If the horrifying excuse for officiating hasn't been enough to give the Rangers the disadvantage, the league is now making up more rules to call the Blueshirts on. After yesterday's highly entertaining, exceptional job of screening Martin Brodeur by Sean Avery, the league has decided to legislate against him:INTERPRETATION OF RULE 75 - UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT
NEW YORK/TORONTO (April 14, 2008) -- National Hockey League Senior Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell today issued the following advisory on the interpretation of Rule 75 - Unsportsmanlike Conduct: "An unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty (Rule 75) will be interpreted and applied, effective immediately, to a situation when an offensive player positions himself facing the opposition goaltender and engages in actions such as waving his arms or stick in front of the goaltender's face, for the purpose of improperly interfering with and/or distracting the goaltender as opposed to positioning himself to try to make a play."
So it is perfectly acceptable for the player to wave his arms and stick around, as long as his ass is to the netminder? This is just another arbitrary rule for the incompetent officials to mangle. What happens if the puck is behind the net and is shot out to the point with a guy in the crease? If he doesn't see the puck come out and turn around quick enough, he could be culpable as he moves back and forth looking for the puck.
Say what you want about sportsmanship and honour, Sean Avery played the game within the rules and the amount of press that it got triggered the league to legislate against him. If this wasn't a playoff game, if this wasn't Martin Brodeur, if this wasn't Sean Avery, this rule wouldn't have been made. The league is as childish and immature as they claim Avery to be and its pathetic.
But at the end of the day, they are the people in charge and you can't do anything about it. The best possible solution? The Rangers need to win the Stanley Cup so Avery's name is immortalized forever.
10 comments:
I think Sean Avery was doing what Sean Avery does--stirring up the shite-pot. I was seriously waiting for Marty or one of the other Devils to drop the gloves and just go nuts on him.
I love the quote So it is perfectly acceptable for the player to wave his arms and stick around, as long as his ass is to the netminder? All I have to say is..."shake. that ass for me, Shake that ass for me..."
I agree completely, it's ridiculously bogus that they're making up new rules as we go along.
Has that happened before? Aren't rule changes saved for offseason meetings, and the owners and/or a competition committee votes? Unless since this is an "interpretation" of a rule it works. To me it feels like the Ministry of Magic's Educational Decrees in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
If we can't get any love from Colin Campbell, who can we get from? Maybe Ron Low will replace him, then we'll catch all the breaks.
I thought what he did was AWESOME...I cannot wait to see what he comes up with tomorrow night. IN fact, it will be on all of their minds and distract marty all game....
Question: Should the NCAA intervene and legislate against this?
http://www.ivygateblog.com/blog/2008/04/cornell_mens_hockey_team_extremely_comfortable_with_its_sexuality.html
http://www.ivygateblog.com/blog/2008/04/cornell_mens_hockey_team_extremely_comfortable_with_its_sexuality.html
Sorry for the repeated posts. That link won't post for some reason. Maybe this one will work...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/sioncampus/04/14/campus.clicks0414/index.html
Ok, never mind. Back to your regular scheduled programming....
I love how now, every person who has played hockey (like Keith Jones, countless goaltenders in ESPN's article on the subject) and every person who is in some way associated with hockey, but really has no knowledge of the sport (Zamboni drivers, the guys at Inglaas Pucks, and the entire Vs. hockey coverage crew)all feel the need to speak out on the topic of Sean Avery's conduct "unbecoming" an NHL player.
Jonesy was kind enough to use his "Odd Man Rush" segment during tonight's Caps/Flyers game to pontificate on how Avery was being "selfish" and was trying to make the playoffs about him, instead of about Chris Drury and, apparently someone who KJ is building a church to, Marty Brodeur. Perhaps Jonesy feels that he has a right to speak out on the topic, since he himself was a marginal player who was known for being a punk. He's wrong. Hey Jonesy: "Pot. Kettle. Black."
As for the rest of the peanut gallery, each and every one of them should be ashamed of themselves; not because they may see what Avery did as childish and immature, because it was, but because they have the nerve to actually pretend that what Avery did is any more of an affront to the "Great Sport of Hockey" than the following:
- Every other no-talent 250lb hack that camps in front of the net "not interfering" with goaltenders, but rather trying to "tip the puck in"
- The real goons of the game who the play dirty, nasty hockey, yet still get paid for their "physical game" (Chris Simon, Donald Brasheer, Philadelphia Flyers during the first 4 months of this season; yeah, I'm talking to you).
P.S.
If the league didn't put the kibosh on fights during the play-offs, maybe someone on the Devils would police Avery in true Hockey fashion, and actually stick up for Brodeur. The bunch of nancys reacted stronger to not getting a hooking call on Paul Mara at the end of Game 1 (Zack Parise beat the living hell out of the doorway with his stick)than they did when someone on the opposing team pretty much called their goaltender a female dog.
I know that, as a society, we feel the need to curb all our traditions in the name of civility and political correctness, but I for one believe that there are still places in this world where honor is paramount and a fist to the face and some straight talk is preferable to sensitivity training and group therapy. Hockey is one of those places.
As long as boxing, wrestling, and martial arts are all considered sports (olympic, nonetheless), there's no reason why fighting in hockey should be shut away in a closet just because people might actually be watching. Gary Bettman needs to think about this, perhaps while he is ordering a Starbucks Latte and is picking the women's panties out of his ass crack.
There. I'm done.
Maybe they should just suspend the instigator rule? Or maybe they should just suspend it against the teams playing the Rangers?
Unintended consequences . . .
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