Quick Hits: Byfuglien Arrested, Also Fat and Avery Planned to Get Arrested

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Sep 2, 2011 6:29 AM CDT in Quick Hits

Oh ho ho oh. You're a tricky one, D.C. police.

As was suspected, it is being reported that Wade Belak died by hanging himself. As JJ posted yesterday, the NHL and NHLPA are going to investigate what caused the deaths of Belak, Derek Boogaard, and Rick Rypien and take necessary measures to prevent this from happening further. [Yahoo! Sports]
Justin Bourne, one of the more respected hockey journalists out there as well as a former semi-pro hockey player and son of Islanders legend Bob Bourne, has a great article up about the identity loss a hockey player (and any other person) experiences when they retire or leave the game. Given recent events, I highly suggest reading this. It's great insight that we do not hear very often. [Puck Daddy]
Forgot to mention this yesterday, but single game tickets are now on sale for the Red Wings.
Former Wings enforcer, fashion expert, and dater of Elisha Cuthbert (yes, I am jealous), Sean Avery, was planning to be arrested yesterday for the second time this summer. He was earlier arrested for "assaulting an officer," and had all charges dropped. This time, he was hoping to be arrested for protesting the Keystone XL pipeline in front of the White House. [Puck Daddy]
For the first time in history, the Wings will be "presented" by Amway, a company based out of Ada, MI. Every time a broadcast mentions the game, it will now be "The Detroit Red Wings facing off against the Colorado Avalanche, presented by Amway." [Detroit Free Press]
There is a myriad of posts up detailing depression in hockey stemming from the Belak suicide. [Hockey Wilderness - Raw Charge - Toronto Sun - More Hockey Wilderness - Pension Plan Puppets]
For the first time in months, I get to source Ansar Khan and I am quite happy to do so. He has an article up about what to expect from Niklas Kronwall and how Kronners will possibly be faced with the decision of signing on to be a lifer for the Wings this season. [MLive]
TPL has this year's edition of their awesome CHART up. Included are contract details, team assignments, profiles, game logs, transactions, injuries, etc. etc. This chart could possibly end the need for Quick Hits as we know it, it's that intense. [The Production Line]
Dustin Byfuglien was arrested for boating while intoxicated. Also because he is fat. [Arctic Ice Hockey]
Battle of Cali has an amusing list up about why Lubomir Visnovsky was not a Norris finalist last season. [Battle of Cali]

Discussion of the Day: What do you expect from Kronwall both this year and in the future? Also, feel free to discuss how fat Byfuglien is and Elisha Cuthbert. Happy Friday, people.

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Highly recommend reading all of the posts on depression

Each one has a unique perspective and the sum total goes quite a bit to show just how difficult an illness it is to pin down.

by J.J. from Kansas on Sep 2, 2011 6:59 AM CDT reply actions

As someone who suffered through depression for nearly ten years, I second the recommendation. It gets a bad rep from most people but it really is entirely awful and incredibly awful to fight off, especially if you are doing so without meds (I have various health issues that stopped me from being able to take any meds, which I’m actually somewhat thankful for)

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Sep 2, 2011 7:12 AM CDT up reply actions

My two cents, adjusted for inflation.

I like the idea of taking measures to prevent such things from happening or to identify at-risk individuals and attempt to help them, but I fear that they are just so many empty words. Not due to a lack of desire to try or from real sincerity, but just from how hard it is to identify mental afflictions and get those who suffer from them to recognize them and/or want to be helped. If we look at any sample size, in this case pro hockey players, as a slice or microcosm of the population at large, of course there will be untreated depression. Unfortunately, this summer, for whatever reason, has seen more than one case end in tragedy. Knee jerk reaction is to make promises to combat it, employ these measures to prevent it, put these resources in place to….
Call me cynical, but I feel that things will be back to the way they always were in a few months. The NHL is only so powerful in this case: sure, they can put the resources there for those suffering from depression and similar afflictions, but they cannot diagnose those who can hide it well, and they cannot force treatment on those who do not want to be treated. The macho factor at play in hockey will just add another hurdle to those already surrounding something like depression. The average person usually doesn’t want that stigma that is attached to “mental illness,” imagine how a hockey player might feel. It’s unfortunate, it’s horrible, and I hope something happens in hockey and in the country as a whole that makes it more acceptable for those suffering from depression and related illnesses to feel more comfortable coming forward and getting the help they need. Depression not only has the potential to ruin and/or end the life of the person suffering from it, it has the ability to ruin the lives of those who love that person, and the disastrous effects spread out into the community. We’ve been too harsh, unfeeling, and lacking in empathy and sympathy for too long, and hopefully that changes.

Would you rather be Kronwalled or Jarnkroked?

by WingsFool on Sep 2, 2011 7:54 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs

Sorry for the book.

