CANUCKS BAIL ON BERTUZZI / I REALLY DON'T LIKE STEVE MOORE
The Bertuzzi/Moore saga keeps getting worse. Now that the Canucks have traded Bertuzzi, they are 'distancing themselves' from his ordeal, according to Slam Sports, bringing about increased animosity between the the 2 parties. At the same time, Bertuzzi is expecting the Canucks to front some of the money for the awarded damages as well. Ah, the fun begins. And now to switch gears....
What really pisses me off is that Steve Moore's parents, Jack and Anna are suing for emotional damages as well. Please excuse my temper, but Jack and Anna can go f**k themselves for all I care. Greedy assh***s! Give me a break. (I feel better now)
I'm close to losing my last bit of sympathy for Steve as well. Moore is using a few quotes from Canuck players to solidify his position in this case that he was a 'target' after his hit on Naslund. Here are a few of them:
- "That kid's a piece of s---. We play them twice more and hopefully they'll keep him (in the lineup). It's called respect." (Bertuzzi)
- "There's no way that punk will be in their lineup in March." (Bertuzzi)
- At the time, teammate Brad May had said: "There's definitely a bounty on his head. Clean hit or not, that's our best player (Markus Naslund) and you respond. It's going to be fun when we get him."
- Said Jarkko Ruutu: "Down the road, there's gong to be pay-up time."
Well now I am really losing it. Either Steve Moore came up with that shit, or his cash sucking lawyer did. Either way, fuck them both. Those are statements made in the heat of the moment after the Nucks' star player was smoked by Moore. Granted, Bertuzzi did act out his threats, the other players listed didn't. If you hit a star player you are going to get retribution, Steve. Your injured neck wasn't fair, but don't start critisizing what the innocent players said just to further your case and fill your pockets. Fuck that, that is dishonorable. Their threats are a part of the game, and were warranted in my opinion, by your lack of class (by hitting Naslund.)
This is a bit off, but this goes to show that players really are better off giving cliche answers when they are interviewed, especially in a situation like this. Because anything you say will be used against you.
Honestly, I wouldn't care if Moore never played in the NHL again, even though he is trying to. What I really do care about, is that this whole situation clears up and goes away soon.
9 Comments:
Jeebus, all the while I was reading this I thought "Man, Hodge is really on fire!"
Great piece, Zany! I couldn't agree with you more!
I remember each of those quotes as they were made, and you just did more to argue Moore's case than you realize.
The fact that they were uttered in the heat of the moment, (to the press no less) only substanciates what Bertuzzi did himself, once the heat of the so called moment was off. Bertuzzi's retaliation came in the context of a Canucks pounding courtesy of the Avs.
It is quite clear that a bounty was placed on Moore's head. The lawsuit by the family is pure legal monoevering and will likely never see a courtroom. It is likely being done to impact other cases against Bertuzzi.
Everyone involved at this point would be wise to shut their mouths as the Canucks organization, even though all concerned parties have moved on, could still be found liable in some ways.
I understand Canuck fans are fed up with this story, but while everyone debates whether Bert will fly in FLA, Steve Moore, has yet to play another game. Bertuzzi gets a lot of press that paints him as a victim, and this post takes the Canucks along on that ride. It's all bullshit - the only true victim was Moore.
The only perspective that comes out of your post is that you are fed up of hearing about it. Hey, me too. Especially after three years of people getting it wrong!
Not a single person, from Gary Bettman on down, lined up on the side of justice in this case. Bertuzzi continues to earn his living in the same manner and was never punished by a league that basically sought not to punish itself, by suspending him for a lockout season. What a joke!
All this for clean hit while Naslund wasn't paying attention. I hope he gets rocked again!
Steve Moore, has yet to play another game.
Big hairy fucking deal. It's not like the Avs would've re-signed him anyways. He was never a good player!
If you think that hit against Naslund was "clean", you are off your rocker. It was clean in the same way hitting a guy from behind into the boards is clean. Naslund was in a vulnerable position and Moore took the opportunity to introduce his forearm and shoulder to Markus' face.
was never punished by a league that basically sought not to punish itself, by suspending him for a lockout season
Are you fucking kidding me? He was suspended for the rest of the season (12 games at the end of the season) and the playoffs! It set a fucking precedent! If there had not been a lock-out, I'm certain he would have been suspended into the season. The league was trying to wash itself clean of the whole lock-out, which is why Bertuzzi didn't receive any further punishment.
Domi's cheapshot on Niedermayer didn't get that response from the league. Neither did Lemieux's hit from behind on Draper. How about Dale Hunter's shoulder-separating hit on on Pierre Turgeon... 21 regular season games at the beginning of the year!
Don't tell me the League stood by and did nothing abotu Bertuzzi.
Dear Sweet Spirit of St. Louis! The blood boileth!
It was a clean hit! What was Moore suspended for if it was such outright goomish. Naslund lowered his head as he reached for a stray puck. When Moore began to set up the hit, Naslund was upright. The fact that Moore is unable to stop in the throews of a hit hardly renders the collision an act of goonism. If you ever played competitive hockey, you'd realize this and be looking for far more than where Moore's elbow touched. It's hockey - gotta keep your head up! Naslund didn't.
No one debates that Moore wasn't the calibre of players Naslund is. What's your point? Is he less of a human being and deserving of less consideration because of his role? You have a sad POV, buddy.
Bertuzzi's punishment set no precedent at all. Comparing it to other scenarios that don`t fit it, doesn`t make a point. The NHL washed itself of a black eye - that`s all they had in mind. It suited no ones interest to prolong it,(except for justice) in their eyes, so they used the convenience of a lockout to suit their needs.
The fact Bertuzzi still gets booed everywhere he plays is testament to fans not being pleased with him or how the punishment to him unwravelled.
The league wanked out big time and sent no message or set no precedent when it comes to acts of this sort. Christ they once gave Ric Natress 40 games once for admitting in the press he`d smoked pot in junior.
Zandtroms quote - If you are going to hit a star player you are going to get retribution -leaves me speechless. I suppose Naslund is so good now he deserves not to be touched! Wow!
The quotes by the various Canucks players are all part of a case. When they were said is extremely relevant to what unfolded. How do you not understand that!
Everyone saw what Bertuzzi did to Moore. Regardless of those three super huge career alterning games Naslund missed due to being out of the lineup for precautionary measures (he had headaches, poor baby!), how can anyone continue to defend Bertuzzi.
There are no words.
Actually, yes there are.
Comparing it to other scenarios that don`t fit it, doesn`t make a point.
Uhhh, well yeah it actually does. He received an exceedingly harsh penalty, one of the harshest ever compared to other examples of "cheap-shottery". The only other one that I can think of that got similar punishment was the McSorley highstick on Brashear. In all honesty, that was a lot more vicious (a stick to the shoulder/head/helmet) but I think he even got the shaft. Since he was nearing the end of his career anyways, it pretty much sealed his fate.
The NHL washed itself of a black eye - that`s all they had in mind.
Ridiculous. The NHL punished him harshly (it was a punch in the head... not an elbow or a cross-check or a high-stick or a hit from behind into the boards). When this past season started, the NHL was interested in rebuilding fan support. They had punished Bertuzzi enough (more than enough, IMO) and felt that having him back would increase exposure for the game. After all, Bertuzzi was the premier power-forward two seasons ago.
The punch didn't break Moore's neck. It was the pile on top of him that resulted in extended injury. Bertuzzi is guilty of sucker-punching a guy. Gee, that NEVER happens in the NHL.
If you are going to hit a star player you are going to get retribution -leaves me speechless.
Have you ever watched the NHL? Come on man, you know darn well this is the way it has always been. Dave Semenko? Tiger Williams? Here's a name you'll recognize: CHRIS NILAN! It's not that Naslund is so good he shouldn't be touched, but if you hit him while he is vulnerable and cause him to miss games because of injury, then you'd better be prepared for face the consequences. Comradarie is important in the NHL.
Although I doubt any of Steve Moore's teammates would ever go to war with him, not after the way he's been acting.
