Home arrow Sports arrow Column: Need some momentum? Just drop the gloves. (AP)
Column: Need some momentum? Just drop the gloves. (AP)
Thursday, 05 January 2012

FILE - In this Dec. 23, 2010, file photo, Atlanta Thrashers' Eric Boulton, left, and Boston Bruins' Shawn Thornton fight in the first period of an NHL hockey game in Boston. The first-of-its-kind statistical analysis of the sport confirms the dirty little secret coaches and players have known since the dawn of the NHL. There is no more readily available, sure-fire way to shift the momentum of a game than to send one of your players out to start a fight. (AP Photo/Michael Dwye, Filer)AP - This might be the last thing fans and critics on one side of the longest-running debate in hockey want to hear, especially in light of the rising number of concussions: