Richards' hit still reverberating
Mike Richards' vicious hit on David Booth during the Flyers/Panthers game back on Oct. 24 is still ringing - in more than one place.
Richards' hit still reverberating
SAN JOSE – Mike Richards’ hit on David Booth back on Oct. 24 is still reverberating through the hockey world. Last week at the NHL’s general manager meetings in Toronto, many GMs pointed to that hit as the reason why head shots and dangerous hits need to be taken out of the game.
This week, the hit is still reverberating in a different place. David Booth told The Sporting News in today’s issue that he is still feeling the effects of the hit daily. Booth made a pass near the Flyers’ blue line and turned his head at the very second Richards came across the ice and drilled him with a shoulder.
The hit – which knocked Booth unconscious, cut him and kept him in Pennsylvania Hospital for a night – was reviewed by the NHL but not deemed worthy of a suspension. Booth’s head scraped along the Wachovia Center ice on the way down.
Booth has not been back on the ice since. I reported news from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Thursday’s paper about Booth’s setbacks. He has not been able to do light exercises for more than three consecutive days without headaches.
Video of the hit is at the bottom of this post.
The Sporting News caught up with him for a revealing Q&A in their Nov. 20, 2009 issue. Here is an excerpt:
Question: How would you describe the symptoms right now?
Booth: It’s kind of fatigue mostly, and headaches … I never had a headache for the longest time [before the hit]. Now, it seems like everything I do, my head starts pounding.
Question: Was it a dirty hit?
Booth: Since I was the one receiving it, I looked back on it and my viewpoint is going to be different than other people’s. Yeah, I guess everyone has their opinions, I’m sure you know where I stand on it.
Question: At the GM meetings in Toronto, that hit seemed to be the one that rallied for a rule protecting players from hits to the head. Is that something positive you can pull out of this?
Booth: Yeah, but it kind of sucks it had to come at my expense. That’s the way it goes.
Question: So you’d like to see rule changes?
Booth: Yeah, I think you could answer that for me.
Question: I read somewhere that your career might be in jeopardy because of this hit. Do you worry about not playing again?
Booth: No. That’s not in my mind. That’s never crossed my mind. I’ve never even had that thought.
Question: I imagine the best advice is to not rush back?
Booth: That’s the biggest thing. You feel good during the day, you want to get back out there … I hate doing nothing. I feel like a slob. I want to do anything I can. It’s been difficult.
Question: So what do you do to pass the time?
Booth: Nothing … The first couple of weeks, I’d go for a walk or something and I found that to be detrimental … I think I just have to do nothing.
That is powerful stuff. The "I feel like a slob" line really got me. It is amazing to see how a few milliseconds can change a life.
Anyways, the Flyers are back on the ice tonight (10:00 p.m. EST, Comcast SportsNet) against the San Jose Sharks. I looked at how the Flyers’ defense has made a big impact in the scoring column in today’s paper.
The Flyers’ lines are expected to stay the same:
Hartnell - Richards - Pyorala
Van Riemsdyk - Carter - Briere
Powe - Giroux - Laliberte
Carcillo - Betts – Laperriere
Flyers coach John Stevens said that Oskars Bartulis will remain in the lineup as the sixth defenseman, leaving Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, Danny Syvret and Riley Cote as healthy scratches.
The Sharks are walking wounded right now, missing Rob Blake, Devin Setoguchi, Jody Shelley and Brad Staubitz. All four will be out tonight.
Here were the Sharks' depleted lines from practice on Thursday:
Marleau – Thornton - Heatley
Clowe - Pavelski - Malhotra
Ortmeyer – Nichol – McLaren
The San Jose Mercury News is saying that Logan Couture, Jamie McGinn and Benn Ferriero are likely to play tonight as call-ups from Worcester (AHL).
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DNFlyers.
Comment removed.
