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That was sinister. I am not willing to make sweeping judgements about how "all State players are garbage men", but the two players involved should be prosecuted and definately tossed out of the CCHA. That was a back alley mugging. Pathetic.

...I truly believe that what Conboy and Tropp did was evil. Not just cheap, not just dirty, but evil. That's not to say that they themselves are evil people at heart, but what they did was so unconscionable that I simply don't know what other word to ascribe to it. Everyone in that building knew that Kampfer was mere weeks removed from a fractured skull, and Conboy punched him in the neck from behind like a coward; Tropp subsequently took a golf swing at his head while he was face down on the ice. What, besides pure vitriol and spite and malicious intent, crosses one's mind and convinces him to do that to another person?

Although Brian's wish that he and 200 other students had stormed the State locker room, I sincerely and desperately hope that no one attacks Conboy or Tropp, because it would be too easy for them. Physical retaliation would only mirror their disgusting behavior. I hope with all my heart that as long as they are in East Lansing, every State student, teacher, and janitor who walks past Conboy and Tropp shakes their head and looks at the ground. I hope Conboy shows up to a frat party and is sent away because he's not welcome. I hope Tropp goes into his Econ 101 class and the teacher tells him to sit in the back because she doesn't want to look at him. They deserve to be ostracized until they prove that they're human. Because no person of sound mind would do what they did to Steve Kampfer.

Once this reaches the RCMB we'll be subjected to rounds of Sparty defensiveness and justification like you can already see in the YouTube comments for that video, including:

"OMG but Jack Johnson"
"you guys do this too"
"Kampfer hit Tropp's knee"
"His injury is irrelevant because he was playing"

(Seriously, there's one guy who snarkily wonders if Michigan fans are going to bring up an offseason incident in 1997 in which a Michigan player allegedly attacked someone. 1997? This has to be a joke, right?)

Note that Conboy pushes Tropp away after he takes his first swing. Even the guy who made the conscious decision to sucker-punch a player in the neck thought his assault was over the line.

I don't blame Mr. Kampfer for confronting the man who assaulted his son. At least he was going to challenge him to a fight first, or maybe approach him from the front at least.

And kudos to the students for the slow, loud, sustained "FUCK YOU STATE" chant. Normally I'd be annoyed and think it unoriginal and too easy, but this time it was deserved.

Comley's swirling the drain. Yostbuilt said it best: Enjoy last place, you pricks.

Also, "you guys do it too" is the University of Ohio State defense when they throw bags of urine at our fans. Nice that MSU's proudest rebuttal isn't even a notch above University of Ohio State's.

That was the most cowardly piece of shit move that I have ever seen in my life.

Fuck State.

As someone who hasn't followed, or really cared to follow, Michigan hockey since I graduated and can't watch the games anymore, even I am up in arms about this. Something about a Michigan State person/player openly assaulting a defenseless Wolverine really gets my blood boiling. Tropp would be wise not to step onto the ice against Michigan ever again. I'm sure they will have a Baltimore Ravens-Hines Ward-esque bounty out on his head in that locker room.

All of the asshole guys who wanted to be cops from my high school went to state.

Every cheap HPV carrier slut I knew in school went to state.

Their sports teams are really just an extension of the university as a whole.

Fuck You State...now and forever.

Are usually good when you write them. This is no exception.

that shit like this will stop is to take the full face masks off and give the kids half visors and let them fight!!! there is way to much stick work and cheap shots in college hockey becuase the players know that nothing is going to happen.

what we saw last night might be the worst thing i have ever seen in hockey for the simple fact that every player on state and every person in yost knew what steve was coming back from and they still decided to hit in the head slash him in the head/nack while he was on the ice motionless.

the sad part about this is that this one of the biggest rivaleries (sp?) in all of college sports and then something like this happens. shit like this doesn't even happen in the michigan/OSU game. this was completely classless and i don't expect anything less of MSU.

MICHIGAN STATE YOU CAN GO FUCK YOURSELF!!!!

And tell him in non-moron tones how outraged you are about this action and demand some justice.

Here is the email address

AD@ath.msu.edu

That does have the be the most violent criminal act i've ever seen as part of any sporting event. I thought that Jesse Boulerice (sp??) broadswording the guy from Guelph in the OHL back in '98 was the depths of depravity, but this was worse.
Hopefully the league, NCAA and the school do the right thing here and toss him. The scary thing is that Boulerice still plays (right now i believe in the AHL)I always cringe when I see that he still plays and he has had some other vicious cheap shot hits. If this guy is allowed to continue to play without consequence, even long term, he'll probably end up paralyzing someone in some adult A league or bottom of the barrel semipro circuit.
Hopefully there is something that USA Hockey/Hockey Canada can do to prevent me or any other rec player from ever having to face people like this in a game where we're supposed to be having fun.

Thsnk you i am going to do that do you know the confrence heads email too.

FUCK YOU STATE

This is what is so great about the internets.

The MSM and the "powers that be" will have a much harder time trying to sweep this one under the rug.

Keep up the outrage!!

Hard to see much on that video, but what I saw was enough. There's no place for anything like that in the game, and if Tropp sees a second of ice time again this season it will be way too soon. (I don't have the context of what Conboy did the rest of the game, not having been able to watch the game, so it's hard to say much about that. It's also hard to see what happened on the initial hit - the first view of it pans over just after the hit, and the second is right at the edge of the screen. But it looks like either a DQ-worthy check from behind or a punch, which would also have gotten him a DQ at minimum.)

