Sean Avery: Classless!

There are certain unspoken rules in hockey and last night New York Ranger Sean Avery broke a bunch of them. So for those who didn't see the play, I will set up everything for you. Rangers F Brandon Prust and Flyers F Darroll Powe began taking shots at each other and were eventually broken up by the linesman. They skated up ice and eventually Flyers D Matt Walker and Prust decided they would drop the gloves. Just after they did this, Kris Newbury knocked down Walker and the scrum began. Walker and Prust got together and Newburry and Walker did the same. Flyers D Matt Carle then came in to try to assist a teammate when Rangers F Sean Avery grabbed him and tried to fight him. Matt Carle being a hockey player was not going to back down.

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So he dropped the gloves and they went at  it. Sean Avery is the clown of hockey and is another version of Matthew Barnaby. He is a relatively small guy who skates around and tries to annoy players enough to take a penalty. Avery is not unfamiliar with fighting; he is second in the NHL with 132 penalty minutes. Matt Carle is not a fighter; in fact this was his first fight in his NHL career. The first "rule" Avery broke was trying to start a fight with a guy who does not fight. Then he broke another rule after Carle fell to the ground when he took 2 or 3 shots to his head while he was lying on the ice. He broke the final rule when he simply refused to drop the gloves with another Flyer. Avery was to scared to fight a player who would actually return punches. Hockey is a physical sport but what Avery did last night is not what hockey is all about. His actions have no part in the game of hockey and I don't think there is a person out there who can agree with what he did.  He was able to get through the game without "punishment" for his violations, but the Flyers and Rangers still play each other 3 more times this season. The next game isn't till February 20th but you can bet that Carle's fellow teammates will not forget what Avery did last night.

Scott Glick
BrotherlyLoveNation.com Writer