Bertuzzi offers tearful apology

It was a very nice apology. He should be given the opportunity to repeat it to himself 50 or 60 times a day while serving his prison term.

Moore punches Naslund;
Bertuzzi nails Moore; hockey's
Circle of life.

1. Bertuzzi did not continue pummeling Moore after the intial sucker punch.

2. Moore will recover and play again.

3. The league is hypocritical in many ways. They'll suspend one player, but yet not another for the same offense. The severity of the injury sustained by Moore certainly warrants extreme action but had the league acted as per it's written rules all of it would've been avoided - Moore would've been suspended for doing unto Naslund what Bertuzzi then did unto him ( coulda woulda shoulda ). Perhaps the league should take a long hard look at how unevenly they enforce their rules and the media should quit painting an inaccurate picture.

I agree with wenchilina especially about his third comment. Of course Bertuzzi is responsible for his actions, but as wenchilina said this is no different than other players that may have had a penalty during the game. The difference is Moore was seriously injured. I think the greater issue is that such violence is considered a part of the game in hockey. Understandably some rough play is needed in hockey, but not punching and fighting. I believe that penalties for fighting in hockey should be more severe similar to other sports. Unfortunately fighting is encouraged in hockey and takes away from the sport. The players are responded to many of the fans and it is considered acceptable to fight.

I also disagree that hockey is entertainment masquerading as a sport. The athletic ability of being able to skate while playing hockey is incredible. And as far as outrageous salaries - compared to other professional sports, hockey is the lowest paid. In addition, hockey players, aside from a few exceptions, have the shortest life span in their field.

From what I've been reading about Bertuzzi, he deserves the punishment and more.

I hate what North American hockey has turned into. It's no longer a pleasure to watch a wonderful group of athletes doing their best. Those days seem to have been lost.

1. You obviously never saw the replay.

2. You know something Moore's physicians don't???

3. No argument here.

How old are you? I bet you never saw what hockey was like in the 60's and 70's. Heck even the 80's. It's a changed game.

You can't compare the salaries of hockey players with other sports figures. Okay, maybe you can. They ALL get paid too much. If business wasn't part of sports and players got paid accordingly, they would all have other jobs in order to support themselves.

Caprice

There is no need for your emotional responses.

1. The video clip sits on my desktop

2. Moore is a high priced athlete subject to the countr(ies) best medical care possible including new proceedures not requiring fusion. So he will recover. Gary Roberts injuries to his neck ( of the same severity if not worse ) were said to be career ending ( two surgeries, out two years ). He's still playing and still quality.

A changed game?

1933 : fractured skull
69/70: fractured skull - steel plate
75 : stick to the skull

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/columns/top10/hockey_lowlights.html

He punched Moore when Moore was on the ice. I don't know how you could possibly miss that.

As for the comments you made about his injuries, it is obvious you are someone who only has the average joe's knowledge of medicine. Lesser injuries can sometimes have greater consequences, there are so many factors involved. And again, do you know something his physicians don't? They can't predict how he is going to heal. They are saying they do not know how complete his recovery will be. For you to say you know he will be back playing hockey without even knowing the details of his injury is a rather grandiose statement to make.

Regarding my last comment on how the game has changed, this is in reference to the fact it has become more commercialized, that it is more of a business and less of a sport. It wasn't in reference to the violence of the game. I suggest you reread the post to see that.

I have been an avid fan especially in the 70s and 80s. Of course it is a changed game as well as other sports. Look at the big to do about steroids in baseball right now. However, it still requires get athletic ability to skate and play hockey. The commercialization of sports is in every professional sport. How much is an ad during the Super Bowl? That has not changed. The acceptance of violence in the game among fans and officials is the main issue here. The only reason that Bertuzzi was suspended to this extent was because Moore was injured so severely. If Bertuzzi had hit Moore the exact same way, but Moore did not hit his head on the ice, I doubt he would had been penalized anywhere near this extent. I agree that Bertuzzi was wrong and should not have attacked Moore, but unfortunately it is no different than any game you see today.

Caprice

Here is the video clip. http://hfhelper.hockeyfights.com/cf307/040308_bertuzzi_cheapshots_moore.wmv

There is no " pummeling " post punch in either of those angles.

Business and sport go hand in hand. The bar on today's hockey players and the entire sport if anything has been raised since your nostalgic hockey fan years. Players and teams are expected to perform at the highest level of the sport.

As far as his recovery, indeed it is MY opinion he will recover and play again. Of course it's possible he may not but based on the information released thus far it is fair to say he will indeed recover ( and " IMO " will play again )

Attacking what you believe to be someone's knowledge on something really detracts from interesting conversation. It's childish and certainly does not belong here. If you're going to maintain this please do not bother replying to my posts.

wenchilina: Let's see, you have referred to me as emotional and childish and have further commented on how some of my statements detracted from interesting conversation.

Before you point the finger at me for personal attacks, perhaps you should consider how your posts have been coming across.

The "Incident"
Let me start off by saying that I hope Steve Moore makes a full and speedy recovery.

I was disgusted with the game on Monday night, however, I watched the whole game and did take heart in the fact that even while losing badly, the Canucks didn't give up; putting out the effort to give their fans a show. Brad May dropping the gloves with Worrell twice was a very gutsy move and Linden's two points that put him past what was beginning to look like an insurmountable record were quite inspiring regardless of the team's overall performance.

Moving on to the "incident"...

I was shocked when I saw what happened to Moore. Bertuzzi isn't the type of player to sucker punch another player - watch a game or two and anyone will realize that. He is a combatant and he plays mean and hard, but he's not cheap. His record shows that.

