Cooke hit, GM meetings give NHL shot to protect players
Hockey Betting Lines
03/09/2010 -
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Here we go again.
The NHL has yet another chance to address the issue of blows to the head, and
while it's never a good thing when a questionable hit brings the topic into the
limelight, the latest infraction may been perfectly timed to affect change.
On Sunday, Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke leveled Boston Bruins star Marc Savard with
a blind side hit to the head. Like several hits we've seen this year, it was
vicious, and it once again brought to the forefront the debate on whether
something needs to be done to better protect players.
Cooke's hit came just one day before the NHL's annual general manager
meetings, putting even more pressure on the league to fix the problem. The GMs
are currently gathered in Boca Raton and although it was already on the
docket, the issue of head hits is really the only issue that matters now.
In short, they need to come up with some kind of an answer before the meetings
conclude on Wednesday.
The league owes it players like Savard, who has been diagnosed with a Grade
Two concussion as a result of the hit, to finally come up with something
concrete that will in some way make players safer from head injuries. After
all, Savard is a huge part of the Bruins' offense and may wind up missing the
rest of the season because of Cooke's action.
Even Cooke's teammate, Sidney Crosby, seemed open to rule changes after
Sunday's incident.
The Penguins captain and resident superstar said, "At some point there's got
to be a clear indication from the league, because we've seen this so many
times now."
And that's the most important thing for the NHL to come up with in Florida,
some sort of "clear indication" as to what is illegal.
As of now, the NHL only considers it to be a dirty hit if an elbow is
delivered to the head, and not if contact is made with a shoulder. All hits to
the head have been banned in international play, and we didn't see anybody
trying to cross that line during the Olympics, so maybe it could work in the
NHL.
But what Crosby implied in his statement is what the NHL needs to come up with
immediately -- a tangible rule change. It doesn't have to be a drastic change
like the IIHF's zero tolerance policy on head hits. Not that we have to worry
about that really, after all this is the NHL, which should never be confused
with an organization receptive to big changes.
But, under the current NHL rules, the Cooke hit did not even draw a penalty,
despite the fact that it caught a player from the blind side and was also
delivered well after Savard released the puck. The officials apparently didn't
think it was late and they saw that it was a shoulder hit so they let Cooke
skate by without a penalty.
Yet when you watch the video, and see Savard lying unconscious on the ice, can
you really feel that Cooke did nothing wrong? Is it possible that the GMs
could watch that replay over and over and think that the rules of the game, as
they are now, are sufficient to protect players?
A possible solution that is being kicked around in the blogoshpere is the
banning of blind-side hits by the NHL. That would certainly draw a line
against at least one type of dangerous hits.
After all, Savard wasn't irresponsibly skating with his head down, he was
simply in the act of shooting when he was obliterated by a player he couldn't
possibly have seen. Hardly seems fair.
A zero tolerance policy on blind-side hits, if enforced, would be a good
starting point and would prove to the NHL Players Association that the league
is serious about protecting its players.
The NHLPA has been way ahead of the league in identifying hits to the head as a
major problem. Why wouldn't they be...the NHLPA has seen over 200 concussions
reported by players over the last two and a half years and they have to answer
to their members when it comes to medical coverage.
As far as Cooke's suspension, the penalty of games should reach double-digits,
but as usual, the NHL brass will most likely fall short of expectations. Colin
Campbell, the NHL director of hockey operations and the man in charge of
suspensions, has routinely shown a lack of interest in making examples of
players.
The league even failed to give Philadelphia's Mike Richards a single game for
his notorious hit on Florida's David Booth earlier this season. That wasn't
officially Campbell's decision, since he recused himself from ruling on the
incident because his son Gregory plays for the Panthers, but clearly his
underlings were just following the precedent the director has set time and
time again.
Oh yeah, about the Richards hit, it occurred on October 24 and Booth didn't
see action in another game until January 31. Not that the league knew Booth
would miss over three months due to his concussion, but looking back, it seems
impossible that Richards didn't have to sit out a single game for his head
hit.
Missing the boat with Richards is just another reason why the NHL needs to
seize their moment in Boca Raton. If they won't stand up for the players now,
it seems unlikely that they ever will.
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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting
So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.
Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?
If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)
Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).
In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.
Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.
As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.
(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)
If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech
 The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.
Work left to do:
Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.
Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).
Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.
For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com
Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
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Bonds nearly hits HR 751, SF wins
4 and drove in
a pair of runs, and Barry Bonds nearly hit homer No. 751 as San Francisco beat
1, in the middle contest of three at AT&T Park.
6) allowed five hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings, fanning
eight and walking three.
game slide.
Bonds, who came within five homers of Hank Aaron's record on Friday, went
1 with three walks, an RBI double and scored twice. The double ...
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