Hello NY and everywhere else, welcome back to the Birdcage. Today we are lucky to have with us David Singer, creator of the wildly popular Hockeyfights.com. Many a time I have received e-mail or read a post on our boards with a link to David's site. David has been asked to be a judge at the upcoming Hockey Gladiator's event so I thought it would be cool to invite David into the cage and throw a few Qs his way.

Bird: Thanks for stopping by David, how the heck are ya ? I always like to ask how my guests found the game.....what are you first hockey memories?

Singer: I'm good, thanks for asking. The season tends to almost make one "hockeyed out" by the time the Cup is raised, but the draft always seems to start the next season, so I made a quick turn-around there.

My first hockey memories are of the Islanders raising the Cup. I grew up during the dynasty and attended my first game in 84 (84-85 season). The Islanders lost in overtime to the Caps, it was heartbreaking. It was exciting and had me hooked. No fights by the way.

Bird: Who was the first team/player you became a fan of?

Singer: Well, growing up on Long Island it was easy to become an Islanders fan (well, as long as it wasn't 93-99 I guess). A lot of my friends were/are Rangers fans, but what would be the fun if they weren't? I was a big fan of Duane Sutter, Bobby Nystrom and Clark Gillies. It was fun watching Mike Bossy, but these guys were workhorses and even younger I appreciated it. You always knew they were trying.

After that it was Pat Lafontaine and Mick Vukota. Vukota stuck around the Island for a while and was always good to the fans whenever I saw him. I become a big fan of his because of that.

During the early 90s I had a soft spot for the Penguins. Mario Lemieux gets my vote as the most skilled player of all-time, and his surrounding cast was all about offense. Any team like that is fun to watch. Kevin Stevens scoring 50+ goals and racking up 250+ PIMs didn't hurt either. However, I certainly wasn't devastated when the Isles beat them in OT in 93, although I think I picked the Pens in my pool...

I stuck with the Islanders through the down times of the late 90s, and any time you can stick through a run like that, I think you're a dedicated fan. Right now I think most Rangers fans can relate.

Bird: OK, how did you decide to publish your site Hockeyfights.com? When did it start, what did you go though at the beginning and did you ever think it would get this big?

Singer: Well, the roots go back to 1995. I went to school (Buffalo) in the fall of that year and we didn't want our fantasy league to dismantle. So instead of just emailing each other, I set up a website with our league info, and some other favorite things of mine, including some Islanders statistics. "Singa's Cella" was born. At first it was just some Mick Vukota info, and then it was Ken Belanger, and quickly it was all of the Islanders.

I received a lot of emails because of it and was pushed to cover more, and to add more to the site, so I did. I wanted the domain hockeyfights.com for a long time, but it was being squatted. The first person who had it wanted a ton of money. I saw it was ready to expire, it did, but I missed getting it. So I set up hockeyfights.net in 1999 and I started talking to the new squatter. He was a bit more reasonable and I was finally able to get the name, that was in 2000.

When the .net version went up I shifted to covering all of the NHL. The emails were insane, so I set up a message forums, and everything else from there has just been steady growth.

Bird: Any cool behind the scenes stuff you'd care to lay on us? Anyone hassle you about the site like some pacifists or Green Peace members or Al Gore?

Singer: Oh yeah, I get the occasional crazy email from time to time. There was a whole bunch after the Bertuzzi incident. Of course, that wasn't a fight, nor do I like sucker-punches, so I wrote back to most to let them know.

The most recent nutjob would be one person who signed up for our forums to let everyone know how stupid they are. Now, we get the sporadic sign-up who is anti-fighting. As long as they're good about it, most just try to argue their case and let it be. This person wanted to blame all the world's problems on hockey and fighting and made all the members aware of this while throwing in any sort of condescending phrase they could think of. Needless to say, they were banned pretty fast by one of my moderators and I quickly received a series of emails.

They went on to say how they're a gym teacher up in Canada and somehow they have the right to tell all of us how dumb we are and how we all needed to go to college and be educated. I informed them the moderator who banned them has his masters from an Ivy League school. They suddenly didn't care about that, but started suggesting we take sociology classes. I pointed them to Buffalo, where I earned my bachelor's in it. That suddenly didn't matter anymore either. Now it was simply about the children and how we're ruining their lives somehow. I let them know we didn't endorse anything like that. We don't glorify violence, just appreciated the rough side of the game. The emails were a bit spooky in tone though, in a Fatal Attraction-boil-your-bunny kind
of way. I ended the responses shortly.

Bird: What do you have to say to those who feel that fighting should be eliminated from the game at all levels?

Singer: Usually I just say how it's part of the game and removing it could have more negative effects then leaving it in there. It can play a part in the outcome of a game and it's exciting. Few can argue with that.

I have to admit that many who are anti-fighting are usually just anti-goon, and there's a common ground somewhere usually to agree about its place in the game, just not how it's happening.

Bird: Now....we all have a few we look back on (Clouts beating on Tommy "the Turtle" Salo is one of mine) tell us about some of your favorite fights and what about them made them so memorable.

