Pre-Ramble:  Darn it Gary, another astonishing current event has drawn me off topic … I promise I’ll get back to the business of innovation and creativity straight away, but who can resist the bloody spectacle of Friday night’s NHL Capitals/Canadiens playoff game? (Not it at right.)

Sure, there is always a lot of action in hockey… lots of fast skating, checking, icing, sticking, sliding, sweating, slamming and stuff. The fans love it!  Friday’s game had an extra bit of excitement though, when Capital’s center Eric Belanger took a high stick to the face off the hand of Canadian defenseman Marc Andre Bergeron in the first period of Montreal’s 2-1 victory in game 5 of the playoff series.

According to AP reports, Belanger needed some “serious dental work at the arena,” in fact, he ended up losing a total of 9 teeth, even pulling one out himself on the sidelines to ready his situation for a return to the ice later in the game. Explains Belanger:

” I knew I was in trouble, but what are you going to do? It’s the playoffs.”

According to the experts at SimplyTeeth.com (grizzly photo alert there):

• The leading cause of oral injuries are sports, violence, falls and motor collisions.  … I think we’re safe to say that Belanger’s incident involves a combination of all of these. 
• A visit to the dentist is necessary following any injury to a tooth.  … Good plan.
• Follow-up treatment will likely involve a root canal procedure, as the nerve and blood vessels within the tooth have been damaged or even severed.  … So, 9 root canals?
• Mouthguards are designed to protect the teeth, gums and jaws; they should always be worn when there is a risk from injury.  … Ok.
• Mouthguards can be purchased over-the-counter at many sports shops and pharmacies, however it is preferable to have a professional mouthguard made by your dentist – it will have a better fit and will be less bulky.  … Yes, when we are dressed in full hockey gear, the last thing we need is a bulky mouthguard.

How tough is a hockey player?  So, I was sufficiently repulsed and impressed by this report and, in the name of research, felt it my bloggeristic duty to check out the spectacle for myself. I’ll spare you the video link, but suffice it to say, the guy had a mouthful of whatever and was swiftly ushered off to the sidelines.

More interesting than the replay of the event (viewed by some 71,000 fans on the YouTube site), were the random sentiments left by spectators of all ilk (semi-cleaned-up sampling): 

“Every single player in the NHL is as tough as nails… bar none!”

“Hockey is for boys, rugby is for man’s.”

“Looks like the hit pretty much took out the tooth mostly. seems like he barely tried pulling that sh*t out.”

“Tough? The tooth was already f***ed…”

“What do you call a hockey player with all his teeth?……. a rookie ”

” [referring to previous comment about how supremely tougher rugby is than hockey] … So? There is also no ice, which is harder than grass, no boards or glass, and the ball isn’t shot as hard as a puck. There is also less physical contact. Do you have trouble thinking logically or something? I don’t have all day to correct every stupid irrelevant point you make.”

“Wud be tough if he had trouble pulling it out, but it was probably already clean off in his mouth. He didn’t hafta yank it at all.”

“Hockey is stupid.”

Say it with flowers.  I guess my only question at this point is, what is the proper etiquette around hitting someone in the face with a hockey stick? Assuming it is an accidental event, which it undoubtedly is in hockey, right? … Do you respond immediately, approaching the motionless body to say “Sorry” ?  …  ”Oops” perhaps?  … Or, would you wait and send a heartfelt note of apology at a later time?  Hand-written on personalized stationery?  Is it ever acceptable to send this kind of correspondence via email?  What about flowers or a token gift?  A tin of saltwater taffy or beef-jerky is probably not appropriate — jaw-breakers, definitely out.  Suggestions?

The Take-Away:  Don’t forget to brush and floss.

Pre-Ramble:  As the Olympic Games continue, I am compelled to re-address the topic in a more thoughtful way.

To reduce the premier international competition to a flip commentary on fashion (as I did on 2-22-10), is to side-step the depth of value in such a peaceful coming together of nations. It also diminishes the significant amount of time, energy and sheer power of will required on the part of the individual athletes to bring themselves to this pinnacle of achievement. Olympic athletes cash in countless hours of hard work and sacrifice in exchange for the privilege of competing on the world stage. These are experiences that most of us will never have in our lifetimes. (… When was the last time you luged?)

As I tune in each night, I am both entertained and engulfed in the drama, as unexpected performances, circumstances and Olympic moments unfold before me. Where else in our lives do we have the opportunity to witness such feats of twisting, twirling, turning speed? Such grace and agility? Such skill and dedication?  Such fearlessness?

• Where else could we see the fast-paced thrill of a defiant puck b-line the frenetic, sprawling snarl of skates and sticks to reach the net in Olympic Hockey?
• Where else could we watch well-meaning, but misguided Dutch speed-skating coach Gerard Kemkers collapse in horror on the side-lines as he realizes that he has emphatically and inadvertently flagged record-breaking speed skater Sven Kramer into the wrong lane?  
• Where else could we witness the lyrical and technically superior program of Korean figure-skater Kim Yu-Na, possibly one of the greatest world-record performances in figure skating history?
• … Only to be followed by the courageous and poignant routine performed by Canadian skater Joannie Rochette just four days after the sudden death of her mother … where, at the end of her bronze medal routine, young Rochette looks up through her tears and extends a silent kiss into the heavens?

Reality show – When so many other media venues seem to celebrate profound inactivity, the Olympic Games give us nothing but action. The irony in the term “Idol” comes to mind here, as does the pumped up/lethargic Jersey Shore crew, standing around the breakfast bar in tank tops and flip-flops talkin’ about flippin’ nothin’.  The Olympic athletes give us a rare ring-side seat where we can watch as they bring their outstanding and exhausting physical and mental fortitude to meet the significant and challenging situation at hand.  Beyond the banality of a “reality show,” these athletes are giving us a glimpse into the reality of this audacious quest. 

The Take-Away:  Like the rare and fleeting prowess of the athletes themselves, the Olympic Games is a unique and wondrous spectacle. Nowhere else in our international culture are individuals and nations able to come together to share in this kind of collective moment. Through this international event, we have the remarkable privilege of standing alongside our fellow human beings and experiencing the spirit and exuberance in the moments that they have been working toward, some for more than half of their young lives.

Almost makes you want to go out and buy a cowbell!