miaowang123: baseman Scooter Gennett on a grounder set up C

miaowang123

Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Blake Martinez Super Bowl Jersey .ca. Hey Kerry, Been reading your column for bit now and I had a question on the Penguins vs. Panthers game over the weekend. Just wondering about the incident where Floridas Willie Mitchell swung Kris Letangs helmet at him in a fight and didnt receive any extra minutes for it? At the very least, he shouldve gotten an additional two minutes shouldnt he? Im surprised he didnt get tossed or get a 10-minute misconduct. Just wondering what your thoughts are. Thanks, Paul Larocque Paul: A five-minute match (Rule 21) should have been imposed on Willie Mitchell for swinging a helmet at the unprotected head of Kris Letang. The action by Mitchell was a clear attempt to injure his opponent. It was only through the distance of separation created by the intervention of the two linesmen that Mitchells attempt became a swing and a miss at Letangs head. Instead, the deliberate blow accidentally struck the Linesman in the shoulder or arm. A match is the most severe penalty in the book that a referee can impose. Beyond expulsion from the game and the five-minute penalty to the offending players team, a match penalty carries an immediate suspension until the Commissioner has ruled on the issue. In this case, no further action would have been imposed against Mitchell by the Player Safety Committee. If nothing else, a match penalty would have been the correct penalty assessment in the game by the officials. The referee closest to the Letang-Mitchell fight (and most responsible for observing this altercation) was preoccupied with the secondary dustup that was taking place near the net. From a position the ref assumed between the two altercations he attempted to verbally command players near the net to cease and desist while the Linesmen were involved elsewhere. In doing so, the ref turned his back on the main event and did not observe the helmet swing by Mitchell. The linesmen are allowed to report to the referee any infraction worthy of a match penalty. Derek Amell and Andy McElman, two excellent veteran linesmen, were wrestling in close quarters with Mitchell and Letang and most likely did not realize the full extent of Mitchells actions until they might have seen a replay of the incident. Swinging a helmet at a players head goes well beyond the normal and accepted conduct in a fight to attempt to inflict punishment on an opponent (use of fists). It is akin to Rule 51.3 which calls for a match penalty to be imposed against a goalkeeper who uses his blocker to punch an opponent in the head or face in an attempt to injure or to deliberately injure an opponent. Willie Mitchell was fortunate not to incur a match penalty - Kris Letang was perhaps most fortunate the swinging helmet did not catch him in the head. As we move into the Christmas break, I want to share a couple of similar situations where I imposed match penalties. When I signed my first NHL contract in 1973, I was sent to the Western League for the playoffs that season as part of my development. Maintaining control of games during that era was a difficult task for every referee. Bench clearing brawls often occurred and the violence associated with them could be scary. In the Western Conference Final, the New Westminster Bruins were battling the Calgary Centennials. The Bruins were a real tough team to work and had future NY Ranger captain Ron Greschner on defence recording 103 points and 170 penalty minutes that season. Reg Duncombe led the Bruins in penalty minutes with 369, but several other players followed just under the 200-minute mark. I worked every second game in the series, alternating with my friend and NHL colleague Charlie Banfield. The benches emptied in every game at least once and sometimes twice as was the case in one game I worked in the Calgary Corral. The second brawl started when the linesmen were engaged with two players and I saw big Harold Phillipoff (63-220 lbs) go after Danny Gare (59-175 lbs), the star player for Calgary and future 50-plus goal scorer with the Buffalo Sabres. I felt the need to quickly intervene to prevent what appeared to be a David versus Goliath matchup, given Phillipoffs huge advantage in size (Harold was selected in the first round of the 1976 NHL Draft; 10th overall by the Atlanta Flames). My adrenalin was pumping as I grabbed both players with a twisted grip to the front of their jerseys and proceeded to read Phillipoff the riot act. Big Harold was looking right through me and didnt respond to a word I said. I was able to contain the big guy only so long until I got arm weary. Phillipoff reached down and across me, unbuckled Gares helmet and yanked it off the Calgary players head by the chin strap. In one swift motion Phillipoff swung the helmet down below his waist and came right over the top with a hard swing at Gares head. The crazy thing is that Gares helmet landed right back on his head the exact same way it came off and in perfect position. At this point all I could do was let them have it and hope that Gare could handle himself. What an understatement as Danny Gare kicked the snot out of his bigger but younger opponent. Phillipoffs face was a bloody pulp and I assessed him a match penalty for attempting to injure Gare with the helmet swing. Another incident where a player was in the giving spirit occurred in a 1981 game at the