Sports & Society

Let’s make two things clear: I am not here to discuss in depth the problems these three NHL players had leading to their deaths. I am also not here to talk about what the league can do to prevent more problems in the future. Those topics have already been extensively talked about, and you can read about them elsewhere.

Rather, I decided to write about what we as hockey fans can take out of this tragic offseason.

The recent spate of concussions in the NHL has prompted a question that has been occasionally raised from time to time: 

What would happen if a hit were so hard that somebody dies?

What do Nodar Kumaritashvili, Steve Moore and all the recent serious NHL injured people have in common? All are human. All are victims.

What are they victims of? Two things.

Players who are under the radar often find opportunities to step their game up during these riveting, do-or- die games in the postseason. Let's be honest, all psychic powers aside, very few of us would have predicted that Martin Gelinas would score the series deciding goal in three different series during the Calgary Flames' 2004 magical Stanley Cup run, or that Fernando Pisani would be the 2006 playoff leading goal scorer.

The Atlanta Thrashers cannot seem to get a break. They drafted first round choices Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk but could not hold on to them. Marian Hossa and Marc Savard did not stay either.

The management makes a shrewd move, trades Kovalchuk’s rights, and receives forward Niclas Bergfors, Defenseman Johnny Oduya, and top prospect Patrice Cormier.

The previous regime drafted forward Evander Kane who currently leads the team in goals with 6 in 10 games.

It's a great day for hockey!

So let's rock the red, head on down to Smashville, and celebrate our town and our team.

If the opening sentences sounded a little weird, it's because I did it that way on purpose. I wanted to cram in some marketing slogans that NHL teams have used in the past or will use this year.

Every year, NHL marketing departments spend many hours coming up with the perfect slogan to impress their fans. This phrase will likely be used on merchandise and in television advertising campaigns, so of course, it should have as much of an impact as possible.

Let me tell you what frustrates me. Unfounded Rumors and Hacks.

When I was a kid, sports news was just that. News. With the advent of the Internet, everybody is a professional and they know what they are talking about...or so they think they do.

Hacks are in interesting breed.  They will latch on to any information, no matter if it is confirmed, or not, just to write the story or to be among the first to report it.  "The Scoop" if you will.

No one will ever know if the members of the Trenton Trojans boys hockey team would have completed the comeback that night. But momentum was on their side.

A three-goal deficit had been erased. Their building was thumping with noise.

Then, just like that, it became eerily quiet.

“I knew I was in pain, like full body pain,” Kurt LaTarte said as he recalled the moment. “But no one knew how bad it was until I went back to the bench and the trainer looked under my chin.

It is no secret that the NHL is having a hard time selling tickets in the U.S.

In Canada, when the ice needs to be shovelled or hats cleared off the ice, you see kids skating out to do it…

In the U.S., you see “ice girls” come out as the NHL’s way to please the crowd and fill seats in struggling arenas.

No, I am not complaining, I just find it funny how the NHL markets itself… but I have gained a new appreciation for the Islanders and it has nothing to do with John Tavares.

But man, these women are hot... Los Angeles Kings and their LuLu Lemon Pants?

All right, Anaheim Ducks fans. Your crosscounty rivals, the Los Angeles Kings, eliminated you from thae playoffs and placed Randy Carlyle in the hot seat for good. As a Ducks supporter for a half-decade, I feel your pain and commisserate in solidarity. But don't fret. I have come up with ten amazing ways to get over the pain that is the 2009-10 Anaheim Ducks season. And trust me: they work.

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Here is Part two of my three part series 'Violence and Aggression In Sports.' Thanks to those of you out there taking the time to read an in depth article on this dangerous sports trend.

Although aggressive behaviors may sometimes provide catharsis, an opposing view is that participating in or viewing aggressive behaviors is more likely to elicit greater amounts of aggression than to result in decreased aggression (e.g.; Bandura and Waiters, 1974; Berkowitz, 1970; Geen, Stonner, and Shope, 1975).