Welcome to Hockey in Society’s Weekly Links post. This feature highlights articles or blog entries that are related to Hockey in Society’s areas of interest and that may be of interest to the site’s readers.

Hockey Links

A gay Canucks fan weighs in on the Wayne Simmonds/Sean Avery controversy and provides some analysis of homophobia and derogatory language in hockey. [Canucks Army]

Another example of the increasing intertwining of North American professional sports and the military, as the Toronto Maple Leafs announce that they will hold practices at the Canadian Forces Base in Trenton, ON. Hockey in Society will have much more on this topic on Sunday. [The Star]

A fascinating timeline of the political injury process of Sidney Crosby. Unfortunately it took the concussion problems of an NHL poster boy for the league to take headshots seriously – better late than never, yes, but it’s sad to think about how many players’ careers were ended prematurely because of lack of awareness and policy on this issue. [Grantland]

Mike Milbury on the NHL’s crackdown on headshots: “I think if this goes the way it’s going right now, it’ll do more than if they took fighting out of the game. If it’s called like this . . . it is going to turn into touch football. . . . Right now, there’s a lot of pink hats out there.” And this man is on the publicly-funded CBC. Any other Canadians pissed off that our taxes pay help to pay Milbury’s salary? [Puck Daddy]

This is mentioned in a previous post on Ken Dryden, but the former NHL all-star and Canadian Member of Parliament published two recent articles calling for a change in attitudes toward headshots in hockey. [Grantland and Globe and Mail]

General Sports Links

Malcolm Gladwell, author of the The Tipping Point, gives a fascinating analysis of the underhanded political and economic maneuvering that goes on with pro sports ownership. In this case, he explains how the former and current owners of the New Jersey Nets basketball team aren’t in it for basketball, so much as sweet real estate and arena deals. [Grantland]

ESPN removes Hank Williams Jr. from its introduction to Monday Night Football as a result of an interview in which the singer compared Barrack Obama to Adolf Hitler. Good on ESPN for taking swift action to condemn those comments. [ESPN]

Finally, for some levity, The Onion nails it once again: “A racially diverse group gathered in the living room of a stylish and well-appointed apartment earlier this week to enjoy various snack items, moderate amounts of low-calorie alcoholic beverages, and the company of other attractive young adults while watching a sporting event on a sleek new high-definition television.” [The Onion Sports Network]