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NDP calls for probe into sports violence
February 2, 2010 - 6:05pm
Great. A strategic misstep on an unneccessary issue. A word to the wise. Stay away from hockey. Its the one thing the great unwashed pay attention to with any frequency. The only smart way to get involved in the great and beloved Canadian distraction is to
a) drop a puck to open a game
or
b) be an ex player turned politican.
The NDP should try to make this one go away fast. These people will go to war over this trife.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/759341--ndp-calls-for-probe-i...
Prinicipally it is a good issue, but you are correct in that politically it is not going to score any points.
Bravo to the NDP for taking action on what so many Canadians are feeling about sports violence. The naysayers who think that the NDP must imitate Harper and Ignatieff to succeed will be proven wrong, once again.
To everyone else except themselves perhaps.
Your weak, dishonorable voices only ANGER me! It is a GOOD day to DIE of an aneurysm! K'pla!
We should send Khadr a 'ockey sweater, so the NDP will pay attention.
The Liberals stood up in the House of Commons in 2002 and told the NDP that they were taking care of ALL of 15 year-old Omar's needs then. They lied. And the Harpers don't care to even lie about abandoning Omar to the American inquisition. In fact, Steve I was a lap poodle for crazy George II Harper is just a vicious toady to Nerobama now.
Really? I kind of think parents with kids in hockey might disagree with you there. I can't imagine any parent is too keen on their kid taking an elbow to the head.
As an aside, I'm not sure someone who blankets hockey fans as 'the great unwashed' really has a good sense of just what said 'great unwashed' are really thinking.
I think this is aimed towards Quebec, where most of the high profile junior hockey incidents have occurred (and been extensively covered in the media -- one involved Patrick Roy's son). In the news item I read, the longest quote from the NDP came from Mulcair.
The only people this is going to bother are those who like to throw around the phrase "nanny state". More than worth it for the gains in La Belle.
Doesn't bother me, and I use the term 'conservative nanny state' like all'a time.
Im not sure if this will help the NDP, but i would support their efforts, most sensible people would.
As a hockey Dad this discussion is loooonnggg overdue.
I'm sure some people care, but not everyone is a member of a "working family" (tm), who ALSO has a kid playing hockey. Hence, I doubt most people feel that the government should actually talk about this. I'm pretty sure most people would prefer the NDP (and all politicians really) discuss useful issues as opposed to trying to score political points off of things that should be best left to a) criminal justice authorities and b) appropriate sporting federations. I see what people are saying regarding the Patrick Cormier, Patrick Roy's son and other incidents like this and how this proposal could be helpful in Quebec. I'm just not sure it will be helpful in the rest of Canada. That said I'm not convinced their proposal will be unhelpful either. I just think it's a waste of time/effort.
That said since someone posted Don Cherry's picture, though this isn't quite on topic, I'd like to see someone propose that we stop funding CBC sports altogether. I say let the private sector pay for it, especially since I doubt CBC will be able to match whatever the private sector bids for NHL broadcast rights the next time their up. I'm pretty sure Hockey Night in Canada will go the way of La Soirée du Hockey. The CBC should prepare for this day and have the money it spends on that into the development of other forms of Canadian Television and Cinema. The fact that taxpayers are supporting what essentially amounts to a somewhat sexist, racist and francophobic redneck rube that wasn't even a good hockey player or coach who just happens to be a part of an organization dedicated to shoving Toronto Maple Leafs hockey down all Canadians throats is a real pain in the ass. Not that this is a new development mind you, but it has been something that has pissed me and I bet most other non-Maple Leaf and non-Don Cherry fans off for years.
The CBC did an interview with a very cocky hockey dad who spoke for the non-hitting league for kids (like his own) in Toronto. This particular hockey dad has a son who has had something like 3 concussions so far. Anyway, what was interesting is that the CBC reporter tried to mock the very idea of a hitting-free league.
The hockey dad replied that hitting isn't allowed in girls hockey. Furthermore, one Alexander Ovechkin learned to play in such a league. "It didn't seem to hurt Ovechkin, did it?" said the hockey dad. The reporter quickly changed the subject.The no hitting league is going ahead.
Anyway, there was a responding comment from the organized kids hockey (with hitting) in T.O. and they said this was a lousy and unnecessary idea.They ridiculed it.
A few days ago, I heard that this very same league is "addressing" the issue of excessive violence in their league.
Who knows? Maybe this is a wedge issue on the left. That would be great. Let the dinosaurs die off. And let Cherry and McClain brodcast from Nunavut. For less pay, of course.
Ontario Judge makes unprecedented ruling....
Toronto, Ontario (CP) -A seven-year-old North York boy was at the center of
a Toronto city courtroom drama yesterday when he
challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him.
The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge
initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law
and regulations requiring that family unity be maintained to the degree
possible.
The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more
than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge
then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy alleged they had
also beat him.
After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that
domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took
the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have
custody of him.
After two recesses to check legal references and confer with child welfare
officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the Toronto Maple Leafs, whom
the boy and judge both firmly believe are not capable of beating anyone.
That great unwashed comment in the OP... what the fuck is that?
Violence in sports in worth talking about, but I'm with the other posters who're suggesting the NDP has better issues to chase, even in the sports file. Why not propose a increase in federal funds to community centres? How about championing sports that are much less expensive, over-hyped, and accessible to a broader range of the public.
Requesting a royal comission? Come on. Just what the public needs to fund: building another bridge to no where. Some sports are violent and that's why people enjoy them. I stopped playing hockey before the hitting started, mainly because the sport was not fun, my parents didn't like the atmosphere of the clubby dingdongs who control the teams and leagues (with a shout-out to the hockey parents out there not part of the dingdong crowd), and it was time consuming, even at the lowest level of house league.
