When having to come up with questions about topics and research ideas I was having a tough time. I didn't know at first what I truly wanted to write about so I decided to list what I was interested in first. When I saw that I had put hockey on the list I knew I was going to focus more towards this topic. I am interested in researching the sport because I grew up in Northern Illinois where many people are crazy about hockey. Ever since I was young I followed the professional team in the area, the Chicago Blackhawks. I grew up with a love for the sport and admired how well the players would move on the ice with grace while they worried about slamming someone up against the glass to check them. I found the game fascinating and found myself during the winters borrowing skates from friends and going out onto ponds and lakes tried to play as well despite how truly horrible I was. After learning I should stick to playing the sport I was truly good at, I continued to watch and follow hockey mostly at the professional level. I watched player after player get injured on the ice and it started to fuel my curiosity as to what is the main reason for this. I can relate to the stress of a sport and the injuries it imposes along with the long term effects after tearing my meniscus, a thin plate of cartilage in the knee, four times over which caused other related injuries as well. I believe this is what sparked a thirst for knowledge as to how the players of my favorite sport are affect and how a very controversial part of the sport plays a role.

When I started to research about fighting in hockey I found a vast amount of sources that would be informative towards my search. One of the sources I found is an article by Sean Gregory called "Blood On the Ice." Gregory is a senior sports write for TIME magazine and has been writing with TIME for over a decade alone. He has covered multiple Super Bowls, NBA Finals, Olympic Games, and World Series. Because Gregory has covered such large events and has been writing and following sports for over a decade now this makes him a credible writer on the subject of fighting in hockey at a professional level. After reading through the article it is easy to see that he writes with an informative edge rather than argumentative. Gregory centers his article around the idea that many health issues occur for NHL players that are related to brawling on the ice. These issues can leave a lasting impression on some for life despite the "tough guy" attitude they may have. The author uses a personal testimony of former NHL player Jim Thomson as evidence towards the effects of fighting. Gregory explains to the reader that "for Thomson, a steady diet of booze and painkillers helped untangle the late-night knots in his gut" which were due to the anxiety he would feel before a big game the next day where he knew a fight would be necessary (Gregory). Players would feel anxiety and then have it permanently after taking blows to the head. The author also points out that research now shows a potential link between the violence on the ice and head trauma in players. In response to this, the NHL has continued to find ways to make the game safer to prevent the issue from worsening. Overall the value of the article is to inform the reader what happens when a player hits the ice and decided to brawl and some of the more permanent effects it has on its players. The author is stressing the importance of the health and safety of the players rather than continuing to allow fighting.

In a different source the reader hears about fighting in professional games directly from an NHL player. Brandon Prust, a left wing for the Montreal Canadiens explains why the players still find fighting so important. Prust is a very credible author in regards to my research because while I research about fighting in hockey at the professional level and the effects it has, Prust gives a first-hand account for what truly goes on during a game since he is an NHL player. The author argues that fighting in hockey is crucial to the game and defends his claim based on personal experiences. One of the biggest pieces of evidence the author uses to support his idea relates to checking players on the ice. Prust argues that fighting lets other players in the league know that runs can't be made at the best players on the team in attempt to take them out without some sort or repercussion. He also claims that fighting isn't just a thing about revenge when playing on the ice but more so a strategy to do at certain times throughout the game. Prust explains to the readers that fighting isn't all just aggression and a game of showing dominance over another but rather fighting is also a way to prove a point to another team or another player. It can also swing the momentum of a game. The author overall expresses his value in fighting in hockey. He explains the crucial role it has and some of the mutual understands that emerge when players are in the NHL. 

Meanwhile Adam Gretz writes an argumentative article about how fighting in the NHL is unnecessary and is on its way out in his article "Hockey Fights Are Going Away as Necessity Dwindles." Adam Gretz is a writer on behalf of CBS and specifically is a sport writer. His credibility is acknowledged due to the corporation that he writes for. His main point that he writes about states that fighting in the National Hockey League are diminishing. Throughout the article scattered statistics and pieces of evidence are used to support this claim. The best point Gretz makes in his article to support his idea is that the teams of the NHL themselves are making fighting go away. The author explains that teams are looking for the best skilled players on the  ice to fill a team rather than a handful of them and an enforcer to protect the handful. Gretz also explains that fighting is no longer a large part in the game when players are trying to hold each other accountable for their plays. Overall the number of fights that have been seen in revenge of a cheap play have decreased. Gretz writes this article to show his value in the decline of fighting in professional level hockey. Instead he places value in truly skilled players on the ice and writes in attempt to put the pro-fighting arguments to rest.

The research question is arguable because it asks "how" which is a major part of opening up a conversation for discussion. Research can be found as to what the overall effects of fighting are while the connections can be made. The articles themselves had connections running between them. Overall, the articles note the positive and negative effects of players fighting. The articles were all informative and provided three different perspectives towards the topic. The largest disagreement I found however was that one author who is an NHL player completely supports fighting while the author two authors directly state it, do not support fighting due to the consequences that it poses on the players. I believe the different perspectives will each offer up their own bits and pieces that in total will let me create an overall image as to how I view the issue. I also believe that my perspective might cause me to edit my research question if I find myself leaning more pro-fighting or anit-fighting.