He should have accepted Bertuzzi's apology and settled the whole damned thing out of court. But that takes honour and stuff.
Sorry, Temujin, those are lame arguments all the way around.
No one but Bertuzzi went so far out of his way to seek retribution for something, and that after several team members stated that there was practically a bounty on Moore's head. In none of the other cases you mentioned, did a two week period elapse between incidents. All were settled and done with during one particular game. Though the McSorley and Hunter incidents seem similar, neither involved retribution after the incident. The Bertuzzi incident was all about payback, even after the league had warned the Canucks of such a thing in light of the comments made by their players post game. Comparing it also doesn't wash when you consider that no careers were ended by any of those players actions. The Bertuzzi incident stands alone and is not comparable to any others.
In light of Moore's career being over, I don't know how you call Bertuzzi's punishment exceeding harsh, especially when Moore was dealt a much grimmer fate as a result of Bertuzzi's action. Bertuzzi's biggest hell to pay will be living with himself, but that hardly helps Moore any, now does it?
Try as you might to marginalize Moore as a player, it doesn't hold water. If a driver runs over an 87 year old woman on the sidewalk does the guy behind the wheel get off easier because the woman may have only had a few years left to live? Common sense dictates, it doesn't even play into the argument.
As for whether the initial smack to the head on Moore caused all or only part of his injuries is irrelevant. Bertuzzi could not accept that Moore was skating away from him and jumped him from behind. Don't lump Tiger, Semenko or Nilan into this type of cowardly behavior, they all used their knuckles to make their points. None were ever involved in this type of thing.
In regards to Moore's injuries, those who examined him determined that it is not without reason to assume that the weight (245lbs) of Bertuzzi alone caused the shattering of the 3rd and 4th vertebrae. Regardless, those are facts better pondered in civils suits for different purposes, and never came into play regarding Bertuzzi's NHL suspension. Fact of the matter is, no one piles onto Bertuzzi and Moore, without Bertuzzi's initial act.
As for your comment in response to mine about the league clearing it's black eye - you make my point better than your own. Apparently you agree with me that the league sought to turn the page on it quickly as they could. The lockout was all the convinient foil that was needed. Boiling it down to a simple sucker punch is by far the most misconstrued analysis I've heard in this thing yet. That opinion disrespects every fact in the whole incident. I'm just guessing, but you can't be serious or that unknowledgable!
On the Moore hit on Naslund, you need to see it again - in it's totality. Sure Moore hit him when he was vulnerable, but he didn't have him lined up when his head was down. He was square to Naslund when he dropped. If Naslund doesn't stretch at the last second for that loose puck, the whole thing becomes just a solid body check. The NHL disciplinarians pretty much saw it that way also.
Last season, the Habs Steve Begin levelled the same type of hit on a Sabres players - it was identical. Within seconds, the play by play announcer likened it to the Naslund hit. This Sabres player had the puck in his possesion when it left his stick. With Begin gunning to take him out at center ice, the player brought his head down to recover the puck and he was knocked cold. The Habs player was tossed from the game, which was vehemently argued at the time, and then given a one game suspension, probably to avoid another Bertuzzi like scenario being played out. Nothing much came of it after that. Cooler heads prevailed. I don't suppose you remember that game, do you?
You state that comraderie is important in hockey, and of course it is. Stating that though, justifies nothing in this incident. Comradie in hockey doesn't supercede justice in life, and that's what (I think) we're talking about here. Since the incident Bertuzzi's team mates have done nothing but bail on him, for what that's worth. The story lived on much longer in their dressing room than it did anywhere else.
As for Moore accepting any apology after such an incident being dishonourable, I have to really wonder where you come up with that! I think your perspective on all this needs to step away from the Canuck fan inside you.
What troubles me most is that the league has set no proper detriment to this type of thing ever happening again. Many people, including yourself, just don't get it. Fans of Bertuzzi all seem to think something has been done to him. Moore is the only victim in all this. My main concerns, and they should be the only ones, is will Moore continue to suffer from his injuries and did the league handle it all properly?
