Patrick Roy Fallout: Brawl Sparks Senseless Debate

The point is: it's a level of professional sports. A lot of these kids have NHL dreams, and there's only so much you can do to protect them (like the no-touch icing), and taking out fighting isn't one of them.

If you were to take a kid's right to fight in junior away from him, then what happens if he goes to the NHL and starts jawing with Georges Laraque? All of the sudden, he's gone from a league that tip-toes around fighting, to a league where some markets can only put fans in the stands with fighting.

Kids are going to be kids. If you outlaw fighting, then it's not going to stop stupid incidents like this happening in the future—if anything, the pent up frustration could potentially see a rise in questionable plays.

With the level of aggression in sports, you're always at risk of someone boiling over and, without an outlet like fighting, I honestly think that the players would be at a greater risk.

Granted, it's an ugly play, an ugly incident, and a controversial topic. But something good did come out of it:

We got to see the word brouhaha and phrases like flipping the bird, and one-fingered salute grace the pages of websites like TSN.ca.

I'd like to personally thank Jonathon Roy for inadvertently teaching me that brouhaha is a legitimate word. I guess, if this hockey thing doesn't work out, then maybe he could teach English. 

Just remember to bring your own lunch money—I don't know if the principal would appreciate you jumping him for his. 

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