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.

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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)

_____________________ 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)

_____________________ 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)