>My information is that the NYC tournament will be 12/22/98, one night only,
>involving UNH, Maine, Colgate and RPI.
>
>As for the likelihood that this thing will draw .  .  .  In my opinion the
>chances are nil.
 
That is a strange group of teams to select.  None of the hockey esat teams,
to my knowledge, have a particularly large NYC alumni base (possible
exception of BU?  Any BU alumni know about this?), so it doesn't really
matter which hockey east teams they select (but selecting stronger teams
can't hurt).  The ECAC choices make no sense though.  I'm sure both RPI and
Colgate have significant numbers of NYC area alums, but those aren't very
large schools.  Schools like Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and Cornell have
huge NYC alumni bases, and often rabidly loyal alumni (not intended as an
insult -- no flames please).  If they selected two of those teams and
paired each against a top hockey east team, they might generate some real
alumni interest (although now that I think of it, a Harvard-Yale match in
NYC might not be such a bad idea either).  It's true though, that NY is a
pro sports town, so it might be an uphill battle.  Of course, considering
how hard it is to get Rangers tickets (I'm currently # 20,000 on the
seaon-tickets waitlist, and a few hundred turn over each year) you never
know. . .
 
As for criminal liabilty for sports-related incidents, John Edwards is
right on the money (at least that's what they taught me in law school).  To
be excused from criminal and tort liability, the activity must be an
accepted part of the game (even fouls and penalties are generally
considered part of the sport -- but a gross violation and/or intent to
injure may not be so considered).  You cannot immunize activity from the
law merely by calling it a sport.  As an obvious example, the NHL could
pass a rule saying it's okay to kill a player who slashes you, but legally,
it wouldn't be so.  [NOTE: Although I am a second-year law student, none of
my statements in this message should be construed as legal advice.]
 
As for the Fleetcenter:  I see that the gripes about it are already
starting to roll in.  In my opinion however, it's a great, if somewhat
sterile, place to watch a hockey game.  The arena is well designed so that
the view from every seat is good (except apparently, for the seating for
the disabled, which was reported to have raised some ADA concerns) -- and I
should know, because I've sat in the worst seats in the place (last row
upper deck, behind the net).  There are no obstructed views at Fleetecnter,
and the scoreboard is big and easy to read (effects are pretty creative
too).  It is also very convenient for mass transit, sitting atop a major
subway hub.  The only drawback is that parking at Fleetcenter, as at every
other place in Boston, is a nightmare (and don't get me started on
Cambridge, where I'm lucky if I can park near my own damned street).  I
would *strongly* recommend the T (Boston's cryptic name for its subway) to
all visitors.
 
Carl Sussman
Brown '96
Harvard Law '99
 
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