Fri, August 6, 2004

Blow to Gladiators

Punch-up illegal if not sanctioned, cops warn

By NATALIE PONA, STAFF REPORTER

A knockout punch may be delivered to the event that would have crowned the ultimate hockey goon. Battle of the Hockey Gladiators is in danger of being cancelled after police warned organizers they could face jail if the show goes ahead.

"It doesn't look good. It doesn't look positive," promoter Darryl Wolski said yesterday.

The event was to see 32 hockey enforcers fight to be the top tough guy at the Winnipeg Arena on Aug. 20-21.

Wolski said police told him Wednesday that Hockey Gladiators is considered a prize fight -- an event that must be sanctioned by the Manitoba Boxing Commission to be legal.

But the bare-knuckled brawl can't be approved by the commission because it's not boxing, Wolski said.

If the punch-up proceeds and someone complains, Wolski, his band of hockey enforcers and anyone at the show could face three months in jail and a $2,000 fine.

"A crime has not been committed to date," Winnipeg police spokeswoman Const. Shelly Glover said yesterday.

"We're looking into it. We're taking appropriate steps."

Glover said last week that police would possibly take a closer look at Hockey Gladiators if "it is not a sport and it's not regulated" -- but that would require someone to file a formal complaint first.

It was unknown yesterday whether police had received a complaint and, if so, who complained.

Until they are sure the event isn't legal, those involved are behaving as though it will proceed.

Allayne Nott, event co-ordinator at Winnipeg Enterprises, said it is too early to tell whether the event will go ahead but "I don't think we would want to do an event that breaks the law."

A spokesman for Attorney General Gord Mackintosh said his boss would not be getting involved in the Gladiators situation.

The threat of jail isn't going to keep Winnipeg product Frank "The Animal" Bialowas away from the Arena.

Bialowas, who played in the American Hockey League, called the latest developments "a bunch of crap."

"Where do these people get the nerve to come up with this crap? They're not the ones fighting ... Everyone who is participating in the event is taking the responsibility for themselves," Bialowas said.

Bialowas still believed yesterday that a $100,000 U.S. would be awarded to the top goon -- a prize Wolski initially promised but pulled last week when the event was switched from Minneapolis to avoid legal problems.

PERFORMANCE FEES

Instead, players would receive performance fees, said Wolski. Not all contestants had been told of that change yesterday, he said.

The event was forced to move to Winnipeg a few weeks ago after the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., asked organizers to reschedule the slugfest or move it to a different location to make way for renovations.

When the $20 tickets went on sale Saturday, 2,000 went the first day, Wolski said. The show will also be available on pay-per-view in Canada and the U.S.

The Gladiators are still scheduled to go on the road next May for a card in Philadelphia, Wolski said.

Quelle: http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSu.../06/570662.html

Magro