Dennis Wideman In Trouble?

Looks like a Flames defenseman won't be seeing the ice anytime soon.

If you all don't know this story already, Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman appeared to have checked a linesman into the boards in Wednesday's game, although he has denied it was intentional. Wideman had just received a hard check from a Nashville Predators player seconds back, so it could've been that he was dazed and confused, or maybe not.

Either way, the NHL has suspended him indefinitely pending a review of the incident and a sit-down with the league for that incident. If he is found to have intentionally hit him, he will be suspended for a minimum of 20 games, maybe even more.

The video that's out there of this hit can't help him in any respect. Based on it, it felt he did do this deliberately and we really can't take anybody's word for it. Now maybe he was confused and hurt and trying to get off the ice, but I think he was conscious enough to know that the linesman was in the way and could've avoided him at all costs.

Now, to the other side, to the linesman, I think he needs to be more aware of his surroundings. I understand that you're trying to keep your eyes on the puck to make sure nothing happens, but he also needs to understand that he needs to look behind him to see if there are any other players coming towards the bench, which is what Wideman tried to do. But officiating is probably one of the hardest things to do, and I can understand why the linesman didn't look back, because he was focused on where the puck was.

I don't know what the league is going to believe, but video evidence is probably gonna trump any explanation, so it's probably gonna happen that Wideman is going to get 20 games or more for this. Obviously, this was a bad incident that probably shouldn't have happened, but it did and now Wideman is gonna head to the sidelines for a bit while the league figures out what to do about this. Yes, Wideman is in trouble and it'll probably cost him a couple of games. We'll just need to see what the NHL decides.

What do you think, puck heads? Do you think it was deliberate? Check out the video here at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj4PoDrqv-E 
and tell me what you think should happen to Wideman.

The NHL's New Training Initiative

Looks like the NHL is taking a new step in educating its players about how to conduct themselves.

The NHL and the NHL Players' Association have agreed to launch an initiative to help educate players on domestic violence, sexual assault, and sexual harassment issues.

The first presentation educating these issues was delivered on Monday to a number of teams in the league. TSN was the first to report about this initiative.

The league has also hired an outside firm to help deliver the message and to make the presentations to the team, which I believe will really help players get the message. If this information came from the NHL's own people, perhaps players would be less receptive to the issue. If it came from the outside source, like a lawyer or someone involved in these issues, maybe players will perhaps listen a little bit more and learn how to conduct themselves when around others, especially women.

Much like the NFL went through, the NHL has been under recent scrutiny as a result of multiple players entangled in sexual assault and domestic violence investigations.

The first presentation for this initiative was delivered in Buffalo, where a Buffalo Sabres player, Evander Kane, is under investigation for an incident last month in a Buffalo hotel room. The Blackhawks star forward Patrick Kane was also subject to a similar investigation over the summer after a woman reported an alleged sexual assault to the police. Then there was Slava Voynov, a LA Kings forward, who was in an October 2014 incident involving his wife. He received jail time after a no-contest plea in a misdemeanor domestic violence charge in July. He has since moved back to Russia after being suspended by the NHL and there's no chance he will be coming back to the NHL soon.

I think this initiative was inevitable. If there is these many domestic violence charges over a short period of time, the scrutiny would definitely be on the NHL. I think the initiative will help educate players about how to conduct themselves and when they should leave the situation or not be involved. Sports always gets the publicity when it comes to these sorts of issues because they are expected to perform at high standards and we, as a public, will not tolerate play if it isn't all at 100%, and I think the pressure on the players doesn't translate well into their personal lives and they are involved in stuff like these. So the NHL definitely did the right thing in helping put this together to help educate the players about sexual assault and domestic violence, so it'll be interesting to see if the players will get the message and be taught a little bit more about how to act and when to leave the situation.

There's also something else that the league and the public are missing. We need to stop holding players to such high standards. I understand that, from a GM perspective and a fan's, you want your players to perform day-in and day-out at 100%. But people can't go 100% on a day-to-day basis. Believe me, I've been through it in my work life. Being able to perform at such a high level can drain you, and sometimes, we need rest before we are able to perform at such a high level. So I think the league would also need to address that aspect of the game, because if players are feeling the pressure to perform at such a high level, we need to help them relax and recover. Like Will Smith in Concussion said, "Men are not machines. We must honor our warriors." (Concussion) That's what I feel the league is not doing. They are doing the right thing in educating the players about sexual assault and domestic violence, but they also need to address the high standards that the players are constantly put through and expected to perform at. I love people a lot, and I just want them to have a good life without feeling the need to perform at high expectations. We're all human, and we need to remember that.

The NHL still has a lot of work cut out for them, but they are starting on the right foot by educating players about the current issues they are facing. But they also need to let players get their rest or cut back on the high standards that the leagues set out. We're only humans, not machines. So good for the NHL to get the ball rolling on the domestic violence and sexual assault issues, but they are not done yet, in my view.

