posted by Joseph @ Tuesday, January 31, 2006
posted by Joseph @ Thursday, December 22, 2005
"It was hard, very hard. My mother called me a few times and she was crying on the phone, and I said, 'Mom, don't worry about it!' You have to be tough, but once it has hurt your mother and your family, I think it's time to go."
If it weren't for assasins like Jack Todd, Patrice Brisebois would still be in Montreal. And judging by the way their defense corps has been gutted as of late, they sure could use him.
posted by Joseph @ Thursday, December 01, 2005
posted by Joseph @ Thursday, November 24, 2005
posted by Joseph @ Saturday, August 27, 2005
A few days ago, policy analyst Radley Balko wrote an editorial condemning several instances in which authorities have arrested parents for supplying alcohol to minors at supervised parties:
Not only do such uncompromising approaches do little to make our roads safer, they often make them worse. The data don't lie. High school kids drink, particularly during prom season. We might not be comfortable with that, but it's going to happen. It always has. The question, then, is do we want them drinking in their cars, in parking lots, in vacant lots and in rented motel rooms? Or do we want them drinking at parties with adult supervision, where they're denied access to the roads once they enter?
Balko’s reasoning sounds good in theory. But he’s missing the bigger picture.
What parents are inadvertently doing by collecting kids’ keys at the door prior to beer parties is encouraging, if not promoting, drunkenness. In essence, the parents Balko cites in his article are telling children it’s okay to get plastered – as long as you get plastered at home. These parents are serving as enablers, insinuating that there’s nothing wrong with being an irresponsible drinker, as long as you pass out on the same floor you were standing on a few hours prior.
Indeed, teenagers are going to drink. I echo Balko’s sentiment in that regard. Regardless, this reality shouldn’t discourage parents and educators from reinforcing the negative consequences associated with excessive alcoholic indulgence. Parents who condone serving alcohol to minors are not only promoting irresponsible drinking (which could lead to alcohol poisoning), but they are also laying the foundation for other potential substance abuse under their own roofs.
But then again, maybe supervised drug use isn’t such a bad thing.
posted by Joseph @ Friday, August 12, 2005
Yesterday, James Mirtle wrote a fine piece on the NHL’s decision to re-instate Todd Bertuzzi. While I agree with the premise of the article, this particular excerpt caught my attention:
This is not to compare what Bertuzzi did to these heinous acts or to flaunt some sort of higher moral authority I deem myself to have. I don't. But, in meting out punishments, it's believed that they'll serve as a deterrent to whoever else finds themselves in a similar situation.
And while you'll hear in the media how the NHL is back to it's old ways, has learned nothing from 'the incident,' and should aspire to 'be more like the other sports,' I don't expect in the wake of the past 17-months that players will view violent on-ice acts the same way. Call me naive.
Back in March, I wrote extensively on the Bertuzzi incident. One of the articles included a discussion about the subject of deterrence. Here’s a brief portion of that commentary, beginning with a citation:
The Globe and Mail’s Eric Duhatschek:
"Human behaviour, not just the behaviour of athletes, is unpredictable. Society imposes harsh penalties for the crime of murder, but the possibility of a life without parole still doesn't stop people from killing one another.
The length of Bertuzzi's sentence will unquestionably get the attention of NHL players, but then, there was supposed to be the message in the McSorley suspension. McSorley got what amounted to a lifetime ban and a criminal record as a result of his slash to Brashear's head. The McSorley-Brashear incident happened right under Bertuzzi's nose - in his home arena - but that didn't stop him from attacking
Duhatschek touches upon human psychology here, and his point is well taken. Studies have shown that the existence of deterrents, such as extended jail time and the death penalty, has not substantially lowered the crime rate in many North American cities. Similar deterrents in sports, like suspensions and fines, fail to prevent the recurrence of violent outbursts.
Many folks are of the belief that the banning of fisticuffs in professional hockey will effectively end the exhibition of senseless, violent conduct. In my mind, that opinion is foolish. While one-on-one punch-ups would be no more, dangerous stick work would likely rise significantly. Quite frankly, hockey players would have to compete without sticks in order for on-ice violence to be eliminated completely. Likewise, you’d have to prevent football players from hitting each other, boxers from punching each other, and pitchers from throwing at opposing batters.
More on the subject of deterrence from Canadian National Post columnist Colby Cosh:
"…there's no sense ending Bertuzzi's career over an injury he unquestionably inflicted but that was also a little fluky. Bert is one of the players we're going to be telling our grandkids we saw, and he didn't intend to break anyone's neck. There are many worse things he might have done--what McSorley did to Brashear was worse, of its own accord, though the injury consequences, by pure luck, weren't as bad. It's simply not true that implementing strict liability of this sort is going to end hot-headed, foolish actions, any more than the hanging of pig thieves in 18th-century
Cosh makes a case for Bertuzzi, noting an excessive punishment against him is inappropriate because making an example out of the winger would not prevent similar attacks in the future. I’ll take it a step further by claiming sucker-punches and excessive violence will continue to perforate the sporting world, primarily because it is utterly impossible to put some sort of a deterrent leash on the emotional reactions of professional athletes.
Sporting competition that involves physicality encourages violence. As a result, emotions tend to run high, and rationality is often temporarily discarded. Bertuzzi, indisputably, had completely taken leave of his senses when he battered
I stand by that belief. I saw plenty of AHL hockey this year, and I can name about five brutal sucker shots off the top of my head that landed players multiple-game suspensions. To infer that Todd Bertuzzi’s punishment will in any way prevent similar incidents from occurring is not so much naïvete as it is plain lunacy.
posted by Joseph @ Wednesday, August 10, 2005
An inside look at professional hockey, politics, and milkshakes from the slightly-skewed perspective of a concerned Rhode Islander.
