out there and play basketball

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. Good morning Kerry, I love your daily clarifications to help everyone understand better why some calls are made! My question is in regards of spearing. As you know by now, Milan Lucic speared Alexei Emelin in Game 3 - again! I understand that at times some calls be overlooked, but why is he continuously getting away with it? If there is video evidence, why nothing is done afterward to avoid any precedence to be set? My last question: is this not making the officials in a difficult position? Thank you very much for your time. Lyne Laurendeau Lyne: The act of spearing and butt-ending seldom result in a player suspension. Instead, a fine may be imposed (but not always as we have seen) by the Player Safety Committee. It would appear that players are utilizing both ends of their hockey stick on a more consistent basis in violation of rule 58 (butt-ending) and rule 62 (spearing). This season the following fines have been levied for these illegal acts: February 6, 2014: Alexei Emelin - Montreal Canadiens - Butt-ending Pascal Pelletier ($5,000)March 20, 2014: David Legwand - Detroit Red Wings - Butt-ending Evgeni Malkin ($5,000)April 13, 2014: Scott Hartnell - Philadelphia Flyers - Spearing Brett Bellemore ($5,000)April 18, 2014: Milan Lucic - Boston Bruins -Spearing Danny DeKeyser ($5,000)April 25, 2014: Ryan Garbutt - Dallas Stars - Spearing Corey Perry ($1,474.36) You also might recall in the Ducks-Stars series on April 18th that Corey Perry was given a "slashing" minor when he "speared" Jamie Benn at 7:25 of the first period. Perry remained in the game as a result the "slashing" assessment and then scored an unassisted goal at 16:15 of the second in a 3-2 Anaheim win. Milan Lucic was also guilty of an undetected backdoor spear motion on Alexei Emelin in a game March 24. Neither of these incidents resulted in a fine. Beyond the non-call in the Bruins-Habs game the other night, no disciplinary action or fine will result from Lucics latest spear on Emelin. It should also be noted that Emelin was guilty of cross-checking on the play and was not penalized for the infraction as well. Fouls can be missed in the fast pace of the game. There is obvious reluctance on the part of the referees to call "spearing" for what it is due to the severity of the penalty that they must impose under the rule. Only when contact is significant, as in the Ryan Garbutt spear on Corry Perry, will we see the accurate call made. Perrys action on Jamie Benn was no less a spearing motion than Garbutts, but due to lesser degree of contact (deemed to be minimal by the ref) the infraction was called slashing. It is not the referees job to interpret the relative value of the rule or base their assessment on the degree of contact (or non contact) when a spearing motion is delivered. That however is exactly what is being done. Under rule 62, the referee is empowered (and expected) to assess a double minor is imposed when a player spears an opponent and does not make contact. A major and game misconduct is to be assessed on a player who spears an opponent (makes contact). When I attended my first NHL training camp for officials as a 20-year-old aspiring referee in 1972 we went through every rule in the book during daily classroom sessions. The rule book wasnt all that thick back then and the referee had the option of assessing a minor or major penalty for spearing based on the degree of contact. Wanting to understand the difference between the two applications I approached veteran referee Lloyd Gilmour for advice. I asked Gilmour what constituted the difference between a minor or major penalty for spearing. Without so much as a wink, Lloyd said, "Kid, if you see the spear go in its two minutes; if the stick comes out the players back call it five!" Perhaps the veteran advice was a little tongue-in- cheek but in reality not all that far off from the application we might be seeing now. Lyne, it is my opinion that there should be a fine imposed for every instance of spearing and butt-ending; regardless of the degree of contact or whether a penalty was imposed by the referee. Both are dangerous and cheap acts. Further to this, the referees must be directed to call the action of spearing and butt-ending for what they are and not place their personal value on the degree of contact made with the point or end of a players stick. It is the referees that are putting themselves in a "difficult position" by either ignoring the infraction or calling it by any other terminology than what it is. Penalty enforcement and fines would result in higher standards of player accountability and act as a stronger deterrent against these unwanted acts from being committed. Adidas NMD R2 Sale . -- Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday for the first time in his seven-year career because of a swollen muscle in his left upper back. Adidas NMD Factory Outlet . The Toronto Argonauts running back hurt his left ankle during the teams practice Friday afternoon at Rogers Centre. http://www.cheapnmdonline.com/adidas-nmd...-clearance.html. The move is retroactive to Aug. 1. Hosmer was originally hit on the hand in the first inning of a July 20 loss to Boston. He has played most of the time since, but missed a few contests due to the injury, then departed Thursdays win over the Twins and had tests that revealed the fracture. Adidas NMD Discount . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Adidas NMD R1 Cheap .com) - The Winnipeg Jets placed defenceman Paul Postma on injured reserve Tuesday.TORONTO - Nearly 10 years after Vince Carter departed Toronto, leaving enraged Raptors fans in his wake, they finally stood and applauded the superstar who helped put basketball on the map in Canada.The Raptors honoured Carter with a video tribute as part of their 20th anniversary celebrations Wednesday, as his Memphis Grizzlies played in Toronto.The 38-year-old was visibly moved, wiping away tears with powder his blue T-shirt. He touched a hand to his heart and repeatedly gave thumbs-up to the crowd.Earlier in the day, the former Raptors superstar leaned against the scoring table after the morning shootaround, and talked about his fond memories of his seven years with the Raptors.Each time he plays in Toronto, he makes a point of looking at the banner that commemorates the first Raptors game at the ACC.Its still special coming here, its still fun. Its weird, they move this flag every time, I struggle finding it, he said, with a glance up to the arenas rafters. But when I walk in here seeing February 20th, 1999. Thats the first thing I think of — when this building opened. I just remember getting the opportunity to make history. Making the first shot. You cant take that away.Charles Oakley found Carter who finished with — no surprise — a dunk on that first shot.Carter said during shootaround, he was cool with the tribute, which he found out about during a radio interview. His mother Michelle Carter was present for the pre-game video, sitting in the stands of the ACC.Its something thats memorable to me, to see the video right here, in the building where it all happened. You cant beat that. Its one thing to sit at home watching with your friends or watch it on a computer, but right here? Its special.Carter has been the object of fans fury in virtually every return trip to Toronto, but theres been a shift in perception recently. Young Canadian stars such as Andrew Wiggins, Nik Stauskas, Anthony Bennett and Kelly Olynyk grew up during Vinsanity, and have credited the former Raptors star with sparking their interest in the game.Stauskas often talks about when, as a young boy attending a Raptors open practice, he was picked out of the crowd to play one-on-one with Carter. When Stauskas — now a rookie with the Sacramento Kings — drilled a three, Carter tackled the youngster to the court and gave him a noogie.Hes done a lot not just for us as a team, but just for this country, former Raptors teammate Alvin Williams told reporters earlier this season. You see the Canadian players now that are in the NBA (there are 13), and theyre all a testament to him.dddddddddddd That shows what he does, not only for the Raptors, but what he did for this whole country.Carter couldnt have predicted the warm reception he would receive. He said he planned to enjoy the video, no matter what.Its just a special moment that you probably wont get it again. Im going to enjoy it, Carter said.Carter comes off the bench with Memphis, and was averaging 5.8 points a night heading into Wednesday. But Grizzlies coach David Joerger said hes thrilled to have the veteran, who signed with a three-year $12.2 million deal with Memphis in the off-season.We get along great, hes a professional, hes mature, hes always doing whatever he can to help the team win, Joerger said. If he plays three minutes, hes helping guys on the bench, hes helping guys in the locker-room. Hes been through it all, hes seen it all, and that was a great pickup for us, were lucky to have him.Carter is coming off ankle surgery in the off-season.He still looks a little gimpy sometimes but over the last couple of games hes looked a lot better physically. Whether the ball goes in for him or not, I know, and we all know, what he can do, Joerger said. So once hes looking better physically, everybody is like Oooh, at some point this is going to be a big deal.Carter said it wasnt easy leaving the Mavericks, where he played for three seasons. But he joined a Memphis team that boasted the best record (10-1) in the NBA heading into Wednesdays game against the East-leading Raptors.The good thing about it, coming to a team like this, theyre an established team already, a very capable team, and its just a great opportunity to me. They gave me a call one day, and said Hey, love to have you. . . for three years. Cant turn that down.When asked if Memphis provides a chance to win an NBA championship as his career winds down, he said its too early to tell.I dont want to do that to the team. Its no pressure, he said. Nobody has talked about it prior to this run, and we still dont. Just go out there and play basketball and in due time, wed like for everybody to say, We forgot about the Grizzlies over there, and by that time, hopefully were still holding onto first place.I think were playing great basketball, everybody is playing for each other. . . I think we have a lot of experience in winning ugly games and in games where we havent played well offensively but found a way. ' ' '