I'm sure he's not the only player who (almost) lost his career to tobacco. Good for him for beating it.
Great find ... Thanks for posting. Incredible story.
Puts all the idiot comments here of "players can do what they want" into perspective. They sure can... but it doesn't make it right.
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Just for ***** and giggles, for the people who think it's ok for a player to chew/dip while in the spotlight (interview, pressbox, etc.), what are your feelings if that player were to be, say, consuming a beer/mixed drink in the same situation? Still ok? After all, it is perfectly legal, provided you're of legal drinking age ... Right? Still no responsibility to be setting a good, positive example for the youth, right?
Great find ... Thanks for posting. Incredible story.
Puts all the idiot comments here of "players can do what they want" into perspective. They sure can... but it doesn't make it right.
----------------
Just for ***** and giggles, for the people who think it's ok for a player to chew/dip while in the spotlight (interview, pressbox, etc.), what are your feelings if that player were to be, say, consuming a beer/mixed drink in the same situation? Still ok? After all, it is perfectly legal, provided you're of legal drinking age ... Right? Still no responsibility to be setting a good, positive example for the youth, right?
Bob Probert once bummed a smoke off my step-brother in a Detroit bar.
Read the guys book, Probert smoked most of his career, but that's the least concerning of the things he was doing. (Again why are we using his brain to say that fighting is bad?).
He also talks about smoking with other players, notably Doug Gilmour.
Some people can dip without it being too much of a problem. I couldn't so I quit. Some people can drunkenly bum smokes without it being too much of a problem. Some people like beer. They are adults. They can do whatever they damn well please as long as they are not hurting others.
Blake Wheeler gave a postgame interview the other night on NHL Network with a HUGE dip loaded up in his mouth. Way to lead by example, Wheels
Hmmm... Not sure when you saw that, but I'm thinking you might be confusing Wheeler with Big Buff. Never seen Wheeler dip, but Buff did an interview with a wad of tobacco in the other night.
Great find ... Thanks for posting. Incredible story.
Puts all the idiot comments here of "players can do what they want" into perspective. They sure can... but it doesn't make it right.
----------------
Just for ***** and giggles, for the people who think it's ok for a player to chew/dip while in the spotlight (interview, pressbox, etc.), what are your feelings if that player were to be, say, consuming a beer/mixed drink in the same situation? Still ok? After all, it is perfectly legal, provided you're of legal drinking age ... Right? Still no responsibility to be setting a good, positive example for the youth, right?
I have no problem with this, but this is personal opinion. I don't believe that sports stars need to be role models if they choose not to be. I also believe this was much more lax in the past and for the most part didn't hurt anyone. There are plenty of pictures of old hockey players drinking in the locker room and other places. I think people can be way too uptight about this these days.
Mike Keenan on the radio this morning said when he went from Phila to Chicago (1988–89) he was shocked to see ashtrays on stands between every other locker stall. He prohibited smoking in the locker room, so then they all congregated in the hallway.
playing college hockey, there were alot of guys that smoked back in the 90's. Playing in the wphl i would say there were a few guys that smoked. smoking had alot to do with just hanging at the bars and doing it while boozing. the bruins of these days can't smoke in the bars, and I doubt they want to be seen outside a bar firing one up. smoking in 2012is just not as cool as it was in 1995. the generation is a little smarter.
I have no problem with this, but this is personal opinion. I don't believe that sports stars need to be role models if they choose not to be. I also believe this was uch more lax in the past and for the most part didn't hurt anyone. There are plenty of pictures of old hockey players drinking in the locker room and other places. I think people can be way too uptight about this these days.
they don't smoke or booze it up like the old days because they won't keep up. guys are in better shape. coaching staffs and gms won't put up with not eating right or livin right anymore. i knew a kid at niagara university that got benched a game for eating a piece of pepperoni pizza
Rumor had it Dennis Wideman was infamous for smoking when he was a Bruin
Nah, that's a pretty easy mistake. I blame a media misprint
See, someone said he always went out and got lit up while he was a Bruin, someone else misread that as him going out and lighting one up, and that just started the urban legend.
they don't smoke or booze it up like the old days because they won't keep up. guys are in better shape. coaching staffs and gms won't put up with not eating right or livin right anymore. i knew a kid at niagara university that got benched a game for eating a piece of pepperoni pizza
I was mostly talking about fans and such. If the guy could keep up while boozing and smoking I don't think its much of an issue to me. I can see why coaches and GMs are concerned about it though since I'm sure for the most part it hinders the performance and shortens the shelf life of the player.
I'd also argue what you said about smoking being more cool now than 1995 is wrong. Maybe 1975, but not 1995. If you look at recent smoking trends smoking amongst teens is at the same level as it was in the mid nineties after a short dip. I'd argue that smoking was the same level of cool then but now there is much more of a backlash from non-smokers against it. There are rules in place about smoking in most forms of media and it's been banned from most indoor public spaces now so people are more hyper-aware of it.
That's funny about the coach and the pizza, though. Probably just trying to set an example and he wanted to who team to stick to a healthy plan or else. I doubt the one piece would do much. I wonder which players eat what. I guess Bergeron and Ferrence eat healthily but I wonder if other players are as intense about it.
I was mostly talking about fans and such. If the guy could keep up while boozing and smoking I don't think its much of an issue to me. I can see why coaches and GMs are concerned about it though since I'm sure for the most part it hinders the performance and shortens the shelf life of the player.
I'd also argue what you said about smoking being more cool now than 1995 is wrong. Maybe 1975, but not 1995. If you look at recent smoking trends smoking amongst teens is at the same level as it was in the mid nineties after a short dip. I'd argue that smoking was the same level of cool then but now there is much more of a backlash from non-smokers against it. There are rules in place about smoking in most forms of media and it's been banned from most indoor public spaces now so people are more hyper-aware of it.
That's funny about the coach and the pizza, though. Probably just trying to set an example and he wanted to who team to stick to a healthy plan or else. I doubt the one piece would do much. I wonder which players eat what. I guess Bergeron and Ferrence eat healthily but I wonder if other players are as intense about it.
they don't smoke or booze it up like the old days because they won't keep up. guys are in better shape. coaching staffs and gms won't put up with not eating right or livin right anymore. i knew a kid at niagara university that got benched a game for eating a piece of pepperoni pizza
I was mostly talking about fans and such. If the guy could keep up while boozing and smoking I don't think its much of an issue to me. I can see why coaches and GMs are concerned about it though since I'm sure for the most part it hinders the performance and shortens the shelf life of the player.
I'd also argue what you said about smoking being more cool now than 1995 is wrong. Maybe 1975, but not 1995. If you look at recent smoking trends smoking amongst teens is at the same level as it was in the mid nineties after a short dip...
Without getting too specific, many current NHL players-- especially those in their early to mid-20's-- are casual smokers.
Snuff is also pretty common.
How do you define "many"? And how do you define "casual"?
Quote:
Longtime agent Don Meehan, whose Ontario-based Newport Sports handles more NHL players than any other agency, says "I can't think of a single client who smokes. And I can't think of anyone else in the game who smokes. Times have changed."
The only guy I can think of is Semin, and the photos of him smoking outside a bar caused an uproar on the Internet. If smoking was prevalent among NHL players, would there have been such a hue and cry?
If you're going to have a career in the NHL, I would think that smoking is one of the worst things you could do to derail yourself.