I've watched this over and over and it's just a strange looking hit. Like Richards is trying to line something up, then ends up glancing off Booth's shoulder and across Booth's face. It's extremely unfortunate, but I don't think Richards was intending to take off Booth's head. At one point it almost looks like Richards is trying to get around him. I don't know, it's definitely not your typical cheap-shot if it was one at all.— rwright611- Comment removed.
- someone should ask Booth why he was admiring his pass— BHite15
- Does anyone not remember the Panthers' own Jay Bouwmeester and his dirty hit on Gagne, and oh by the way it knocked Gagne out for a whole season? What comes around, goes around. Florida Panthers need to shut up and quit crying.— phlyFANinTX
- this is hockey, not basketball. physical contact is allowed. it was a clean hit.— phlyFANinTX
- BS. Richards had his feet on the ice and his elbows by his side. His shoulder barely even hit Booth - he almost hit him with his back! I feel bad for Booth, but this was his fault as much as Richards -- an accident in a very fast and physical game. The aforementioned hits on Lindros, Primeau and Gags were much worse.— rstone
- Objectively speaking, this check was a poor decision on Richards' part, given how long he had the player lined up across the ice. Something was going to change by the time he made contact - and it did. The player was no longer at the same angle for a highlight reel, pancake check. Booth continued to admire the pass, as I'm sure Richards was expecting his head to return to the normal position, but it didn't. All of these circumstances, however unfortunate, still don't add up to a dirty check for reasons already mentioned. Lindros's career ended the same exact way, as he could/would not keep his head up just like Booth in this instance. If they start penalizing players for unintentional hits, it will get like the stupid NFL quarterback contact rules - which has changed that game. Quarterbacks want defensive players suspended because they can't make plays while avoiding a hit. So now it is the NPL, or National Passing League. The whole point of football is to hit the guy WITH the football. Same thing in hockey. Guy with the puck gets hit. Part of any physical game is learning how to avoid hits, or at the minimum, remembering where you are at all times. If a player cannot master the skill, doesn't belong out there. The other choice is just to remove contact from all sports. That'll be really fun, watching our wives play professional sports.— Danno
- Lindros dealt with this his whole career. It is hockey...which is less interesting today than it was in the days before Gary Bettman. That is a fact. 6 Year olds and all througout a players development, they hear the same words: "keep your head up". There is a reason for that. It is a contact sport with the world's greatest athletes....incidents will happen. Does not mean rules need to change everytime.— bvl390
- Imagine that, more Flyers fans that think the world is against them. You always complain about people "crying" about questionable hits and now you all are doing the exact same thing by trying to complain to everyone that nobody treats you fairly. It was a fairly clean hit, not worthy of a suspension, but don't try to say he didn't attempt to hit him. I doubt there was an attempt to injure, but definitely an attempt to hit him where it counts. Also, you flyers fans should stop complaining considering the league is on your side for this one. Also, Lindros' career was NOT shortened due to "deliberate shots to the head" as "horsesareathletes" claims above. Both Eric and hit brother suffered numerous concussions from being physical players and therefore receiving hits in retaliation just as they did to other players. As you all said above, hockey is a rough, physical and sometimes dangerous sport. Lastly, if you want to see some success in this city, then I would suggest you convince ownership that brutality doesn't win in this league as it did in the 70's and 80's. Notice the teams that are winning lately, young players from Europe, not just Canada, and those players with more skill than brute force. You can beat up the entire opposition, and you may think that it's "cool", but at the end of it, your team is just another bunch of toothless guys who just so happen to be trophy-less.— aisaac
