Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Cheap Jerseys China .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. He received a five-game suspension plus the remainder of the pre-season. On Wednesday, Henrik Zetterberg fell down and came over the top with his stick. The lumber struck Dan Hamhuis of Vancouver in the mouth cutting him profusely. Both incidences were very similar, no? A player out of control and swinging his stick recklessly. But why was Zetterbergs forgiven if he should have been accountable for his stick as well? Thanks for any clarification. Art We Art: Thank you for your question. The most obvious similarity on the two plays you reference is that injury resulted to both Sam Gagner and Dan Hamhuis; albeit in varying degrees of severity (broken jaw vs. substantial cut to lip). Beyond that I see considerable differences that exist when considering the potential for player suspension. I would argue that Zack Kassian was in control of his stick when he swung it with purpose in an attempt to make some form of contact with Sam Gagner once the Oiler forward stopped hard to avoid the body check that Kassian was in the process of delivering. I dont believe for a second that Zack Kassian intended for the swing to catch Gagner in the face and break his jaw. None the less, that was the unfortunate result of the wild stick swing used as part of an intended, but missed body check. Kassian received the appropriate double minor penalty on the ice at the time of the incident. The careless manner (video link) with which Henrik Zetterberg brought his stick down hard as he was rolling over to regain his feet following an awkward tumble falls within the spirit and intent of the high-sticking rule. Rule references: 60.1 (Players must be in control and responsible for his stick) and 60.3 (When a player carries or holds any part of his stick above the shoulders of the opponent so that injury results, the Referee shall assess a double-minor penalty for all contact that causes an injury, whether accidental or careless, in the opinion of the Referee.) Henrik Zetterberg should have been assessed a double minor on the play but no call resulted from the high-sticking infraction. Any of the four Officials could have made this call as a result of the injury to Dan Hamhuis. While the call on the ice should have been the same in both cases there are distinct differences between these two plays when supplemental discipline is being considered. Henrik Zetterberg was in a prone position on the ice and the momentum of rolling onto to his knees included his stick travelling over the top accidentally striking Dan Hamhuis. This lack of responsibility and control by Zetterberg was careless for sure but not worthy of a suspension. Zack Kassian on the other hand had his skates under him and I submit swung his stick intending to make contact with his opponent in some manner. The deliberation of this act and the severity of the injury that resulted are worthy of a suspension. Wishing everyone a very safe and blessed All Saints and All Souls weekend. Jerseys Cheap . Tanaka has certainly lived up to the hype this season, going 10-1 with an American League-best 2.02 ERA. The Japanese right-hander went the distance to win his fourth straight start on Wednesday in Seattle, as he held the Mariners to a pair of runs and six hits. Cheap Jerseys . CSN New England reports that the team is interested in Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, whom they reportedly tried to acquire last off-season.LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland -- Marcel Hirscher clinched his third straight overall World Cup title on Saturday but couldnt prevent Ted Ligety from winning his fifth season-long giant slalom trophy. A race that came down to a few hundredths of a second saw Hirscher finish fourth, giving him enough points to clinch the sports biggest prize. Ligety won the race and thereby tied the Austrian on points in the season-long discipline standings, giving the American the GS title on a tiebreaker as he had more race victories. "Its an unbelievable happy day," said Hirscher, content to concede the discipline to the American dubbed "Mr. GS" by race announcers. "My big goal was the overall World Cup title and I got it and Im so happy," said the 25-year-old Hirscher, the first man to win three in a row since American Phil Mahre completed the feat in 1983. Hirscher needed 19 points to overtake Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway, who led the standings going into the race but skied out in the first run. Fourth place gave the Austrian 50 points. Hirscher completed Austrias first overall title double since 2002, after Anna Fenninger clinched her first womens title this week. They both come from villages near Salzburg and raced each other as juniors. Ligety earned his victory in a crowd-pleasing race by just 0.03 seconds ahead of runner-up Alexis Pinturault of France, in a two-run combined time of 2 minutes, 15.63 seconds. "Im super-thrilled. That was by the skin of my teeth today," Ligety said. He still relied on a big assist from first-run leader Felix Neureuther of Germany to make clinch the discipline title as the narrow margins all fell Ligetys way. Ligety, the Olympic champion in GS, was second-fastest in the morning and had time in the start house to absorb the second-leg target set by Hirscher. Hirscher finished outside provisional leader Pinturaults time, leaving Ligety an opening. The 29-year-old American came down barely faster than Pinturault, drawing applause from Hirscher who was in the ffinish area already knowing he was overall champion. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping. Ligety then needed his good friend Neureuther to finish second or third in the narrow time gap between himself and Hirscher. Neureuther did it in the tightest way possible, finishing 0.01 ahead of Hirscher, who was relegated to fourth. With 10 fewer points awarded for fourth than third, he fell into a tie with Ligety on 560 over the eight-race season. Ligety got the tiebreaker with five World Cup race wins against Hirschers two. "Felix, I owe a lot of beers," Ligety said. Hirscher was smiling later, after watching Ligety and Neureuther roll around the finish-area snow in celebration. "He is not allowed to travel to Austria. It is over. Just kidding," Hirscher said of Neureuthers intervention. They will renew their rivalry Sunday for the season-long slalom title. "He is very mad about me so its going to be very close," said Neureuther, who leads Hirscher by five points in the slalom standings. Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway is also in contention. Svindal faded again, extending his disappointing series of results since leaving the Sochi Olympics early, affected by allergies and without a medal. He is not competing in Sundays slalom. "It was a good season but it could have been fantastic," said Svindal, who won the World Cup titles in downhill and super-G though all but conceded the overall title to Hirscher earlier in the week. "That was too bad, because I had a really good opportunity to win the biggest thing a ski racer can win," said Svindal, a two-time former overall champion. Ligety completed a race double for the U.S. team Saturday, with Mikaela Shiffrin earlier winning her fifth World Cup slalom this season. The American anthem played four times in quick succession for a crowd of 10,500 at the Swiss venue -- twice each for Ligety and Shiffrins race and season title victories. The Austrian anthem will dominate Sunday, when Hirscher and Fenninger get their giant crystal globes. cheap nfl jerseyscheap jerseys ' ' '
