Random Hockey Observations

[Dubey 1,035]

lmao, I heard that too.McGuire is such a tool.

I like watching him now just for the entertainment value. I was killing myself laughing when he dropped that beauty on Saturday.

[serge 904]

I like watching him now just for the entertainment value. I was killing myself laughing when he dropped that beauty on Saturday.

apparently you have to be clown to get a job between the benches as now Mike Milbury is doing the same job..Sorry Ray, your man crush is a clown.

[ajs510 122]

apparently you have to be clown to get a job between the benches as now Mike Milbury is doing the same job..Sorry Ray, your man crush is a clown.

They put Cam Neely between the benches?I still laugh everytime I think about the fact that Pierre was getting serious consideration for the GM job in Minny last summer.

[SBriand 4]

I could have sworn last year or the year before I made a post about what a dink Pierre is and I got a ton of shit for it.

[Zach6668 513]

Maybe, I liked Pierre 2 or 3 years ago. Now he's just a homo.

[rinswun 6]

If I recall though (I've watched too much freakin hockey in the past 5 days to be 100% sure) didn't McCreary basically go to both benches early on and tell them it was going to be zero tolerance for stick fouls and any shit after the whistle? I didn't see a problem with the call on Clarkson, especially given how tight they had called the rest of the game.

That explains how tight it was being called then I guess, I missed the first 7 minutes watching the end of the golf.On the clarkson play it appeared to me that he was basically trying to get out of the way and kinda got tangled up with the flyer player inadvertantly, didn't look intentional to me but that's probably homerism on my part

[serge 904]

Maybe, I liked Pierre 2 or 3 years ago. Now he's just a homo.

is that any way to talk about a former coach of yours??

[Zach6668 513]

is that any way to talk about a former coach of yours??

Assistant.

[bdc30 0]

On the clarkson play it appeared to me that he was basically trying to get out of the way and kinda got tangled up with the flyer player inadvertantly, didn't look intentional to me but that's probably homerism on my part

Sure, in slow motion and from 6 different angles it probably did look inadvertant - but moving at warp speed up the ice, the ref has less than 2 seconds to interpret what's going on and what the intentions of the player are and if an advantage has been gained or taken away by the action (all while having to skate himself to keep up with the play). I'll admit, I've been critical of the refs in these playoffs too, but certainly not in the spots where most people seem to be jumping on them (namely the vancouver too many men which was called in a split second by the linesman that was standing right beside the bench).It really is a tough job to do well and I wish every single sportswriter/coach/player/forum poster had to put on the stripes for a single elite-level game before they had the right to be critical of officials. I've only been reffing for 3 years, and at a very low level compared to the speed of NHL hockey and it's absolutely given me a new appreciation for what these guys are up against out there.They're going to miss calls, as any human being would. Things are never going to look as clear cut as when we get to analyze a replay frame by frame from multiple angles. The best they can do is be consistent - a call in the first is a call in overtime, and apply the rules equally to all teams. It's when they deviate from that consistency that I think it's ok to be critical of them.(btw before any forum drama starts, that's not a direct attack on any person or any person's opinion specifically...lol)

[SBriand 4]

Sure, in slow motion and from 6 different angles it probably did look inadvertant - but moving at warp speed up the ice, the ref has less than 2 seconds to interpret what's going on and what the intentions of the player are and if an advantage has been gained or taken away by the action (all while having to skate himself to keep up with the play). I'll admit, I've been critical of the refs in these playoffs too, but certainly not in the spots where most people seem to be jumping on them (namely the vancouver too many men which was called in a split second by the linesman that was standing right beside the bench).It really is a tough job to do well and I wish every single sportswriter/coach/player/forum poster had to put on the stripes for a single elite-level game before they had the right to be critical of officials. I've only been reffing for 3 years, and at a very low level compared to the speed of NHL hockey and it's absolutely given me a new appreciation for what these guys are up against out there.They're going to miss calls, as any human being would. Things are never going to look as clear cut as when we get to analyze a replay frame by frame from multiple angles. The best they can do is be consistent - a call in the first is a call in overtime, and apply the rules equally to all teams. It's when they deviate from that consistency that I think it's ok to be critical of them.(btw before any forum drama starts, that's not a direct attack on any person or any person's opinion specifically...lol)

I have no doubt in my mind that I could not do what they do. I don't think I necessarily blame them anyway. What bothers me and I believe Zach has brought it up a couple times is why the league feels it necessary to sit all officials down at the end of the season and then tell them how the rules are going to change for the post season. I have to believe this causes some of the issues we have seen so far. AS you said calls will be missed or bad calls will happen. Happens almost every night, but I believe that changing up the rules at this point puts more stress on the officials to either call or not call things they normally would if they weren't sat down and told "how it's going to be this time in the playoffs." I don't know, just my opinion.

[bdc30 0]

I really don't think the league sits them down to say the rules are changing - I think it's more a case of old school vs new school. Either way, none of these guys want to be "the difference" in any of these games...they just have different ways of showing that. Some let more go than they normally would - others call it a little tighter than normal...who knows why, it's just too bad they aren't all on the same page.

[MapleLeafpoker 1,462]

I have no doubt in my mind that I could not do what they do. I don't think I necessarily blame them anyway. What bothers me and I believe Zach has brought it up a couple times is why the league feels it necessary to sit all officials down at the end of the season and then tell them how the rules are going to change for the post season. I have to believe this causes some of the issues we have seen so far. AS you said calls will be missed or bad calls will happen. Happens almost every night, but I believe that changing up the rules at this point puts more stress on the officials to either call or not call things they normally would if they weren't sat down and told "how it's going to be this time in the playoffs." I don't know, just my opinion.

