Overtime Central

Visitors who check the site regularly may have noticed a design change implemented yesterday, switching the header image to a hockey theme. But what does this mean? It means Overtime Central is awaking from a long winter sleep to bring to you a hockey contest.

Coming in a few days will be the launch of our latest contest, to start January 29. This will be another unique offering by Overtime Central, slightly experimental, but we are sure that it will be a fun and challenging contest for all interest levels. In order to gauge interest, we would like anyone who follows the site to leave a comment if they intend to play (yes, sight unseen). I know many others have gone into hibernation also, so I will have to make the rounds waking people up and getting entries. Thanks and remember to leave a comment and sign up in a few days.

By popular demand, I’ve expanded the Overtime Central Forums with a General Sports group consisting of CFL, Saskatchewan Roughriders, NHL and Chatter (anything goes) forums. These forums are public; you do not have to be a Overtime Central member to post or view.

I have not yet added forum rules to the site, but I do have some. First, please keep it clean. This is a family site. Second, please avoid defamation of character, whether it is someone you know, an athlete or anyone else. These forums are for constructive discussion, not anonymous attacks on people. Finally, keep it on topic. As moderator I reserve the right to delete or edit any post which does not meet with with the site standards.

If you think I’ve missed a forum topic that you would like to see, let me know and I will consider adding it.

When Todd Fedoruk was knocked out in a fight Wednesday night and taken off the ice on a stretcher, the number of recent images of NHL hockey players injured in violent acts hit a tipping point, causing NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell to say it is time to question the place of fighting in hockey.
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Nashville Predators forward Jordan Tootoo was suspended five games by the NHL for a gloved punch to the face on Dallas defenceman Stephane Robidas. Robidas was knocked unconscious, taken from the ice on a stretcher and is out a week with a concussion.

Speculation is that Tootoo, after putting a hit on Dallas forward Mike Modano, was expecting retaliation from other Dallas players despite the hit being clean, and in instinct and self-defence, reacted to the first player upon turning around. This is not to justify his gloved-punch, but to raise the issue whether the NHL player code is flawed, requiring players have to protect themselves after clean hits.

This post is here to take your comments on this and other recent incidents.

The 2007 NHL Trade Deadline involved some big players going on the move. Pretty much all of the big names (some waving no-trade clauses) are unrestricted free agents July 1, and were established players for prospects and/or draft picks. Salary cap issues came into play for some teams, and all the big names end up on American teams.
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