One Game?

So, for that horrid hit Pronger made on Holmstrom last night, he got suspended one game. I guess it was better than nothing--I actually expected them to let him get away with it. I do believe one of the reasons--besides the fact that this is Pronger we're talking about--that he didn't get a longer suspension was the fact that Homer took 13 stitches to the face and CAME BACK TO PLAY THE REST OF THE GAME! Way to go Homer! If Holmstrom would have been sent to the hospital, maybe the suspension would have been longer. One can only hope.

I still cannot believe how the analysts are making excuses for what Pronger did. Or, if not making excuses, NOT condemning what he did. For crying out loud, a hit like that could practically take a man's head off. This was intentional and it should be condemned as such. I'd love to know what the motivating factor is for these 'analysts' to soft sell the whole 'incident.' I don't get it.

Now, before anyone gets at me for feeling the way I do just because this was against my team, I will say: WRONG! Pronger has taken cheap shots at other players for years and pretty much has gotten away with it. And that is due to the fact that he is a 'good' player. As far as I can see, he is tall and has a long reach--nothing else about him appeals to me.

I am not naive enough to try and say every other team has players that do 'wrong' things and Detroit is the only snow white team out there. I know better than that. Yes, I see Chelios slash at another player when the ref isn't looking. I see the hooking and tripping that doesn't get called. I see the little shots to the other players, the hits and 'bumps'--I'm not blind. But, these are the same types of things that all--well, almost all (sometimes I think Datsyuk doesn't know HOW to trip, hook, slash, etc.)--players on all teams do as often as they think they can get away with. And these are the kinds of things I don't mind seeing and don't mind having called as penalties. But the kinds of things that Pronger and several other players do--Tootoo is another one--are just plain wrong. For the most part, a trip here, a hook there, even a slight slash, is not going to do any permanent damage to another player. Bumps, bruises, and even a little blood are part of the game. When you hit someone with your elbow in the back of the head, forcing their face into the boards, THAT can do some pretty bad, and sometimes permanent, damage. That is not what hockey is, or should, be about.