Over the past couple of decades, weve heard repeatedly that the days of the hockey goon were numbered. Marquise Brown Ravens Jersey . First it was the dreaded instigator penalty that was going to make them extinct. Then it was the new rules coming out of the lockout, the end of clutching and grabbing and the premium on skill and players who could skate. And yet for all the talk that there was no room left in the game for one dimensional players whose only asset was their ability to fight, there were still lots of one dimensional players in the game whose only asset was their ability to fight. Please step forward John Scott and George Parros, to name just two obvious examples. Now it seems that weve reached another turning point in the debate about the role of enforcers. And this one is framed differently. Its not an ethical question about whether fighting belongs in the game. Its not related to concussions and the obvious safety issues that come with players beating each other in the head with their fists. Its not a debate about whether - in todays NHL - you need enforcers the way you once did. Its now a question of whether teams can afford to carry players who have limited ability to possess the puck, cant keep up with the game and have no offensive or defensive upside that would give them any sort of advantage. In other words, do whatever benefits exist from having fighters on the roster overcome the liability of dressing players who would not be playing in the NHL if they couldnt fight? And heres where the analytics side of the game makes things interesting. Advocates of the role of fighting in hockey have always relied on an argument built on strategic intangibles, the notion that skilled players feel protected when enforcers are in the lineup, that somehow everyone plays an inch taller just knowing that kind of guy is sitting on the end of the bench, even if he only plays a few minutes a night. Whether or not any of that was actually true became a matter of hockey ideology, depending on which camp you fell into. But there was no reliable way to actually measure or test that theory. Presumably, through the introduction of analytics into the game, now there is. And the fact that teams such as the Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers (huh?) will be begin the season without enforcers, suggests that what teams are learning is that enforcers dont help teams win games and are in fact liabilities. That when the other team can roll four lines of players with hockey skills and your team cant, thats probably not a good thing. And that in todays NHL where teams tend to be clustered so closely in the standings in the battle for playoff spots, teams simply cant afford to give away games just to a€“ quote a€“ send a message. Of course, like many things where analytics are concerned, we shouldnt have needed data to tell us this. The fact that NHL teams put enforcers in the press box at playoff time and that the teams which wind up competing for the Stanley Cup each year are those that can roll four lines were dead giveaways. But if it took hockey embracing analytics to arrive at what should have been obvious all along, then so be it. It turns out hockey enforcers - who are always game for a fight against the oppositions enforcer - may be no match for the nerds. Ben Powers Ravens Jersey . Forsman closed with a 3-under 69 in windy conditions Sunday for his third Champions Tour title. He beat Jay Don Blake by two shots. Lamar Jackson Jersey . The Giants chances of winning the division were dealt a serious blow by the three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Padres. The Giants open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. San Francisco is still in good shape to clinch a wild-card berth, although it dropped into a tie with Pittsburgh in the race for the top spot. http://www.ravensrookiestore.com/Ravens-Iman-Marshall-Jersey/ . - Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Jason Babin is now a free agent.Hull City defender Andy Robertson is glad for the chance to return to action so soon after Scotlands 1-1 draw against Lithuania. Scotland endured a frustrating night at Hampden and only avoided defeat when James McArthur scored with a header a minute from time to cancel out a strike from Fedor Cernych and secure a 1-1 draw.The result was a setback to Scotlands hopes of finishing top of Group F, following an impressive 5-1 victory in Malta in September. But Gordon Strachans team travel to Slovakia for their third match in the group on Tuesday and Robertson, the left-back, is pleased there is no time to dwell on two lost points.In a league or in internationals, if you have a game in three days, it is perfect because the boys can get over it, Robertson said.We are focused on Slovakia already and that has got to be the case, because if you dwell on this result, it will end up being a negative one on Tuesday and thats how it works. Cernych celebrates after he scores against Scotland We have experience from that at club level, from the Championship and Premier League and the SPFL, playing Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, so I am sure the boys will get their head round what has happened and move on to Tuesday.Robertson is adamant the draw was not a particularly bad result, with Slovenia winning 1-0 against No 2 seed Slovakia.Scotland are now second place in Group F with four points from two games -- behind England, who defeated Malta 2-0 at Wembley. Jonathan Ogden Ravens Jersey. e got a point at the end and we wont know if it is a good result, a bad result or just a decent result until the end of the group, the former Dundee United player said. McArthur celebrates after scoring against Lithuania Slovenia beat Slovakia, so we are still in second place with four points and the second seeds are sitting on none from two games.But we have them next and they will want to put that right and we will obviously want to put Saturday night right, so it will be a big game on Tuesday.The away games, you need to try to be positive. Yes, it would be great to win, but if we get a positive result we will take it. You just never know until the end of the campaign. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ?￡6.99. No contract. You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the British Masters on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Also See: Scotland latest Scotland fixtures Scotland stats Table Live on Sky ' ' '