Plane Crash Wipes Out Elite Russian Hockey Team

['sup bro?]

TUNOSHA, Russia — A Russian passenger airliner chartered by one of the country’s best-known hockey teams and carrying numerous veterans of the National Hockey League crashed during take-off near the city of Yaroslavl on Wednesday, killing all but 2 of the 45 people on board.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/08/world/europe/08russia.html

 

[Realgeorge]

By far the ugliest disaster for White Men in the history of sport. This is the ugliest year for hockey of all time. Three excellent White NHL players take their own lives this year because their livelihoods are threatened by the removal of "enforcers" from the NHL game. Now this highly suspicious crash of the high-visibility LOCOMOTIV hockey team of the KHL, filled with magnificent pro hockey players. The KHL has been making great inroads against the NHL and other European hockey leagues. The NHL is dominated by Jewish ownership. The KHL is dominated by non-Jewish Russian ownership. A tragic and sad day indeed for White Men of the warrior class

 

[Drunkjewishfan]

RealGeorge. Can you tell me how or when the NHL has been trying to implement rule changes to squeeze out " Enforcers". Also I highly doubt there is some Jewish conspiracy behind this plane crash. Are you insinuating something or can you add something factual to this question?

 

[DixieDestroyer]

My prayers go out to the families of those who died in that crash. :embarassed:

 

[FootballDad]

An article that I found that includes some incredibly moving videos of the tribute to the players:

Dynamo Minsk’s hockey funeral for Lokomotiv crash victims
By Greg Wyshynski
Members of the Kontinental Hockey League's Lokomotiv Yaroslavl were flying to Minsk for their season opener when their plane crashed soon after takeoff on Wednesday. Forty-three passengers died, including nearly all of Lokomotiv's players and coaching staff, in one of the greatest tragedies to ever hit the hockey community.
On Thursday night, Dynamo Minsk players still skated out on the ice of their arena — not for a game, but for a remarkable "hockey funeral" for their fallen opponents, in front of stands packed with fans in mourning. This is as surreal, heartbreaking and moving a moment as we've seen on the rink:

[video=youtube;AI8YPm_tYXA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI8YPm_tYXA[/video]

From Russia Today:

All tickets for the game had been sold long before the tragedy. Soon after the sad news spread worldwide, the game's organizers decided to arrange a mass at the arena, honoring the legacy of the team.
Not a single ticket had been returned as the ceremony was held in the packed arena.Each spectator brought flowers. All the Belarusian leadership, including President Aleksandr Lukashenko, were present at the event.
Never was the arena that silent as 37 huge portraits of the players and staff were placed on the ice. A requiem mass was performed by an orchestra, while portraits of the departed Yaroslavl friends and icons appeared on the scoreboard.
​

As you can see, part of the tribute included Dynamo players firing pucks into empty nets in honor of each member of Lokomotiv who perished on Wednesday. Later, flowers were placed inside the goals in their memory.
Here is the full 34-minute ceremony via the KHL (s/t Captain Orange)

[video=youtube;OtPPB4r-o6Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtPPB4r-o6Y&feature=player_embedded[/video]

Tributes are continuing to be held across the globe for these players — rain or shine, New Jersey Devils fans are gathering at Championship Plaza in Newark for a memorial at 5 p.m. ET on Friday.