Montreal Forum between the Habs and the Pittsburgh Penguins in late November. Montreal enforcer Chris Nilan and Penguins tough guy Paul Baxter were seated in the penalty box following dustup. In those days there was little or even no glass petition to separate players in the penalty box other than a table occupied by the game timekeeper and public address announcer. The pucks were kept cold in bucket of ice inside the Montreal penalty box. Knuckles reached into the bucket of pucks and fired a missile at Baxter. To the best of my best recollection the puck ricocheted off the side glass and clipped Baxter in the head but didnt cause any damage. A match penalty for attempt to injure resulted in a three-game suspension to my good friend Chris Nilan. Incidents of this nature, including the recent helmet swing by Willie Mitchell, move beyond a minor infraction. Instead, they must be regarded for what they are (an attempt to injure) and penalized appropriately with a match. Once the correct penalty is assessed on the ice it is then up to the Player Safety Committee to make a responsible determination if the act warrants a suspension. I wish everyone a very merry and blessed Christmas with family and friends. Cmon Ref will return on Dec. 29. David Bakhtiari Super Bowl Jersey . Playing in his 19th career final, the second-seeded Tsonga was favourite to win the Open 13 for the third time and to secure an 11th career title, but he struggled with Gulbis attacking approach. JK Scott Super Bowl Jersey .J. -- The New York Jets have promoted Tony Sparano Jr.MILWAUKEE -- St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright knew how tough it was for the Milwaukee Brewers to play Saturday after finding out that shortstop Jean Seguras 9-month-old son had died. But Wainwright had to push those thoughts aside as he pitched seven strong innings to lead the Cardinals to a 10-2 win over Milwaukee for a tie atop the NL Central. The Brewers lost their seventh in a row. Segura left the team and travelled home to the Dominican Republic, a day after his 9-month-old son died. The Brewers observed a moment of silence for Janniel Segura, and the clubhouse was closed before the game. The 24-year-old shortstop was put on the bereavement list when he learned after the Brewers 7-6 loss to St. Louis on Friday night that his son had died. Manager Ron Roenicke said the boy had been ill. "When something like that happens, you become a family," Wainwright said. "Baseball as a whole becomes a family. Theres bigger things than baseball. I understand that hes going through something that I hope I never, never have to go through. So our hearts and prayers go out to him." Cardinals manager Mike Matheny was catcher for the Cardinals when St. Louis pitcher Darryl Kile died of a heart problem on June 22, 2002. "The extended family in (Milwaukees) clubhouse is hurting right along with him," he said. "You cant help but take a step back and just prioritize life. Prioritize just how fragile it is. It gives us perspective." "When that happened (Kiles death), we had a lot of guys having a bunch of conversations you typically wouldnt have inside a clubhouse," Matheny said. Wainwright (12-4) gave up two runs and five hits. He has allowed just four earned runs in his last six starts. Wainwright helped himself with an RBI single and tied Cincinnatis Alfredo Simon and the Yankees Masahiro Tanaka for the most wins in the majors. St. Louis trailed Milwaukee by 6 1/2 games on July 1, but Wainwright knows how quickkly a teams fortune can change in a week. Jamaal Williams Super Bowl Jersey. . In fact, he said that a week ago. "My quote was In a week from now, we could be doing a completely different kind of interview," he said. "It could be what has turned the season around for. And, thats whats happened. This game is a funny game of ups and downs. The teams that have the most ups and the least amount of downs end up winning the whole thing." Tony Cruz drove in a career-high three runs and Kolten Wong homered for the Cardinals. "Its nice to be able to make a little ground," Matheny said. "It just comes back to playing each game the right way." For the Brewers, it was a most difficult day. "I think everybody in the clubhouse was affected quite a bit," manager Ron Roenicke said. "I dont want to make excuses. We knew that we still have a game to play and a job to do, but we did not play well today." The Brewers have lost 11 of 12. They had held sole possession of first place since April 9. Frustrated Brewers star Carlos Gomez struck out swinging in the fifth inning and tried three times without success to break the bat over his leg. He slammed his helmet and tore up his batting gloves. Jimmy Nelson (1-1) went 4 1/3 innings, giving up eight runs and eight hits. He was recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Thursday to make his first start since replacing ineffective Marco Estrada in the rotation. St. Louis took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. A two-out error by second baseman Scooter Gennett on a grounder set up Cruzs two-run single. Wong hit a two-run homer in the second. It was his fifth home run in the last six games since coming back from the disabled list. Cruz doubled home a run in the third. NOTES: Milwaukee recalled INF Elian Herrera from Triple-A Nashville to replace Segura on the roster. ... The Brewers will start RHP Wily Peralta (9-6) in the series finale Sunday against Carlos Martinez (2-3). ' ' '