- Jun 10, 2014
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You're first paragraph is kinda silly. I've been a part of five championships as a player and those players can be integral part of a winning team. None of them intended to hurt anyone, but effective pests help teams win. They were all good guys off the ice but effective at their craft on the ice. All sports have atheletes that try to gain an edge, all of them! Doesn't mean they all have no honour. I guess you can't watch any soccer then with all the cheating going on?
I recognize the role of the pests. I even enjoy watching what they do sometimes, as long as they aren't doing it to my team. To a point. The line appears fine sometimes. To me. I don't want to be either self-righteous or hypocritical. But I can recognize way over the line when I see it.
Brad Marchand is way over the line. He is an animal. He doesn't even understand why he is in trouble or criticized for what he does. He has a hurt look on his face when he gets punished. He goes too far. Way too far.
As I recall. Claude Lemieux was even worse.
I liked when Lemieux (jr) came to the defense of a teammate in his short stint with the Jets. I forget the exact circumstances. I'm quite willing to give him a chance.
Earlier in his career, he was penalized and suspended for actions that crossed the line. More recently, I think he has been better. He got into some trouble for things he may have said to referees. But I don't think there have been any recent examples of the slewfoots or other recklessly dangerous incidents of earlier.
He needs to control his temper to avoid the 'unsportsmanlike' calls. He needs to draw more penalties than he takes. If he can get under opponents skin, make them lose their tempers, without crossing that fine line I'm happy with that. Like I said, I don't expect choirboys.
My first paragraph was not silly. It was about things more important than a hockey game. I'm dead serious when I say that the manner of winning is important, more important than the prize itself. Whether in recreation or any other aspect of life. It just comes down to the old question of whether or not the end justifies the means. I believe it does not. You are free to disagree, of course.
When Lester Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize he stated that he never strove to win awards but he always strove to deserve them. He was not the first man to say that but he is the one I remember. I always admired that attitude.
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