Ottawa Senators goalie Ray Emery is the SportsEye’s newest hero.
He is not only one of the NHL’s talented players of color, he is a goalie of color.
Emery has helped the Sens to second place in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference with 25 wins and 15 losses, with four shutouts.
But Emery grabbed our attention the good, old-fashioned hockey way – in a fight.
The heated rivalry between the Buffalo Sabres and Senators erupted into a brawl last week that lasted almost 10 minutes and ended with more than 100 minutes in penalties.
During the fracas, which dominated sports highlights for days, Sabres goalie Martin Biron skated to center ice and called out Emery while brawling players littered the ice with fights.
Emery skated toward Biron and removed his mask and was flashing a huge smile! He then proceeded to pound the stuffing out of Biron, literally beating him down to the ice.
Then, Sabres’ goon Andrew Peters, who is a 6-4, 240-pound, mucvh-feared tough guy, decides to come to Biron’s rescue. This is a no-no in the unwritten rules of hockey, as Peters was the “third-man in.” Emery, who has done some boxing, didn’t skate off to find the protection of the bench or another teammate. He took on Peters and landed several solid rights to the enforcer’s head.
While fighting and violence attracts all too many black youths, the SportsEye still can’t help but tip its brim to the gutsy Emery.
In fact, Emery had to pummel some goalie back in minor league hockey a few seasons back. Check it out at http://youtube.com/watch?v=AZzyOBhk5Uw.
You also have to love a sport where a black guy can be involved in a fight, beat the crap out of someone, and there is no outrage and racist cries of “it’s a thug league.”