A Game of Hugs

December 15, 2011 4:22 PM

While the most talked about topics in hockey this year have been the deaths of multiple current and former NHL enforcers, the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash tragedy, and the rash of concussions among star players, A new series by the Yahoo "Puck Daddy" blog is bringing attention to a more positive aspect of the game: the Hockey Hug.

The hockey hug is a spontaneous expression of joy, usually in celebration of scoring a goal. Hockey hugs can be tender, or kind of awkward. They can be acrobatic too. It takes two to hug, but the more the better. Goalies need love too!

However, hug practitioners need to exercise some restraint, lest they repeat Alexander Radulov's mistake of hug-checking his team captain into the boards and causing a concussion.

Also, take care not to hug the wrong guy, or woman.

posted by ghharr (17 comments total)

Aw, man, why did I read the Christie Blatchford link in the latest blog? WHY?

I'll go look at pictures of hockey players hugging now. This will be my Blatch-free happy place.
posted by maudlin at 4:29 PM on December 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

Good sportsmanship is not punching someone when they try to hug you (erroneously).
posted by selenized at 5:13 PM on December 15, 2011

Blatchford always struck me as being somewhat socially inept. I don't read her articles but she is a regular guest on a talk radio show here and her comments come across as cold, ill-timed and void of any empathy.

I've always tried to explain it by thinking "well, she is a reporter and she needs to be objective and detached", but other reporters don't seem to give me the heebie-jeebies like she does.

Case in point, she is covering the Shafia trial in Kingston and the first thing she talks about is how the case is so intriguing and fascinating since multiple family members are purportedly involved in the murder.

I mean, I'm sure from a criminology standpoint it is quite the case, but just the way it came out of her mouth, it just sounded so callous and cold. 4 people were murdered, dammit and all you can say is how interesting the case is?

Then when she finally gets to talking about the victims, the first thing out of her mouth was how attractive the daughters were - not about their love for life or the fact that they learned French despite being in the country for a few months. If they were not attractive, would their murders not have mattered?

Blech, I'm tired of trying to rationalize her weirdness.
posted by bitteroldman at 5:22 PM on December 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

Great post, thanks!
Blach is a newspaper troll, she's mildly amusing but not good enough to be truly entertaining.
posted by captaincrouton at 5:26 PM on December 15, 2011

I've written about this elsewhere, so forgive me for the copypasta, but as much as there is to find reprehensible in Blatchford's writing - and there's a lot, from the "I have lots of gay friends" non-defense to the argument that beating up children is somehow good for both the children and society - the thing that struck me about it was how the writing calls to mind this 1957 picture of one of the Little Rock Nine, Elizabeth Eckford. And more importantly of Hazel Bryan in the background, dripping with hate, screaming at the future.

That image is all that came to mind as I was reading that article; it's crystal clear that Blatchford's never given or received the abuse she advocates. She'd never deign to get any of the blood she's calling for on her actual hands. She's deniably, blameless part of the mob, shrieking for violence to be meted out by somebody else for no better reason than wanting to watch.

The worst thing about her writing is, as disgusting as it all is, how she carefully she avoids saying anything she might end up being held responsible for. But that's the National Post for you.
posted by mhoye at 5:43 PM on December 15, 2011

Trolls gonna troll, but even so...

Blatchford is either a huge hypocrite, or dense, or both. The trial she's in Kingston to cover is in large part about how women 'should' act, and the idea that that kind of defining of roles for women is long gone (or should be), and rightly so -- and then she goes back to Toronto, and does the same thing for men, that there's a 'right' way to act in your gender. So yeah, either a huge hypocrite, or so completely dense as to miss the the point entirely.

Add to that her bit about loving gay men to death, which is juuuuuuuuuust this side of 'some of my best friends are gay, and -- troll. Her fart-catching for Conrad Black is just a sycophantic cherry on top of the troll sundae.

So yes. Hugging in hockey. All for it.
posted by Capt. Renault at 5:48 PM on December 15, 2011

For any hockey/Flyer fans out there, it has just been announced that Chris Pronger is out for the season (and playoffs) due to post-concussion syndrome.

This is horrible news for the NHL. And HBO.
posted by wensink at 5:53 PM on December 15, 2011

Not only that, but the Rangers dumped Avery. I was really looking forward to seeing Pronger and Avery on 24/7, but both are out!
posted by Demogorgon at 7:02 PM on December 15, 2011

I am just pleased that a bit of writing from my favorite hockey blogger, Harrison Mooney, from Pass It To Bulis has made it to the blue. Puck Daddy is informative but trollish. Hey, Blatchford could write for them. Harrison's humour often flies way over the heads of PD's readership.
posted by qinn at 7:03 PM on December 15, 2011

A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.
posted by Anything at 7:03 PM on December 15, 2011

Harrison's humour often flies way over the heads of PD's readership.

ugh, I know. His "bold predictions" are often so out-there that they're obviously not serious, but without fail half the comments are always "LOL RONG AGAIN MOONEY."

Too bad about Pronger though. I don't know if it will hurt the HBO show because there's plenty of personality to go around between the Rangers and Flyers, but "severe post-concussion symptoms" doesn't sound good for the career of a 37-year-old player. He's kind of a jerk and I'm not a huge fan, but what a loss for the Flyers. At least when a legendary tough guy like Pronger goes down to concussions people will have to take notice.

But yeah, the hockey hugs feature of Puck Daddy is always one of my faves, it never fails to draw a smile.
posted by Hoopo at 7:12 PM on December 15, 2011

Not only that, but the Rangers dumped Avery. I was really looking forward to seeing Pronger and Avery on 24/7, but both are out!

No! Avery is back! The first 24/7 that aired last night showed him posing for a fashion shoot and then giving an awesome knowing smirk to Anisimov after his "sniper" celebration.

New 24/7 Superstar: Ilya Bryzgalov
posted by ghharr at 7:13 PM on December 15, 2011

> Then when she finally gets to talking about the victims, the first thing out of her mouth was how attractive the daughters were...

Rosie DiManno does this, too. If someone in Toronto gets murdered and the killer and/or victim are sexy and/or teenagers (or, in a pinch, a baby), DiBlatchford are ON THE CASE.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:13 PM on December 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I went looking for the hockey hugging and made the mistake of reading the Blatchford blog piece too. I feel like I need a shower now. But the highest rated comment on the piece amused me, so that helps.
posted by aclevername at 8:24 PM on December 15, 2011

No! Avery is back!

Yeah, I just finished downloading the first part and started watching it and saw an Avery appearance. I thought I had heard he cleared re-entry waivers, but I guess it slipped my mind. Bryzgalov is totally awesome, though.
posted by Demogorgon at 8:39 PM on December 15, 2011

Massive hockey brawls way more adorable with 9 year olds
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 9:21 PM on December 15, 2011

Nice, Harrison Mooney on the blue. The Pass It To Bulis blog in the Vancouver Sun is the closest I've come to hockey journalism strained through a metafilter.
posted by mannequito at 9:39 PM on December 15, 2011