You know, I would usually agree with you and Zach on this, but having watched the 3rd period of the SJ-COL game, Im not so sure. There was a 10minute or so of game play that was just all out aggression and fortitude. It seemed like the refs were letting most things go, and the play was generally clean, but tough. It was an absolute ideal vision of hockey, clean hitting, hard play and all out constant skating. I love seeing that.

[rinswun 6]

I really don't think the league sits them down to say the rules are changing - I think it's more a case of old school vs new school. Either way, none of these guys want to be "the difference" in any of these games...they just have different ways of showing that. Some let more go than they normally would - others call it a little tighter than normal...who knows why, it's just too bad they aren't all on the same page.

i think your previous post was excellent and very well put, i fully agree with everything you wrote. what i've bolded here is definitely my issue with what i have seen so far. going from watching one game where a guy is getting slashed and cross-checked around the net with impunity to another where a guy taps an opponent's stick on the backcheck and gets called for slashing is pretty frustrating to watch. consistency, both in game and between games is what we are all looking for i guess.

[Zach6668 513]

Well all love seeing that, Arp. I've mentioned I have no problem with them letting the stuff like slightly late hits going, shit like that.When they completely remove the penalty of hooking, or holding, or interference, that's where I start to have a problem.Why are the standards different in the regular season than in the playoffs, and likewise, why are the standards different in the 1st period than in the 3rd OT?It's a major consistency problem. And that doesn't even start to address the issue that arises between different officials and their own "interpretation" of the rules, and the massive inconsistency across the board of officials.I agree with Brent that refereeing is absurdly difficult, I took the course when I was younger, reffed a few scrub games, and a season or two of youth roller hockey, and that was even hard as hell.However, these guys are supposed to be the best at what they do, they should be able to maintain some standard of consistency.The other big problem seems to be the league itself. I don't think the league sits them down and tells them to call things differently in the playoffs, but they certainly don't seem to sit them down and demonstrate the correct way to enforce the rules, etc. Definitely lots of that has to do with the old guard/new guard angle.

[MapleLeafpoker 1,462]

Well all love seeing that, Arp. I've mentioned I have no problem with them letting the stuff like slightly late hits going, shit like that.When they completely remove the penalty of hooking, or holding, or interference, that's where I start to have a problem.Why are the standards different in the regular season than in the playoffs, and likewise, why are the standards different in the 1st period than in the 3rd OT?It's a major consistency problem. And that doesn't even start to address the issue that arises between different officials and their own "interpretation" of the rules, and the massive inconsistency across the board of officials.I agree with Brent that refereeing is absurdly difficult, I took the course when I was younger, reffed a few scrub games, and a season or two of youth roller hockey, and that was even hard as hell.However, these guys are supposed to be the best at what they do, they should be able to maintain some standard of consistency.The other big problem seems to be the league itself. I don't think the league sits them down and tells them to call things differently in the playoffs, but they certainly don't seem to sit them down and demonstrate the correct way to enforce the rules, etc. Definitely lots of that has to do with the old guard/new guard angle.

I dont disagree with any of the points you made. They are all right IMO, and I can get frustrated too by it, especially feeling bad for players who are talented but their games get dragged down by interference no longer being called.I just brought up last nights example cause it was the rare opportunity where neither team got burned by the refs desire to let them play. It was like everyone was on the same page.

[Zach6668 513]

I don't think every game has been bad or anything. PHX-DET has been good, to the best of my recollection, and I thought the officials at PIT/OTT game 3 were solid.

[Dubey 1,035]

I don't think every game has been bad or anything. PHX-DET has been good, to the best of my recollection, and I thought the officials at PIT/OTT game 3 were solid.

There was some questionable reffing in phx/det game 3. One holding the stick penalty called against phoenix in the second period was particularly horrible.

[MapleLeafpoker 1,462]

I don't think every game has been bad or anything. PHX-DET has been good, to the best of my recollection, and I thought the officials at PIT/OTT game 3 were solid.

I love these first few games of the playoffs.....because I always forget how great playoff games are. Hockey is the one sport where it is VERY clear if the game is regular season, or if its a playoff game. Add in the drama of sudden death OT, and there is simply nothing like playoff hockey for me, in terms of sitting down in front of a tv and watching a sport.

[Dubey 1,035]

I love these first few games of the playoffs.....because I always forget how great playoff games are. Hockey is the one sport where it is VERY clear if the game is regular season, or if its a playoff game. Add in the drama of sudden death OT, and there is simply nothing like playoff hockey for me, in terms of sitting down in front of a tv and watching a sport.

Yeah the hockey this year has been amazing. Best 1st round I can remember in a long time, although it seems like I say that every year

[rinswun 6]

I don't think every game has been bad or anything. PHX-DET has been good, to the best of my recollection, and I thought the officials at PIT/OTT game 3 were solid.

Zach, was andrea wearing a blue hat yesterday?I'm just watching sports centre and I'm pretty sure I saw you two on the highlights

[Zach6668 513]

Zach, was andrea wearing a blue hat yesterday?I'm just watching sports centre and I'm pretty sure I saw you two on the highlights

She was!And a black child-size Malkin jersey.I had my white Staal, with the Cup patch, and my white draft hat.

[rinswun 6]

Yep definitely saw you guys, can clearly see the 11 on the sleeve. You're famous!

[Zach6668 513]

Yep definitely saw you guys, can clearly see the 11 on the sleeve. You're famous!

Awesome.I PVR'ed the game and watched most of it when I got home, but didn't see ourselves.

[fryer98 30]

I saw this one when watching ^THAT one....the best one I've seen so far!History Will Be Made - Gordon Bombay

[serge 904]

Yep definitely saw you guys, can clearly see the 11 on the sleeve. You're famous!

11 for the 11th best limit holdem player in the world?