l read through aAnswer that stated that ''hockey is too classy for Avery is antics''.

l did not disagree with the statement, but it did set off a lightbulb.Would you disagree with me if l said that hockey was never meant to be ''classy''?

l mean.. it is a toughman sport.Only the gritty play this game.We do not score goals, and the other team starts to do a quiet clap, similar to golf.This is only fast paced sport, where there is a yin to every yang.For every Ovechkin, there is an Avery.For every Crosby, there is a Boogard.

l do not think hockey was meant to be classy.l feel Avery is antics are perfect for the sport.

What are your toughts?
This is a gritty sport, where pain occurs every second of the game.

Hockey definitely has a code of honor I'd say, & that code is enforced old school which l happen to like. Avery is ''antics'' definitely r too trashy for hockey, it is not like he is being tough, sticking up for his team or a teammate by being a toughguy, instead Avery is being kind of a b1tch which does not fit the hockey honor code at all. l hate the ppl that think just because there is fighting in hockey it has no class, because in a way the hockey code of honor is pretty cool. I'd rather it be hockey style of beating up a guy that takes & extra shot at ur goalie, than soccer style of diving & faking injury to try to win. Which has more class u tell me?

It can still be gritty and classy at the same time. You can fight, but you should not be running your mouth after the fight about how weak the other guy is etc. That is the difference. And Avery is comments were inexcusable no matter how classy the sport is.

l disagree. Just like any job you can not say crap about your co-workers. Players have clauses in the contracts that state they can not behave like that. If l wanted to see that 24/7 I'd listen to Kobe Bryant.

l think the punishment did not fit the crime though.. l would'e fined him at the most.

Class is hockey is middle name. Yes gritty & rough no doubt, but in a respectful way. l somewhat agree with ur Yin-yang theory but Sean A. has taken it way past that level. The comments he has made the actions he has done have made himself, his teams, & the league look like fools. pain is one thing Disrespect is another. If you've ever played the game or any sport at a serious level u would understand he was let go for his own good, if his teammates got a hold of him it would have been a carnage full meeting in the Dallas locker room.

l do not think hockey is entirely classy or entirely violent.

Sure, u got guys taking cheap shots & recurrently talking smack. You got ur Simons, Prongers & Averys.

But u also have those wonderful gestures of modesty & leadership. Like the guys who pass to teammates when there is an empty net or the guys who save pucks for teammates with first/milestone goals. Heck, the fans almost always applaud an injured player of the opposing team that gets up after hurt.

So u can not say it is absolute either way.

Being tough and being classless are two different things kiddo.

Look at the NFL, tough Classless players.

Do you want that in the NHL? Brian Urlacher with 50 kids by 50 women?

It is not like football where players do not play because they have a boo boo. They put peanut butter in their skates to get them over the swollen/broken ankle. Even Crosby & Ovechkin get dirty a little. We do not have little fairy foots playing. Mostly because as a hockey player, we respect the game more than athletes in other sports. You do not see the thuggish life style in hockey, because hockey players never had time. 5am practices their whole lives, never lead to much partying at night. l would not see Avery is words r good for the sport, but his level of play is.

l agree that it gets gritty, but if you look back to games many years ago the players did have class. People looked up to them. l sure would not want to look up to some of todays players, like Avery. l think their was MORE class years ago.