FanHouse Fighting

Love him or hate him (and there is little in-between for most people), Don Cherry is not afraid to say what is on his mind. With his heart on his fashionable sleeves, Don protects fighters and fighting in hockey from the bleeding hearts of the media world who would have hockey turn into soccer on ice.

Thanks to Cherry's weekly sermons and tirades on Hockey Night in Canada, the Powers That Be finally voted to relax penalties against players who instigate fights. Players will be able to accrue five instigator violations before being suspended, rather than the current three, allowing the George Parros' of the NHL to do their jobs more effectively.

Fans in the USA just don't get to experience Don Cherry in his natural environment: blasting critics, campaigning for no-touch icing, and telling kids to keep their stick on the ice. Cherry's opinions aren't always right or politically correct, but he is entertaining and gives the establishment a nice shakeup now and then.

"It's ridiculous," he said. "Look at how big that Ultimate Fighting has become. It's bigger than wrestling."

"People down there don't want to see European hockey. That's evident in Detroit, where the building is one-quarter empty. It's sad. Why is it that way? Because they want to see the type of hockey that included the likes of Bob Probert, Joey Kocur and Darren McCarty, not this."

Do Canadians love the guy? Hell, yeah!!

In a national poll run by the CBC in 2004, Cherry was voted the seventh-greatest Canadian, ahead of Wayne Gretzky and Alexander Graham Bell.

As Brian Burke, the general manager of the Anaheim Ducks, said, "I've timed workouts to watch him."

You can see the greatness of Cherry at the Coaches Corner website.

Before I went to Tuesday night's Caps-Pens game, I told one of my co-workers that I was planning on talking to Caps fans on what they thought about the team's decision to junk their current uniform style for a retro red, white and blue look that will be familiar to long-time fans of the franchise.

My colleague said that he thought that was a good idea, but that I should probably think about asking them about fighting instead. Realizing he was right, I changed my plans, and once I got to the arena, I asked the Caps PR person, Nate Ewell, to get me five minutes with Donald Brashear after the game.

Needless to say, Brashear wasn't crazy about having to answer anymore questions about fighting. As my friend Rob Visconti said a few days ago, asking Donald Brashear to talk about fighting is a lot like asking the Rolling Stones to play 'Satisfaction' for the eight millionth time. And at the start of the video, it's pretty clear he's not exactly happy with me.
But to Donald's credit, once the questions started, he never hesitated to answer anything that I asked. And as you can see, he had a lot of interesting things to say about how he and other guys who play his role in the league feel that they have to suffer so the superstars can do their jobs. And no matter how you might feel about fighting, Brashear is worth listening to.

And for his troubles gets injured anyways.

South Carolina starting right tackle Justin Sorensen has been held out of practice this week after getting injured during a fight at a St. Patrick's Day party.

Sorensen, 20, was hit over the head with a beer bottle at a downtown Columbia restaurant Saturday as he turned to walk away from a fight with 25-year-old Christian Ernest Beyer, according to a police report.

Now, I hate to rip on the kid for doing the right thing by not fighting. That's admirable. Especially since Sorensen is listed at 6'7" and 323 pounds, and probably could have ripped the guy apart. So, just consider this some friendly advice.

If you are that big and someone is that blitzed that they still want to fight you, turning your back on the guy is not the smartest decision. It may not be as cool and may even look like backing down just a little, but never turn away from a drunk who wants to fight. Back away first. Get a little distance, then you can turn and go.