Would you rather be Kronwalled or Jarnkroked?

by WingsFool on Sep 2, 2011 7:54 AM CDT up reply actions

Nothing to be sorry about

It’s unfortunately true in all walks of life. As much as I’m sure you get tired of my referencing years past before many of you were around, I wanted to mention one incident that I know about from the late 1960s-early 1970s in connection with the Cleveland Indians. They had a talented first baseman obtained in a trade in 1967/1968 from Boston named Tony Horton. He was your typical first baseman of that era — pretty decent power, not really fleet-of-foot, decent defensively. Some pretty high expectations were put on him by both Boston and Cleveland and when he was not able to meet them with the consistency he thought he should, he had a nervous breakdown and reportedly attempted suicide. Fortunately, it was not a successful attempt, but he never played baseball again and has absolutely nothing to do with the game anymore. It was never really talked about by any Cleveland sports writers at the time and the only way fans found out about was mostly through rumors and subtle hints.

Depression in general is a difficult disease (and it is a legitimate disease) to both diagnose and treat since so many people are worried about being labeled as “crazy” if they admit to needing help. I’m sure it’s seen as much more of a “stigma” in the world of professional athletics, especially those that are supposedly more “macho” than others. It would be a much better world if depression could be seen in the same light as many other diseases, like high blood pressure, diabetes, etc., and treated as such. I wonder if we’ll ever see that day?

by zfan16 on Sep 2, 2011 9:11 AM CDT up reply actions

You're right, and quote mark fail on my part.

The reason I used terms like “affliction” und so weiter is that I didn’t want to upset anyone. I just noticed I put quotes around mental illness for some reason, like I don’t think there is such a thing…I blame lack of sleep and being at work! Sometimes if people see the word disease, they think less of those who have it and find fault and lay blame. I know it’s a legitimate thing, in fact, it’s a group of related, yet very different, things. The widely used term is disorder instead of disease, but here we get into nuance. A disorder may be caused by a disease, a disorder may be part of a disease, etc.

Would you rather be Kronwalled or Jarnkroked?

by WingsFool on Sep 2, 2011 9:53 AM CDT up reply actions

Damn I hate typing about complex issues on teh internetz…it’s tough to explain oneself, and I feel I always flub something. Hopefully you guys see what I mean. I am a biologist who works at the Mayo Clinic, so I’ll be the last person to deny something as serious as mental illnesses exist or are worth treating. I wish the NHL and everyone involved, everywhere, with mental disorders only the best. I just fear that, like with addictions, the fate of the afflicted person ultimately lies with that person. One has to want to be treated at the end of the day. With that said, the patient needs resources in turn, and it is wonderful to put the resources in place and attempt to educate people, and kudos to the NHL for at least saying they want to do that.

Would you rather be Kronwalled or Jarnkroked?

by WingsFool on Sep 2, 2011 10:23 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

you express yourself fine

And it’s true. People dealing with a mental disorder need information and help, but if they choose not to take advantage of it – or if they are just too severely affected that all the help they get doesn’t make a lasting difference – there is nothing anyone else can do to make them better. Some people just can’t be saved, and some people just won’t be saved. All anyone else can do is try to help as many people as possible and trust that we do more good than if we hadn’t even tried.

Random nonsense at @Baroque97

Honest, I'm completely harmless. I make up in ALL CAPS and creative threats what I lack in actual violence.

"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)

by Baroque on Sep 2, 2011 10:46 PM CDT up reply actions

From the second post on Hockey Wilderness (in support of your point)

This isn’t going to show up on some NHL mandated test. People can’t tell those that the care about the most how they feel, and they don’t want to ruin their jobs – they’ll act and answer the way that society expects them to. They’ll continue to be secretly square pegs in round holes, knowing that they don’t fit and that at any minute they’ll pop out for all to see. But they’ll keep their fingers crossed that they can get away with this charade just a little while longer. They’re people like the rest of us.

If talking about it and letting people know that there is help out there for them keeps only one hockey player (or anybody for that matter) from taking his life, then the entire effort will have been worth it.

by J.J. from Kansas on Sep 2, 2011 8:05 AM CDT up reply actions 3 recs

Byfuglien

Kuklas Korner had an unrelated article go up today that was titled “Plan to see Less of Kiprusoff this Season” and I instantly thought “& Plan to see More of Byfuglien in training camp”

by J.J. from Kansas on Sep 2, 2011 9:29 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs

Sad thing is that this was taken before the weight gain

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Sep 2, 2011 9:35 AM CDT up reply actions

the guy's weight fluctuates like no one i have ever seen or heard

iirc, he was 268 while with the Blackhawks, 245 to start last season, and is now at something like 287?

if i were a Jets fan, i wouldn’t worry too much about it unless it’s confirmed on the ice that his weight is afflicting him. plus, with how much his weight swings anyway, i’m sure he can lose some of it relatively quickly and easily and get to the 270s if nothing else. at least that’s close enough to the 268 he had while with the Blackhawks.

You wanna tell me that to mah face?!
YET ANOTHER Detroit Red Wings blog.

by uvgt2bkdnme on Sep 2, 2011 9:52 AM CDT up reply actions