The article is in the Atlantic Economic Journal (see
http://springerlink.metapress.com/content/t971556g03w7/?p=a6b760807d0f45e8b1
da99b5915aa717&pi=6), but it costs $30 to download the article, which is
more than I am willing to pay. The concern would be what is and what is not
held constant, to say nothing about the measures they are using to reach
their conclusion ("a team accrued .07 POINTS and decreased their opponent's
scoring by .24 GOALS"). Not every team has an enforcer, but those with the
most prolific scorers (Wayne Gretzky) would have one (Marty McSorley), so
since only these teams would show up in the data, the results can be skewed.
Also, teams fight at only certain times - usually when a game is way out of
hand. So to conclude fights have an influence on the outcome might be
confusing cause and effect. But if I wanted to pay $30 I could probably find
out if these things are accounted for in the research.

Nathan Hampton


On 12/13/06 8:52 AM, "Dr. Bob Hamilton" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> A quick follow-up seemed in order.
> Yes, the points are well taken with one exception. In the most recent remarks
> there is confusion in that points are just that - points for winning or
> losing, not goals, so the 8.4 goals is not a valid representation of the
> reported findings.  I wonder if the study sees the light of day in an academic
> journal.  For anyone interested in reading the entire report of the study, I
> have repeated the link here which has worked each time that I have tried it.
> http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=7f24bbbd-cc6f-4046-92e0-bb2e2eb
> 2f5af&k=5394
> 
> Wonder why no video of the brawl  has appeared on YouTube or other web
> displays of video.  Can the surveillance tapes be acquired under FOIA?
> Wondering what the fighting intensity would be like in a Notre Dame v. North
> Dakota contest.
> 
> And while off the college hockey topic, the fighting has decreased in the NHL
> since recent rule changes have gone into effect.  Check out
> http://www.hockeyfights.com/stats/
> 
> Bob Hamilton