Canadian Olympic controversy...

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Okay, AoDA and AoLS meets the Colosseum here...

There are people whining about the inclusion of Todd Bertuzzi, Dany Heatly and Shane Doan to the team.

Bertuzzi spent 17 months for an incident that left Colorado's Steve Moore unable to resume his carreer after a neck injury. Even the NHL accepted his re-enstatement. Hearing these people whining makes me want to apologize for the lack of Hanging in the NHL. Bertuzzi was charged, plead guilty and has received ans completed his sentence as handed down in a court of law, what more do these people want?

Heatley, in the fall of 2003, totalled his ferrari in an accident that claimed the life of a teammate. He also plead guilty, and has completed his sentence. Can't these people give the kid a break? The only games I don't want him to play are against the Leafs, but I still don't want the accident to be an excuse for that...

As for Doan, he was accused of a racial slur against French Canadians, a charge which he denies, but a Quebec MP wants him off the team. I'm sorry, but in 1998, a Bloc Quebecois MP went to Nagano and complained that there were too many Canadian flags and not enough Quebec flags. If that's not racist, I don't know what is. Besides, 50.1% of people in Quebec told them to sit down and shut up the last time they tried to seperate, so it's still Canada...

Am I wrong to want these people to just let us watch the ggames in peace?

 

I have a few objections about the line up that was chosen but in each case it is because I feel there are other players who are currently playing much better hockey. Of the three listed above Shane Doan falls into that category.

As far as the "but he did something bad" arguments go - I find them quite silly. The team should be selected of the players who will give the team the best chance to win hockey games - no other considerations should be made.

 

I believe that the Draper, Doan and the other guy that's played with him in past tournaments were picked for a specific purpose. They aren't there to light the lamp themselves, but to stop the other teams big line from lighting the lamp. I wouldn't complain too much about that idea. You can't ask Brodeur to do everything by himself...

 

With Broduer and the defence that Team Canada takes they shouldn't need a defensive forward line. Spezza and Staal should've both made it on to the for sure roster over Doan and Draper.

As for the problems with Bertuzzi and Heatley. Let them play. Especially Dany. He's produceing like a mad man and is a big part of the reason that Spezza should be starting.

The Doan thing is a political move by the Bloc. Nothing more.

 

The Doan thing is silly, but the others are a matter of whether or not they were favored in sentencing because of their athleticism. Bertuzzi spending 17 months for an accident (I'm assuming he didn't mess up the guy's neck on purpose) I think is reasonable, and he should be allowed to play.

Heatley I've got reservations about because I lack knowledge on the subject; I don't know what the typical penalties for reckless endangerment are, how long he served, or whether there were any mitigating circumstances. The fact that a man is dead because of him makes me rather wary, but it could also have been an accident for all I know.

 

As Gnarf said at the start of this - the ones who 'did the crime' have DONE THE TIME; or should they walk around for the rest of their lives with scarlet letters on their chests?

WR/T Heatley: I got into a lethal car accident in 1990. I piled into the back of a broken-down car at the legal limit on the left lane of a highway on a rainy night because my attention was on fiddling with the fan to clear the fug off my windscreen. I got the dubious honor of holding my girlfriend's head as her pulse stopped. The courts gave me time served (approx five-six hours in a police station office while everything was being processed) and what-is-now the Department of Transportation and Works suspended my license for 12 months...even though it took about two years before I could get behind the wheel of a car again.

To those who think Heatley got of light? He's still serving his sentence every time he closes his eyes. Every time he has a few moments with nothing to do, every time he sleeps, every time he drives; he's remembering.

I'm happily married to another wonderful woman, but not a day goes by that I do not stop and take a moment of remorse for cutting things short for someone.

Merry Christmas.

EDIT: Oh, and I guess the team-selecting committee was tired of Canada's proud tradition of coming in fourth...

 

Speaking of Olympic Hockey...

How come Miller didn't make the USA team as one of the three goaltenders?

 

Bertuzzi sucker punched Moore from behind in an attempt to draw him into a fight. Bertuzzi then tripped over his stick, causing both of them to fall, after Moore's head hit the ice, Bertuzzi fell on top of him (landing on Moore's neck), and then a couple of Moore's teammates then piled on. The video does not make it clear whether they were after Bertuzzi or whether they were trying to pull him off.

@ apathetic empath: I apologize if I touched a nerve. It was not my intent.

 

SO let's see if I've got this straight the Canadians have picked a strong squad which will make the tournament better and increase their hopes of a medal

Now some poor misguided idiots who believe that criminals should be rehabilitated; also believe once they leave prison they aren't rehabiltated but still a criminal ?

They've served their time both of them will have the memories for the rest of their lives as AE pointed out and I personally can also avow, so let them get on with their lives and also do what they're good at Hockey.

As for the other situation if the MP doesn't want to be Canadian but wants to be french, while the majority of Quebec wants to be Canadian, then deport him to France I'm sure they don't want him either. Sport should transcend political issues but quite often is dragged down by petty-minded individuals who have a personal agenda to satisfy quite often to the detriment of the game and that's wrong. As for the MP he should be Canadian first, Quebecois(sp) second and cheering the team not himself.

DISCLAIMER: This post contains the opinion of DarkStrider himself, it is not intended to cause offence or be detrimental to anyone's mental health.

 

Well, while I'm sure he wasn't deliberately trying to cause the specific injury that he caused, and certainly he wasn't specifically trying to injure the guy's neck, from the replay it seems very clear that he WAS in fact trying to injure him in some way. I do not think his intent was to cause a potentially career ending injury, but the only way you would do something like that is if you intended to injure your opponent. Basically I'm saying he meant to hurt him, but I doubt he intended to hurt him as badly as he did.

 

AFI: I think he just wanted to fight, but Moore wouldn't. Earlier that season, Moore hit Vancouver star Marcus Naslund with a dangerous yet legal hit to the head, causing Naslund to miss several games with a concussion. Had the league done something about the head shot, that might not have happenned. Had Moore showed the slightest remorse for the injury inflicted, this might have been prevented. The Bertuzzi incident was a ticking timebomb that has left little to prevent something like that from re-occurring.