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Sure, Sean Avery was traded to the Dallas Stars, but he left his mark as Ranger, what with the Sean Avery/Nitwit Rule for this move in April. But for all his antics, he was never suspended before--until now.
Avery has been suspended indefinitely for taking shots at fellow players and his ex-girlfriends. The morning of his game against the Calgary Flames, Avery spoke to reporters (after making sure a camera was present): "I'm just going to say one thing. I'm really happy to be back in Calgary; I love Canada. I just want to comment on how it's become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds. I don't know what that's about, but enjoy the game tonight."
A little background: Avery used to date both actress Elisha Cuthbert (24, Old School, an episode of MTV Cribs featuring Avery) and model Rachel Hunter (ex of Rod Stewart and Stacy's Mom). Now Cuthbert is dating Calgary defenseman Dion Phaneuf (ESPN adds she was "romantically linked to Mike Komisarek of the Montreal Canadiens) and Hunter is dating Jarret Stoll of the L.A. Kings. So, while fighting isn't a big deal, talking smack is, so the NHL suspended him for "inappropriate public comments, not pertaining to the game."
The Stars agreed, with their owner Tom Hicks saying, "Had the league not have suspended him, the Dallas Stars would have. This organization will not tolerate such behavior, especially from a member of our hockey team. We hold our team to a higher standard and will continue to do so." Hey, Hicks, at least he didn't shoot himself in the thigh accidentally...right?
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The NHL has really gone downhill since that basketballer from Queens started running it. In the old days this would have been settled on the ice, possibly with fists.
Let me get this straight... in hockey, if you interrupt a game to exchange in a bare knuckle boxing match with an opponent, it's 'part of the game' and nothing will happen to you aside from having to sit a brief time in the penalty box.
A bit of harmless off-color humor made to the media, however and you get an indefinite suspension!
What a sport...
Can someone name me one professional sports figure (forget that sports hero shit) that you want your child to GROW UP to be like or marry? Notice the emphasis on the grow up part.
I think this is hilarious.
C'mon, you know the other guy HAD to be rattled.
Since when do we look to athletes for class?
Or for that matter, #3, as role model for our children?
They're supposed to win and entertain us.
I'd say he's overachieved on both counts.
#4
I absolutely agree with you.
However, kids do look at these athletes as role models. They want to grow up and be just like them. Definitely unfortunate.
God, I miss the NHL. When I was a kid, I would watch hockey every night after school with my Dad. The fighting, the hard hitting, bloody noses and mouths, trash talking - in addition to some amazing scenes of athleticism and victory.
NHL is soulless now and boring. The quality of the players seems to have suffered and now there's no big names to get excited about. Whenever the 4th line would get on the ice, everyone would get on the edge of their seat. You always knew there was going to be a big hit, an objectionable penalty or dropping of the gloves. Goons like Marty McSorley and Tie Domi were great counterpoints to the athleticism of guys like Gretzky and Messier. Both were entertaining and kept the fans emotionally invested.
Now, we have a bunch of players who lack the "big" personalities we love. When was the last time a player neared the 200 point mark or racked up nearly 500 penalty minutes? This was the kind of stuff that made legends are made of. In an effort to sanitize the league, we've actually seen the skill level go down, IMO.
Avery is a throwback to another era in hockey. He may be a pretty boy, but he comes from hockey's working class roots. He's hated, much in the same way Theo Fleurry and Marty McSorley were hated. But godddamn it - people get excited as soon as he gets off the bench and touches the ice because you don't want to miss what happens (will someone take a cheap shot? will he drop the gloves? will he score?!?!). That is what hockey is all about.
Why do Canadians do it doggy style?
.
.
.
.
.
.
So they can both watch the hockey game.
Ridiculous suspension. Avery may have a big mouth, but he brings a spark to the ice regardless of who he plays for. As others here have said, he's old school hockey, the way the NHL was before they started worrying about how the kids would be affected. Screw the kids. They see worse in school and on the street, and often, in their own homes. Hockey isn't going to screw them up anymore that real life is.
he used to say stuff like this all the time with the Rangers and didn't get suspended.
With regards to the 1st amendment, this type of speech isn't really protected - the speech is low value, and could be considered fighting words.
Either way, the NHL needs Avery's antics, and he shouldn't be suspended.
Why is he talking about sloppy seconds? According to gossip, the Justin Timberlake song "What Goes Around" (about a cheating lover) is inspired by Cuthbert cheating on Timberlake's best friend with Avery.
http://www.gossipsauce.com/sean-avery/sean-avery-likes-‘em-older
@4
Ovechkin has a pretty good hockey personality.
As for "when was the last time a player neared the 200 point mark," you're comparing incomparable eras. Patrick Roy helped popularize the butterfly technique. Brodeur and the Devils played the trap. Both resulted in a stronger defensive game resulting in less goals against.
There are plenty of big name NHL players to excited about. Ilya Kovalchuk? Alexander Ovechkin? Evgeni Malkin? Sidney Crosby? Pavel Datsyuk? Patrick Kane? Mike Richards? Ryan Getzlaf?
The rough and tumble game didn't disappear in the 80s. The 2000s have had Forsberg, Ovechkin, Richards, Getzlaf, and Lucic.
Sorry that comment was meant for comment 6.
