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. Hey Kerry, I was watching the NBC coverage of Sundays Canadiens-Rangers game, and Mike Milbury and Ed Olczyk went off on the Canadiens for over-selling and embellishing to sell calls. In the third period, Carl Hagelin hit Alexei Emelin with a high stick and Emelin went down like a ton of bricks. Embellishment? Probably, but it didnt change the fact that it was a high stick. Did the sell by Emelin negate the high stick and the official basically said, "play on?" Or was this just a missed call? Morgan,New York, NY Morgan: I believe the play that you are referring to occurred with 8:24 remaining in the third period and the score tied at two. Carl Hagelin attempted a dump-in shot from the centre red line. Alexei Emelin lowered his posture to execute an active stick sweep check and contacted the puck as Hegelin was in the act of shooting. Emelin was legitimately struck in the mouth area with the blade of Haglins stick on the follow-through of an attempted shot. Emelins reaction to rotate his body away from the stick contact, then fall and grab his mouth was reasonable and not an effort to embellish and draw a foul. A player is permitted accidental contact on an opponent if committed in a normal windup or follow through of a shooting motion. No penalty was warranted to Hagelin on this play. I concur with Mike Milbury and Eddie Os analysis with regard to obvious embellishment committed by PK Subban and Tomas Plekanec in the second period of Sunday nights game. Even though the stick of Rick Nash did catch Subban in the face the upward launch with both legs was not a natural reaction or fall from being struck in that manner. Plekanecs theatrical performance was the absolute worst when he threw his head back and grabbed at his face after the flat blade of Brian Boyles stick slapped nothing but shoulder pad! Even though Boyles stick did not quite fit the criteria of a "high stick (above the height of the opponents shoulders) it was used in a careless manner and could certainly result in a slashing penalty. Plekanecs embellishment was also worthy of a penalty that should have resulted in an on-ice numerical strength of four aside. Given Plekanecs blatant overreaction it could even been deemed a stand alone embellishment penalty if the ref wanted to send a clear message but I doubt he would receive much support. Power plays and special teams can often be the difference in these games as we have seen. Once the referees are fooled into calling a penalty or fail to respond to efforts of embellishment on a play the floodgates can open up without so much as a splash on the frozen pond. In the first round of these current playoffs there were six diving/embellishment penalties assessed. None were a stand alone diving penalty but deemed to be embellishment that was committed following the initial infraction. The first two embellishment penalties were assessed in Game 2 against Mats Zuccarello and Derek Dorsett of the Rangers in their 4-2 loss to the Flyers. The Rangers management was not impressed with those penalty calls and expressed their displeasure to the series supervisor. I wonder if the Ranger brass is singing the same tune after Sunday night. Since joining TSN in January of 2011 I have stated on numerous occasions the need to clean up the unmanly act of diving. When uncalled, embellishment rewards cheaters. I am often asked how the ref can call both an initial penalty and a dive; isnt it one or the other? In reality, embellishment is most often committed after a player has been legitimately fouled. When that occurs both illegal acts should be penalized. Three years ago I suggested that a double minor penalty be assessed to the diver when he was legitimately fouled and the referee was calling a minor penalty. It would take some guts for the refs to impose a strict standard on a call like this but the game would be better for it. The referees also have to know their calls would receive the full support of management. Until players that embellish are penalized by the referees and held accountable by the League with published fines and suspensions as prescribed in rule 64.3, this illegal act will continue to plague the game. Its time for everyone involved to man-up. Shoes Black Friday Deals 2020 .Y. - Major League Soccers independent review panel has taken back the fine and one-game suspension it placed on Toronto FC forward Luke Moore earlier this week. Discount Shoes Black Friday . Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Doug Martin broke the news that hes cleared for full activity moving forward. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/. 1. 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Wholesale Shoes Black Friday Free Shipping .C. - Alberta prop Andrew Tiedemann will captain Canada against Uruguay on Friday, the opening day of competition at the IRB Americas Rugby Championship.LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Jimmy Vaccaro thought he would offer bettors a little fun a€” and a long-shot chance at some real cash a€” when he put up a proposition this week at 25-1 odds on the Jacksonville Jaguars going winless this season.What he didnt think was that anyone would bet serious money on it.We had it up for about two hours and a kid came in and wanted to bet $1,000 on it, Vaccaro said. I told them to write it up.Some proof, perhaps, that people will bet on anything. But Vaccaro doesnt mind risking a $25,000 payout in a football season that has proven quite profitable so far for most of the legal bookies in this gambling city.I dont gloat about it because it can change, said Vaccaro, who helps run the sports book at the South Point hotel-casino. But its been the best Ive seen for quite a while.That football is big business in sports books comes as little surprise. The sport accounts for more than half of all sports betting revenue at the books, which won some $202 million last year on record wagering of $3.6 billion.That was double the betting done in legal sports books just a decade ago, and all signs are this will be the biggest football season ever.The handle has been fantastic and its continuing to grow, said Johnny Avello, who runs the sports book at the Wynn. Weve had nothing but people betting on sports.Thats good news for the only state a€” at least for now a€” that allows full-fledged betting on sports. Even better is that the bookies are doing better than the guys on the other side of the counter so far this year.At the South Point, Vaccaro said the house has won every week of the NFL season, mostly because some key games that drew heavy action broke the right way. That was true last Sunday when the Minnesota Vikings won outright against an Atlanta Falcons team that had been bet up from a 3-point favourite to a 6-point pick.ddddddddddddYou win those type of games it puts you in a great position for the rest of the day, he said. That could change drastically, but so far, so good.The rise in sports betting has been steady over the past 10 years, though bookies say this year may end up having the biggest increase of all. Thats because football remains as popular as ever, and a new generation of younger bettors seems to have embraced it with enthusiasm.Indeed, the longstanding stigma against sports betting seems to be fading away, particularly now that daily fantasy companies offer online wagering that is strikingly similar to the proposition bets put up in sports books.And if New Jersey is successful in its current effort to join Nevada in offering sports betting, the market will only grow.If New Jersey gets it, Pennsylvania is going to get it, and California and New York will want it, said Nick Bogdanovich, the oddsmaker at William Hill U.S., which operates dozens of sports books in Nevada. There are casinos and lotteries and horse tracks in every state so what is one more form of gambling. And this one is the one you have the most chance of winning.Technically, thats true, though the skill of the best handicappers is what limits sports books to about a 5 per cent average win on money bet. Luck plays its part, too, though the bettor who put $1,000 on the Jaguars becoming the first team since the 2008 Detroit Lions to go winless through an entire season may be stretching his a bit too far.As convinced as you are that they wont win, its still awfully hard to lose them all, Vaccaro said. But wouldnt it be funny if they beat the Skins on Sunday? Then Id have to come up with something different to keep things interesting. ' ' '