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- This was just a hockey play. Booth crossed the middle of the ice while admiring a pass. Unfortunately the camera usually leaves, but defensemen routinely get hit after making outlet passes. Obviously, the outcome was an unintended consequence, but the moral outrage aimed at Richards is ridiculous. Booth is being a wee bit whiny about it, its b/c of this type of false sense of entitlement that he probably got drilled in the first place.— mike
- anyone who posts 'you flyers fans' should have their post deleted immediately.— Bex
- aisaac, are you kidding? In all seriousness, go back and watch the Kasparitis hit on Lindros. He left his feet and threw an elbow. Watch the Stevens hit on Lindros, the puck wasn't there yet, and Lindros was K.O.'ed before he hit the ice b/c he got a shoulder to the head. Look at the video on Primeau's last 2 concussions. compare those with Richards-Booth.— mike
- Getting a little tiring, this was not an intentional dirty hit, anyone with a brain can see that. It happens during the course of a game, unfortunate yes, dirty no! Drop it allready and move on to something else!!!— DJ
- Bhite15's comment is bonerific!— JohnnyN
- what a broad— Living_Legend
- aisaac, WTF are you talking about? Noone here is crying about anything. You're just an idiot.— ItsOnLikeDK
- No one is talking about the hit to Pimeau's head that put him into retirement. Elbow to the head - period. I am amazed that Richards' hit is now the poster boy for headhunting. Richards' hit was clean, hard yes, but clean. The NHL has to evaluate why players continuously put themselves in positions like this. How many players *still* turn their backs when they know they're going to get hit? How many players *duck* to avoid a check? Too many! Why isn't the NHL doing something about those situations instead?— rjhpsu85
- Any hit to the head should be banned. PERIOD. Shoulder, forearm, elbow - any hit to the head should be banned. Richards would have accomplished the same thing - a devastating clean open ice check - if he had planted his shoulder into his chest. We all would have stood up and cheered. He lined his shoulder up to his chin because its legal in the game. This should be banned. PERIOD.— LouB
Richards is a dirty player. This is about the 3rd time this guy has taken a head shot at someone when he could have avoided it. I hope some day what goes around comes around and this punk is laying on the ice with his brain scrambled for good.Idiot!- I remember a similar hit by "Cheap Shot Scott" Stevens on Eric Lindros. Where was the outrage?— Could.It.Really.Be...ColonelAngus
- Huge shoulder pads and more than adequate elbow pads make players feel like they cannot be hurt by lowering the shoulder or throwing an elbow. Keep the hitting as it is but let's dial it back a few decades in terms of all the padding.— mwilgus
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- This was a clean hit, even Booth is wrong saying it was dirty. I agree with PhillyMike77. The NHL "loved Steven's hit on Lindros" and if you listened to the original broadcast they even called it the perfect clean hit. This was against a man who already had serious concussions issues. Stevens should have been prosecuted for that vicious attempt to injure Lindros. Instead he was praised!— MIKEZ
- I hate to disagree with most of the posters. It looked like a dirty hit to me. Certainly unnecessary. Booth no longer had the puck and should not have been hit at all, let alone a hit clearly centered on his head.— Bobphxville
- Richards stalked Booth like a lion on a wilderbeast, like a heat seeking missle on a taliban jalopy. Sickening to watch, completely avodiable and unnesessary, now the dude Booth life as he knew it , is over! Nice work Richards the human head is not capable of withstanding a direct shot at 25 mph. Booth was completely vulnerable and Richards went out of his way to inflict ahit that may very well result in permanent brain damage.
