Replies

If I could capture the amazing essence of hockey in one video clip, it would be this one:

Watch it once, then watch it again ... and again ... and again. Especially the replay of the goal starting around the 0:30 mark. This is just one small bit of what makes hockey such an incredible sport. For all the talk about the brutality of the game and fans who "get their jollies out of such displays of testosterone-laden men," the intricate stick-handling and hand-eye coordination of hockey isn't matched anywhere in sports.

Just watch that video again and think of this:

1. The defenseman who fired the initial shot put the puck right where he wanted it to go.

2. The forward who deflected it got his stick down on the ice right where it needed to be, and angled the blade perfectly to deflect the puck right where he wanted it to go -- high over the goalie's opposite shoulder.

3. Hockey is played with sticks, not bare hands. I suspect most athletes in other sports would have a hard time throwing a ball (baseball, football, basketball, etc.) from 50 feet away and hit that spot in the top corner of the net where the puck ended up ... after being shot by one player and deflected by the other. This isn't even just simple hand-eye coordination. It's coordination between the hands and eyes of two different players.

And in case you're wondering ... No, this wasn't some kind of accident. This play was executed exactly as the Phoenix players on the ice planned.

Thanks, but the video function on my computer does not work. I really need to get it fixed. I am not being smart-alecky about this, it’s true.

I know next to nothing about hockey, having grown up in Birmingham, Alabama. I’m sure that there are many important aspects of the game that evade me; I only have memories of TV reports on games and they almost inevitably showed fights between the players (obviously, the fans love this or the league would put an end to it, hence my comment).

Being Canadian, hockey is a big part of your culture and rightly so. I am sure that it is a fine game, despite the “fights.” My animus is really directed to football, which I loath, completely loath. Long story.

Thanks for your going to the trouble of finding that clip. I intend to get this video fixed within the next few days and will come back and look at it.

Best regards,

OldPossum