The night history came knocking – and the NHL failed to answer the door

History came knocking, loud and clear. And the National Hockey League pulled a pillow over its head and refused to answer the door. There is no other possible spin on the colossal gaffe the NHL and its players committed Wednesday evening. With the NBA, WNBA, MLS, some MLB teams and some tennis players boycotting or …

Advertisement

The story of one Black man, on a street in Florida many years ago…

You won’t find Fred Wilson’s name in the annals of the centuries-long struggle for equal rights in the United States of America.      He wasn’t assassinated as a thorn in the side of the white majority, like Dr. Martin Luther King. He wasn’t killed by a Black assassin in an internecine power struggle, like Malcolm …

A loss that left the fans smiling…

So it’s over. Time to leave the carousel ride, step out of the bubble, squeeze in a little summer while there’s still time. (Just don’t plan a charcoal barbecue, because the world is fresh out of charcoal.) The Canadiens did you proud, ladies and gentlemen. They kicked Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to the curb …

Niskanen: The laughable suspension that is an indictment of the entire NHL…

Let’s be clear: I said before that George Parros should be suspended, but the laughable one-game suspension handed to Matt Niskanen for the vicious crosscheck that broke Brendan Gallagher’s jaw is bigger than that. It’s a league-wide failure. A failure that has been going on for decades. A failure to meet on-ice violence with penalties …

This just in from the Department of Gladiator Safety: Klaus the Killer has received one game for decapitation…

Maybe it’s time to suspend George Parros. This is not a joke. The NHL Department of Player Safety has failed so many times, in so many situations, that it is clear Parros is not up to the task. Either Parros himself does not care to make the ice somewhat safer for those who earn their …

On the Habs & Harry Houdini…

The Canadiens Wednesday night were like Harry Houdini, operating in a Chinese water torture cell designed specifically for them by perpetually inept NHL referee Chris Lee. Like Houdini, their ankles were locked into a frame and they were dangled upside down over a tank of water, then lowered head first into the water and locked …

The CFL – is this the death knell or a chance to reinvent the league?

The only thing I remember about the game is Pierre Trudeau’s outfit. A jaunty fedora, a cape, a pale blazer, a flower in his lapel. It was late November, 1970, and I was living with a group of francophone students in Trois-Rivieres. We were gathered around a small black-and-white TV set in the living room, …

“Low event hockey?” More like no event hockey…

It was a game only a diehard could love. A red-haired stepchild of a game, an ugly duckling after so much anticipation – like winning the lottery and finding out that your prize is a weekend in Mississauga. It was exactly what Philadelphia Flyers coach Alain Vigneault wanted, but unless you’re the type who can …

Who are those guys? (The Habs, that’s who)

Around 4:30 Friday afternoon, Alain Vigneault leaned over behind the Philadelphia bench and said something to Michel Therrien. I’m not an expert in lip-reading but I’m pretty sure he was quoting Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: “Who are those guys?” Who, indeed. “Those guys” are your Montreal Canadiens. The guys who turfed Sidney Crosby …

Boys to men: young Habs making the future look bright

It is so easy to forget how young they are. Nick Suzuki turned 21 Monday. Jesperi Kotkaniemi turned 20 July 6. When Jaro Halak led the Canadiens through that heroic dash to the Eastern Conference final in the spring of 2010, Suzuki was ten years old and Kotkaniemi was still nine. When P.K. Subban and …