Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Michael kors Black Friday .ca! Kerry, In the Canadiens/Oilers game Thursday night - third period - Lars Eller crosschecked Taylor Hall directly from behind, face first into the boards. And it was face first - Halls face was the first part of his body to make contact with the boards. He did not get his hands up in time to protect himself (and I watched it several times, frame by frame). But no major penalty? Seriously? In minor hockey that is at least a major and a game, and if you assessed a match, you would be justified. Whats the rationale? Because there was no blood or teeth lost? The non-call is particularly frustrating in comparison to the Mike Fisher hit on Cody Franson on Thursday night, which was not as bad but resulted in a major penalty and a game misconduct because Franson was bleeding all over the place - but only because his visor cut him (and if we want to get into players being driven into stanchions - Chara on Pacioretty is the standard, and there was no penalty on that one). Whats the explanation and wheres the consistency? Cole MacKay Cole: I totally concur with your assessment on this play and the resulting penalty should have been a major and game misconduct (rule 43—Checking from Behind) to Lars Eller for this dangerous hit. A check from behind is a check delivered on a player who is not aware of the impending hit, therefore unable to protect himself, and contact is made on the back part of the body. Any player who cross-checks, pushes or charges from behind an opponent who is unable to protect or defend himself shall be assessed a major penalty and game misconduct. Note also that when a player intentionally turns his body to create contact with his back, no penalty shall be assessed. While Taylor Hall did turn slightly toward the side boards after gaining possession of the puck it would be unreasonable to suggest that Hall did so intentionally to expose his back for the purpose of creating contact as described in rule 43.1. Lars Eller on the other hand travelled from his location in front of the Montreal goal and had sufficient time to alter both his approach and method of contact (cross-check directly from behind to opponents back) once Taylor Hall faced the boards and was placed in a vulnerable position. The visual picture presented by Taylor Halls snap/arch of his back and face-plant into the boards following the cross-check by Eller clearly fall within the language and application of rule 43—Check from Behind and should have been penalized as such. I am not suggesting that there should be any further discipline to Lars Eller since we should recognize that while the hit was illegal Eller didnt utilize "excessive force" through the hit worthy of a suspension. The correct call (major and game misconduct boarding) was made last night when Mike Fisher pushed Cody Franson from behind creating some additional velocity at the last instance and causing Franson to contact the curved glass/stanchion at the end of the players bench. While Fransons visible injury most definitely had relevance to the application of a major penalty and game misconduct as prescribed in the boarding rule, the fact remains that a dangerous situation resulted from the unexpected push from behind by Fisher. Your call for "consistency" is well taken, Cole. It is imperative that the Referees differentiate between varying degrees of boarding, checks from behind and illegal checks to the head but more importantly not have any reluctance in assessing major penalties when warranted. Too many player suspensions have been imposed by the Player Safety Committee when a minor penalty or worse yet no penalty at all were assessed on the play. Brad Stuarts three-game suspension for what was ruled upon as an illegal check to the head of New York Ranger Rick Nash is the most recent example of this. That will likely change today, pending the outcome of an in-person hearing called for Patrick Kaleta of Buffalo (suspected illegal check to the head of Jack Johnson, Columbus) and a hearing for Vancouvers Alexander Edler (suspected illegal head check on Tomas Hertl, San Jose). Neither Kaleta nor Edler were penalized on the plays in question. I see one of the problems the Referees created for themselves and the game was the elimination of a major penalty (due to Refs reluctance to impose it) when an illegal check to the head is called. Rule 48 provides for a minor penalty or a match penalty. The major and game misconduct provisions were eliminated in this rule. So whenever an illegal check to the head is identified in a game at best it results in a minor penalty and the player remains in the game. Upon further review that player could ultimately be suspended for three plus games pending the outcome of a hearing. Putting consistency aside, for something as serious as the protection of a players head I think the rule and the application by many of the Refs is far too soft and short sighted. nfl jerseys china . -- Jason Kendall wont be behind the plate for the Kansas City Royals season opener, though he might be by mid-April. jerseys from china . The last two games, however, the Padres have been resolute. Chris Denorfia hit a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning and San Diegos bullpen was stingy with runners on base, leading the Padres to a 3-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night. http://www.nflcheapjerseywhole... .900, so they moved to address their goaltending, making a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers. Numbers Game examines the acquisition of Sergei Bobrovsky. [url=http://www.wholesalejerseysnfl.us.com/]jerseys from china . 1 Lleyton Hewitt rallied past Michael Russell of the United States 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the first round at the Queens Club on Monday. cheap jerseys . -- San Francisco nose tackle Ian Williams is expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the season with a broken left ankle.HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A whistleblower and defamation lawsuit against Penn State will go forward, a judge ruled Tuesday, denying the universitys request to have it dismissed. Former assistant football coach Mike McQueary sued the school in October, claiming he was portrayed as untruthful in statements made in 2011 by the universitys president after Jerry Sanduskys arrest. Judge Thomas Gavin said McQuearys lawsuit makes sufficient claims of "outrageous conduct" on the part of the school to keep the case alive. He gave the school 20 days to respond to the lawsuit filed in October. Penn State spokesman Dave La Torre declined to comment, and McQuearys lawyer Elliot Strokoff did not return a phone message seeking comment. McQueary was a graduate assistant in February 2001 when he encountered Sandusky showering with a boy in a team locker room, complained about it to then-head coach Joe Paterno and then met with the two administrators about it. Sandusky was first charged with child sexual abuse in November 2011. At the same time, athletic director Tim Curley and vice-president Gary Schultz, administrators who worked under then-president Graham Spanier, were accused of perjury and failure to properly report suspected abuse. McQueary testified against Sandusky in June during the criminal trial that ended with a 45-count guilty verdict against the former defensive co-ordinator. McQueary haas lost his coaching job at the school. wholesale jerseys. McQuearys lawsuit involves a news release that Spanier issued in support of Curley and Schultz. Spanier gave the two his unconditional support and said he was confident the record would show the charges were groundless. If the perjury charges against Curley and Schultz were groundless, Gavin wrote, "one cannot help but deduce that McQuearys contradictory testimony is untruthful." The judge said McQueary asserts the university "treated him like a leper to be quarantined outside of State College" in the aftermath of the arrests of Sandusky, Schultz and Curley, isolating him from longstanding friends and colleagues. Additional charges were added last year against Curley and Schultz, and Spanier was also charged in the alleged coverup of Sandusky complaints. A week ago, a judge ruled against their efforts to have the charges thrown out, and the next step could be a preliminary hearing or appeals. All three men deny the criminal allegations against them. Curley is on leave to complete the last year of his contract as athletic director. Spanier, forced out as president shortly after he issued the news release in support of Curley and Schultz, remains a tenured faculty member and is on paid leave. Schultz has retired. Sandusky, 69, is appealing his case while serving a 30- to 60-year state prison sentence. ' ' '