behind and sucker punching him on the side of the head then fell on top of him. Moore is now out for the season with a broken neck and Todd is waiting a suspension for probably 13+ games and will loose oner 1 million in salary. Now the Vancouver police are investigating with potential criminal charges on the way. My question is do you think the police should get involved in professional sports or should the leagues (not just hockey) be able to police their own problems?

[Flying Mullet]

Yeah, I agree tha the police shoudl look into it and press charges. Just because someone is in a statuim and wearing a jersey doesn't mean that they are exempt from the law. He still assaulted another player with a weapon. Yeah, all fights in the NHL are assault, but this went a little too far.

The other reason I think that the police should get involved is because if in football a player tackled someone outside of a play (after play, during huddle time, etc...), pulled of both players helmets and started wailing on the guy's head with his helmet, he'd be arrested, simple. Same with basketball, look at all of the crap that happened with Latrell.

And thirdly, I think he should be arrested because he waited a game to get back home to Vancouver before he retaliated. Most people (including) me, think he did that on purpose thinking that he would get a standing ovation from the home crowd.

So yeah, if a player performs a pre-meditated attack just to get the adoration and attention of the fans he needs to be locked up.

And on a side-note, whether or not it was a nice shot, the check by the Colorado player was clean, just a really nasty clean shot.

[Leeza]

*moves to Lounge*

The police would have to get involved with professional sports if whatever happens is criminal rather than just the usual stuff that happens during sporting events. Sporting Officials should handle those.

I just find it hypocritical that everyone who watches sporting events loves to see players fight and they start to cheer as soon as someone takes off their gloves, but as soon as someone gets hurt, all of a sudden the players get all of the flack.

[White Raven]

The media has blown this all out of proportion. The hit that Moore did on Naslund was just as dirty as Bertuzzi's hit (Moores wasn't penilized for it), but Bertuzzi's hit made him fall on Moore which caused the fracture. (And the Colorado players who jumped on Bertuzzi afterwards, were just hurting Moore more, and weren't helping.)

This is the reason why NHL teams get big guys...not to score goals but to protect those who do. And if you sucker hit a captain on a team, you should expect to have a bullseye on your back, next time you play the team.

And there are far greater injuries to be careful of than hits like that. Touch icing is one of the most dangerous aspects of the game along with sticks and pucks in the eye. If you're going to play a game like this, you have to keep your head up at all times.

Sure, Bertuzzi should be suspended for a couple of games but anything else is extensive.

As for charges being laid on him....if they would charge him, why hasn't anyone who has speared anyone been charged already??? In those cases the players are using their sticks to actually spear another player. And what aboot Jaques Martin and Ken Hitchcock? They intentionally put their big hitters on the ice just to fight in a game where nearly 500 penelty minutes where assigned.

So in the end I don't think that Bertuzzi knows of his own strenth and went over the line against Moore, but the NHL shouldn't use Bertuzzi just to make a point.

[Kirobaito]

I agree with what Mullet said--the first hit wasn't dirty, just playing hard. What Bertuzzi did was WAY over the line, and intentionally trying to severely harm the player. Of course, I hate Vancouver.

A similar situation happened a few years ago. Jeremy Roenick, long known as being a dirty player, just leveled Mike Modano, purposely, when Modano wasn't looking, and gave him a concussion. Derian Hatcher, the biggest, meanest player in hockey, took slight offense to this cheap shot on his best friend, and checked Roenick brutally into the wall. He broke Roenick's jaw, and most of his bottom teeth fell out. Hatcher was suspended seven games.

I say Bertuzzi should get the same treatment, a 7-game suspension, which is about as long as you see in professional sports nowadays. I doubt criminal actions are needed.

[Flying Mullet]

Yeah, I should probably add that I live just north of Denver.

[PeTeRL90]

I'm not going to agree with the season suspension, but not a 2-7 day suspension. He could've killed the guy, and you expect them to give him a 2-7 day suspension? Just imagine if he did kill him. Do you still agree that he should still have a 2-7 day suspension?

But I'm agreeing that fining the team was a good thing to do, because this isn't going to be over-looked so easily. Even after they kiss and make up, the media is going to be up his rear, asking the same questions over and over again.

As soon as (if) charges are pressed against him, they should let the story die out. We know Moore's going to be making a full recovery soon, but the media doesn't care about that. Once the media gets their hands on a story like this, they try to make the player seem like the bad guy, like during the Allen Iverson case a few years back. They made him look like the bad guy.

[Leeza]

Charges <i>have</i> been laid. He's out for the rest of the season plus the playoffs and then he has to go before the Board again to get reassessed before being allowed back.

[m4tt]

The whole "I didn't mean to hurt you" thing is complete bulltrout IMO. If he didn't mean to hurt him, why did he cheap shot him in the first place?

[Leeza]

There's a whole range of <i>hurt</i>...from minor scrapes to killing someone and there are very few people who actually expect to hurt someone to the extent of breaking their neck. He'll be paying for this internally for the rest of his life.

[Flying Mullet]

I like how one of the radio talk show guys put it this morning. "His attack on Moore is like me planning to shoot you in the leg and then shooting you in the heart instead. 'Oops, I was really aiming for you leg, my bad. But I'm really sorry, so please forgive me?'"

[eestlinc]

you can't legitimately get mad about it when someone is severely injured unless you get mad when the same thing happens but there are no severe injuries. anyway, <a href=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0316735639/qid=1079026134/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/002-7007504-6521668?v=glance&s=books&n=507846>it's been done</a>

[PeTeRL90]

Come on now. Hockey is all about hitting people. And there have been several cheap shots that have been much worse than Bertuzzi's. And for the media to single him out and to call him a monster as a person, that's just wrong.

I'm not saying that his cheap shot was right, but everybody is singling him out, like he's the only one who's done something like this.

[Leeza]

I totally agree with you, PeTeRL90. If these players want to stay injury-free at all times then they should change all rules to no-contact, or they should all just play Netball. Yes, it was a cheap shot, but it sure wasn't the first cheap shot played from emotion. This one just ended up with the bad ending and I challenge anyone here to tell me that they really don't enjoy seeing fights at sporting events.

[PeTeRL90]

What the media really needs to do, is start listening to what the players have to say after they do something bad, like an apology, instead of not being there, and stop having their heads up their rears, making someone who makes one mistake, seem like they're a criminal for life.