I dont know how many of you saw Herb Brook's comments in yesterday's
paper. Some of them are very interesting:

".. he bluntly admits that if he had is way, NHL players wouldnt be here
at all. He would rather "give young players a chance to develop more and
become known to the public."  Sounds like college hockey to me.

Later on..

Asked about the current quality of NHL play he said "I go crazy
sometimes at NHL games I see, where they charge up to $100 and they put
you to sleep. I helieve its the players' game .. let them be creative
and watch the fans come out of their seats."

I am not sure I agree with this last conclusion. I more agree with the
few comments on the list that NHL fans prefer to see the fights and
blood and hitting rather than hockey. In fact, when you say hockey, most
fans think of fights first rather than a player weaving thru the defense
into the offensive zone.

I also dont know where he got $100 from. My daughter got us excellent
seats to a Sharks game several years ago .. mid ice up a little bit and
they are about 160 apiece. Maybe he means AVERAGE?

The article then goes on to say..

Brooks has always been a hockey purist, and in 1980 was ahead of his
time. Not many Canadians or Americans had yet embraced the wide-open,
pass-oriented, skating style that the Europeans, notably the Soviets,
used with great success in international play. But Brooks did. That why
its not a stretch to say Brooks had more to do with the 1980 team's
mircal in Lake Placid than anyone. It goes on to talk about how he
trained the team and taught them to use the larger ice surface to their advantage.

Tony Buffa
RPI '64