One of my research interests is the ways in which new media such as blogs and Twitter are both reshaping the social experience of being a sports fan and dismantling the near-monopoly that the mainstream media has traditionally held over the interpretation and meaning of hockey. Yesterday, I wrote about the politics of naming rights…
The Globe and Mail has reported that Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) and Ryerson University have reached an agreement over naming rights and usage of the university’s new facility currently under construction at the site of Maple Leaf Gardens in downtown Toronto. The site, which has historical meaning for many Torontonians and hockey fans,…
Last week The Globe and Mail hosted a live chat with Jim Thomson, the former NHL enforcer whose anti-fighting stance and recent public calling-out by Don Cherry have placed him firmly in hockey’s spotlight – Thomson has been widely interviewed and quoted in the past weeks, and Hockey in Society’s own courtneyszto posted yesterday about…
On (Canadian) Thanksgiving CBC News aired a timely special with Mark Kelly called “Hockey’s Hard Hits”. In this one hour “investigative report” Kelly interviews former NHL enforcers Jim Thomson, Jimmy Mann and Chris Nilan while also delving into fighting, head shots and Ken Dryden’s expertise. Jim Thomson offers a very candid recounting of how he…
Update (10:08pm): Earlier today Grimson, Nilan and Thomson released a statement thanking Cherry and announcing that they accept his apology [Globe & Mail] Update (10:19pm): Grimson released a separate, strongly worded statement criticizing the discourse around hockey violence and questioning the role of the CBC in facilitating the promotion of Cherry’s viewpoints [Puck Daddy] Another…
By Simon Darnell What Arron Asham did was ‘classless.’ This is according to no less an authority than Arron Asham. After knocking out Jay Beagle with a vicious (but fairly standard) haymaker in an NHL fight on Thursday, Asham issued an immediate mea culpa after the game. His apology made reference to the way that…
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 Excellent post about the culture of violence in hockey. One of the best things I’ve read this week.…
It has been less than a week since Don Cherry’s tirade against, amongst other targets, ex-fighters who have spoken out against the role of fisticuffs in hockey. But it has not taken long for this story to create considerable fallout for the Coach’s Corner star and for the CBC. Some highlights: Within 24 hours of…
Alexander Ovechkin versus Sidney Crosby. Sidney Crosby versus Alexander Ovechkin. The debate itself and the polarization created by both players is a rivalry that any sport would kill for. They are the marketing world’s perfect storm as far as the NHL is concerned. As any hockey fan knows, there is a strong dividing line between…
On September 6, at Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg, four members of the recently relocated Winnipeg Jets stepped out of a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) transport plane in the official unveiling of the team’s new jerseys. The choreographed spectacle, not to mention the RCAF-inspired logo that now adorns the Jets’ jerseys, made overt the ties…
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