Whatever treatment the hockey world reserves for Bertuzzi, was brought on by his own doing.
It's just too soon for a pool, man. I'm in three soon as October hits. I'll do blog with an idea of mine for something along those lines in a week or two. It's getting tight for time here - the kid has four games and practices a week for the rest of the winter. It would be fun though.
No, no chicken smell. I'm not afraid of finishing last - i usually do!
Everyone perceives Moore as some type of one dimensional goon. His hockey stats defy this notion. Before being called up by the Avs, Moore had 4 goals and 4 assists in 13 games with the Hershey Bears. In 57 games with Colorado, he accumulated 5 goals and 7 assists along with 37 penalty minutes as a fourth liner in his rookie season. Not bad considering what Colorado had for a lineup at the time.
Obviously, he had a career ahead of him. That career was derailed by the incidents that followed.
The suffering he and his family have endured since then, should not be taken lightly. Who knows what they have been through and what legal bills they will chalk up fighting for some type of justice. As Moore was nowhere near having played 400 games in the league, he has no retirement plan to speak of. Bertuzzi took that opportunity away. The insurance claims due him will simply cover costs associated with injuries. They do not compensate for his loss of livelyhood or for his family's emotional suffering during on ordeal that still drags on for them.
One week after Moore was K.O.'ed, a minor hockey player in town here imitated Bertuzzi's style of retribution. The kid he jumped was left paralysed on his left side from the waist down. He was in a wheelchair for six months while his parents took weeks off from work driving him back forth to Ottawa hospitals for rehab and treatment. Fortunately for the boy, his prognosis is good as he is starting to walk, but not without some difficulty. His parents needed to sue no one. The league let it's insurance policies cover the bills, which in this case, considering the childs age, make provisions to the parents total expenses incurred.
The NHL does not work that way.
The boy who jumped him, was always a troublesome youth and was barred for life from playing in any Ontario based minor hockey league. A fitting punishment in my eyes, even though the kid was all of 13 years old. His parents had the audacity to argue his suspension. His coach, who also wanted him gone for good, simply brought up the fact that the kid wore #44, and threw his support behind the parents of the injured player wholeheartedly. Everything ended then and there and sent a message loud and clear to each and every participant involved in the game. The best thing about it was that the local papers, myself included sniffing out the story, never took anything to print. It kept a very well run league from receiving the so-called black eye that would stiffle enrollement beyond repair.
A very good friend of mine, who has been the league's vice president the past twenty years, checks in on the injured kid with regularity. He told me once that the boy said his dream is to be able to run again and maybe play school ball hockey. This made me want to fucking cry.
The league's enrollment costs practically doubled due to the rise in their insurance cost stemming from the incident. The league argued for the balance of the summer that it was an isolated incident with no precedent in their league. They lost the argument. Every kid had to pay an extra $30 for their "priveledge" to play hockey last winter thanks to this kid who chose to imitate his hero's gutless act.
The 13 year old boy who did the dirty deed has been ostracized by his friends and school, almost as if he has become a victim of this entire mess himself. In some small way, I feel sorry for him also. It's all very sad and quite avoidable. The kids parents leave alot to be desired. The mother, no less, had previously been barred from the arena for shouting at refs.
In no way do mean to infer that the Bertuzzi incident parlayed itself into this sad tale directly, but one has to wonder. Many defend the NHL as a kind of microscope world that doesn't impact reality, but I beg to differ. Some say violent video games have no bearing on street crime also. I only know you cannot genaralize behavior patterns when it comes to youth acting things out. It only takes one incident to magnify an isolated case into a whole different realm of reactions. Parenting will do the same things to you, I can attest!
Though I also disapprove of the Moore's use of media to further their causes when public opinion hardly impacts the case at this point, they have lawyers with money at stake in it, likely plotting each move.
I imagine these stories are getting more press out west than here. I understand you are sick of it all also. But until you've walked a mile in their shoes, go easier on the Moore's. Think for a second that you have a son who you've supported in every way that makes the bigs only to have this happen to him. What would it do to you?
Think about it. Then judge!
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