margin. Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Singler combined for a trio of 3-p

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, So Shawn Thornton gets a slap on the wrist for the water squirting incident - a childish, unsportsmanlike and potentially dangerous act, but players can get two minutes for spraying the goalie with snow when sometimes inadvertently just trying to stop quickly? In your opinion, should the NHL ever consider taking a more serious look at such actions and add them as an infraction in the rule book? Mike Cimba Mike: The Player Safety Committee should be commended for their swift action to impose the maximum permitted fine under the CBA ($2,820.52) against Shawn Thornton for his childish, television viewer unsightly, unsportsmanlike and potentially dangerous act of water bottle squirting at PK Subban. I am quite sure an incident of this nature will never happen again given the maximum allowable supplementary discipline and public humiliation that has been imposed against Thornton (sic sarcasm intended). Now that this bug on the visor of Subban has been wiped clean and severely dealt with, perhaps the PSC, Hockey Operations and the Officiating Department can focus their attention on more important issues that have been continually exposed to this point in the playoffs? For starters Mike, additional rules dont need to written until the ones that already exist are more consistently enforced; or even just applied. If the referee determined that Subban had been legitimately interfered with by a spray from a water bottle in Thorntons hands (Heaven forbid) the ref could have applied a broad interpretation to rule 56.2: a minor penalty shall be imposed on any identifiable player on the players bench or penalty bench who, by means of his stick or his body, interferes with the movements of the puck or any opponent on the ice during the progress of the play (Thorntons hands are attached to his body). Likewise, the same rule 75 - unsportsmanlike conduct, that is applied (sometimes) against a player deemed guilty of deliberately snow-showering a goalie could also be imposed in the case of a player deliberately squirting water in the face of his opponent. With the multitude of infractions that are being let go throughout extended portions of these games I cant imagine any referee imposing a penalty for this squirt of liquid. With regard to player safety however, it appears to be a serious and unwanted element of the game. So too was diving/embellishment once upon a time. Embellishment was deemed a plague within the game and language was added to rule 64.3 that provided authority for Hockey Operations to review game videos and assess fines to players who dive or embellish a fall or a reaction, or who feign injury regardless if a penalty was called on the ice. The punishment for the first such offence during the season will result in a warning letter being sent to the player. The second such incident will result in a $1,000 fine. For the 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.) When was the last time you read that a player had been fined for diving/embellishment let alone suspended? I have seen some known offenders embellish as many as three times in one game during these playoffs. Im not suggesting for a second that players should be suspended for the letter of the law that this rule empowers Hockey Operations. What I am suggesting is to focus on the real important issues beyond a squirt from a water bottle. Lets start with an acceptable and expected standard of enforcement from the referees throughout a playoff game that is more consistent with those employed during the regular season. The rulebook has not changed from the regular season but the application and standard of enforcement by most of the referees clearly has. Powerful stick slashes that broke a players stick was almost always called; as the playoffs progress they are seldom called and have even resulted in goals being scored. Obvious infractions have been let go; major infractions have been let go or deemed to be a minor penalty. The latest such example was the major boarding infraction by Brandon Bollig on Keith Ballard that was deemed to be a minor penalty by the referee on the ice. Bollig was subsequently and correctly suspended for two games by the Player Safety Committee for this dangerous hit that injured Ballard. As far as I am concerned they got in wrong by not responding in kind to the chicken-wing elbow delivered by Jared Spurgeon of the Wild to the head of Marcus Kruger. Kruger was pulling his upper body back and up after shooting the puck on goal. Spurgeon was going to miss his intended check and responded by leaving his skates and extending his elbow to initiate contact with the head of Kruger. Kruger staggered of the ice and went directly to be