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- The dude didn't have the puck when he was hit high. Richardson SHOULD have been suspended. IT's not a clean play to hit someone like that without the puck. Lindros had the puck and was skating over the blue line when he was drilled. Sorry Flyers fans, but you are wrong. Stop being homers and look at the rules.— scootch
- Clean hit. No discussion.— jtgallagher1
- NOPE!!!!! i guess they wanted a one word answer— sawgrass
- This is going on too long, there was nothing wrong with the hit. It's a shame that Booth is still out but he should of kept his head up, a few games later Richards tried the same hit on Ovechkin and he moved out of the way, he later hammered Ritchie in the third period. This is Hockey...Disney on ice will be in philly during christmas, go to that if you want to see people in stupid outfits skate around.— jjritchie148
- aisaac, why don't yo say that you are a Cindy Crosby on ice Penguins fan. Really, I guess you never watch hockey because you say its about Europeans and skilled Canadians, yet I guess you forgot that the Ducks won by being a physical team. The Red Wings in '08 pushed the Penguins around. The you have a player like Ovie who can score 65 and levels people, and some of his hits are borderline. You are a tool aisaac, I hope people like you never take over hockey because you will kill this great sport.— lcd24
- Stalked him like a lion, wow Joe a little dramatic. Oh I have a question for you why should the guy looking to hit someone be aware of the opponents head down at mid ice? He should not, the game is too fast and honestly KEEP YOUR HEAD UP! You watch your pass while crossing the blue line you deserve what you get. Booth is no different then Lindros but I guess you and aisaac can get together over Shirlee Temples and play pocket hockey together with you Cindy Crosby dolls. Oh just wondering didn't Orpix "stalk" Kimmo like a lion and laid him out durring the playoffs last year?? Oh yeah must have slipped you mind huh?? Duche.— lcd24
It was a cheap shot by Richards, theres no getting around it— primo- With the 6 million cheap hits that Scott Stevens threw during his HALL OF FAME career, it's really sad that the Richards hit is the one that has all the idiotic NHL GM's talking. Do any of these guys have any hockey sense at all? They worship Stevens. Every last one of them would say he would have been a great addition to their teams. And he was one of the dirtiest players in NHL history who INTENTIONALLY went out of his way to hurt people. He proudly ended careers. Lindros, Kariya, and many other players either retired because of him, or never recovered from their head injuries to be the players they once were. But Mike Richards is the bad guy. The NHL is fast becoming a joke. Bettman and most of the GM's are used car salesmen and nothing more than that. Good thing they keep the instigator rule in place. Don't want to players to have to be accountable for those head shots.
Of course richards was trying to hit him Aisaac, thats a part of this game called hockey. The center comes back and plays defense, which often involves hitting an opposing player. What about this hit was dirty? Richards did not charge him, his feet weren't moving and didn't leave the ice, he had his elbow down, his shoulder down. He didn't lunge into the hit like so many headhunters do. He lined up a clean open ice hit, and the timing was off, which led to the accident. It's unfortunate Booth was injured, but there was nothing at all dirty about this hit. It reminded me more of that time a couple years ago when Knuble and Shanahan collided, not of any of the dirty hits Scott Stevens or Darius Kasparaitis are celebrated for. Heck, watch the highlights any given night, and you'll see hits like Richards heralded as good physical hockey, as long as the guy isn't injured. Just google Phaneuf or Franzen, and you'll see much dirtier hits that the league had no problem with. This is nothing but a case of Flyers haters who can't look past the orange jersey.— Pelti
Maybe Richards should have read Booth's mind, so he would've known Booth would dump off the puck a second before the hit. Booth is in the worst position he could be: moving right while looking left, crossing the blue line(this hit cannot be judged in slow motion...neither player was moving that slow when the hit took place...it makes it look like Richards had much more time to adjust than he really did). Booth's head slams the ice when he goes down. Think next year we'll see Football-quality head gear mandated as a result? Fat chance. How many guys do you see with chin straps dangling uselessly around their necks, yet with all the head injuries, has that been ruled against? Players have lost their vision but still no mandated facial protection, the obvious solution. It's always easier to blame a player and propose another subjective rule that does nothing but make for a good press conference, Bettman's specialty. In that spirit, here's a suggestion: Get an official with a radar gun and call penatlies for skating too fast before a body check. Now, go get 'em, Gary!— icarus- aisaac: FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART: SHUT UP!!! Stick to figure skating with your boyfriend..— phillysportsfan88
- I just wish it was Evgeni Malkin instead of David Booth.— jtgallagher1
Hockey is a contact sport. The NHL has enough trouble filling arenas. Legislate hitting out of the game and watch the arenas really get empty.- Comment removed.
