Dein erstes Forum » upheaval, the latest jarring development came Tues

Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hello Kerry, After watching Nino Niederreiter clobber Alex Burrows with an open-ice hit on Wednesday, do you think he should have gotten more than the two minutes for interference. He got him in the head with his shoulder! Thanks,Gary Gary: While I do not like the contact that Nino Niederreiter delivered to the head of Alexandre Burrows one bit, a two-minute penalty was about all the refs could assess on this play under the rules. A more meaningful and deserved penalty to Niederreiter should come his way via a Player Safety Committee review of this illegal check to the head. I watched Mike Milburys take on this play during the NBC intermission of the Rangers-Flyers game last night. Mike didnt agree with the "interference" call since the puck had just left Burrows stick. Beyond that, Milburys comments relative to the Niederreiter hit included, "I dont mind it. I think its more than 2 minutes he should have got." (Which I interpret as no penalty was deserved in Mikes opinion.)I completely agree with one element of Mike Milburys assessment on this play; it was not interference! Nino Niederreiter however should be held accountable for the significant contact he delivered with his shoulder cap to the head of Alex Burrows from the side; which by the way I believe was avoidable. For ongoing player safety this hit, and all similar in nature, need to be regarded as an illegal check to the head in violation of rule 48.2—on a hit resulting in contact with an opponents head where the head was the main point of contact and such contact to the head was avoidable. That can only happen if those responsible for doling out punishment interpret the rule verbiage, "main point of contact" to mean "significant" contact to the head coupled with some/secondary contact with the body. Alexandre Burrows lowered his posture to reach for a puck through the neutral zone. After gaining puck possession Burrows straightened to an upright body position, glided a couple of feet and then released the puck. Nino Niederreiter approached from the side angle position with his skates in a glide and his posture coiled (knees bent and flexed) to deliver a body check that would appear at, least through this setup, to make contact squarely through Burrows body. Just prior to delivering the hit Niederreiter stiffened his legs, thereby elevating his posture significantly upwards towards the head of Burrows. From this strike position, Niederreiter slipped his body just off the center line of Burrows and continued to elevate his shoulder that made significant contact with the head of Alex Burrows. The contact delivered off the center body line and to the head of Burrows resulted in a helicopter freefall for the Vancouver Canuck player. I doubt very much we would even be talking about this play if Nino Niederreiter had maintained a lowered and flexed posture from the setup and approach through contact of his intended hit on Alexandre Burrows. Like most players however, Neiderrreiter made the dangerous decision to increase velocity through the hit by straightening with an upward drive of his legs and shoulder cap that had no other place to connect than the head area of his opponent. Rule 48.1 (i) (ii) (iii) provides lots of reasons to determine whether contact with an opponents head was avoidable. Practically all of these allowances place considerable onus on the recipient/victim of the hit. From (iii) Alexandre Burrows did not "materially change the position of his body or head immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit in a way that significantly contributed to the head contact." The material change in position came from Nino Niederreiter. If the rule verbiage doesnt qualify hits of this nature as a "head pick," at the very least it needs to be acknowledged that significant contact resulted from an illegal hit to the head in an ongoing effort to hold players accountable. Ivan Provorov Jersey . - Leon Draisaitl scored a hat trick as the Prince Albert Raiders stormed past the Swift Current Broncos 5-2 in Western Hockey League action Tuesday. Michal Neuvirth Jersey . Fognini won 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 after Argentinas Carlos Berlocq had beaten Andreas Seppi 4-6, 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 on the outdoor clay surface. Doubles are set for Saturday with reverse singles on Sunday to decide which team reaches the quarterfinals. http://www.officialflyersfanstore.com/authentic-radko-gudas-flyers-jersey/ . The actual winners on transfer deadline day are those clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City who were well prepared and managed to get their main incoming business done well ahead of the transfer window closing. Tottenham were able to add seven players by spending over 100 million pounds and also ensured maximum return for the Gareth Bale transfer to Real Madrid by managing the move superbly. Samuel Morin Jersey . While Minnesota takes aim at its eighth win of November, the Canadiens will try to post just their third victory in nine games this month. Jori Lehtera Jersey . Serves hit by her surgically repaired shoulder often missed the mark, resulting in 12 double-faults. MIAMI -- LeBron James says his new protective mask is hot, uncomfortable and prone to fogging up. Plus, as teammate Dwyane Wade pointed out, it looks weird. So James is in the market for design suggestions. "Ive been talking to Marvel Comics for the last couple of days, and DC Comics, to try to come up with one of the greatest masks of all time," James said with a chuckle Wednesday. "So well see what happens." James spoke after trying out his new mask for the first time in practice. He plans to use it Thursday when the Miami Heat play the New York Knicks. The game will be the first for James since he broke his nose last Thursday in a victory at Oklahoma City. He and his mask took part in contact drills Wednesday, and coach Erik Spoelstra was encouraged by James progress. "Hell give it a shot Thursday," Spoelstra said. "He was able to go through today without any hiccups. But he also didnt take a hit today." Given James aggressive style of play, hes bound to receive an inadvertent blow to the face sooner or later. Thus the mask. "It lessens the impact," said James, who wore a mask 10 years ago to protect a broken cheek. "You can still feel it, because the nose is still tender. But it definitely lessens the pain." James had removed his clear mask by the time media were admitted to the gym for the end of practice, but teammates provided a description. "He looked like every other player in a mask -- it looks weird," Wade said. "He looks like the LeBron that wore a mask the first time, only about 30 pounds heavier, a little more muscular, a little less hair." Said Shane Battier with a grin: "As long as No. 6 is in uniform, he looks all right to me." James was on a roll when hurt. On Thursday hell try for his fifth consecutive 30-point game, which would be the second-longest such streak in Heat history. The Heat have won five consecutive games and trail Easstern Conference leader Indiana by one game.dddddddddddd But theyve been prone to stumble against weak opponents, and their next three games are at home against team with losing records -- the Knicks, Magic and Bobcats. Nine of the Heats 14 defeats, including one against the Knicks, have come versus teams that are below .500. "You dont want to lose to the good teams. And you dont want to lose to the teams that arent as good," Wade said. "So then you would be 82-0. Youve got to lose to somebody. You cant play your A game for 82 games, so you have some of those moments. It happens to every team. Were no different." Lately the two-time defending NBA champions have been consistently on their A game, in part because of stout defence. They held Oklahoma City to 81 points, which tied the Thunders season low, then held Chicago to 79 in a victory Sunday as an antsy James watched from the bench. The injury-plagued Knicks have lost their past three games, and in their season of upheaval, the latest jarring development came Tuesday. Point guard Raymond Felton was arraigned on two felony weapons possession charges following an early-morning arrest. After going 54-28 last season, the Knicks are 21-36. "They havent forgotten how to play," Spoelstra said. "Theyve been injury-riddled all year long, and thats tough to deal with. That adversity coming into our game is irrelevant. Im sure theyll be ready." The Knicks split two games earlier this season against Miami, and theyre one of the few teams with a player who can match James basket for basket. Carmelo Anthony has scored more than 40 points in three of the past four games. James said hes sorry to see his friend endure such a difficult season in the standings. "I want him to win, and I want him to succeed," James said. "Obviously he has been playing great basketball, but I definitely dont like seeing him lose the way theyve been losing." ' ' '