an upward fashion given his opponents lowered head position, the parsing of words found in the rule makes it more acceptable to do so. The hitte

The Summer Bash, which is the Championships answer to Super Leagues Magic Weekend, kicks off this weekend and promises some mouth-watering action. This years Summer Bash boasts the strongest possible round of fixtures in the Kingstone Press Championship, headlined by Saturdays massive clash between Bradford Bulls and Leigh Centurions.However, all the teams have plenty to play for and with points and bragging rights on offer, we take a closer look at the action... Sheffield Eagles vs London Broncos: Sat, 2.30pm, Sky Sports 5 HDWith a well-publicised transition to a full-time playing roster in 2016, many expected Sheffield to really push on in the Championship this season. In reality, the club has gone the opposite way and find themselves sitting outside that all-important Top 4, eight points adrift of fourth-placed Featherstone Rovers.London Broncos, on the other hand, have been a revelation in 2016 and find themselves just three points behind league leaders Leigh Centurions. After a disappointing first season outside the Super League elite in 2015, the Broncos have steadied the ship and have made progress 12 months on, even boasting an unbeaten record at their new Ealing home.London produced the upset of last years Summer Bash - defeating the Eagles 46-6 in arguably their best performance of the season - and with a 56-12 victory at Sheffield in April, will head into this one as favourites. Coming off a strong performance against the Bulls last Friday, and with a couple of extra days rest, could the Eagles get revenge against the side that blew them off the park last year? A feast of live sporting action is on Sky Sports this weekend - dont miss it! Workington Town vs Whitehaven: Sat, 4.30pm, Sky Sports 5 HDThe Championships Cumbrian contingent face off in what is effectively a basement battle as the two clubs linger at the foot of the table after a disappointing season so farThis derby match is rarely dull - and with local bragging rights at stake, expect a fierce encounter. Town have won five of their last six against Haven and with some more positive performances of late will head into the match with improved confidence.Jarrod Sammut could be the difference and with his influence and spark, Workington could grab their third success this season which would halve the deficit behind Whitehaven, who sit directly above in 11th.Bradford Bulls vs Leigh Centurions: Sat, 7pm, Sky Sports 2 HD New Bradford Bulls coach Rohan Smith outlines his ambitions with the club New Bradford coach Rohan Smith takes charge of only his second game since succeeding James Lowes. The Bulls, who currently sit third, face Championship table-toppers Leigh Centurions in Saturdays main event - and if the last four league meetings between these two are anything to go by, there should be plenty of points in this one.Smith will have to make do without Lee Gaskell as Bradfords star man is ruled out through injury - and with their opponents boasting a close to fully fit squad, the Bulls will go in as underdogs.Their most recent meeting in February ended all-square, with the home side completing one of the greatest comebacks in recent history. The Centurions led 32-6 with 15 minutes left - only for Bradford to level with 26 unanswered points. Who can predict what might happen this time round? Leigh points machine Martyn Ridyard looks ahead to the Summer Bash clash with Bradford Dewsbury Rams vs Batley Bulldogs: Sun, 12.30pm, Sky Sports 3 HDThe Heavy Woollen derby kicks off day two of the Summer Bash, as the Bulldogs look to regain their early season form that saw them flying at the top of the Championship. John Kears side inflicted Leighs only defeat so far in the 2016 opener, and drew with Bradford a month later. Sitting just a point behind fourth-placed Featherstone, the Bulldogs will remain quietly confident of maintaining a Top 4 finish.The Rams havent recaptured their impressive 2015 form, and find themselves struggling to make any impact this time round. Its a derby though - and with a 19-12 win in this fixture 12 months ago, dont rule out the Rams getting a repeat result on Sunday.Oldham Roughyeds vs Swinton Lions: Sun, 3pm, Sky Sports 3 - Red ButtonMany predicted that Championship newcomers Oldham and Swinton would be languishing at the bottom of the table in 2016 - but their form over the first half of the season has proved many punters wrong, as both have recorded notable victories already.The Lions five-game winning streak last month featured notable away victories at Halifax and Batley, while the Roughyeds have turned over Featherstone and the Bulldogs - and who could forget that historic Challenge Cup defeat of Super League side Hull KR?Last time out, the Lions went home with the two points after a 28-18 home win - and as both sides will be looking to keep pace with the teams immediately above them in the table, a tight encounter can be expected.Halifax RLFC vs Featherstone Rovers: Sun, 5.10pm, Sky Sports 3 The weekend culminates with two teams desperate for a Top 4 finish, and a chance to make a mark in the Super 8s Qualifiers, as fierce Championship rivals Halifax and Featherstone go head-to-head. Halifax and Featherstone meet in the climax to this weekends Summer Bash. Ian Hardman recalls losing the 2010 Championship Grand Final These two have produced some fiery contests over the years - none more so than in April at the Big Fellas Stadium. A last-minute Steve Tyrer penalty denied a Jordan Lilley-inspired Rovers side two huge points in a game that was always in the balance.Its been described as a four-point game - victory for Rovers would create daylight between themselves and Halifax - but a Fax win could really set the race for the Top 4 alight. With so much at stake here, the 2016 Summer Bash could culminate in a Championship classic.Watch Summer Bash live on Sky Sports this weekend. Or watch the game without a contract for £6.99 on NOW TV. Boomer Esiason Womens Jersey .