March 13th, 2010

All the talk is about the Matt Cooke's hit on Marc Savard. We all know how nasty looking it was and all feel for Savard. Having a concussion is horrible. I don't know the exact severeness of his concussion but it's bad. Earlier in my own season this year, I suffered a 2.5 concussion. For those who don't know, concussions are classed from 1 to 3, 3 being most severe. Words cannot describe the feeling this kind of injury gives. I spent the first week with my head under a pillow, and having nightmares about any sort of noise or light. The focus is on the punishment of Cooke, but I feel just so bad for Marc Savard. I wish him all the best in his recovery.

Since I am human, I will put in my input about what should have happened to Matt Cooke. As soon as the hit was landed, Cooke should have been worried about getting jumped, and should have. I don't care who was on the ice for Boston, it could be little Brad Marchand for I care. Someone should have stepped in and tuned him. Let him get up and fight you fairly. Once that happens, Cooke should have been ready for another fight, and then another. I don't care the score or 2 points at that point of the game. If I was on Boston my concern at that point would be Marc Savard and making sure Matt Cooke got what he deserved. I'm not a fan of fighting fire with fire but there is an instance I would accept. It would have been sicking to watch, but it was already sick enough.

There is no rule where hitting to the head is a penalty, so I don't understand why everyone is calling for a suspension. How are you able to suspend a guy for something that's not a rule? It's just not possible, no matter the type of reputation the player has. Colin Campbell could have punished Cooke for attempt to injure but in my opinion there are not many circumstances that a hit could fall under that category. As a player myself, when you go for a big hit, you're not thinking of hurting him, you're thinking of the huge momentum shift it will give your team. Matt Cooke despite the reputation could have been just going for just that, we don't and never will know what was going on inside his head when he made the hit. I sure hope he was going for the big hit but after watching some past plays of his, I have begun to wonder what his motive is.

All my Best; Enjoy Life
Ryan Francis