March 11, 2004 6:31 AM

This will become an issue only when "body count" appears in the box scores

I've written these sentiments before, but they bear repeating again, especially given the topic I am about to address. I adore the game of hockey. Growing up in Minnesota, it was the national sport. High school hockey is even bigger in Minnesota than high school football is here in Texas. The University of Minnesota is the two-time defending NCAA Division 1 champions. It is virtually impossible to grow up in Minnesota without developing a keen appreciation for the game and it's significance. My love of the game is why I now fear for the future of the game. The latest reason for alarm is the attack by Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi on Colorado's Steve Moore. Moore was left with a broken neck, and is out for the season, if not longer. Bertuzzi, who has been indefinitely suspended, will be apprised of his fate this morning. If the decision were mine, Bertuzzi would be banned from the game.

Bertuzzi's attack on Moore, and it can only reasonably be referred to as an attack, is but the latest in the game's sorry history of gratuitous and senseless physical violence. Hockey fights may not be officially promoted by the NHL, but there are tangible benefits that accrue to the league by simply standing pat. Most notably, there are a large number of Neanderthals who go to games primarily to see the fights and drink large quantities of beer. Indeed, hockey fights have spawned their own cottage industry. One can find numerous videos and DVDs on the Internet of nothing BUT hockey fights. It's barbarism at it's most crass and capitalistic, but as long as there is money to be made- and there is- the NHL has had no incentive to change. The fact that there are people like me who love the game but abhor the violence seems lost on Gary Bettman and his merry band of pranksters. This is why NHL hockey is in the state it is.

Bertuzzi's vicious attack may well finally spawn some long overdue changes in the NHL brand of hockey. I'm not holding my breath, though, because we've been down this road before. After Marty McSorley whacked Donald Brashear in the head with his stick a couple of years ago, we heard much the same wailing and gnashing of teeth. In the end, though, absolutely nothing changed. My fear is that the same thing will happen this time around. I fear that someone will actually have to die for any concrete and long-lasting changes to be made. It took the death of Minnesota's Bill Masterton in 1967 before players began to even consider the importance of helmets. The league didn't even make helmets mandatory until about 25 years later.

Indeed, as I heard Peter Jennings ask tonight, "In hockey, why is there even room for this?" The short answer is that there is money to be made, and until someone dies at the hand of some team's no-talent "enforcer", it is likely that nothing will change. This is why I fear for the future of the game I love.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on March 11, 2004 6:31 AM.

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