Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Stitched Oakland Raiders Jerseys .ca! Hi Kerry, I love the column, keep up the good work! It doesnt make me more sympathetic to bad calls by the refs, but it sure explains a lot! On Tuesday, Zach Bogosian and Lars Eller just went off to the Sin Bin together - Bogosian for interference and Eller for embellishment. How come the refs always call two penalties? I see it a lot - hooking and diving, tripping and diving. If someone dives, how can the other player be penalized too? Just doesnt add up to me. Keep up the good work! David ReimerGo Jets Go! --- Can you please clarify? These are two that I witnessed, but Im sure there are other folks around the league wondering the same. 1) Semin gets clotheslined by Ovechkin. Ovie gets a penalty but Semin gets the embellishment.2) PHX-CAR on Sunday afternoon. Pivotal time of game. Ruutu gets tripped. Power play gets nullified by embellishment call. From a fans perspective, this is how it should be played out: If there is a penalty, it should matter not how a guy reacts to the penalty. If there is no penalty called and someone embellishes to try to draw one, call embellishment. Just dont call both. 99% of the time, no one would be flopping around if they didnt feel victimized. Perhaps if there were a few embellishment penalties called when there is no other penalty, embellishment would work its way out of the game. Either there is a penalty or a faked one. Make a choice and go with it. I just hate it when someone is victimized and the refs feel like the player didnt react gracefully enough and it wipes out the PP chance. These, as Ive seen, can be game-changing events and shouldnt happen. Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Your column rocks! - Fraser Van Asch David and Fraser: (My nephew, David Fraser lives in Sarnia, Ontario!) I can understand fan confusion, even to the point of frustration when a legitimate infraction worthy of a power play is nullified with a subsequent embellishment penalty. While Davids point seems logical (if there is a penalty it should matter not how a guy reacts) individual player integrity and ultimately that of the game must be upheld. As a Referee I view embellishment as an outward act of "cheating" and I always found it personally offensive whenever a player tried to fool me or bring the wrath of hometown fans against me and my colleagues. I always maintained a mental list of players whose uniforms were often wetter on the outside from splashing around than on the inside from perspiration. It was a list a player had to skate his way off through honest play. There wasnt a penalty for embellishment in those days so it was important for the Ref to have his radar up when a known offender hit the ice. Dino Ciccarelli flopped on me four times in the same corner of Joe Louis Arena in a span of 15 seconds one game. He looked like a pin-ball bouncing up as quickly as he went down. Needless to say he didnt draw a penalty in spite of his efforts or through the deafening roar from the partisan Red Wing fans! Oh, how I wish we had a diving penalty back then! The cheat-to-win attitude has evolved to include an ever expanding list of embellishers. It really detracts from the integrity of the game and has become a negative component that needs to be eradicated. There are two ways to do that; the Refs must continue to enforce embellishment with a firm standard and assess a standalone penalty whenever the opportunity is presented. Second to that, offenders names need to be published when the Hockey Operation Department flags them under Rule 64.3 (Fines and Suspensions) whether a penalty was called on the ice or not. For those unaware of Rule 64.3: "Regardless if a minor penalty for diving/embellishment is called, Hockey Operations will review game videos and assess fines to players who dive or embellish a fall or a reaction, or who feign injury. The first such incident during the season will result in a warning letter being sent to the player. The second such incident will result in a one thousand dollar ($1,000) fine. For a third such incident in the season, the player shall be suspended for one game, pending a telephone conversation with the Director of Hockey Operations. For subsequent violations in the same season, the players suspension shall double (i.e. first suspension - one game, second suspension - two games, third suspension - four games, etc.)" This rule certainly has some teeth but we never know if or when it is being enforced. I watched each of the infractions that David and Fraser offered as examples in their question. - Zach Bogosian reached with a free-hand to restrain Lars Eller and the Montreal forward folded backward to the ice like a $3.00 suitcase. - David Schlemko put a hook on Tuomo Ruttus hands that resulted in a jump in the air with both skates. If the pond wasnt frozen there would have been a big splash upon Ruttus entry! - Alex Ovechkin really clocked Alexander Semin in the chin with high hands. The Canes would have a legitimate beef with this embellishment as Semin was trying to duck at the moment of impact and not draw a penalty. From the Refs angle he thought otherwise. The bottom line is that the Referees have their instructions and their radar is honed in on embellishment. Im good with that and hope that before too long players will fight to stay on their feet for fear of nullifying a power play opportunity. New rule suggestion: Make the embellishment a double minor penalty. Maybe then all players uniforms would be wetter on the inside from perspiration. After all, its supposed to be a mans game in the NHL. Cheap Oakland Raiders Jerseys Online .A caravan greeted the former Boston Red Sox pitcher at the airport and took him to a public park in Santo Domingo, where a crowd lined a 19-mile stretch of highway to catch a glimpse of him.Once at the park, Martinez went on stage accompanied by players David Ortiz and Robinson Cano as merengue music played and fireworks lit up the sky. Oakland Raiders Josh Jacobs Jersey . And theyre pointing to the NHLs biggest market: Toronto. With Gretzky paid out for