From
where I sit it looks like the
first round of the NHL playoffs gave a great reminder of the best
form of tie-breaking in sports.
Fully
17 games went to overtime, with all but the Montreal-Ottawa series
having more than one. Apologies to fans of the other major sports,
but honestly the NHL is far and away the class of the field. NFL,
it's sudden death, kind of. MLB, extra innings can be fun, but all too often
ends with a sacrifice fly. NBA, it's not hat exciting if you can win
by 10. The NHL can last as little as 9 seconds...and as long as
104:46. Yet, it's the dramatic nature of the end. Jubilation and
heart break all at once. It's a beautiful simplicity. Next goal
wins.
As
the NFL is facing a lawsuit from former players over their
concussion problems...the NHL is now facing one of their own.
The
big difference here is Boogaard's family also includes allegations of
heavy prescription drug usage. All coming from various team Doctors.
None of this has been proven, nor has the League filed a statement
of defense. However, it's worth noting there hasn't exactly been a
wave of denial. For me it's not so much whether the allegations are
true, but that nobody seems very surprised. Once upon a time it
was rare for a player to even use something as mundane as smelling
salts, now practically everyone takes a whiff. With specialists in
pretty much everything on each team there's always a new way to get
an edge. The question isn't when will science slow down...but when
will the body simply not be able to keep up.
Racism is still a major issue in the world of football.
How
these teams can continue to allow fans like that in the door is
beyond me. It's not even like these are minor teams. Roma is a
major side with a long (though not always great) history. There is
no reason teams can't ban racist supporters. Hooligans can and have
been banned. All these fans have managed to accomplish is make their
own side look bad. It's not exactly going to make the transfer
market any better for Roma with this going on. The Football Association is apparently looking at a 5-game ban for racist abuse.
In Europe it could be 10 games. But that still doesn't take care of
the fans. Please, just kick them out and don't let them back in.
Ever.
At
least that's how I see it...and I sit in the cheap seats.
No comments:
Post a Comment