Singer: Oh wow, you pick the most overrated goalie "fight" of all-time, this should be easy to top ;) (I'll take my Rangers over Islanders fights well, there's a lot of history there, but Cloutier just didn't impress me there) Seriously, I'm not into turtles or anything like that. I didn't care when Darren McCarty was pounding on Claude Lemieux's back either, even though I'd say he deserved that a bit more.

Some of my favorite fights have been Bob Probert ones. Rarely was he not exciting. His bouts with Craig Coxe, his marathon with McSorley, he always showed up. You don't need much more then that to turn the crowd on your side, it's why P.J. Stock was/is so popular. The kid comes full-force, win or lose. Stock's rock 'em sock 'em fights against Stephen Peat are pretty high up on the list of great fights I've seen.

I usually like to see anticipated fights actually happen, and be a decent fight. When Lemieux took on McCarty the next time they met, that was pretty cool, even if you didn't like the guy. Eric Cairns and Sandy McCarthy a few years back in the Garden was a pretty big bout because we all knew it was coming. I don't think MSG had more of a buzz about a fight before a game started since the Tie Domi-Probert rematch in the early 90s. Those are usually the fights people remember, anything with a build-up; those and brawls. Can't say I'm much different as I like to remember the "title fights", the "balls to the wall" fights, and anything that was tied to an outside storyline.

Bird: Since this is a Rangers site for the most part, I'm gonna throw some names out and ask for your reaction. Nick Fotiu, Tie Domi, Chris Nilan, Matt Barnaby.

Singer:
Nick Fotiu - One of the best Rangers fighters ever, easy. He had a pretty good reputation coming to the Rangers and the Rangers certainly needed a guy like him at the time, they just couldn't compete while being pushed around by the Flyers and the Bruins. When he beat Paul Holmgren and Behn Wilson, a NY legend was made. He lost some fights, sure, but he carried that rep, Fotiu brought intimidation and struck fear into many opponents when the Rangers really needed someone like that. He wasn't a volume fighter, but few were when he played.

Tie Domi - Loves the spotlight, I can't imagine how he made it in Winnipeg as long as he did before going to Toronto to get his face back on the back page. He certainly earned it a lot of the time going against all the top heavies throughout his career. He was a bit of a show-boater during his time with the Rangers, but that's not to say New York didn't love him for it. Seems to have the hardest head of all-time, gets a bit more credit then he deserves sometimes because of his size, but still a great fighter. He's still the main man in Toronto, but Wade Belak is now the main heavyweight. Probably will wind up on the lower end of most people's all-time top 10 list.

Chris Nilan - Another great fighter. His was towards the end of his career when he came to the Rangers though. Like Domi, he's got some fight card, fought everyone throughout his career and finished with a ton of fighting majors. Another similarity with Domi is he wasn't that big a guy, but still a league heavyweight. Had a big heart, was willing to do what he could for the team. Good segway to........

Matt Barnaby - One of my favorite players in the league. Pained me to see him traded to the Rangers a few years ago, but they were utilizing him well, giving him time to be a hockey player. He gives 100%, would make an top 10 all-time all-heart team if you made one, possibly contending for the top spot. His fights last as long as he can make them go and he'll yap the whole time. Few players respect fans like he does.

A mini-Barnaby story: I went to school up in Buffalo. One year I was lucky enough to be press and attended all Sabres games for the second half of the year. I wasn't used to the press box or the locker room or any sort of setting like that and approaching players and team people wasn't always easy, hell some didn't want to act like you existed. Matt was the opposite, willing to talk to anyone everyone, even after a loss. I was a fan of his from watching him on the ice, but after seeing him with media and fans, he became a favorite of mine.

Bird: This past season, Dale Purinton was accused of "breaking the code" when fighting Eric Carins. Do you remember this and what are your thoughts on that incident?

Singer: It was a cheapshot, no doubt, he turned him and threw a punch right as Cairns figured out what was happening. Purinton will say it's because Cairns was hitting a smaller guy on his team and Cairns will say he hit Purinton's teammate because he was slashing a teammate of his own and so on and so on. Cheapshots happen though, they're part of the game, and I don't think it would have become the story it did if Purinton didn't duck out of a fight right after Cairns got up. It also gave the next game great build-up, but Purinton didn't want any part of Cairns then either. For all we know it could be because Sather told him not to fight no matter what, but it would have been great to have them settle it. As a fight fan, it was a bit irritating to see Purinton do it again a couple of weeks later to Francis Lessard, the day after the Bertuzzi incident. I think he's lucky he didn't land the punch on Lessard as well as he did on Cairns or he would have been suspended.

Bird: How cool was it to see Vinny and Jarome drop the gloves in the finals?

Singer: It was great. You're looking at the two of the most talented players on each team scrapping with each other. That defines intensity. Iginla has become the new superstar of the league, bringing talent, power and desire all together, and don't think for a second that his willingness to drop the gloves didn't help earn him that reputation. Iginla had three fighting majors in the playoffs. Each one had purpose and each time the desired effect happened (his team won each of the follow-up games when he fought at the end of the game the first two times; and his team won the game when he fought Vinny at the beginning of the game in the Finals). Iginla's three FMs were the most since '94 when Mike Peluso had four.

