As you could probably guess, I’m not a huge sports fan. I was in graduate school at Penn State for five years and never attended a football game. When I lived in California I went to four Oakland A’s games and one Golden State Warrior’s game. While I can tell you who Michael Vick is, I’ve never seen him play. When I taught at San Jose State, I paid no attention to the San Jose Sharks.
Nevertheless, I have opinions. I don’t think Andy Reid should be fired. I’ve never accepted the designated hitter. And I think the National Hockey League needs to have its collective head examined.
I just finished reading a three-part series on the life and death of Derek Boogaard, an enforcer for the Minnesota Wild, who died on May 13 at the age of 28. His brain had degenerated under constant blows to the head.
Each team in the National Hockey League has an enforcer whose job it is not to play hockey, but to fight. The NFL says there is no proof that these fights lead to brain damage. Anyway, the fans love the fighting.
This reminds me of the claim by tobacco companies for years that there was no proof that smoking caused lung cancer. As for the fans liking the fights, obviously fans like dog fighting, but we still make it illegal. Hockey, in my admittedly untutored opinion, can do without the fisticuffs. College hockey does. Olympic hockey does. It is time for the NHL to grow up.
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