Happy New Year!

Hey puck heads!

Happy New Year! I hope you guys all had a great Christmas and an even better New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. I went down to Los Angeles from the 29th til the 4th and boy, did I had a good time. I spent a couple of days at Disneyland, trying to enjoy myself and get the most out of my Disneyland pass. I haven't been able to use it much since I graduated from Whittier College and had to move back to Northern California. But hey, I had the time of my life there, spending New Year's Eve enjoying the midnight fireworks to celebrate 2016. That was a great three days leading up to the New Year.

For New Year's Day, I spent it watching the Rose Parade and boy, there were a lot of great floats, such as the Miracle-Gro float, which showcased what typical Los Angeles life was like: pretty with a lot of palm trees and great scenery and entertainment all around. The other float I liked was the Disneyland float, where they put Frozen on the front of their floats with the characters, Mickey, Goofy, Donald Duck, and Minnie on the middle float, and then the Star Wars float on the back, showing the new Star Wars characters like the First Order stormtroopers and Kylo Ren, as well as an awesome model of the Millennium Falcon attached to the top of the float. This was a great Rose Parade, and it was the first Rose Parade I saw since I was probably five or six. I could've been younger or so, but hey, this was the first Rose Parade I do remember and it was something special.

After the Rose Parade, I watched the Rose Bowl in person with my Dad, his girlfriend Julie, and a couple of colleagues and friends of my Dad, watching Stanford crush Iowa from the first play of the game on. Let me tell you something, Christian McCaffrey is a beast. When he starts running, he just rolls people over. He commands the football, he is patient with his run, and he knows exactly when to move and how to move to avoid tacklers and get to the end zone. I look forward to seeing him next year back at Stanford where I'm guessing he'll do the same thing again and hopefully get Stanford to the College Football Playoff. It was just one, fun parade that I enjoyed and loved.

The rest of the New Year's weekend was just hanging out and relaxing. I managed to go see the LA Kings matinee game against the Philadelphia Flyers, and it just helped me prove that the LA Kings are back to their winning days and are deep enough to possibly win the Stanley Cup again. I managed to meet up with an old friend of mine from Whittier, who just happened to be a ticket executive for the LA Kings. Good for him, wish I had that kind of guts and prowess to do that, but I'm an English major and I'm only good with words and writing, not exactly with people and money and that sort of thing. But, other than that, it was one fun game that I got to enjoy this weekend. Hopefully, there'll be many more Kings games in the future, like the January 19th game against the Stars that I'm going too. (assuming El Nino doesn't delay my flight down there that day)

I left LA yesterday to come back up here, where I spent most of the day thinking about where I'm going next. Hopefully, with 2016, I can concentrate a little bit more on my writing and my blogging and making sure I'm up-to-date with all the info coming from the NHL league. I know I haven't exactly been doing that of late, especially with school and where my life is trying to go, but hopefully I can find some way to pull myself together, get my writing in gear, and hopefully get back to what I love to do best: write about hockey (and maybe football). So I will do the best I can to make sure I get you all the latest news and stories about the NHL and what I feel might be the best course of action. If I decide to blog about something else or open up a new blog, you'll be the first to hear about it. And don't forget to follow my blog: Reid's Poetry, where I try to post some of my best poetry that I've written. As an English major, I'm always open to anything.

Anyway, I hope you do have a good 2016 and that this year will be even better than the next. I will always be a writer, wherever I am. Even if people convince me to do something else, I will not budge. Writing, and especially writing about hockey, will always come first so I will make sure that comes first, no matter what. I hope you all have a good night and a good new year and I hope to be talking to you a lot over the next couple of months or so.

With encouragement and dedication,
Reid Urban

P.S. I will post pictures in the future of the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl Game, when my computer stops acting so slow when it comes to uploading pictures.

Have a Very Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve, puck heads!

I just wanted to write you a little something to say 'Merry Christmas" and I hope you're having an awesome Christmas with your family and friends! I hope you all have a good time opening presents, eating a big turkey dinner tomorrow (if turkey is on your Christmas menu), and overall just enjoying each other's company.

I would not be as grateful as I am today if it wasn't for my family, my friends, and especially you, the people who love hockey and like to hear what I have to say. So thank you very much for enjoying my posts and for listening and enjoying what I have to say. Now it's time for you to spend some time with your family and friends.

Go enjoy it and Merry Christmas to all!

Why Reid Urban Wants You to See "Concussion"

As you are well aware, concussions are no laughing matter. They happen in hockey lots of times. Marian Hossa and Chris Pronger are among those who have had concussions in the NHL. Chris Pronger is currently retired and dealing with problems of memory because of the concussions he stained on the ice. Well, as you are well aware, the movie "Concussion" starring Will Smith is out in theaters on Christmas and I, for one, am going to go see that movie. There is one industry that doesn't want you to go see it: The NFL.

