Dirty Play Only by the Flyers?
Posted 1:00 PM ET | Comments 1
When the Flyer's have received suspensions this year I have not gotten to upset becuase 2 of the 5 have been deserved. Then last night I realized that hockey is a tough sport and the the commissioner and Collin Campbell need to calm down on the suspensions. Las night Sidney Crosby tripped Biron, and he tripped him from behind and Biron was not ready for it. Biron could have been seriously hurt just because Crosby is immature (considering his age I guess he is supposed to be). Then Laraque (I can not spell) baseball slides into Biron and there is no puck! Thats unacceptable you can tell that both players meant to do what they did. But a suspension from Collin Campbell? No, wont happen, and why? Because, Biron did not get hurt on either play. Let me tell you thats absurd. Maybe I am jumping a bit overboard but I just feel the Flyer's have a bad wrap from the begining of the the season when Downie and Boularice were complete idiots.
I've seen similar hits as Downie's and Boulerice's this season and a couple that were worse. Only one got any disciplinary action from the league: an undisclosed fine to Andy Sutton in a game against the Rangers. Just last week Dion Phaneuf found himself on both ends of dangerous hits, both delivering an elbow and receiving a cross check to the face. Neither hit was even reviewed as far as I know. I thought the first two Flyer's suspensions were based mostly on the opponent and location. The howling outrage across Canada was completely overplayed and put tremendous pressure on the league to discipline the players involved. Downie's hit was inches from being legal and while Boulerice is a complete idiot I didn't want on my team and still don't, his VISCIOUS CROSSCHECK barely raised a welt. If I hit you in the face with a baseball bat and it crushes your skull then I hit Joe Bob with the same bat and he gets a little red mark isn't that indicative of the force that I've used to deliver the blow? I'm not trying to justify anything and could care less that either of those players were suspended but there's obviously a Canadian Media fueled bias that you could hear bleed into last nights national telecast on versus featuring a former Penguins coach, broadcaster and player dismantling the Flyers for Eager's hit on goon boy George Laraque while the Penguins ran around like lunatics "standing up for each other." It's bogus and we're going to have to live with it.