April Fool's?

I'm wishing that this is a April Fool's Joke, but sadly it seems legitimate! Apparently, they didn't get the memo that hockey is trying to move away from all the negative stereotype that fighting and goonism has brought to the game.

Yahoo Sports! Read on...

ATHENS, Ohio -- If you ever have uttered the words, "I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out," you are exactly the type of person who is encouraging people like Darryl Wolski. Wolski is the man behind an upcoming Pay-Per-View event called "Hockey Gladiators," an affair that takes former pro and semi-pro hockey players known more for fistcuffs than puck control and lets them beat the heck out of each other. Fans get enjoyment, and the players get a few bruises and a chance at a $100,000 prize. "The idea about Hockey Gladiators came about in a lounge after a senior hockey game five years ago," Wolski said in an e-mail interview. "Hockey highlights were on the screen and a fight was shown. The entire place went crazy."