I take issue with the The Telegraph’s resident sports expert Jonathan Liew view of  (ice)hockey.
I will admit that to the untrained eye hockey is a difficult sport to follow, despite the advances of High Definition television. Hockey is a fast sport…….no – it is the fastest team sport. Puck travels at 114 miles / hour (184 kms) but unlike in golf, the hockey projectile is aimed at humans, who are using their bodies to stop it from entering  the goal. How unusual?

Like Rugby Hockey is a blood sport, but it’s faster. It’s a man sport, even when played by women. I feel that the writer is not fair in his assessment as it is just as difficult to follow a tennis volley or service going at 200 kms/hour, or a teed of golf ball. You need replay to appreciate the  what just happened.

Well hockey is not dissimilar, but it has added spice with team play, combination of basketball and the grit of rugby. The author bemoans  “befuddlement” by the rules and the calls from the reporters. We have been in Britain for 20+ years and I am still trying to come to terms with Cricket. Now that’s a strange game…….oops, Sport.   I am bowled out in 3 overs.

Hockey is the greatest sport on earth and its Britains loss that they don’t appreciate it as much as the Canadians, Czech, Swedes, Finns, Latvians, Swiss, Germans, Americans…

Hockey is growing and by the latest count there are some 1.5 million registered players world wide. The author would be excused to know that ice hockey is played in India and that the indian national team won their first game last year. 46 countries are involved in the annual world championships…..Mongolia being the last ranked team. Many nations have not yet qualified for the WC: Algeria, Kuwait, UAE, Morocco, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, India, Singapore, Macau, and Oman…

The list is growing

Perhaps perceived as a comical move in retaliation to an ass kicking, the act of defecation in another man’s hockey equipment only cries out the need for psychotherapy. I am in 100% agreement of this guy getting the boot and having no refund – in fact, banning his ass for life was a great move. Acts of revenge in hockey need not to take place by means of fecal matter, but on the ice whether through your play or throwing it down. What this guy did not only cost him his dignity and respect, but more importantly, it cost his team two points.

Click the glove to read the story…

The news of Brian Burke being relieved of his General Management and team President duties for the Toronto Maple Leafs took many by surprise right at the outbreak of the season. One cannot help but think there is more behind the firing than purely lack of Leaf playoff success and a sub-par product on the ice! I guess only time will tell what the true motivation behind MLSE taking action was, but my guess has Burkey pinned in a much greater set of complicated circumstances than merely the Leafs lack of Lord Stanley…

This brings me to the video of the week! I discovered this beauty while pursuing YouTube looking for a replay of Burke’s farewell conference. Obviously, everyone who watched this press conference live had comparable thoughts swimming in their head similar to what this guy dubbed! Definitely worth a watch and provides a good laugh!