I hope Tropp's actions were just a momentary lapse of judgment and not part of a pattern of dirty play. But that's still one hell of a lapse, and one that deserves having him sit for the season at a bare minimum. (If it is part of a larger pattern, he needs to be kicked off the team permanently.)

There is no way to justify what happened, and anyone who tries is insane. I hope Kampfer's doing all right.

Kids was a thug while with the Omaha Lancers...and we loved it (of course, he was on our squad).

Scored the winning goal in a shootout, skated by the bench, and flexed while gliding.

I've been around and involved with hockey since the age of 3. That coach knew exactly what he was doing leaving the grinders out there that late in the game. His team was getting beat and he wanted to set the tone for future games. He also wanted to try to take away some momentum for the upcoming week. If they would have went out there and fought or had some aggressive checks he would have played the "effort" up big time to the media as well as his post game talk with the team.

This chickenshit of punching a dude from behind has to stop. I need not mention the cunt move of axing a guy with your stick when he's down.

You are a bitch if you sucker-punch somebody period. If he wanted to "go" there is a standard operating procedure to do so. This was malicious and cowardly.

Fuck these two cowards and there piece of shit school.

After watching the replay, this truly was a henious act. Those two jerks, especially the guy who took a slap shot at our guy, must be punished, and punished severly.
However, I was very disappointed by the mass chant. It was unnecessary. There are kids who attend these games. Granted, I feel the same way, but it was disappointing. Sorry to sound like an old man. Just my thoughts.

amen to that comment. I just sent an email to the MSU AD. Here is the text of my message:

Sir-

The display of wanton violence and disregard displayed by two players who represent your
university at the UM v MSU hockey game on Saturday night was not only beyond the scope of
any type of "hockey honor code". Indeed it could be considered criminal assault. It has
been a sad two years to watch your once proud hockey program who represented the classic
hard nosed hockey under Coach Mason descend into this type of "slapshot" mugging on ice
your current coach has allowed to fester. Although this is the most recent and extreme
incident, a close examination of MSU hockey over thee past two years will demonstrate a
coach who has lost control of his program and the changing of a hockey power into a beer
league brawl-fest.

I have three cousins who consider themselves proud MSU graduates and even they were
sickened and repulsed by the actions of Mr Conboy and Tropp. I would hope you have the
courage to begin the reclamation of your hockey program by at the very least suspending
these players for this season, and any additional time until Mr Kampfer can return to the
ice. This type of outright thuggery demands the harshest penalty your university can
muster, and it would look quite favorably upon your university if you acted quickly and
did not wait for the conference to impose sanctions.

Indeed, perhaps this can also be a lesson for Mr Comley. He is quoted after the game as
saying he could not convince the player to come back to the bench after serving a penalty
immediately preceding the attack. If that is true, it is a sign of a coach who has lost
control of his team. It is well time for Mich St to rededicate itself to finding a coach
who can adequately represent the university both by the players he chooses to recruit as
well as one whose players respect him enough to follow his directions, especially in a
highly charged emotional atmosphere.

Respectfully,
Me

Hope MSU hockey coach Comley disciplines Conboy and Tropp appropriately.

MSU doesn't matter. It's in the past.

Now the team needs to focus on destroying Notre Stain, Lake Superior State, Nebraska-Omaha, Ohio State and Ferris Beuller State all in successive order. That's all the matters.

My kids play hockey and I have to say that if someone did that to one of my boys there is no telling how I would respond. Sickening. What the hell is the matter with people that do things like this? Its a highly charged and bitter rivalry, I get that, but you can not win every time you play. Sore ass losers. Sparty needs a little class.

BGH, lacrosse definitely "comes close" to that combination.

I have no idea where the "lacrosse is played by pussies" comes from. That truly baffles me. That is a contact sport that is physically demanding. It isn't tennis.

To use your own line, "Like most of you previous efforts, fail."

Your comments re: lacrosse are, well, dumb.

A defensemen's lacrosse stick is the same length (some are longer) than a standard hockey stick. The shafts are usually made out of titanium, and the protective gear by lacrosse players getting the blunt end of those sticks is far less than what hockey players wear (no leg protection).

By the way - I think hockey is the toughest sport out there, bar none. But most of your distinctions are without differences, and you vastly overstate the point for no real reason - so save the snark.

Having played both, trust me, getting lined up and stuck with your head down during a ground ball scrum is not pleasant, nor are constant rap checks from a 5 foot titanium club. And no, neither is getting upended at mid-ice while reaching for a buddy pass. Both sports are damn effing hard.

It will be a lot more difficult for MSU fans to rant about Jalen Rose squatting over the "S" 16 years ago.

Various RCMB nutjobs have ranted about the Rose incident for years, as it was further proof of the evil of U-M athletes in particular and everyone associated with U-M as a whole.

That was, of course, ridiculous. Similarly, these two worthless thugs don't represent MSU athletes or fans. The two players would represent any MSU fan stupid enough to defend their actions.

It will be interesting to see how the spin on this develops over the coming days, not from the vast majority of MSU fans who are fine upstanding people, but on the lunatic fringe that populates some of the message boards.