Hockey Returns: First Fight of the Year

((ht: cbssports.com))

Ah...cooler weather, changing leaves...and hockey. All signs that fall is upon us and winter is but right around the corner.

And as the calendar quickly approaches October, so begins the NHL season. But right now, it's only in the form of exhibition games.

But that apparently doesn't mean practice like the NFL does.

At least not for Wayne Simmonds of the Philadelphia Flyers. Watch as Simmonds checks Korbinian Holzer of the Toronto Maple Leafs into the boards after the whistle.

Holzer, none too pleased, shoves Simmonds. And Mr. Simmonds, well, he responded by two big roundhouse punches and a shove back.

Low and behold as Mr. Holzer ends up on the ice, Simmonds ends up ejected and more than likely will be fined.

God bless the Hockey...

Fan throws banana peel at black hockey player

((ht: philly.com))

Sigh... There are a lot of things in sports that make you wonder if we live in the 21st century or back in the 1950's.

And this is one of them.

Thursday night in London, Ontario (Canada), a fan at the Philadelphia Flyers/Detroit Red Wings exhibition game threw a banana peel on the ice in front of Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds.

Simmonds is black.

It didn't hit Simmonds nor cause any problem on the ice, but it really angered the players and quite a few others at the game.

Witnesses say the peel came from the upper deck of the rink during a shootout as Simmonds was taking his turn shooting.

And it gets worse. According to the Philadelphia Daily-News it wasn't the first attempt at that during the game.

Read the Philly.com story RIGHT HERE

To say this was an "Unfortunate" incident would be completely underselling it. It most certainly is a sad statement about some hockey fans. Hockey is not a sport known for its diversity, though they've made strides over the past few years. The NHL itself tries very hard to be inclusive, hockey is just a tough sell to some demographics.

We'll steer clear of ranting on our thoughts about race and sports. If you know us, you know where we stand. We don't see color and never have. We see people. We certainly don't condone stuff like this and it saddens us as hockey fans to see it. We hope it was an isolated incident and eventually authorities will figure out who the moronic idiot who did it was.

That person should never be allowed the "Privilage" of attending a sports event ever again. And spare me the "As long as they have money" or "If you buy a ticket you can do what you want argument", that doesn't fly here.

Your TV story from MyFoxPhilly.com:

Ugly Incident Unfolds During Flyers Game: MyFoxPHILLY.com