About Taking Dives in Ice Hockey

I just finished reading an interesting hockey commentary by someone who thinks Vancouver Canuck Maxim St Pierre was playing at being hurt in order to draw a penalty.

http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2011/06/10/what-do-you-think-of-maxim-lapierres-act/

It was referred to as "an act", as "embellishment". Basically taking a dive, pretending to be hurt in order to make the Boston Bruins' player look bad.

Of course this sort of stuff goes on all the time in sports. But at least the Vancouver team didn't send out for stretcher and send Maxim away in an ambulance, then announce to the crowd that "he can move his extremities", and then hide him away for two games, and then bring him out like the resurrection of the saviour when the next game was over.

I think Vancouver deserves some credit for using restraint in their play acting.

So now I want to ask the question "What do you think of Nathan Horton's injury?" Of course I am referring to game three, where Nathan Horton of the Bruins ran head first into Aaron Rome of the Canucks, not even looking where he was going. Then after a near riot by the Boston fans (of course this took place in Boston), Aaron Rome was suspended for four games for getting in the way of a Bruins player. Meanwhile, police had to be called out to protect Vancouver fans who had flown to Boston to attend the game. Quite a sad commentary that we seem to be hyping up the injuries to influence the judges and inspire the players.

Otherwise, I have quite enjoyed the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs, and in the games I have witnessed there has been very little fighting.

A side note to the Nathan Horton injury, apparently Don Cherry has been campaigning for quite a while to eliminate these new hard shell shoulder pads, which as he said, will result in head injury, even if the contact is accidental.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8199899160558527727#

Whose fault is Nathan's concussion, really? The player who didn't look where he was going, or the player he ran in to, or the NHL management for allowing shoulder pads to be weaponized? And give me a break with the whining from rabid Boston fans that Vancouver players embellish their injuries.


A related previous post below, the US press whining about the Canadian Womens' hockey team at the winter olympics. No, the Canadian girls didn't hurt any of their precious US players, they simply celebrated all wrong (according to the US sensitivities) after the game. The whining continues.

http://slickerrain.blogspot.com/2010/02/canadian-women-win-hockey-gold.html