Bird: Now I know you enjoy the game, not just the fighting. What rule changes would you like to see and why?

Singer: My views are pretty simple. If the league wants game flow and scoring to be like 1990-91, use the rules from 1990-91. It's at least a better start then what we have now.

Move the nets back to where they were. Other then Wayne Gretzky and a few others scoring doesn't happen from behind the net. Moving the net back creates more offensive room in front of the net without actually changing the size of the zones.

Bring back touch-up offsides. I think that's a no-brainer.

Maybe try and get the NHLPA to approve goaltender equipment restrictions.

Other then that, I say leave it as it is, at least for a season. See how the above changes effect the game.

I know many want the red line out, but I say leave it in. Finland took it out, and now they're putting it back. When you have a pro league with even-skilled players, the defensemen tend to hang back to protect the break-out pass. At that point, your d-men are now taken out of the offensive game. In the end, it can produce less, not more, offense. Another thing is if the NHL considers automatic icing (which I wouldn't mind), then you will see a lot more stoppages if breakout passes aren't picked up.

I know they're thinking about tinkering with the number of games in the season. It may not be a bad idea, but one thing they do have right is upping the number of divisional games.

Of course, I wouldn't mind them scaling back or removing the instigator.

Bird: I think it's pretty cool that you have been asked to judge the Hockey Gladiators event this coming August 20 & 21, how did you get selected?

Singer: Well, the day the story broke about Darryl planning Hockey Gladiators, he was on the radio with a buddy of mine, Jeff Marek. Marek hosts his own show along with co-hosting Leafs Lunch up in Toronto. While Darryl was on, they called me up and we were on the air together. I can't say I took to the idea immediately either. I had the same questions as most people. "Who would do this?" "Is it mocking the game?" "Will the players be blackballed?", etc.

After we were on the air, I shot Darryl an email and we spoke that night. He knew of my website and wanted to talk more. After speaking with him for a bit I realized he was a good guy and just wanted to see what would come of this. While he was coming through NYC on a media tour we had lunch. He told me some other media people mentioned me and my website and he asked me to judge. By the time he asked, the only thing I was thinking is "this might be fun", so I said sure.

Bird: I have already seen several media outlets trash the event as a brutal sideshow, what's your reaction to the negative media stories?

Singer: I think most had the same initial reactions I did. When it comes down to it though, it's a fighting competition, more like boxing or UFC, not hockey, and that's how you have to look at it. I don't like the wrestling comparisons because those are scripted and rely on outside plots. This is simply fighting with a marketing angle. Hockey players, hockey-style, but no hockey. I doubt it will affect the NHL in any way. The media people who will bring up the event and bash the NHL for it are the same people who are already bashing the NHL. As I said, it could be a lot of fun, and the only way to find out is to let it unfold.

Bird: Is it true you get to boink the ring card girls?

Singer: Yup, right after I knock Link Gaetz and Lyndon Byers on their asses ;)

Bird: Dana Carnegie is a goaltender and he's just one of those competing in the Gladiator event. Who's your favorite fighting keeper?

Singer: Well, it was always fun watching Billy Smith lose his cool, but he wasn't always dropping the gloves. When you had the team the Isles did, he didn't really need to, someone was usually stepping up for him. I'd probably go with Sean Burke, because he's a bit underrated in the toughness department and can hold his own.

Bird: Believe it or not, Billy Smith is my all time favorite goaltender. Perhaps Darryl "Beef" Wolski should answer this.....this is obviously not an NHL sanctioned event and I heard in an interview with Fox News that you'd tell Bettman to "take a hike" if he asked you to cancel, do you think this is good or bad for the NHL and has anyone from the league contacted you in regards to the Hockey Gladiators event?

Darryl Wolski: The NHL hasn't seen our event as competition to their product and to be honest they have their own problems to worry about. Game 7 of Tampa and Calgary had a 2.6 US rating ...Sponge Bob had a 2.7 rating that night. And the NHL will have to come to the party with huge money for me to go away. Hey we have been on ESPN / FOX / CNN and in Sports Illustrated... the NHL only wishes they could get the press we have over the past 6 months. Overall this might be a good thing for the NHL and get people excited about hockey again. Because right now 1 - 0 and 2 - 0 games are as fun as a boil on my ass. Also the playoff highlight was Iggy and Vinny going at it .... that was the
best game of the playoffs overall.

Bird: Thanks Darryl, er....Beef for stopping by, see you in August, eh?. I guess I should ask David if there is anything you'd like to say to the Hockeybird readers....anything at all?

Singer: Just keep watching hockey. It's having some pains now, and it's frustrating at times, but it's still a great sport and it'll never be stable if we turn away from it.

I'm also starting a few other hockey sites this summer, be on the look out for them.

Thanks to David from Hockeyfights.com and Darryl Wolski for popping in. I have to admit, I'm kind of intrigued by this and looking forward to it. Is it a black eye for hockey? I don't know.....which one of you can claim that you don't love Slap Shot the movie or haven't jumped out of your seat for a hockey fight?

Don't forget to visit Hockeyfights.com and stay tuned for his new sites coming soon to a web browser near you.

----}- Bird

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