In watching the replay, over and over, I don't believe Bertuzzi intentionally hurt Moore. It looked like a punch that was intended to goad Moore into a fight. (It was a gloved punch, they usually don't result in any injury at all.) The problem is that the punch knocked Moore out, causing him to collapse and Bertuzzi to fall on top of him. Then a Colorado player jumped on top of Bertuzzi and another impact occurred when a Vancouver player jumped on top of the Colorado player.

All of the calls for an extremely harsh punishment seem outrageous to me - a multiple game suspension, sure, but talk of Bertuzzi being suspended well into the playoffs and the police being involved is ludicrous. Watch old NHL games and you are bound to see many a punch from behind with the result being that the punchee turns around and a fight ensues. In today's game the puncher would usually receive an instigator penalty on top of his five minutes for fighting but nothing more. Had Moore not been knocked out by the punch I expect that would have been the result. I'm sure that Bertuzzi never could have imagined that Moore would get knocked out from his punch - I've never seen a knockout from a punch from behind while both players were skating in the same direction. Have you?

Sportsnet showed a list of all the offences in the NHL where the police got involved and every single one involved the use of a stick. A punch is generally accepted as part of the game and does not warrant police involvement. Had Bertuzzi been aware that the player had been knocked out and then teed off on his head I would welcome police involvement and the stiffest of penalties the NHL could deliver. That would be clear intent to injure.

Looking back I feel that Moore should've accepted one of the many invitations he had to dance after the Cooke fight. He didn't want to fight again and obviously wasn't prepared to, so why did Granato put him in that situation. Granato knew that the game was out of hand and continued to play the marked rookie anyway. While I don't think anyone expected the eventual outcome, Granato had to know that the Canucks were going to play Moore very physically in a game that was so out of reach.

Again, it made me absolutely sick to see a great hockey player get seriously hurt and I hope he recovers fully. But come on guys, let's look at the intent here. Accidents do happen and this incident was one of those times. It seems awfully clear to me.

Perhaps so, but doesn't that say something about how violence is handled in the NHL? It's okay to be brutal as long as no one on the ice during the game gets hurt? But there are reprecussions off the ice for this sort of behaviour in the form of influence on young players, if not other reprecussions as well. And as long as violence is tolerated, Moore and others will not be the only players to suffer these sorts of consequences. It is inevitable that something like this would happen. Freak accidents happen too. No one can predict who will or will not become inujured when these players engage in violence that is entirely unnecessary to play the game. I just do not understand how ANY of these players can think punching someone is part of hockey.

In my opinion, Bertuzzi should be banned from playing period, not just the remainder of the season. That would send the appropriate message. But you know why he likely won't suffer those consequences? Because the NHL is a business and Bertuzzi, from what I understand, is a top player, so it all translates to dollars and cents. Perhaps that is a cynical viewpoint, but that is how I see it.

Jer, in essence what you are saying is it's okay to get into a fight on the ice, aren't you? Regardless of his intentions, if he hadn't swung a punch towards Moore, none of this would have happened. And if it was something along the line of a tap, Moore wouldn't have dropped like a rock, so he obviously had some strength behind it. That indicates he wasn't simply attempting to get Moore's attention by goading him into a fight.

What this whole sorry situation illustrates is that fighting and violence in hockey needs to go.

Play Again?
Caprice,

Where did you get the idea that Moore won't play again? It's my understanding that he has a concussion, some facial lacerations, and a fractured vertebrae - which should mean he's playing again by next season.

He does not have a "broken neck" as was originally reported.

I think that the media have blown this way out of proportion - the general public is upset because they've only seen the clip out of context and have been told that they should be upset - and that Bertuzzi is a "mean" person.

I'm disappointed that the NHL took this opportunity to continue the hype as opposed to being the voice of reason in this incident.

Fighting in Hocky
Caprice,

Sorry, I didn't get a chance to reply to your most recent post - because it didn't come up while I was writing my second post.

Yes, I think that fighting is a part of hockey - that's why they have a 5:00 penalty for it.

Fighting has been a part of professional hockey for a long as there has been professional hockey and I don't want it to go away.

There are different role players on a hockey team and having an enforcer is a critical element of the game. It adds a depth to hockey that isn't there without it.

Unless you want to say that boxing and ultimate fighting championship should be banned - I don't think your argument holds any water.

After all, these are professionals who are paid to engage in a sport where they know the rules.

I don't think that fighting should be tolerated in minor hockey - as they are kids who are playing for the love of sport - a totally different situation.

Jer: I never stated with certainty that he would never play again. I said "he may never" play again. That comment was based on what was reported in the media. Sure they blow things out of proportion, but given how recent the injury occurred, it is definitely too early to say one way or the other what will happen.

I have worked in the medical field and I have experienced a crushed vertebra. Not a fractured one like Moore, but a spinal inury nevertheless. I cannot imagine Moore back on the ice playing pro hockey in less than a year. A fractured vertebra is a broken neck bone, so in that sense, yes, he has a broken neck. From my understanding the spinal cord was not involved so it doesn't mean he has a broken neck in the sense most people would view it as being.

Re: Fighting in Hocky


I am not talking about boxing. I am talking about hockey. Yes it has a history of violence. However, I don't see violence as necessary just because it's been a part of it in the past. It is NOT part of the game in the same way scoring goals, blocking, etc. are part of the game. Like I said before, if Bertuzzi pulled the same thing off the ice, he'd likely be sitting in a jail cell right now. Why is it acceptable to behave this way on ice?

As for the boxing, which really isn't part of this thread at all, it's a controlled event. Boxers are disciplined. You cannot even begin to compare boxing to what goes on in hockey. Fighting in hockey is uncontrolled and not done for reasons that could even remotely be considered for purposes of sportsmanship.