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Is Hockey, getting |^l soft? Star of It Happened This Week (Saturday, 8:45 p>m., Sunday, 8:30 p.m., (D); Sporfscope (3 p.m., Sunday, ®); Strauss Wrestling Special (Saturday, 10 p.m., 0), and author of The Hockey Scene F or at least 10 years now, veteran base¬ ball men have sorrowfully observed that the game is getting “soft”—soft being construed to mean that the competitors are not the knock-down, drag-em-out gentry of the Dick Bar tell, Ty Cobb and Rabbit Maranville breed. The rules, it is pointed out, are constant¬ ly being revised to lessen personal contact dangers. For instance, about two years ago the baseball rules group outlawed the prac¬ tice of runners sliding deliberately into the second baseman to break up double-play chances. In football the pattern is becoming clearer, too. The free substitution rule, the two platoon system—these improvements, designed to streamline and speed up the game, are lessening the need for hardiness and endurance. And in basketball, they’ve long been trying to eliminate the element of personal contatt completely. Is the bruising, rugged, hard-hitting game of ice hockey going the same way? If so, for shame! This is one of the last citadels for the raucous, mighty-muscled, primeval male our sisters adore. For years Frankie Boucher, manager of the New York Rangers, has been trying to quiet the game. He masterminded new rules, waged war on bullies like Terrible Bill F,zinicki and, with a final flourish, traded our Tony (Lil Toughie) Leswick to the Detroit Redwings. In return for Leswick, the Rangers, who will be televised this year on ({), got Gaye Stervart. He’s a smooth player and a con¬ sistent scorer, but not a hard hitter. The trend toward the placid is evident elsewhere in hockey. The bashing Boston Bruins are bashing no more. In fact, often they are among the least penalized teams. The once vicious Chicago Blackhawks couldn’t smack down my feclfle grand¬ mother today. And the Rangers, Bruins and Blackhawks have for the last few years played hide and seek with last place. The secret of winiung On the other hand, there are Montreal, the Redwings and the Maple Leafs. They all have good passing, good shooting, good defense. But they also are outstanding for rock-ribbed, rugged play. So the conclusion seems to be that winning hockey lies in being adept and tough. Just being adept is not enough. The teams that win are made up of hell-for- leather guys who can really get in there and fight for victory. Ice-hockey is no game for sissies. Try to make it so and you wreck the sport.