Sports Illustrated writer calls Golisano a whiner....

[SarasotaSabre]

Look at what this POS had to say.....followed by my email retort to SI.com -

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writ...tter/index.html

 

Muir, are you a shill for the Sens, because you sure appear to be. Call Golisano self-serving if you will, but at least he has the stones to call attention to an issue that is long overdue. I guarantee if this happened to Crosby there would be an int'l crisis. Your defense of Neil's hit as "smart" is only surpassed by your "loose helmet" theory and your supposition in speaking for what Drury is thinking. Your opinion is pathetic and is the kind of garbage that prevents meaningful reform in the archaic, hypocritical NHL.

 

For a well-thought, logical take on the issue, you would be better served to read and take note of the article by John Buccigross, who one-ups you in this regard....http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=buccigross_john&id=2780254.

 

".... don't understand why a shoulder pad to the head is not equivalent to an elbow to the head. This is a hit that needs to be outlawed in the NHL. Chris Neil had plenty of time and space to make a decision on how to hit Chris Drury. That alone tells you the hit was a late hit. It was superfluous, unsportsmanlike and excessive."

 

It may take an owner standing up for his players in a public forum to draw attention to a larger issue and effect change. I hardly call this whining - other owners right now are probably thanking him, as they rightly should.

 

I normally admire your writing, but in this case you are dead wrong, and irresponsible to boot.

[PASabreFan]

Muir nailed it. He's right. Drury's comments on the hit should be a hint for everyone to shut up. Golisano's letter was pretty hilarious, sounding very much like a mother complaining to a squirt league about her undersized kid's treatment in a game. Muir talks about the hypocrisy of Regier voting in favor of keeping such hits legal. Another bit of hypocrisy can be found in Golisano's deathly quiet after Mair laid out and concussed a Bruin on a much dirtier hit back in late January.

[Bmwolf21]

Another bit of hypocrisy can be found in Golisano's deathly quiet after Mair laid out and concussed a Bruin on a much dirtier hit back in late January.

Which hit was that?

[MBD]

The NHL IS a squirt league in the world of professional sports, and Bettman is the head squirt.

[Supersabre]

Muir nailed it. He's right. Drury's comments on the hit should be a hint for everyone to shut up. Golisano's letter was pretty hilarious, sounding very much like a mother complaining to a squirt league about her undersized kid's treatment in a game. Muir talks about the hypocrisy of Regier voting in favor of keeping such hits legal. Another bit of hypocrisy can be found in Golisano's deathly quiet after Mair laid out and concussed a Bruin on a much dirtier hit back in late January.

 

Hits are a part of the game. However, in this case Chris Neil went well out of his way with the intent to injure or harm. As in the example of Galisano's letter to Commisioner Bettman:

"In our recent game with the Ottawa Senators, an opposing player skated

half the width of the ice surface, approached Chris Drury from his blind

side, and delivered a blow to his head which dislodged his helmet,

severely lacerating the area around his eye causing a concussion. Chris

Drury did not have the puck, he was not able to see the player coming

from behind, and had relaxed his guard. The player in question was aware

his presence was undetected but chose to deliver a vicious blow, which

can only be construed as intent to injure."

 

"Hitting is a very important part of our game. You hit to break up a

shot, you hit to disrupt a pass, you hit to battle for the puck and you

hit to gain position for a defensive or offensive play. There are many

times a player is vulnerable. And there are many times when a player can

make a hit on a vulnerable player but chooses not to for fear of

injuring an opponent for no practical advantage. It?s called respect."

 

http://www.sabresreport.com/blogs/?p=417

 

In this case Chris Neil went headhunting and showed Chris Drury no respect.

[BRH]

I would expect no less from Chris Drury than for him to take the high road that he's always taken. That's why he's one of the most respected men in the game and has more class in his little finger than Chris Neil does in his entire body.

 

A bit lost in that News article, though, was Drury's comment that he "lost consciousness on the initial hit and woke up when his face hit the ice." That puts the lie to the Senators' claim that his loosely- fastened helmet (which he wears like 99% of the other players in the league) was the real reason for his injuries. He was out on his feet and landed on his face, not the top of his head. Yes, Drury wears a shield that might have protected him -- but that's not mandated by the league.

