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
- First up, I am pleased that in the past month we have welcomed two new writers to Hockey in Society: Matt Ventresca and Ted Nolan. Please check out their recent first posts on the politics of NHL support for Movember and fighting and hockey justice, respectively. The additions of Matt and Ted bring our awesome writing crew up to five people!
- Shocking news from the Philadelphia Flyers late this week, as GM Paul Holmgren announces that star player Chris Pronger has suffered “severe post-concussion syndrome” and will not play for the remainder of the season and playoffs. Eric Duhatschek wonders if this is the end of Pronger’s career and explains the rarity of such long-term concussion planning. [Globe and Mail]
- Greg Wyshynksi weighs in on Pronger and questions whether or not there is a concussion “epidemic” in hockey. [Puck Daddy]
- Pronger’s concussion comes hot on the heels of Sidney Crosby being ruled out of play indefinitely for NHL teams’ euphemism du jour, “concussion-like symptoms”. [PensBurgh]
- Maple Leafs Sport & Entertainment has been sold to telecommunications rivals Bell Communications and Rogers Communications, who each own nearly 40% of the company. [Pension Plan Puppets]
- A breakdown of how this surprising deal was consummated. [Globe and Mail]
- Travis Hughes examines this “absolutely bizarre” deal between rival companies. [SB Nation]
- After Montreal Gazette writer Pat Hickey criticized Theoren Fleury for not speaking up about his abuse at the hands of former coach Graham James, Andrew Berkshire offers a strong rebuttal against Hickey. [Habs Eyes on the Prize]
- CBC and NBC commentator Mike Milbury – once described by Roy MacGregor as “Don Cherry with training wheels” – has been charged with assault for an incident in a youth hockey game in which he was coaching. Jonathan Willis has a solid take, noting that Milbury’s actions are not likely worse than many hockey parents (though this does not justify them) but that this incident could doom his broadcasting career. [Leafs Nation]
- UPDATE: Milbury has left the CBC indefinitely, while the legal process plays out. [Globe and Mail]
- Interesting stuff: A map of the five professional hockey leagues operating in 1926-27, including the American Hockey Association and the Prairie Hockey League. [Hockey Historysis]
- A number of doctors have offered a medical perspective on the impact of hockey fighting. [New York Times]
- Sweden opens its own Hockey Hall of Fame. [Nucks Misconduct]
General Sports Links
- Fascinating article about a professional luca libre wrestler in the US whose conservative, anti-immigrant persona is designed to rile up the Hispanic supporters of the sport. Very interesting fusion of sport, theatre, and politics. [BBC News]
- As Major League Baseball institutes a dress code for members of the press, Charles Pierce criticizes the league’s attempts at controlling the media and the underlying sexism of its new policy. [Grantland]
- Great read from my fellow PhD student about his research on child trafficking in European soccer. [Darragh McGee Blogs]
- A strong critique of NFL concussion policies. [Yahoo! Sports]
- Costs for the 2012 Olympic Games in London are soaring. This should not be shocking to anyone who has studied sport mega-events, which routinely run over budget and fail to deliver many of the promised benefits to their hos communities. [Globe and Mail]
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