Quote:

Brad Lee said:
Fighting is part of the sportsmanship. It's part of the game.



Two posts ago you were claiming it was virtually nonexistant. Now it's a part of the sportsmanship? A part of the sportsmanship of the sport whose players are "the most sportsman-like of all big sport leagues"?

There's something wrong with that sentence, and I don't mean the overusage of the word "sport".

Quote:

There is a code that defines it. There was recently a book written about said code. It's called The Code: The Unwritten Rules Of Fighting And Retaliation In The Nhl. Read it if you care to know something about what you are saying.



I have no interest in reading about the unwritten rules of fighting in hockey, nor writing about them. I don't know why you think I did.

All I've spoken on is the frequency and popularity of fighting in hockey, which I have backed up with evidence...evidence that contradict your statements, in spite of your vast understanding of the subject.

Quote:

If Hockey is not your cup of tea, maybe you shouldn't run your mouth about it to someone who understands the sport. Hockey players are the most sportsman-like of all big sport leagues. Not just on the ice, but off it, as well. Hockey players are known for their family life, their charities, and their being regular guys on the block, easy to talk to, not all about them. And they don't get into bar fights at night clubs on an alomst nightly basis.

You don't like the sport enough to educate yourself about the culture, fine. Then you don't get to run your mouth about it.



I think we both know you aren't talking about the sport anymore. You're talking about idealizing its players. Whether or not they're nice guys is a silly debate(almost as silly as this "my sport is better" argument you've dragged me into here) to have; it's arbitrary. My only contention is that to say that fighting in one sport is cowardly and thuggish, while in another it's noble and sporting, is ludicrous. Asinine. Something knutreturns would say.

I have no problem with hockey...but, seriously, the guys take their gloves off and punch each other, which is something I stopped doing in the sixth grade. Let's reserve the pedestal for the truly deserving. Professional sports don't qualify.

Also, you've still yet to provide a credible argument for David Stern being a hypocrite. That did seem to be your first soapbox in this thread.

MisterJLA is RACKing awesome.