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Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Shawn Matthias Jersey .ca! There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston. Its high time for the NHL brass, their Officiating Department and the NHLPA to put their collective heads together to provide meaningful player safety measures that arent being achieved through current attempts. Consistently applied player suspensions arent the only tool to curb dangerous and unwanted hits to the head. We need to take a step back and have a serious discussion, recognizing that education will be the key to effectively changing this destructive culture at all levels of the game. Players often seek out retribution for hits, even those deemed legal, that are delivered to one of their teammates. Following a "big" hit, the temperature of the game can immediately elevate to the near boiling point. At such times, the referees primary job is to take whatever measures necessary to control the environment. To do that, he has to have a "feel" for the game and what is required. A better job could have been done by the refs in that regard after Orpik delivered a hard, legal open-ice check that knocked Loui Erisksson out of the game on the very first shift. Credit must be given to the referees for not overreacting to Orpiks legal check and then sending Zdeno Chara to the box for his retaliatory cross-check at the first stoppage of play 21 seconds in. The fuse was lit, however, and the refs could have been more proactive in bringing the temperature down and containing the ongoing illegal push-back demonstrated by some of the Bruin players. At the 2:42 mark, Chris Kelly was allowed to shove Chris Connor to the ice from behind at the red line with a cross-check motion deserving of an interference penalty. On a subsequent shift, Kelly again took a charge at Connor and delivered a high finish hit that should have resulted in a timely call. While a roughing minor was assessed to Shawn Thornton for popping Orpik a couple times in the face at 5:44, a prime opportunity to douse the flames was indeed missed by the referee by not adding a 10-minute misconduct to Thornton for his attempts to incite a fight with Orpik. That penalty, in addition to a conference needed with Bruins head coach Claude Julien would have sent a strong and clear message where the control in the game rested! The game was very unsettled at this point and you didnt have to be on the ice to feel it. Oddly enough, sometimes a fight can help bring the temperature down but the negative energy did not diminish following the fisticuffs between Milan Lucic and Deryk Engelland at 7:19. Unfortunately, the nastiness came to a head less than four minutes later when Sidney Crosby tripped Brad Marchand in apparent view of the trailing referee and no call resulted. The referee did react a second later by raising his arm when James Neal extended a left knee directly (and deliberately) to the head of Marchand as the Bruin was getting up off the ice. While the referee observed and reacted to the kneeing infraction, I have a major problem with the fact that it was only deemed to be a minor penalty. At the very least, based on the deliberate act by Neal, a major and a game misconduct would be required and a match penalty for deliberate attempt to injure was most deserving! (Neal remained in the game and scored a power play goal after stepping out of the penalty box from serving his minor for kneeing.) When play stopped at the other end of the ice, more retribution was being sought against Orpik; this time by Gregory Campbell in a scrum. Thornton ended it (and lost it) with a slew-foot that took Orpik down from behind. The subsequent gloved knockout punches delivered by Thornton after Orpik hit the ice resulted in immediate medical attention and the stretcher being required to remove the Penguins defenceman. As I said at the outset, there is plenty of blame to be shared when these horrific situations take place. Much is needed and can be done across the board to curb and eliminate the needless violence that places careers and the future health of players in jeopardy. It took a complete buy-in and education of players, coaches, and referees to change the negative culture of "obstruction" following a return from the first lockout season. While lengthy suspensions might be the immediate remedy in these two incidents, it will take coaching, education and a universal buy-in to fix this problem in the long-term. Its not exclusively the referees job to bring the temperature down. Kyle Connor Jersey . -- Even as Chris Paul remained evasive about his future, he did what team leaders are expected to do. Winnipeg Jets Jerseys . The Leafs were back on the ice Wednesday following an 10-day break. It apparently wasnt long enough, as Team Canadas 2-1 win over Latvia didnt conclude before the Leafs began practice. "I was thinking we might get a little delay, but it was nice to get out there," said Tyler Bozak of watching Wednesdays game. http://www.hockeyjetsauthority.com/bryan-little-je...rsey-c- 11/ . The American secured his first back-to-back ATP match wins since