Reply #2: For all of hockey's bad image at times, it's the classiest of all the main sports.

[Forkboy]

Just look at what the Wings did when they won the Cup the year after Konstantinov was paralyzed. When they brought him out in the wheelchair to carry the Cup there wasn't a dry eye in the house, including mine. That was one of the classiest things I've ever seen.

The classiest moment I've ever seen came in college hockey. The coach of Maine, Shawn Walsh, was diagnosed with what was basically terminal cancer (he died at 46). When they went to the next game after the news and the opposing team took the ice they all had Walsh's name on their jerseys. That's class.

I think hockey players have the most respect for one another, too. Even in the fights there's a level of respect. I can't remember the players involved, but there's a great clip I saw where two tough guys were waiting for the faceoff, and one of them (it may have been LaRaque) was talking to the other guy. "You want to go? You want to drop them?" the other guy said yes, and Laraque said, "Ok, good luck," in all seriousness. They had their fight, patted each other on the head after and went to the box. :)