evaluated in the quiet of the Hawks dressing room. Spearing incidents and howdy-dos between the legs have on occasion resulted in the assessment of penalties. Sidney Crosby provided a pretty good howdy to Dominic Moore that went un-penalized and resulted in a scrum at the end of the second period in yesterdays Rangers 3-1 win over the Penguins. In an attempt to keep all things in perspective, it would appear that a squirt off the bench with a water bottle will result in the maximum allowable fine being levied by the Player Safety Committee. Perhaps just a letter to Thornton would have sufficed; all things being equal? Fake China Jerseys .cas NHL Play of the Year showdown continues today with a man whos spent most of his career on highlight reels and a goalie actually "reaching back" for a save. Cheap Fake Jerseys Free Shipping . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Steve Mason, Philadelphia (4) - Mason was brilliant all night long with save after big save on Benoit Pouliot, Carl Hagelin and Derick Brassard. http://www.jerseyscheapcustom.com/ . – Team Canadas Brooke Henderson carded a 4-under 67 at Craigowan Golf and Country Club to jump into the lead at the Canadian Womens Amateur Championship on Wednesday. Wholesale Custom Jerseys . Venable and Jeremy Hermida drove in three runs apiece, and the Padres beat the Colorado Rockies 7-2 on Sunday to snap a nine-game losing streak. Fake Jerseys 2020 . Juventus announced details of the deal Saturday, saying that Morata signed a five-year contract with the club. The deal also includes an option for Madrid to buy Morata back for up to (euro)30 million ($40.Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Brandon Jennings scored 25 points and led a 3-point barrage that carried the Detroit Pistons to a stunning 103-80 victory over a cold-shooting Cleveland Cavaliers squad. The Pistons made good on a scorching 17-of-31 attempts from beyond the arc in collecting their second straight win following the teams surprising release of forward Josh Smith. Jennings went 5-of-9 from long distance, Jodie Meeks was 3-of-4 in a 14-point effort off the bench and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished 3-of-7 while adding 13 points. We certainly made a lot of shots, said Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy. 17- for-31 from 3 was tremendous. Andre Drummond chipped in 16 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks for Detroit, which had been mired in a 2-17 stretch prior to defeating Indiana on Friday. The Cavaliers, on the other hand, shot a woeful 32.8 percent over the final three quarters to lose for just the second time in their last 11 home outings. LeBron James had 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, but was just 5- of-19 from the floor. Kevin Love paced Cleveland, playing for a second straight time without injured point guard Kyrie Irving, with 20 points while pulling down 10 rebounds. Tristan Thompson posted 18 points and 11 boards in the loss. We were just flat tonight, said Love. Tough game for us. We need to respond. The Pistons trailed by 15 early in the second quarter and were down 43-32 midway through the period before putting together an 18-0 run to completely change momentum. Jennings led the surge by dropping in eight pooints, the last three on a 26- footer that was followed by a Caron Butler trey that suddenly staked Detroit to a 50-43 lead.dddddddddddd Love answered with a triple of his own and James hit a technical free throw to bring Cleveland within three at the break, but the Cavs offense continued to bog down in the third quarter as they fell further behind. Cleveland went a poor 5-of-21 from the field for the frame, which Detroit began by outscoring the Cavs by an 18-6 margin. Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Singler combined for a trio of 3-pointers over a 74-second stretch during the sequence, which Drummond finished with a second-chance dunk that extended the lead to 68-53. The differential was 18 points after Jennings knocked down another trey to make the score 75-57 with 3:20 left in the third. Detroit kept pouring in on in the fourth, starting the stanza on a 13-2 tear to own a commanding 90-63 lead with eight minutes to go. The Cavaliers built their big early advantage on the strength of a 12-0 spurt that overlapped the first and second quarters, with Love beginning the second with back-to-back buckets that put the Cavs up 32-17. Game Notes Irving sat out with a bruised left knee ... The Cavaliers ended 5-of-29 on 3- point tries, including a 1-of-12 display in the second half ... The Pistons have prevailed in five of their last six visits to Quicken Loans Arena and are 8-3 in their past 11 overall matchups with Cleveland ... The Cavaliers committed 18 turnovers that the Pistons converted into 21 points. ' ' '