Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh CYA!

Andrew Conboy has left the Michigan State program. The wording in some of the articles has been kind of funny, but the impression that I get is that both kids were technically removed from the hockey team--not just suspended for the remainder of the season. The article in the Detroit News suggests neither player is a member of the hockey team any longer. They were both free to petition for reinstatement following the season, but Conboy has elected to drop out of school and enter the pro ranks. He'll be better off in a league where he can fight, since if he has a future in hockey, that's gonna be about all he's good for.

Comley has said that if Tropp choses to remain in school, they'll discuss his status in the spring.

So bare minimum, the fallout from this incident has been what I was hoping for. Conboy gone, Tropp suspended for the year. I waffled many times about whose actions were worse, and I suppose the fact that it was that tough of a decision for me means that I should want both of them to be gone. Maybe that's the eventual outcome. I mean, how do you pick between Bertuzzi and McSorley?

Things might get worse for the duo from Moo U. The University of Michigan police are investigating Conboy's roundhouse and the Tropp Chop to determine if further investigation is needed in the matter, which could ultimately result in criminal charges.

As I said when the incident occurred, I've never made up my mind as to how I feel about criminal charges being filed as a result of sporting events. If you do have a strong feeling one way or the other and would like to voice said opinion, a reader asked me to pass along the email address of the Washtenaw County prosecutor: prosecutormackie@ewashtenaw.org

Red Berenson was posed a question about where the line is between sports and criminal activity and I think he has a pretty good perspective on it. There's also a major foot-in-the-mouth moment from the reporter.

It'll be interesting to see where this all goes, but I think for the most part it's time to move on unless another major development happens. At least one of the two goons is gone and he ain't coming back. Unless Steve Kampfer ends up in the ECHL, he'll probably never face Conboy again.

I would imagine that the students will get a nice lecture at some point about the language used, but you'll still never convince me that that chant wasn't 100% warranted. MGoBlog and Jizzard from The Fort put it better than I possibly could:

Brian:

But the FYS cheer on Saturday was the right emotion at the right time, A ringing loud expression of contempt and disgust was the appropriate reaction. Sometimes "fuck you" is the only appropriate sentiment.

Jizzard:

I don't know if I've ever heard a chant from a student section so adequately reflect the feelings of every student and hardcore Michigan hockey fan. It was direct, it was concise, there was none of the singsong foolishness of a "f*** the Irish" chant. It just said exactly what everybody who saw the incident was feeling. It is what I thought when I heard what had happened following the game on Saturday night, and it reflected how I felt on Sunday when I saw some Sparty Fan Reaction, and again when I read their crap on Monday. It wasn't "f*** the Spartans" in cartoon voices, it was a loud, proud, angry, defiant "F88K YOU STATE." It was perfect. I'm proud of our students for expressing themselves that way, rather than making the Spartan bench a garbage pit or rushing the ice or overturning the Spartan bus - the likely outcomes in East Lansing and Columbus. Free speech and expression over violence, in the classic Michigan Student tradition. Bravo, Michigan students.

That was beautiful.

One last piece of fallout from the attack could come in the area of recruiting. Check out this comment on one of my posts:

My son and i were at this game in Ann Arbor (as a recruiting trip). He's being looked at my both Michigan, Michigan State and a few others. I can't tell you if he'll be playing at Michigan or not, but i do promise you he won't be playing for Michigan State. My wife, my son, and I all sat watching this unfold on the ice across from us and couldn't believe what we were seeing. I was almost surreal. Hockey has enough challenges without incidents like this feeding the anti-hockey sentiment across the nation. I'm just glad Steve Kampfer is going to be OK. Best of luck on the rest of the season.

That probably wasn't the impression the Spartans wanted to make on a potential recruit.

MVictors contacted Dave Shand about the possible legal ramifications. That other dude who used to write a bunch of junk for that paper that likes to publish the transcripts of students without their permission also chimed in. They also updated everyone about the Shand vs. Martin lawsuit.