An equally violent sport is football. I played it all through high school. It was cheaper, the funnest sport I've ever been involved with, and I would suggest is safer than hockey at this point even though football has safety isses, as well. My gear was paid for, the season was short and defined, and the exercise and team building skills are superior to anything I've seen in hockey, which at even medium levels has apparently turned into a wide-eyed race to get to The Big Leagues. There's a private school for hockey phenoms being created in London, where they'll get advanced hockey skills training and a superior education. Thanks for noticing that, NDP sports critic.
Edited for typos, and to add I agree with V-Kid re. the CBC and hockey coverage. But I bet the Ceeb will sell its soul to maintain it's hockey coverage.
I'm pretty sure CBC Sports is one of the few (perhaps only) parts of the CBC that actually makes money. It's not a question of government 'funding' it. If anything, it likely subsidizes other parts of the CBC.
Yeah domestic violence and child abuse are so damn funny. I think this reveals an awful lot about your real intentions here.
Lou Arab, I'd like to see a true accounting of CBC's hockey coverage costs vs income. Think the CBC will open its books and let us take a look? I read on a CBC blog once that Ron Maclean's salary alone would fund a national radio show.
This is laying aside the discussion about whether a public broadcaster should be concerned about "making" money. My reading of the CBC mandate is that it's supposed to service underserviced regions and, presumably, issues. Professional hockey in Canada certainly does not need any stronger coverage, unless it's actually examining the league from an outside perspective.
I dunno, hockey coverage is the soul of the CBC, or it has been ever since they cancelled Don Messer.
The Great Unwashed? The showers at the rink were nice and hot again last night; they must have turned up the boiler for the World Juniors and forgot to turn it back down to the usual "barely thawed" setting. A few hours earlier, on the same sheet of ice, my kid sniped one , but got three retaliation penalties - two roughs and a slash. I couldn't really chew him out for the penalties after the game because I do the same when I play.
My "little" brother, though; he did things differently. He wouldn't retaliate right away but, as he said, would keep playing with a silent glee at the thought of the nasty, horrible things that were in store for the guy who offended him.
A few weeks ago my kid told me that he likes the fear factor in hockey - that you have to always be ready in case someone tries to take your head off.
He gets it. That's what makes hockey special and why it's so much fun. It's a little bit dangerous; and if you can do well under its conditions you feel pretty good.
I have another son who plays no-contact hockey. He likes that just fine, which is good, too.
As for the NDP's trying to score political points off "violence in hockey," just bugger off and continue to be inept in your usual areas of concern.
NorthReport that is not remotely funny and is absolutely tasteless.
wow just wow.......
Lou is correct. HNIC subsidizes other CBC operations.
I'd like to see facts backing that up - total revenue vs total expenditures. Think the CBC will release those numbers?
I find it very hard to believe that flying broadcast teams around the country, staffed by many workers, and supported by a massive infrastructure of people (ad people, marketing people count, too; and the CBC has lots of them on staff), the broadcast rights, and so on pays for itself in an era of lowering ad revenues for everything, even sports.
If CBC's hockey coverage turns a profit, I can't see it being very large and I highly doubt it's put directly into supporting anything but more TV coverage of hockey or gimmicks like Hockey Day In Canada.
But that's highly off topic. Probably worthy of it's own thread, considering the battle royal that will happen once the CBC starts having to renegotiate its hockey contract.
Advertising revenue pays for it but of course that is off topic.
The NDP's call for a Royal Commission will have very little resonance with most Canadians, this one included.
It will have resonance with some canadians and the rest won't care. Meanwhile, the NDP got a lot of mecdia hits and all of you are talking about - so they must have done something right.
And yet, sports takes up so much airtime on tv stations. I question why all these tv stations spend so much time airing sports if it weren't profitable.
NBC sports is going to loose hundreds of millions of dollars broadcasting the Olympics, CTV is hoping to break even. Sports broadcasting doesn't always make money. Besides if CBC actually produced half decent shows in other areas maybe those would make money too. Admittedly, I would assume HNIC makes money just because Hockey is so popular in this country. But I just think it's obscene that we're paying people like Ron McLean and Don Cherry something in the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars/year to do about 10-20 minutes of work a week 8 or 9 months a year. People shouldn't expect to get rich from the public sector.
Yeah, it will resonate like Jack Layton's head bouncing off the plexiglass. This isn't showbiz, where any publicity is good publicity.
By going against Our Game® The Nude Ems are demonstrating how un-Canadian they are. I suppose this could be a deliberate ploy to show how much they are like the Liberals and Conservatives, and so appeal to the "not paying any attention at all" vote..
But it's not just our game anymore. Hockey has changed a great deal since international play of the last 40 years or so. European and Russian and even American players have shown that they can play our game fairly well and have introduced a lot of skill and athletic conditioning to our game. The NHL hasn't evolved toward the broad street bullies style of play of the 1970s. Players don't leave the ice on stretchers like they did in the roaring 20's. A lot of the stuff that happened on the ice in the old days isn't happening today, and people would think it outrageous, and there would be public calls for police charges to be laid. If the game had evolved only in Canada, then it might well look like war on ice that it was at one time. People don't want to see that kind of game anymore. They want to see the Lemieuxs and Gretzkys and Crosbys healthy and competing in the playoffs not sitting on the sidelines injured by some no talent bum on a third rate team in the middle of the season. Young players now are being told they have to have respect for other players on the ice, or it doesn't work.