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Post by habwest on Mar 11, 2004 16:49:20 GMT -5
Just in case anyone is buying the Bertuzzi/Burke/Crawford/Cannuck line that Bertuzzi's assault was totally out of character, that Bertuzzi is not "that" kind of guy and is really just, you know, a really nice normal kind of guy, read the following from today's Toronto Sun:
"He has always had that hair trigger," said Mike Kelly, who was Bertuzzi's general manager in junior hockey and now runs the Windsor Spitfires. "Unfortunately, it went off the other night."
And from reporter Steve Simmons:
"This isn't a one-time 'I snapped' kind of determination for Bertuzzi. There is history here. There is a background. There are stories out there to be told.
Like the time in 1991, playing in the Northern Ontario midget championships, when his team was beaten out in the finals by Sault Ste. Marie and he chased the winning team's bus out of the parking lot, swearing and pounding on the windows, out of control.
The next year, his first in the Ontario Hockey League, Bertuzzi missed the end of that season and the beginning of the next when he was suspended 15 games for kicking a Kitchener player.
The year after that, in his own locker room, for no apparent reason other than jealousy, he punched out teammate Jeff O'Neill, who at the time was Guelph's prized first-round pick.
In the NHL, Bertuzzi punched linesman Jean Morin in a 1996 scuffle and ended up suspended for three games before losing 10 more games to suspension for jumping the bench to attack a Colorado player in 2001."
Well, he looks like "that kind of guy" to me, a thug who's only difference is that he combines a lot of size with considerable skill. But at the bottom he is what he is.
And, as someone once said, "you can't polish a turd".
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Post by HABSLAND on Mar 11, 2004 17:02:22 GMT -5
Bertz has done wrong, he got punished for his act, he may have done stupid things in the past, but I have seen many players do stupidities in the past, whether in pro hockey or not, so trying to put the pieces of the puzzle by going in his past and saying he did this , he did that, so that is why he nailed Moore is not necessary. His act was horendous, he is man enough to publicly apologize to the fans, the players and the family, now he has to serve his time.
I still think Bertz is a great player and guy, and I think he got his lesson, to just play hockey and not be the enforcer.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2004 17:02:37 GMT -5
It's kind of obvious the kind of guy that Bertuzzi is watching him on the ice, and some of the comments he makes in the media. When Moore decked Naslund, he commented by calling Moore a piece of sh*t. In the playoffs last year, he made comments to Blues rookie Barret Jackman, and took some really nasty penalties.
I'm sure he regrets for going over the limit, but when I read that Bertuzzi was not "that kind of guy," I thought, "yeah, whatever."
He's a punk, and in my opinion, he's just a jerk and a spoiled brat. Another power forward like this? Joe Thornton (though I doubt Joe has gone over the limit like Bertuzzi has).
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Post by habwest on Mar 11, 2004 17:37:22 GMT -5
Well, as long as most fans go "yea, whatever" nothing will change.
Of course most fans ( and I'm not saying you Mattias) may in fact want it that way.
But not me.
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Post by habmeister on Mar 11, 2004 20:08:07 GMT -5
Who was nastier, rocket richard, gordie howe or bertuzzi. Without taking into account the broken neck moore suffered.
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Post by seventeen on Mar 12, 2004 0:33:24 GMT -5
True H & C. It's up to we western boys to balance things out. Beware of the press, gentlemen. They are piranhas and will bloat anything out of proportion. HW. Bertuzzi made a mistake. He can be quite unpleasant to the press (deservedly so, from some of the questions they've asked), so they're taking this opportunity to get back in some respects. Take a look at some of the treatment dished out to Bertuzzi sometimes and you'll understand that he normally controls his temper pretty well.
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Post by habwest on Mar 12, 2004 4:59:39 GMT -5
Well, I don't buy the distortion bit on Bertuzzi. He did what he did. This "moral relativism" in the guise of "balance" I simply don't find very convincing. A guy screws up he screws up. Nor do I condone any such action by any player including a Habs player. If a Habs player were to nearly kill somebody I would want to see him banned from the NHL for life. End of story. As for the Rocket and Howe, I remember them getting into fights with their fists altho the Rocket did lose it at least once, that I remember, and clobbered a guy with his stick (don't believe the guy was seriously hurt, correct me if I'm wrong) and then punched a linesman when he tried to intervene. He got suspended for the rest of the season and the playoffs, which he deserved, and so we had the Richard riots. That was really impressive. I don't remember Howe ever nailing anybody with his stick, just elbows and fists. Mind you those were enough to keep most guys in line if they tried to push him around. He decked Lou Fontinado (tough guy the Habs brought in to "handle" Howe) when the guy picked a fight with him and moved his nose over to one side- with one punch yet. But that's pretty mild stuff compared to what we've been seeing for the last 10 years or so. Regardless, whenever things started to get out of hand and who got out of hand I'm sick of it now. It's an era that has far outlived its time as far as I'm concerned and the NHL and NHLPA just don't get it. Campbell says the game's fine, this was just an 'isolated incident'. Sure, how many 'isolated incidents' have we had since Hunter ran (Turgeon?) into the boards and got 21 games? Several serious ones at least. It's time for a sea change in the game. If the owners and players don't voluntarily bring it about (which they never will) I hope that the whole house of cards topples down on them during the upcoming work stoppage. Teams go under, fans stay away, including in Canada, no US TV contract, start from scratch, the whole bit. If something doesn't happen I may just say "to hell with it" and forget the Habs and the game entirely as it's virtually become a waste of time. If they want to appeal to the trash wrestling crowd they can have it. Cheers.  |
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Post by Skilly on Mar 12, 2004 16:53:31 GMT -5
It's kind of obvious the kind of guy that Bertuzzi is watching him on the ice, and some of the comments he makes in the media. When Moore decked Naslund, he commented by calling Moore a piece of sh*t. In the playoffs last year, he made comments to Blues rookie Barret Jackman, and took some really nasty penalties. I'm sure he regrets for going over the limit, but when I read that Bertuzzi was not "that kind of guy," I thought, "yeah, whatever." He's a punk, and in my opinion, he's just a jerk and a spoiled brat. Another power forward like this? Joe Thornton (though I doubt Joe has gone over the limit like Bertuzzi has). No Joe just got McLaren to do his dirty work for him. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2004 19:27:07 GMT -5
No Joe just got McLaren to do his dirty work for him. That was not an intentional hit. Zednik cut to the inside and took McLaren by surprise. He tried to cut Zednik off -- unfortunately his elbow caught Zednik right in the face. Remember Thornton's double-minor in Game 6? Took out Souray from behind. |
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Post by Skilly on Mar 13, 2004 14:36:17 GMT -5
That was not an intentional hit. Zednik cut to the inside and took McLaren by surprise. He tried to cut Zednik off -- unfortunately his elbow caught Zednik right in the face. Remember Thornton's double-minor in Game 6? Took out Souray from behind. Strange .... McLaren got suspended so the NHL must have felt there was some intent to it. |
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