"I'd quit watching hockey if they took out fighting."

[JustAsking]

in the player polls done recently (released around the allstar break, I think), there was like 1% of respondents that wanted fighting removed. It was anonymous, though.

Thanks... I assumed there would be some, therefore I asked, but I also assumed it would be a tiny percentage. Matt Cooke is probably in that 1%...

 

[Eddie_Shack]

Serious question... has there ever been a hockey player that said fighting does not belong on their sport? I normally only hear journalist and fans talking about it, but never from the people whose opinion matter most on the subject... just because I never heard any player say it, does not mean no one has.. therefore I'm justasking... (see what I did there?)

Serge Savard, if I remember correctly (I know it was one of the big three) has been quite outspoken on the removal of fighting from the NHL. He's a pretty well respected former player, to say the least, so I'd have to say that carries some weight.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

Serge Savard, if I remember correctly (I know it was one of the big three) has been quite outspoken on the removal of fighting from the NHL. He's a pretty well respected former player, to say the least, so I'd have to say that carries some weight.

/or should I say, he USED to be a well respected former player until he made those comments...

 

[Slimpikins]

When they turn into drooling zombies later in life and either pull a Chris Benoit, drive into a family of four or have to be supported by the state for ten years because they forget to eat it does.

Should we not regulate sports at all?

What is this, Rome?

That is not an inevitable side effect fighting in hockey even though you have posted that it will happen multiple times. Chris Benoit was the subject of rampant steroid use and a freaking headcase. Do you really think that fighting is the biggest cause in him going psycho and murdering his family?

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

That is not an inevitable side effect fighting in hockey even though you have posted that it will happen multiple times. Chris Benoit was the subject of rampant steroid use and a freaking headcase. Do you really think that fighting is the biggest cause in him going psycho and murdering his family?

I did not make that statement. All of the neurologists and neural science researchers who conduct this research said it. He had the brain of an 85 year old Alzheimer's patient. It had nothing to do with steroids. Nothing.

 

[TiLoBrown]

yea, that was a smear campaign. Mic Foley, Terry Funk, and a couple of other guys took alot more head damage than Benoit did any they didnt do anything like that..hell Foley is a pretty damn good writer. That had alot more to do with Benoit's mental issues than the blows to the head.

 

[TheRobotDevil]

I cant see calling hockey fights barbaric.To me barbaric is without rules or foundation lack of restraint.Legitimate hockey fights are far from barbaric.I'm not saying there aren't some AHL players who don't go out looking to make a name for themselves.But the majority of players who fight are doing it with the right intentions and are very respectful of one another.As far as Benoit goes the only one who knows why he did what he did would have been Benoit.There could have been a million different factors behind what he did unless you know his complete history and what he was thinking its all speculation.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

yea, that was a smear campaign. Mic Foley, Terry Funk, and a couple of other guys took alot more head damage than Benoit did any they didnt do anything like that..hell Foley is a pretty damn good writer. That had alot more to do with Benoit's mental issues than the blows to the head.

A smear campaign? Like any disorder, there are variances In the effects on different people. They have the clinical findings. They have the brain biopsies showing the buildup of TAU tangles. The dude had tangle concentrations that, like I said earlier, were the equivalent of an 85 year old with severe Alzheimer's. Are you saying it was all made up? Was the mike Webster stuff made up, or the Andre waters stuff. How about what they are going to find in Dave duerson, when they look at him. The evidence is all there and You can probably find it online. What purpose would they have to make it up? If they wanted to smear the industry, they would have pinned it on drugs. Are you saying that you do not believe in CTE as an actual disease?

 

[TheRobotDevil]

I'm not saying the CTE is not a valid disease but their could be other contributing factors to the incident.I dont even want to get into benoit for reasons i've stated.As far as the cases of Duerson and Waters they were both defensive backs i believe.Their damage came from collision style contact which to me is more comparable to a big hit along the boards,A huge open ice hit or head shot not from a fight.I can respect your opinion that you dont like fighting but I cant agree that its not justified or shouldnt be a part of the game.The fights that happen in the game are usually in response to plays that resulted in or had potential for serious injury.seriously I see more respect and honor in the guys fighting than the guys flying around looking to take someones head off.

 

[h X c Chris]

If hockey was removed from the NHL i'm fairly confident it would fade away in the US. Say what you want but the fighting is a form of entertainment, and people arent going to be happy when entertainment is removed from any apect from their passions.

Why do you think MMA is so popular? Fighting is entertaining, and for that "30 seconds" its an energy boost, just as if your team scores a goal, energy boost.

 

[Winged_Wheel88]

If hockey was removed from the NHL i'm fairly confident it would fade away in the US. Say what you want but the fighting is a form of entertainment, and people arent going to be happy when entertainment is removed from any apect from their passions.

Why do you think MMA is so popular? Fighting is entertaining, and for that "30 seconds" its an energy boost, just as if your team scores a goal, energy boost.

Interestingly, elo made the same typo earlier on in the thread.

 

[TiLoBrown]

A smear campaign?