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. Jessie Bates III Womens Jersey . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. http://www.bengalsrookiestore.com/Bengals-Anthony-Munoz-Jersey/ . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Ryan Finley Youth Jersey . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. Boomer Esiason Youth Jersey . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division.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! Hi Kerry, I still have a bone to pick with you regarding your officiating during an Avs and Kings game back in the late 90s. That said, Ive really become a fan of yours since reading your column! Late in the third period of the game one between Chicago and Los Angeles, Dave Bolland took a run at Mike Richards who was behind the net with the puck. Richards was coming around and trying to stuff the puck home. I watched and rewound and watched the play several times. Bolland appears to leave his feet, but its hard to tell because he leaned forward, so well give him the benefit of the doubt on that one. But he definitely elevates his body in an upward direction, and the principal point of contact was the head of Mike Richards. In addition, Richards appears to have been injured on the play. Why was this not at the very least a penalty, and possibly a suspension? We keep hearing that the league wants to crack down on shots to the head but there seems to be no consistency. Not only was a penalty not called, but it appears as of this writing that no suspension will be forthcoming either. Five years ago I wouldnt be sending this email. It would have been a good hit and that would be the end of it. But the league has decided to crack down on hits to the head – unless its the third period of a playoff game. In your opinion, did the hit warrant a penalty and/or suspension? John Lord Hi John:Thank you for this well worded and thought provoking question. The reality is that the elevated hit delivered by Dave Bolland, and which resulted in Mike Richards head becoming the principal point of contact, is currently deemed an acceptable hockey hit by virtue of specific language contained in two relevant rules. The same reasoning and standard of enforcement almost always carries forward in the supplemental discipline process as well. To enhance "player safety" I firmly believe the time has come to readjust the language and thought process on elevated hits where the head of an opponent receives the majority of the impact. We should not be parsing words as "upper body injuries" continue to result from these types of hits but instead tackle the problem head on with a consistent approach. I watched in real-time as Bolland delivered the hit on Richards. Even prior to the replay being shown I sent out the following tweet; "Bolland left his feet big time to hit Richards. Wish that would be called charging." While "big time" was somewhat over reactive, the replay clearly demonstrated that Bolland elevated his body with his right skate well off the ice and the toe/tip of his lefft skate blade in contact with the ice at the instant of impact.dddddddddddd Bollands elevation, combined with Mike Richards lowered posture to play the puck resulted in a solid hit to Richards head. If you freeze frame as the two players meld together in contact both of Bollands skates are clearly off the ice. Rule 41.1 (charging) calls for a minor or major penalty to be assessed on a player who skates or jumps into an opponent. Historically "skates off the ice" has fallen into the "jump" portion of this rule and resulted in a penalty. As elevated hits have been delivered with much more frequency it also became acceptable for the hitters skates to leave the ice at the moment of contact or afterward; even as in this case the contact with the ice was with the toe of one skate blade! As body momentum is moving upward it is often very difficult to determine the instant a players skates leave the ice and the Referees primary focus in on the upper extremities of both players. Moving on to rule 48 (illegal check to the head) we find it describes a hit resulting in contact with an opponents head where the head is targeted and the principal point of contact is not permitted. The next statement in the rule; "However, in determining whether such a hit should have been permitted, the circumstances of the hit, including whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit or the head contact on an otherwise legal body check was avoidable, can be considered" clouds the decision making process for both the Referee and the Player Safety Committee. This places considerable onus on the player receiving the hit if he lowers or alters his body position to make a legitimate play. Mike Richards assumed a lower body posture as he tried to jam the puck past Corey Crawford on a wrap-around. While there was no need for Dave Bolland to elevate and check in an upward fashion given his opponents lowered head position, the parsing of words found in the rule makes it more acceptable to do so. The hitter more often than not receives a free pass on hits like this but the end result is often the same - significant contact to the head and a resulting concussion. John to answer your question directly I want a charging minor penalty assessed on this play and in all cases where a player leaves his skates to check up to the head of an opponent. Until the parsing of words is eliminated it will be inconsistently applied on the ice and in the board room other than in the most obvious cases like Justin Abdelkaders launch on Toni Lydman. Forcing players to keep their skates on the ice through a hit can only help reduce contact to the head. The skates are a great place to focus some meaningful attention in an effort to crack down on needless head hits. ' ' '