Downie Syndrome

It pains me to say it, but the media coverage of Steve Downie's assault on Dean McAmmond has been excellent. Stephen Brunt (who else?) provided the best analysis in today's Globe with a column about the inevitability of Tuesday's incident. Alan Maki got a little too personal in his blog entry yesterday, but his sentiment was pretty much right on. Most surprising was Damien Cox's (gasp!) excellent column in today's Star, which calls out the NHL for their ridiculous standards regarding head-shots.

Even Billy Houston took a break from taking shots at media-types (a pathetic way to make a living, by the way) to point out that the Ottawa Senators aren't the poster boys for good clean hockey:

Among those condemning the Steve Downie hit on Ottawa Senators Dean McAmmond was Senators owner Eugene Melynk who called Downie a "goon" and the incident "a bag of dirt." He also told the Fan 590 in Toronto that Downie, a Philadelphia Flyer prospect, shouldn't be in the NHL.

Tough talk. But how different would Melnyk's commentary have been if one of his own players was in trouble over a head shot? Two days earlier, Senators Chris Neil left his feet to hit the Toronto Maple Leafs' Bryan McCabe from behind. It was a cheap shot and should have been called, prompting Leafs TV game analyst Harry Neale to note that "a one-handed hook" draws a penalty, but Neil's hit did not.

My oh my, even Harry Neale is right about something. Everyone is on a roll.

(Neale's homerism does bring up a really good point relevant to the Downie situation: seconds before Downie charged at McAmmond, he was hit into the boards from behind by Christophe Schubert. This isn't to excuse Downie's actions, but if the referee had called a penalty on Schubert, Downie wouldn't have had time to get up and go looking for revenge. I still can't believe that chincy hooks and holds are repeatedly called for penalties, but referees continue to miss obvious hits from behind and high sticks. But I digress...)

Neil is a dirty player. Last season, he blind-sided Buffalo's Chris Drury with a vicious hit, opening up a 20-inch gash on his forehead. Another of Melynk's players is Brian McGrattan, who fits his owner's description of goon - a fighter with few if any hockey skills. McGrattan promised retribution against Downie, but Melynk condoned McGrattan's remark, describing him as an "emotional" person. Yes, well, so is Downie, who was hit from behind a few seconds before he smashed into McAmmond.

How does someone get a 20 inch gash on their forehead? I'm guessing he meant 20 stitches. Either way, his point is valid. Neil is a cheapshot artist, and McGrattan doesn't do himself any favours here with his Brad May impression. I'm sure this quote will be known as "Crown exhibit A" at the trial once McGrattan exacts his revenge on Downie, or whichever other member of the Flyers he gets his grubby hands on the next time the two teams meet.

We're not saying Melnyk is a hypocrite, but his one-sided view of the hockey world might explain why nothing ever gets done to stop the craziness.

I'll say that Melnyk is a hypocrite. But guess what? I am too. I was happy when Steve Downie was traded to my hometown Peterborough Petes in 2005, even though I was fully aware of the ugly incident that led to the trade. I cheered for Downie, even after he served a five game suspension for jumping a Belleville Bulls player from behind and pounding on him while he lay prone on the ice. I cheered for Downie as he dove and cheap-shotted his way through two World Junior Championships, becoming a poster-boy for Canadian hockey. Of course, we all make excuses for players on our teams, but I still pulled for Downie even after the Petes unloaded him on the Rangers and he proceeded to have a complete meltdown after being ejected for sucker-punching a Guelph Storm player.

Am I at all to blame for what happened on Tuesday night? Only so far as that I am part of the enabling hockey culture that supports the stupid actions of these players. I refused to acknowledge that Downie was a meat-head because he was my meat-head and he was helping my teams win trophies (one OHL Championship and two WJHC Gold Medals). Now, having seen the logical result of Downie's progressive acts of lunacy, is it not a little hypocritical of me to condemn him? Why is this any different than his actions in the past? I'd like to think that if I were a Flyer fan (luckily my mother didn't paint any cupboards when she was pregnant with me, so I'm not) I would still be calling for a lengthy suspension, but I can't say for sure. I've made excuses for Tie Domi, Darcy Tucker and Shayne Corson. Who is to say I wouldn't be making them for Downie?

If there is one bright spot for Downie right now, it is that everyone will have forgotten about this three years from now. I mean, former Sunshine Boy Al Strachan managed to write a column for Fox Sports today about former New York Islander Todd Bertuzzi without once mentioning the Steve Moore incident. How is that possible? It's like writing a column about Barry Bonds and never mentioning performance enhancing drugs, or writing about OJ and not bringing up the fact that he killed the mother of his children. (Or like Damien Cox writing about the Leafs and not mentioning 1967.) But seriously, how can you discuss the reasons why people don't like Bertuzzi and not mention that he broke a man's neck when he blindsided him from behind like a coward?

How?