June to leave Tsonga relying on his performance at next weeks Paris Masters to clinch one of the final three places for the season-ending event in London. Tsonga would have moved up one spot to No. 6 with a win over Querrey at the City of Arts and Sciences, but his serve deserted him in the second set as the 116th-ranked American broke twice to reach the quarter-finals.ATLANTA -- As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Atlanta Hawks celebrated and their fans serenaded the Indiana Pacers with chants of "Overrated!" Game 3 did nothing to change that perception. The top-seeded Pacers are on the ropes again at the hands of the eighth-seeded Hawks, who finished six games below .500 during the regular season but truly believe they can pull off a major upset in the opening round of the playoffs. Atlanta is playing with confidence and swagger -- and even got a crucial call to go its way. Jeff Teague flung in a wild 3-pointer after the officials missed him stepping out of bounds, and Kyle Korver finished off Indiana from beyond the arc to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 98-85 victory Thursday night and another lead in the series. The Hawks took control in the third quarter -- the decisive period in all three games -- and held off the Pacers to go up 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Saturday in Atlanta. The Hawks were up 84-78 with the shot clock running down when Teague launched a running shot from the wing -- after his foot clipped the line. "I knew it was a 3," Teague said. "Hopefully they just count it." They did, even after a video review. Referee Tony Brothers explained that officials took another look at the play merely to determine if Teague was behind the 3-point line when he shot. There wasnt any doubt about that, and under NBA rules the only other thing they could look at was the position of Teagues feet when the ball left his hand. He was clearly in bounds when he shot. Korver clinched the victory with the last of his four treys, putting Atlanta up 92-80 with 1:41 remaining. That was only appropriate, since the Hawks made 10 3s in the second half. "In the second half, we came out and made some big shots," Teague said. "Everybody played well." Teague scored 22 points and Korver added 20 to lead the Hawks, who are having their way with an Indiana team that struggled down the stretch and is still scrambling to regain the form it showed much of the season. Lance Stephenson led the Pacers with 21 points, and Luis Scola added 17 in another stellar performance off the bench. But Paul George was held to 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting, George Hill made only 1-of-11 from the field, and Roy Hibbert continually missed shotts close to the hoop. Custom Winnipeg Jets Jerseys . "We have a dream of winning it all," George said. "Weve got be much more tougher than that. I dont think its there. Our toughness is questionable right now." Hibbert is having an especially rough time, scoring only 18 points in the first three games on 7-of-25 shooting. Coach Frank Vogel was asked if he planned on making a lineup change, especially given the Pacers had more success with their 7-footer on the bench. "Were going to look at everything," Vogel said. "He has not played well in the series to this point. But we still have confidence in Roy Hibbert." Teague made the biggest shot of all for the Hawks. Looking up to see the clock running down, he dribbled to his left and threw it up with Scola in his face. Nothing but net. Teague smiled and shrugged his shoulders on the way back down the court, as surprised as anyone that it went in. "A lot of times those plays that you draw up dont work the way that you want them to," Korver said. "You improvise and sometimes you throw stuff up as the shot clocks coming down and it goes in. Im glad that it happened for us and not for them." The Hawks stunned the Pacers in Game 1 at Indianapolis and led by as many as 11 in the first half of Game 2, before the Pacers finally looked like the top seed in the East with a dominant third quarter that evened the series. This time, the Hawks gained the upper hand in the third -- just as they did in the series opener. Korver knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner off a fast break, prompting the Pacers to call a timeout. They needed another after Teague soared for a thunderous dunk off an Indiana turnover, pushing Atlanta to a 10-point lead, matching its biggest of the game to that point. The Hawks went to the final quarter riding a wave of momentum when Lou Williams stepped back and swished a 3 with just 1.2 seconds left in the third, pushing Atlanta ahead 67-58. Notes: The Hawks improved to 15-2 against Indiana at Philips Arena since December 2006. ... Both teams shot under 40 per cent from the field. ... DeMarre Carroll scored 18 points for Atlanta. ... Stephenson had a double-double with 13 rebounds. ... Scola got into it with Atlantas Mike Scott midway through the second quarter. They were quickly separated and assessed technical fouls. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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