Foul play in game
By Nick Pinkerton
Sports are doing a poor job of clamping down on foul play. Performance-enhancing drugs are one colossal issue marring baseball and football, but game-time unsportsmanlike behavior is the new craze in several professional sports.
Now it's almost doubtful that you'll watch a sporting event between two professional teams without witnessing players throwing intentional elbows, throwing behind or directly at batters, or throwing sucker punches after the whistle blows.
This continues to be a prevailing issue in sports that has not been severely addressed. Until professional leagues make rigid decisions for the embarrassing actions of athletes, regardless of the context of their actions, sports will perpetuate itself as a means of instituting violence.
The NHL is struggling to draw the line with fighting, a traditional element of the league. But when Carolina's Scott Walker throws a hissy fit and clocks Boston's Aaron Ward in the face as the third man in is when the NHL must step in. The NHL should learn from the despicable acts of goons like Todd Bertuzzi, who in 2004 was suspended for the remainder of the season for punching Steve Moore in the back of the head, ending Moore's career.
Suspend Walker for the rest of the postseason and fine him heftily, not a meager $2500. This is a team sport, and the consequences imposed on a chump like Walker should, as a result, have a profound effect on the team and the front office.
The NBA is another culprit. Why should the NBA encourage Glen "Big Baby" Davis to apologize for pushing a kid out of his way after hitting a game-changing jumpshot? The guy needs some room to run; he's 290 pounds!
The NBA should direct its undivided attention to the badmouthing of Luis Scola and Lamar Odom, and the flagrant contact initiated by Derek Fisher and Rajon Rondo. Violence breeds violence, from the infamous series between the Knicks and Heat, to the "Palace Brawl" involving the Pacers and Pistons.
And baseball, a "game of shadows," has more than one rain cloud suspended over its field of dreams. Recently, White Sox closer Bobby Jenks was ejected for throwing behind batsman Ian Kinsler, claiming that he was only protecting his team from the chin music of opposing pitchers. Since when does throwing at an innocent batter constitute protection? Bertuzzi, Rondo, Fisher, and all the other cheap shot artists are no different. This behavior does not inspire a team and certainly does not win championships.
Nick Pinkerton is the Sports Editor of The Santa Clara.