Black eye

J's World, by Jeremiah Bartz

Vancouver Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi's devastating hit on Colorado center Steve Moore has been seen on televisions across North America for nearly a week. The blatant cheap shot not only resulted in a major injury suffered by Moore, but major damage to the image of the National Hockey League.

The NHL is a league under scrutiny. Those who do not follow hockey closely, don't always understand the physical nature of the sport. Any serious incident such as this prompts the opponents' cries for the style of hockey only seen on the movie Mystery Alaska and only played in communist countries and fictitious Alaska towns.

The league's image is bruised, the Vancouver organization's reputation is bruised and the image of the common hockey player is bruised. Bertuzzi's actions were obviously premeditated. He skated up behind Moore, slipped him a savage sucker punch and drove the Avalanche forward to the ice. The replay of the hit reveals Moore was likely unconscious before he hit the ice.

In an instance of stupidity such as this, the first question to ask is, "what the heck is this guy thinking?" His actions not only can alter the perception of himself, but his organization, his business, his sport.

As the sports editor of the Frontiersman, I am not only representing myself, but my newspaper, the company I work for and my profession. If I were to make a serious mistake, while representing this newspaper and organization, I have a tremendous effect on much more than just myself.

Bertuzzi wore the colors of the Canucks, and the NHL emblem on his sweater. He is a representative of the organization, the league and the sport.

A fact in life is a person's actions affect a wide spectrum, especially when these actions are negative. Whether a person is an athlete or a reporter, they represent something bigger than an individual

Many don't understand that an individual action has an effect on many.