what is believed to be $7 to 8 million, Gretzky may be eager to get back into the NHL and TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports that the Maple Leafs are very much interested in The Great Ones services. http://www.cheapraiders.com/132p-cheap-johnathan-abram-jersey-raiders.html .com) - DAngelo Harrison posted 21 points to guide No. WASHINGTON -- An already rough-and-tumble playoff series between the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls now has a full-blown fracas, an ejection and a Game 4 suspension for Nene. What everyone will be watching when these clubs meet Sunday, with Washington leading the Eastern Conference series 2-1, is just how physical the play will get -- and whether things will escalate again. "Weve had scuffles all three games, basically. Youve got to make sure we dont lose our composure, where we get thrown out of the game like that. It doesnt matter who it is, we cant afford that," Washington coach Randy Wittman said after the Wizards loss Friday night. "So weve just got to do a better job. Hey, its very emotional. Emotional game, tough game." Nene was tossed with about 8 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter after wrapping both hands around the back of Jimmy Butlers head and neck as they stood so close their foreheads touched. Rod Thorn, the NBAs president of basketball operations, announced Saturday that Nene had been suspended one game without pay for head-butting and grabbing Butler "around the neck with both hands and attempting to throw him down." Butler made two key 3-pointers from there, helping the fourth-seeded Bulls win 100-97. "When you play physical ... things get hot," Nene said with a smile and a shrug Friday. During Washingtons victory at Chicago in Game 2, some lesser contretemps led to a total of four players getting called for technical fouls: Washingtons Bradley Beal and Trevor Ariza, and Chicagos Kirk Hinrich and Joakim Noah. So neither club seemed all that surprised at the rising temperature in Game 3. "Hes a guy, just like each one of us, hes a guy with a big ego," Wizards centre Marcin Gortat said about Nene. "Theres nobody in this locker room whos going to be pushed around like that. And thats just how he reacted. Does he deserve two technical fouls? I dont know. But at the end of the day, he got kicked out and we had to play without him." Added Beal: "It gets to the point where you just get pushed to the limit way too much, and I think Nene got pushed to the limit. Do we agree with what he did? Not necessarily, but he did it and wwe cant take it back. Authentic Oakland Raiders Jerseys. quot; Noah, who has spent plenty of time jostling with Nene in the low block, called the ejection a "turning point" of Fridays game. Indeed, not only did Nene average a team-high 20.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in Washingtons wins in Games 1 and 2, but the teams entire approach changes when the 6-foot-11 Brazilian is on the floor. He provides big-body defence and soft-hands passing. He can score and rebound. Hes so influential that John Wall, Washingtons All-Star point guard, has called him the "X-factor." During the regular season, Washington won two of three games from Chicago, but lost at home 96-78 on April 5 without an injured Nene. The Wizards scored 26 points in the first half. As for what Game 4 would mean without Nene, Noah said Saturday before the official announcement, "Im not sure. I dont think it changes our mindset, though. Its a crucial game for us. All three games really came down to the end. Attention to detail is huge. The game in these situations is so mental. For us, its just about staying focused on the things that we can control." Asked whether he thought Nenes actions warranted a suspension, Noah said, "As a player, those arent things I can control. The only thing I can control right now is eating lunch and ice baths and sleeping and shooting free throws and things like that." All three games so far have been won by the visiting team, a pattern the Bulls would love to see continue Sunday, of course. "I cant tell you why thats happened," Wizards forward Trevor Ariza said. While Washingtons offence is particularly dependent on young guards Wall and Beal, the Bulls found some new sources of much-needed offence in Game 3: Mike Dunleavy scored 35 points, one shy of his NBA high, and Butler finished with 15, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 24 seconds to go. Wittman will want to come up with a way to change that Sunday, of course. What is not likely to change is the testy nature of this matchup. "It gets chippy," Bulls forward Taj Gibson said. "But youve got to be smart. Its playoff basketball. You can get ejected; you can get suspended. Youve got to keep your hands to yourself." Cheap Buffalo Sabres Gear Wholesale Calgary Flames Jerseys Cheap Adidas Colorado Avalanche Jerseys Montreal Canadiens Outlet Store Wholesale New Jersey Devils Jerseys Adidas Arizona Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Adidas Boston Bruins Jerseys Cheap Adidas Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys Chicago Blackhawks Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Columbus Blue Jackets Jerseys Dallas Stars Shop Free Shipping Cheap Adidas Detroit Red Wings Jerseys Anaheim Ducks Jerseys China Wholesale Edmonton Oilers Jerseys Florida Panthers Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Los Angeles Kings Jerseys Minnesota Wild Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Nashville Predators Jerseys Cheap Adidas New York Islanders Jerseys New York Rangers Winter Classic Jerseys Cheap Adidas Ottawa Senators Jerseys Cheap Adidas Philadelphia Flyers Jerseys Wholesale Pittsburgh Penguins Jerseys Cheap Adidas San Jose Sharks Jerseys St. Louis Blues Winter Classic Jerseys Wholesale Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys Toronto Maple Leafs Outlet Store Vancouver Canucks Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Vegas Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Adidas Washington Capitals Jerseys Cheap Adidas Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '