Adam Mair Verbally Attacked...BY SABRE FANS

Hockey players taunt each other every game, for the entirety of the game. Often the taunts consists of sexual activity between, say, a player's mom and the neighbor's horse. Or dirty references to the player's sexuality. Rarely are these things ever true.

Do hockey players go Zinedane Zidane on them (click the name to be reminded of the event)? No. The worst that happens is they square off and fight. The most violent injuries in hockey have come on unprovoked attacks that are spawned from teammate fights. A la Todd Bertuzzi and Marty McSorely.

I digress. If a player did happen to be gay, and grew up listening to the trash talk, does that cross the line? Does bringing up the true event in a negative light cross the Geneva Convention of the NHL? I don't think so. It's part of the game.

That being said, I'm sure you've all heard by now that Adam Mair was taunting Dany Heatley Thursday night. Well that's normal.

But Mair was reminding Heatley of September 2003.

That's when Heatley killed then Thrasher teammate Dan Snyder. Snyder was a friend of Mair's.

Heatley and Snyder were driving at an ungodly speed down a road in Atlanta, when Heatley lost control of his Ferrari, crossed over the road and slammed into a brick wall. The car split in half and ejected Snyder. He was left in critical condition with a fracture to his skull, and Heatley, who obviously got the better of it had a broken jaw, a minor concussion, a bruised lung, bruised kidney, and tore three ligaments in his right knee.

Blood work has shown there was alcohol in Heatley's system. The judge ruled it wasn't enough to impair his driving. Who knows how true that it? The only reason Heatley isn't in jail and wasn't deported (was born in West Germany, since granted citizenship in Canada) was because he is a well known super-athlete.

He has since had to endure taunts that some would never have to encounter. At certain arenas around the league, every time Heatley has the puck, the crowd will chant 'Murderer' or something to that effect.

The Ottawa Sun reported that Mair made a snide remark to Heatley, and that's why he apologized after the game.

Then, Saturday at Ottawa, Mair refused to fight Neil twice before they finally squared off, right. I have been on Sabres.com forums and have seen on numerous occasions people thinking Mair was a baby for not fighting when challenged.

With all the back story posted, I'd like to explain why I think Mair is a class act.

I will personally guarantee Mair was not the first person to comment on Heatley's past to him in a game. Heatley's an excellent player, a former NHL All-Star MVP, perennial forty goal scorer, and a threat whenever he's on the ice...his speed, power, size, and shot are a rare combination, and you can bet every goalie knows it.

Players trash talk to get inside the opponent's head. Ask Matthew Barnaby, longtime Sabre thorn in the side, now with the Dallas Stars. Barnaby's only specialty was that he would bother the opponents so badly they would lose their cool and just throw down with him.

Most third and fourth line players do it though, and the only reason it's ballooned this time is because Ottawa needs something else to whine about. Not only could three of them (count them in the Buffalo/Ottawa brawl Thursday) keep Mair from punching Spezza, but when Spezza got up he ran to be coddled in the official's arms like an infant. Heatley ran away from Peters' challenge and didn't even help his teammates. And all the while, Patrick Kaleta, a 21 year old, manhandled Mike Comrie.

Back to Mair: He, unlike most, felt bad about what he said. He apologized. Classy.

And Saturday night? Turning on two fights from the player that took out Chris Drury, not two days before? That's not Mair being a wimp, that's Mair trying to win a hockey game. He didn't fight during the game when the score was close. After finishing a couple clean checks along the boards, Neil would challenge Mair. Mair did not fight; sending Neil to the box, giving Buffalo the opportunity to win the game.

When did Mair decide to fight? On his terms. If the score was tied at this point, it wouldn't have mattered. Chris Neil furthered the proof that the hit on Drury had nothing but intent to injure behind it. Patrick Kaleta cleaned out Senator Chris Kelly along the boards, and Neil took offense to it somehow. Because the brute lacks any sort of playing skill, he hit Kaleta from behind (this time, everyone knew it). Mair happened to be on the ice, and then the two threw down.

Mair doesn't need to fight on anyone else's terms. Mair isn't the typical tough guy because he does possess some pretty decent skill on the ice. He's obviously no first or second liner, but put with the right players, he could be a legitimate third line center.

In closing, Sabre fans:

Do not hate on our players when there is so much behind the stories. Know more than the media. Use your knowledge of hockey to make informed decisions. Adam Mair = respectable hockey player and excellent teammate, not conniving wuss.