Yes, a few days ago, Katie Couric of Yahoo released an article explaining why the NFL doesn't want people to go see Concussion. They even get more details about concussions linked to suicides from the parents of Adrian Robinson. Robinson was a former linebacker who committed suicide at age 25 and was later found to have been dealing with the effects of CTE, a degenerative brain disease that causes problems with memory and function of the brain. Couric asks experts about the impact of CTE and one expert, Dr. Ann McKee of Boston University states that "Individuals with CTE usually experience cognitive problems - memory lapses or behavioral systems like depression or irritability." So, as you can see, CTE is a major problem that we, as a society, are trying to eradicate to protect our players and to protect people who play football or who want to play football.

So, in this movie, the NFL is the one being put under the microscope, as the article states. Dr. Bennet Omalu is the man who linked football to CTE, and this movie chronicles the case about former NFL Hall of Famer Mike Webster, who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and died at 50 from a heart attack. Omalu does an autopsy on him and later finds that he does have CTE and tries to get the NFL to reason with him. Well, surprisingly enough, the NFL turns a blind eye to this, and that's why the NFL doesn't want people to see this movie. It basically scrutinizes them for turning a blind eye to this important finding in health. Football players are dying of CTE and the NFL says it is not because of their game. So they try to ignore Omalu's claims. In the movie, even his own allies and superiors are trying to deter him from going any further. Does Omalu listen? No. He keeps going and tells people to tell the truth and to acknowledge the presence of CTE being linked to playing football.

Although the NFL has enhanced safety for its players to help them prevent CTE and brain damage, it almost feels like they should've done something back then, so that Mike Webster could still be here talking with us today. To me, if the movie is confirming what the NFL has done and that it turned a blind eye to this very important issue, then the people responsible for siding with the NFL need to be ousted from their positions. It's a very important message. Putting business and the prospect of trying to get money over peoples' lives and their health is a thing that sickens me. I care about every individual and living the best and healthiest life that they can. And here, if the NFL is saying "Screw you. This is a business. We're gonna keep you in the game no matter how painful it is," then get out. Just get out! Roger Goodell probably should've been gone a long time ago, but this movie might put the icing on the cake for him. He's already had problems with players, like Tom Brady in Deflategate or Ray Lewis in the domestic abuse incident, but now he has a problem with players who might have CTE.

In April, a federal judge approved a billion-dollar class action lawsuit settlement brought by thousands of former players who claimed the NFL buried the dangers and consequences of playing football. I applaud them for bringing this forward because like I said, if the NFL did something about this, everybody responsible should not even be part of the NFL. They could've come out and said "We acknowledge this. We're going to take every precaution we can to protect our players," but they didn't. They just let them play on and they kept getting hurt and hurt and hurt and nobody said something. To me, that smells foul.

So, for me, I want you to go see this movie. This movie tells the truth. This movie tells what the NFL did and holds them accountable for all the damage they have done to their players. I want this movie to be the truth. There are thousands of football players out there right now who demand to know why the NFL covered this up, why they allowed players back out onto the field, and why they try to close the door on a man who found out what happened and tried to get the league to understand what is happening. I want every person, every corporation, and every business in the world to understand that money is not the most important thing in the world, it's the people. The people are important and having them healthy is the most crucial thing you can have. Forget about racking up thousands of dollars to line your own pocket. Think about those who want to be healthy, who want to live their lives with families and be able to go home every day and be with their families and kids and wives. The NFL may have taken that away for many football players. I want accountability. The NFL may have acknowledged this, but if the movie is coming out, then they missed saying something. And that's what I want to see. I want to see the miss. And I want you to see it too. I want you to know what happened. Bennet Omalu was trying to get his research onto the NFL's desk and they tried to throw it aside, saying it's "evolving" or "completely false," but it's not. And if they have known about it for years, well shame on them.

Concussions are no picnic and nobody should have to go through them. We should be able to protect our people and let them live healthy lives and go home to their families and be able to spend time with them. Every human being is an important one and that's what I believe. Even those I don't know well or know at all, I still care about them too. And those who play football, I especially care about. Because every day, I want them to win or lose as a healthy individual. That's what's important. Forget about money. Forget about politics. Focus on the health and well-being of our players, our warriors, and every other human being that lives on this planet. Care about them. Let them live healthy and have a long life. Let's do that.

So go see the movie. Forget what the NFL is. They are trying to save face and I would say Forget Face. Go see it. Go see what the NFL has done. I will. And I hope this movie brings some hope and light to those who are living with CTE right now. We already have lost many promising players to suicides and deaths linked to CTE, like Webster and Robinson and even Junior Seau. Let's stop another one from happening. In my words inspired by Bennet Omalu (or Will Smith): Go see the movie "Concussion." Go see it!!

To see the Yahoo! article about why the NFL doesn't want you to see Concussion, go to: http://news.yahoo.com/why-the-nfl-doesnt-want-you-to-see-concussion-162042545.html. This article by Katie Couric and Steven Shapiro.