Avery is a punk!
love it.
talk about condescending b.s. about the "working class." avery is trash, on the ice and off. this suspension is a reflection of that more than anything.
you people defending him have textbook closet-homosexual rage/penis envy.
not that a little suspension will change the minds of the future date-rapists of america in peewee hockey.
there should be more pictures of elisha cuthbert in this story.
@9
The first amendment is about government making laws against free speech, not a sports league or other private organization.
So his speech isn't protected by the first amendment regardless of what he said.
#1, in the old days, players had more class in their ass hairs than Avery does in his whole body.
#6, Bob Probert, Tie Domi, Dave Schultz, and Stu Grimson had more class in the fungus between their toes than Avery.
Marty McSorley was, and always will be, the punk ass who attacked Donald Brashear with his stick causing him to lose conciousness. McSorely and Avery are two peas in a pod.
Avery is NOT a throwback to old school hockey whatsoever. Those guys, even the goons, had more class and would never have searched for a television camera so that they could broadcast their shit talking about other players and their girlfriends/wives. If anyone had done something that stupid back in the day, other players would have dumped his ass in the East River with a pair of concrete shoes. An indefinite suspension from the NHL is an extremely light penalty for this piece of shit.
Avery is a punk. He called Georges Laraque, who is black, a monkey. He made fun of of Jason Blake's battle with cancer. Now this dumb remark about sloppy seconds? Let's be clear, Avery is not a throwback to some great era of the game. As a result of a ridiculous amount of expansion, there are way too many teams. That results in bums like Avery even having a job. At best he might make a team in the ECHL. The only reason goons like Domi, McSorley, Vukota, Nilan ever had a job was to protect the good players who didn't want to fight and hurt their hands. Finally he plays for the Dallas Stars why report on that dick here? He used to play for the Rangers. Good riddance...
For all those stating that hockey isn't interesting anymore, it's for reasons like this: the cleaned-up, spruced-up, speeded-up NHL doesn't have any more big talkers, like Avery. Believe me, I hate the guy, but I like hating him, b/c he's got a big mouth. The game used to be spicy this way.
Let him be suspended, if that's the case, but every team used to 1-2 of him, on their checking line, and always made the game interesting.
Let's see now:
1) Avery wasn't traded. He was not re-signed. Which Gothamist would know if hockey were compelling enough to pay attention to.
2) Avery is one of, um, one hockey players who's suspension might actually get mentioned outside of the third page of the sport section. And hockey doesn't like the way he talks? Because...it draws too much attention to the sport?
3) Featured in last night's game besides Sean Avery and his ex-girlfriend's new boy friend was Todd Bertuzzi. Who practically crippled a guy by jumping him from behind, but still collects a pay check. Now THAT might be a situation better addressed by the "detriment to the game" police.
4) The term used was "sloppy seconds." Yet enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame is wife-beater Bobby Hull, and last week the Montreal Habs honored Patrick Roy, who not long ago ordered his son to attack an opposing player. I mean, "sloppy seconds?" That doesn't merit the suspension a six grader, much less a pro athlete that makes a living getting the hell beaten out of him.
Hockey is a great sport. To be played correctly, it requires a certain, shall we say, edge. It also has a tradition of policing itself. If the powers that run it weren't so seeped in the American expectation of settling personal disputes with guns or lawsuits, they might have the brains to recognize that very little could be as compelling as watching Avery play after his comments. Ever wonder why hockey isn't on TV, but UFC is?
Avery is such a dick. I was happy to hear he was suspended, but then realized that this is by far not the dumbest thing he's done. If 1,000 nicks finally adds up to a real wound, then fine, but I think the reason is kind of lame.
This definitely should be settled on the ice with some good old fashioned hockey violence.
I think suspending him is stupid. Let him play. When gets his ass kicked a few dozen times he will shut up and fade into obscurity.
Over/under for the number of people posting in these comments who have ever watched a complete hockey game: 3.5
For "the old days were better" commenters who watched any part of a hockey game before 1994: 1.5
Over/under for the number of people posting in these comments who have ever watched a complete hockey game: 3.5
For "the old days were better" commenters who watched any part of a hockey game before 1994: 1.5
I think Avery is respectable in hockey terms because he's willing to stand up for himself on the ice. In the NHL world, Avery will have a huge target on his back next time Dallas meets Calgary (2/3). He'll lace up, take his shift and will fight when he has to.
Avery wanted Calgary focused on him and not winning the game. Dallas won.
Why Bettman suspended a player for this is beyond me. He's clueless about hockey.
Newsflash:
Avery basically has a target on his back...always.
I can understand a dislike for Avery's style if he is an opponent to your team, but he is pretty similar at times to Esa Tikannen. He's a little dirtier and maybe not as tough, but under that instigator attitude is a highly skilled hockey player. People love to forget that he can really play out there. He runs hot and cold, but he has some skills.
Suspension for something as silly as this is an embarresment for the NHL. Bettman should just stop what he's doing before he destroys anymore of this sport. Indefinite suspension for words... but how many infractions had Chris Simon gotten away with before he got a serious punishment???
If this allows the Rangers to pick Avery up on waivers though, hoooooo boy. I would be one happy Ranger fan :)
wow esa tikannen. haven't heard that name in a while. nice throwback to NHL Hockey for Sega Genesis!