04/26/24
January 10, 2010
KHL Brawl clears benches, ends game after 4 minutes. : The Kontinental Hockey League may be taking the NHL's bottom-tier and overage players for the most part, but one thing they've provided to the hockey world in their two seasons of existence is plenty of YouTube-worthy brawls. Just over a week ago Barys Astana and SKA St. Petersburg had a brawl that featured former NHL'ers Sergei Zubov, Oleg Saprykin, Kevin Dallman, Robert Esche, and even a goalie-on-defenseman scrap. Sovetsky Sport writer Genadi Boguslavski tweeted out details of today's punch-up that featured Vityaz Chekhov and Avangard Omsk. It didn't take long for things to go from a line-brawl to the bench-clearing variety. This first video features Jaromir Jagr in a bit of a tussle and apparently trying out some new Greco-Roman wrestling moves.
posted by tommytrump to hockey at 10:41 AM - 7 comments
And a half a world away, bloggers sit down on their favorite sports site, Sp0rtzfilterski, to discuss the virtues and drawbacks of fighting in the KHL. Those opposed to the practice have large men with crew cuts arrive at their door within hours to help them see the light.
posted by tahoemoj at 01:02 PM on January 10, 2010
In KHL, hockey brawls debate YOU....
posted by MeatSaber at 04:50 PM on January 10, 2010
Man, it seems like forever since I last saw a good ol' bench-clearer. Even the Red Wings/Avs fights weren't bench-clearers. I say nicely done.
But my favorite bit of hockey violence is still this. Mike Milbury is seven kinds of awesome here.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 05:39 PM on January 10, 2010
Weedy,
No matter how many times I see that, it still makes me chuckle...
I remember walking into a bar just as Ron Artest took off into the crowd at the Palace, and saying I hoped he beat the guy who threw the cup with his own shoe. Alas, no one within earshot got the reference. Made me feel old...
posted by MeatSaber at 06:44 PM on January 10, 2010
What really surprised me about the videos I saw was the size of the arenas/crowds. How can the KHL teams afford to pay the salaries they do? This rink looked no bigger than an minor league hockey rink - and the crowd about the same.
And Jagr - his first year in the KHL his teammate dies on the bench next to him, and the next year he's in a benchclear. Damn.
posted by Punkrockrat at 12:03 AM on January 11, 2010
Damn, that's even worse than the Baltimore Skipjacks brawls of my youth.
Huge, when were you a 'Jacks fan? My wife and I were season ticket holders and booster club members in the '85 - '86 season, when they went to the Calder Cup finals. I still have my "16 in a row" shirt, along with some other memorabilia. They were a lot of fun to watch.
posted by Howard_T at 03:43 PM on January 12, 2010
Damn, that's even worse than the Baltimore Skipjacks brawls of my youth. A very festive crowd, too -- sounds like they're at the circus.