[drnkirishone]

ummmm lets see if Drury says it was dirty, cheap, or headhunting then all you people defending the hit and bashing TG will say the same thing about Drury. He just knows there is nothing for him to gain by him saying anything about it

[Supersabre]

I would expect no less from Chris Drury than for him to take the high road that he's always taken. That's why he's one of the most respected men in the game and has more class in his little finger than Chris Neil does in his entire body.

 

A bit lost in that News article, though, was Drury's comment that he "lost consciousness on the initial hit and woke up when his face hit the ice." That puts the lie to the Senators' claim that his loosely- fastened helmet (which he wears like 99% of the other players in the league) was the real reason for his injuries. He was out on his feet and landed on his face, not the top of his head. Yes, Drury wears a shield that might have protected him -- but that's not mandated by the league.

 

One more thing: you might suggest to your players that they wear their helmets properly. If Drury's chin strap had been pulled snug, as the manufacturer intended, chances are his bonnet would have stayed on after Neil's hit and protected his head when it hit the ice. Just a thought.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writ...tter/index.html

 

I am not sure either after reading that quote. I would have to go back and look at the replay.

http://x.indabuff.com/donut/

After watching the replay Chris Drury's helmet came off after the hit and his head hit the ice.

You'll have to scroll down a little bit to find the Youtube video but it clearly shows Chris Drury's helmet coming off before he hit the ice.

[Tarrytown]

How can anyone (Don Cherry et al.) claim that it wasn't a late hit? Isn't it interference when you hit a man without the puck? I can't read the man's mind on intent to injure but come on folks...it was a late hit...he didn't have the puck...case closed.

 

On the issue of how Drury was injured there are two point to think about (i) if the ice did cause his injury then the question is how did he fall to the ice? - a late hit (ii) loose helmut or not...if he is not hit ...the helmut stays on...

 

At the end of the day it is all disgraceful to the league. The brawl was the only coverage that the NHL gets in the States (it led the sports news the next morning in LA and was all over ESPN). And gives excuses to hockey haters as to why the game sucks.

 

The Sabres had to stand up for themselves because the league is a waste of time and gutless and the Sens and Brian Murray...I just have no respect for them. They are a weak and meaningless team...they will choke again this year.

[jad1]

Which hit was that?

 

Mair hit David Krejci late after a scrum near the Boston net. Unlike Neil, Mair was given a charging penalty. Vanek was given an goaltender interfence call during the same dustup, and Murray scored on the power play.

 

After the game Mair said that he was surprised that nobody on the Bruins responded to the hit. The Sabres beat the Bruins 7-1 in that game. Primeau did fight Mair later in the game, but by that time, the Sabres were up by 5 goals.

[Bmwolf21]

I remember that one, but I think the one he laid on Mowers was much later and worse: LINK

 

I haven't seen it in a while, but IIRC the Krecjic hit was a little late but not Chris Neil late.

[shrader]

One more thing: you might suggest to your players that they wear their helmets properly. If Drury's chin strap had been pulled snug, as the manufacturer intended, chances are his bonnet would have stayed on after Neil's hit and protected his head when it hit the ice. Just a thought.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writ...tter/index.html

 

I'm not sold on that one. Neil's shoulder hit the bottom edge of the helmet, right above Drury's forhead. It wouldn't have flown off, but the helmet would've still been displaced, exposing part of his head for the fall.

[Supersabre]

I'm not sold on that one. Neil's shoulder hit the bottom edge of the helmet, right above Drury's forhead. It wouldn't have flown off, but the helmet would've still been displaced, exposing part of his head for the fall.

 

From what I could tell after watching the video, after Neil hit Drury you can see Drury's helmet come off before Drury's head ever hit the ice. It looked bad. As bad as Train wrecks go. I am just glad that the injury to Chris wasn't worse than it could have been.

[shrader]

From what I could tell after watching the video, after Neil hit Drury you can see Drury's helmet come off before Drury's head ever hit the ice. It looked bad. As bad as Train wrecks go. I am just glad that the injury to Chris wasn't worse than it could have been.

