KEVIN ADSHADE
The News

Those geniuses at NHL head office are now pondering whether to outlaw hits to the head. My first thought is, what's taking them so long? It's illegal in football, a game where players collide at far lesser speeds, but while Gary Bettman and his Crayon Crew give it some serious and deep thought, guys are dropping like flies with concussions.

The object is to take a guy out of the play (and yeah, make him think twice the next time he's got the puck), the object is not to end his career.

There's always the other side, though: you can lay the wood on an opponent without resorting to a head shot, but the NHL worries about taking some of the physical aspects out of the game, which is something that must be considered; if you eliminate the fear factor, it won't be hockey, it will be something else.

Crushers captain Geoff Hum, a student of the game who knows more about hockey than me, probably you and 98 per cent of the population, says that when you consider the amount of contact in hockey, the number of NHLers injured from such hits isn't that significant. The MJAHL plays it smart; a hit to the head can result in a two-minute minor and a 10-minute misconduct. It allows for some degree of latitude - the officials can let some of it go, but an out-and-out flagrant head shot comes with a price of a sin-bin sit-down. "They do a good job policing (the two-and ten rule)," Hum said of MJAHL officials.

Not a big guy, Hum keeps his head on a swivel on the ice, and pays attention to who is playing against him. And it must be said that he appreciates the physical aspect of hockey. "If you start nitpicking, you might start getting to where you're almost taking hitting out of the game."

* * *

Beer, bud, tequila and a round of golf - it can lead to disaster. Especially if you start missing fairways and lipping out three-footers, or getting beat up by Bob Barker.

Somewhere in Nova Scotia six years ago, that cocktail cost one golfer $225,000. In 2002, Alan Bezanson and Travis Hayter and two other guys headed out for some golf. By the time they hit the 16th hole, Hayter had smoked a joint, drank nine beers and washed all of it down with tequila. Doing his best Happy Gilmore imitation, Hayter then did a running windup toward the tee and gave 'er a rip. Unfortunately for him and his buddy, the wayward ball struck Bezanson's wrist, causing permanent nerve damage.

Nice.

Golf is a perfect sport for beer: it doesn't take a lot out of you physically; it's a slow-moving game; and a cold beer goes down good on a hot day. I once played in one of those charity scrambles at a local course when a teammate rolled in late around 9 a.m., fighting off a hangover. He battled it the old fashioned way: by proceeding to get drunk again. (If he's reading this and is even remotely sober, he knows who he is and is laughing about it.) By 10 a.m. he was hooting and hollering and for giggles, started yelling during my backswing - one of the most distasteful things in the world, ever, especially if the swing isn't working right, which is almost always. It's not easy to tell a friend to shut the @$@!% up, but not always difficult, either.

Anyone who's ever done a fair amount of golfing and likes beer has probably combined the two. Usually, if you're just sipping the occasional beer as you whack your way around the course, you're fine. But drinking six or eight beers over four hours of golf under a hot sun? You might just end up in court.

* * *

I hate my football team. My god, the Browns are historically brutal. Words such as inept, terrible and atrocious don't begin to tell the story. Last year, I thought they couldn't get any worse. Well, guess what? They did!!

On the other hand, CFL division final games are this weekend, football that could be as good as anything south of the border on Sunday. My picks to meet for the Grey Cup: Montreal and Saskatchewan. Montreal in a blowout unless the weather is awful, which would give B.C. a puncher's chance; 'Riders in a close one over Calgary. But in truth, the Stampeders could just as easily win. Toss-up.

Kevin Adshade is a columnist for The News.