Sean Avery's 'Sloppy Seconds' Suspension Raises New Punishment Questions for the NHL

you know any time Avery hit double goals or made multiple points in one night, he was ignored— even when he deserved 1st spot for three stars, he ws pointedly ignored and some blathering incompetent player from MYI or elsewhere got full page write-up on front of NHL. NHL is biased and screws some players others, can be whiney primadonnas…  NHL is not gong to do a thing about hits to the head or  assaults from the back because they’re accidental and maybe weren’t actually  intentionally  directed. You can playback a lot of ranger games last year and watch Avery and jagr take penalties, but little halos floating above the heads of those who incurred them. And  NYR management never had guts to defend its players—  the cosiness between media demands and  teams is really  nauseating. So it was a stupid comment, but not worth suspension and could be ignored. It has little or nothing to do with actual play, but NHL is not into play. It’s into social moralism. And yes it sucks.  On all the noise about Avery, he’s never attacked anyone out of meanness and if you check videos, he’s usually the first one to withdraw when whistle blows. he never brawls emotionally. He baits, but when the  bait is taken, he handles it professionally and never lets it get out of hand. The problem isn’t  Avery, but those who can’t ever realize  to stop snapping at  bait. Can yuou imagine Muhammed Ali without his bait? Or Jimmy Connors?  Avery understands psychological warfare and he’s really not stupid—and that’s the whole problem. People want to slam him as stupid, but really he is very astute player. But indefinite suspension for a remark? when they can reinstate repeat offenders on serious grievious bodily injuries and assaults or give them minor wristslaps? - avery has never ever cross-checked anybody across the neck- not even close.  he does not atttack from the rear— he might make a fool of Brodeur, but then Brodeur will go off and whine. And if  he ever so much looks at Crosby, Crosby will complain. Its the NHL.

Why does everyone have their panties in a knot over this? The guy said some locker room b.s. in the locker room and now he’s suspended? It really had nothing to do with hockey at all.

If talking like that gets you suspended why does anyone talk to the media? This just in from Bettman – I voiced my opinion as a fan and now I’ve been suspended for comments critical to the league.

I’m not a hockey gal but I think this is hilarious and definitely not worth any kind of suspension. Suspensions should be reserved for on-ice action, not off-ice insults. And yeah, this guy does seem very astute about psychological warfare. There are other ways to control a player in the locker room than suspensions. This is just not appropriate at all. God bless Avery.