 

Yeah, Neil's shoulder hit the helmet, knocking it off. With a tight chin strap (not that any player actually does that), the helmet probably still would've been dislodged a bit. Whether or not his head would've been uncovered at the point of contact with the ice, I don't know.

[drnkirishone]

maybe I was seeing things on hte hit but I could have sworn the hit actually unsnapped it. It really does not matter how tight it is cause if you get hit hard enough in the head it is gonna come off. They need to remake this relic to be more protecting and do away with the solid plastic shoulder and elbow pads. 90% of the injuries I think would go away by doing those 3 things

[inkman]

Muir nailed it. He's right. Drury's comments on the hit should be a hint for everyone to shut up. Golisano's letter was pretty hilarious, sounding very much like a mother complaining to a squirt league about her undersized kid's treatment in a game. Muir talks about the hypocrisy of Regier voting in favor of keeping such hits legal. Another bit of hypocrisy can be found in Golisano's deathly quiet after Mair laid out and concussed a Bruin on a much dirtier hit back in late January.

PA, what I don't understand is why no other Sabre fans get this? Does anyone look at anything objectively anymore? :blink:

[JohnRobertEichel]

OK. And for Mr. SI Hockey Writer's next article, I recommend his focus be on Coach Lithp and his whining over Lindy sending out his goon squad immediately after the hit.

[PASabreFan]

I remember that one, but I think the one he laid on Mowers was much later and worse: LINK

 

I haven't seen it in a while, but IIRC the Krecjic hit was a little late but not Chris Neil late.

 

It was after the whistle.

[Taro T]

Muir nailed it. He's right. Drury's comments on the hit should be a hint for everyone to shut up. Golisano's letter was pretty hilarious, sounding very much like a mother complaining to a squirt league about her undersized kid's treatment in a game. Muir talks about the hypocrisy of Regier voting in favor of keeping such hits legal. Another bit of hypocrisy can be found in Golisano's deathly quiet after Mair laid out and concussed a Bruin on a much dirtier hit back in late January.

Muir didn't nail it. He's wrong.

 

Drury's comments should be a hint that the Sabres players should shut up about this because they have nothing to gain. The Sabres appear to have gained a bit in the toughness reputation department for the way they responded. Carping on the hit, by them, does nothing but make them look whiny, which goes a long way toward reducing any gains in the toughness reputation department.

 

I think TG did the right thing as well, although I'd have hoped that the letter would read more like Bucci's column that the way it actually did. This (head shots) is something the league SHOULD address. Are we in agreement on that, or do you not think this is a matter to be addressed? The league removing head-shots out of the game would be a MAJOR change in philosophy, and there is a very good likelihood that if they don't make getting this right a priority issue; it will end up being like the "in the crease" rule, which, while well intentioned, was horribly implemented. You don't get major changes in philosophy without a major event. (Oftentimes, you don't even get them with a major event.)

 

Golisano's letter forces the issue to the forefront in the league office. Should the letter have been made public, I don't know; probably, simply because the league office can't pretend it didn't "get the memo".

 

I don't know whether Darcy's vote was hypocritic or not, as I don't know what the proposal was that was actually voted on. If you have a copy of it, I'll review it and let you know if I agree with you and Muir or not. Until then, I'll give Darcy the benefit of the doubt, as a poorly crafted rule regarding shots to the head would be worse than what we currently have.

 

As for hypocracy on the Mair hit, what exactly would you have Golisano do? And after you tell me what you'd have him do, tell me what you'd have him do in the real world. (If you could link the hit, I'd comment on it more; I recall the hit being right after the whistle, and I thought he hit him in the chest, but the news reports say he hit him in the head, so I won't comment on it until I see it again.)

[Claude Balls]

Two points to this whole story:

 

First -

Q. - Did the letter make the Sabres come across as a "woe is me" type of whiny letter?

A. - Hell yes it did, 100%.

 

Second

Q. - Did it need to be written by someone an sent to the league publicly?

A. - Hell yes it did, 1000%.

 

I just think Golisano has more stones than any other owner in the league by doing it. I'm sure many others have thought (or done privately) the exact same thing. Golisano didn't become a billionare by whining, he became a billionaire by taking a chance, just like he did with the letter.