Fighting in ice hockey is an established aspect of the sport with a
long history involving many levels of amateur and professional play
and including some notable individual fights. Although the target of
criticism, it is a considerable draw for the sport and is for some
fans the primary reason to attend games. Fighting is usually the role
of one or more enforcers on a given hockey team and is governed by a
complex system of unwritten rules that players, coaches, officials,
and the media refer to as "the code." Some fights are spontaneous and
others are premeditated by the participants. While officials tolerate
fighting during hockey games, they impose a variety of penalties on
players who engage in fights. Broadly speaking, fighting exists in
organized ice hockey to protect star players, who are generally
discouraged by their coaches from fighting because of fear of injury,
to deter opposing players from overly rough play, and to create a
sense of solidarity among teammates. Despite its potentially negative
consequences, such as heavier enforcers knocking each other out,
administrators like Gary Bettman of the NHL are not considering
eliminating fighting from the game since most players consider it
essential. Additionally, the majority of fans oppose eliminating
fights from professional hockey games. However, considerable
opposition to fighting and efforts to eliminate it continue.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_in_ice_hockey
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Today's selected anniversaries:
711:
Muslim conquests: Moorish Umayyad invaders led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad
defeated Roderic and the Visigoths at the Battle of Guadalete.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariq_ibn-Ziyad)
1553:
Lady Jane Grey was replaced by Mary I of England as Queen of England
after holding that title for just nine days.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_I_of_England)
1848:
The two-day Women's Rights Convention, the first women's rights and
feminist convention held in the United States, opened in Seneca Falls,
New York.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_Falls_Convention)
1870:
A dispute over who would become the next Spanish monarch following
Isabella II's abdication two years prior during the Glorious
Revolution led France to declare war on Prussia.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Prussian_War)
1947:
Burmese nationalist Aung San and six of his newly formed cabinet
members were assassinated during a cabinet meeting.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aung_San)
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Wiktionary's Word of the day:
corbie step: (architecture) A series of step-like projections
at the top of a gable.
(
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/corbie step)
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Wikiquote of the day:
The museums are here to teach the history of art and something more as
well, for, if they stimulate in the weak a desire to imitate, they
furnish the strong with the means of their emancipation. -- Edgar
Degas
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edgar_Degas)