All Star Weekend

Hello Again,
In the not to distant future, this weekend, the National Hockey League will be doing something that it has done many times, however, this year the format will change. The NHL All-Star weekend is coming up, and it has a new look, instead of east meets west, or conference v. conference, we'll be treated to a style only seen on Saturday afternoon in the middle of the neighbourhood streets. Yes, this year will be likened to a pick up style of hockey, where two captains have been chosen, Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes, and Nikolas Lindstrum of the Detroit Red Wings. there is a large list of all-star players to choose from, but the question isn't who will be chosen first, it's who is going to be chosen last. This to me is a great premise for the All-Star game, and I personally have been saying it should be done in this manner for quite some time now, I'm just happy that someone, somewhere, however faintly heard my pleas. Not that I'm taking any sort of credit for the new format, not at all... I swear. All that has to happen now is for Ontario to get a third hockey team and most of my prayers to the hockey gods will have been answered. As for my other hockey prayer, I've been told that not even Buddha, Jesus, or even Aladdin's genie could make it happen... oh when, oh when will the Leafs win the Stanley Cup again... But enough about that, this weekend is the All-Star game, and if you didn't know about the new format, I suggest checking it out.
Just putting it out there.

Scott

What's happening this week.

Starting this week we'll recap what the discussions were about in the NHL, as it has been for the better part of the season, the big topic is hits to the head. This is a major issue in the NHL as many players this season are out for an indefinite period due to concussions, including the NHL's brightest star Sidney Crosby. The issue has been given a boost due to a Carolina player being clearly targeted with an elbow to the head, and with all other concussion victims, the duration of the injury is not clear, unlike with other injuries, there isn't any set time line for a player to be able to return to the game. What begs the question is, what exactly can be done to reduce the number of head injuries in the NHL. Well many sports analysts have discussed this ad nauseam, with no tangible results, however, maybe the issue isn't as simple as 3 game suspension, maybe what needs to be done is that players should be fined $25,000 for a first time offence with a 2 game suspension, and $50,000 for a second offence, and $75,000 for each offence after. The reason I suggest a monetary fine is that the monies can be either donated to the players association or to brain injury research. 

Yes it may seem like a large amount to those of us who don't make a million dollars a season, but this seems to me to just be a drop in the bucket. 

Just putting it out there.

Scott.