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Orr vs. Fedoruk
is not the problem
(NEW YORK, NY)
-- Another week, another Ranger violence controversy.
But this time it's a little more tricky. |
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The Todd Fedoruk knockout at the Garden on Wednesday will
surely bring on a new batch of critics saying violence in the
sport is killing hockey.
Yet, did Colton Orr's knockout do that?
Unlike Chris Simon's stick swing back on Mar. 8 - which is
something everyone was against - the Orr/Fedoruk fight was a
good and necessary for the game. Not because Fedoruk took one
on the chin and had to be taken off by a stretcher, but since
it curtailed cheap shots, which were prevalent back on Feb.
17, when the Rangers and Flyers last squared off.
Here me out here. Eight seconds into the game, the Flyers
enforcer jumped on the ice to seek a fight with Orr, who
started the game against Philly's top line. By fighting
immediately, Orr - who was scratched back in February - sent a
message this game would be different. Jaromir Jagr was not
touched, and neither was Brendan Shanahan, who was playing his
first game since suffering a concussion 32 days ago.
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And when
Orr got out of the box, Ben Eager defended the Flyer
honor by squaring off with Orr and giving a little
payback.
That was the end of the fighting and the game was
pretty tame after that. The Rangers won 5-0 and are
one step closer to the playoffs, while the Flyers,
well, their nightmare will end Apr. 8.
The fight was part of the hockey code, which was in
place since the league started over 80 years ago. Done
right, it actually curtails further violence, by
allowing two willing participants to get their - and
their teams' - frustrations out immediately. |
None of the other players gets a cheap shotted, which is more
likely to cause an injury and generally 99.9% of hockey fights
end up with both players in the box for five minutes
unscathed.
Yet, not this time, which is why the anti-violence contingent
will come out in droves.
Now, no one wanted to see Fedoruk get knocked out like that.
It was a lucky punch, which connected right on his chin. Orr
didn't want that, neither did the Rangers nor anyone other
sane person at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. It was an
unfortunate incident that happened and will more than likely
never occur again, if the two players happen to square off.
The two players were not complaining afterwards.
"It was just a fair fight," Orr said. "It was a good fight. He
is going to hit you, so you want to hit him. The same thing
could've happened to me. It is part of the game."
"I'm a little sore but I'm fine right now," Fedoruk said in a
statement. "I remember everything. I looked at him and he
said, 'Let's go.' He knocked me out on the way down. When I
got off the ice I woke up. I guess I got my bell rung."
Orr knocking out Fedoruk was better than Jagr taking an elbow
to the chin while skating at 35 MPH, like what Fedoruk did to
him a month ago or Hollweg getting the business end of Chris
Simon's stick.
Unlike other sports, hockey allows competitors to get their
frustrations out immediately. You don't see the anti-violence
contingent coming out against Roger Clemens when he beans
someone, nor do they say anything when football players get
into shoving matches in almost every game.
But this is hockey, the sport of goons according to them, and
this controlled violence needs to end. Hogwash. Orr knew what
he was doing, so did Fedoruk, and Eager, for that matter. And
in the end, no other player was hurt nor injured in the game.
If Fedoruk got right up, no one would be taking about this
right now. Again, it's unfortunate he was hurt, but the code
worked and the game did not get ugly.
And that is actually good for hockey.
Joe
McDonald covers the New York Rangers for TheFourthPeriod.com.
He is also the publisher of NYSportsDay.com and managing
editor of NY Sportscene Magazine.
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