the shrewdness of apes

here's Steve Levy on SportsCenter tonight as they show "highlights" of a fight between a Maple Leafs player and a Devils player which he described gleefully as "lasting about 3 times as long as your average hockey fight":

"this is how hockey polices itself."

now apparently this fight took place in response to a rough hit that had been made in a previous game between the teams. but do you think it would have been described in such casual terms if it had taken place in an NBA game? or if it was a black baseball player charging the mound (think Milton Bradley)? could the racism be any more obvious? white NHL players are "police" while NBA players are thugs. i suppose it might go without saying that the (mostly) white audience was cheering the whole thing.

i'm not opposed to fighting in hockey, though i don't find it hugely entertaining. nor am i trying to condone something like Ron Artest going after fans in the stands (as much as those fans might have had it coming). i just think it's distasteful that the same people who tsk tsk when black players fight become cheerleaders when it's white guys involved. this is the same mindset that puts "scrappy" white guys like David Eckstein and Darin Erstad on a pedestal despite the fact that they're simply not very good players.