Their main thing was Benoit didnt those things because of year and years of blows to the head and physical violence. I pointed out two wrestlers who were alot more violent and took alot more shots to the head who are both fine.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

Their main thing was Benoit didnt those things because of year and years of blows to the head and physical violence. I pointed out two wrestlers who were alot more violent and took alot more shots to the head who are both fine.

Chronic diseases vary in how they effect people. This is why a large amount of smokers never get sick, and others do. Come on now, we all know this.....

The bottom line is his brain had the indicators of severe dementia. You can't make that up, man. Time will tell if the TAU protein tangles appear in other wrestelers or not.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

Benoit's Brain Showed Severe Damage From Multiple Concussions, Doctor and Dad Say - ABC News

EBSCOhost: FORUM Neuropsychology of Sports-Related Head Injury: Dementia Pugilisticato...

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wrestler Chris Benoit Brain's Forensic Exam Consistent With Numerous Brain Injuries

The last link is likely the most comprehensive and easiest to follow for non-medical people.

There is absolutely no doubt what happened inside Benoit's head. Biological protein buildup does not lie. It was there, not maybe, not could of been. It was there. These tangles do not exist in healthy people or drug abusers or people born with mental disabilities. They develop over time, and are linked to chronic, repeated head injuries, minor or major...

 

[TiLoBrown]

The bottom line is his brain had the indicators of severe dementia. You can't make that up, man. Time will tell if the TAU protein tangles appear in other wrestelers or not.

I'm not denying that, I'm denying that wrestling was a main cause. Of course time will tell if it pops up in others. All problems pop up in other peoples. What they do doesnt make it a main factor. He had other mental issues.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

I'm not denying that, I'm denying that wrestling was a main cause. Of course time will tell if it pops up in others. All problems pop up in other peoples. What they do doesnt make it a main factor. He had other mental issues.

Repeated head trauma is what caused this to develop. I am sure that one of his moves probably involved using his head or hitting his head. It will not show up in everyone, obviously, but the more we start to understand it, and the more people that die at an early age in some of these sports and allow research to be done on their body, the better we will understand. Of course, not everyone is going to go psychotic, but it is much more likely in someone with sever brain damage. Pro wrestlers, for a while there, were dying really early. I do not watch it. I do not know how many times these guys take head shots or what killed some of them. But when you see violence or suicide, or something kind of out there as a cause of death, you have to wonder.

It is also certainly not only seen in wrestlers. It has been shown in boxers. MMA has not been in the imelight long enough for there to be any real data yet.

We see it in football.

We have not looked for it in hockey yet, but the investigators are starting to.

One of the limiting factors is that the athlete and their family has to volunteer heir brain to research prior to them dying. Very few people do this. Maybe more will, as we start to learn more.

Do wrestlers wrestle every night? I know they are on TV a few times a week, but does each wrestler wrestle in each show. That has to be really hard on the body overall, if it is the case.

 

[TiLoBrown]

Repeated head trauma is what caused this to develop. I am sure that one of his moves probably involved using his head or hitting his head. It will not show up in everyone, obviously, but the more we start to understand it, and the more people that die at an early age in some of these sports and allow research to be done on their body, the better we will understand. Of course, not everyone is going to go psychotic, but it is much more likely in someone with sever brain damage. Pro wrestlers, for a while there, were dying really early. I do not watch it. I do not know how many times these guys take head shots or what killed some of them. But when you see violence or suicide, or something kind of out there as a cause of death, you have to wonder.

It is also certainly not only seen in wrestlers. It has been shown in boxers. MMA has not been in the imelight long enough for there to be any real data yet.

We see it in football.

We have not looked for it in hockey yet, but the investigators are starting to.

One of the limiting factors is that the athlete and their family has to volunteer heir brain to research prior to them dying. Very few people do this. Maybe more will, as we start to learn more.

Do wrestlers wrestle every night? I know they are on TV a few times a week, but does each wrestler wrestle in each show. That has to be really hard on the body overall, if it is the case.

Most wrestlers are dying from drug use, sadly, not suicide. And yes most wrestlers wrestle atleast 4 or 5 times a week. Once again, plenty of wrestlers had have a TON more head trauma than Benoit.

Again, I'm not saying the blows to the dead didnt cause it. But when everything happened, it was wrapped up in how violent of a sport wrestling is. Which is really fucking funny since any other fucking time wrestling is never looked at like a sport and everything the wrestlers do is fake anyway...

Yea, theres alot of anger there.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

I have always contended that professional wrestlers are fantastic athletes, whether or not it is considered a sport. Even if it looked at as entertainment, these guys are serious athletes. I had a friend in grade school and high school who ended up being the WWF (I think) for a while. We lost touch, but he worked out much harder than those of us on the football team, for sure. His name was Adam Birch. Quiet kid, but really nice. I do not know what name he wrestled as. An old friend mentioned that he had made it big, so I assume WWF.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

Serge Savard, if I remember correctly (I know it was one of the big three) has been quite outspoken on the removal of fighting from the NHL. He's a pretty well respected former player, to say the least, so I'd have to say that carries some weight.

I found what I was referring to...

Savard wants fighting out of the NHL - The Globe and Mail

 

[TOX1]

I love the fighting.

I'm not even slightly religious in any way/shape/form, but I hope and pray it never goes away from the sport.


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