Allgemeines » singled as a pinch-hitter in his major

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 know the whistle tends to go away in playoff hockey, however shouldnt Erik Johnson have been assessed 2 min for delay of game for intentionally knocking his own net off (completely on his own) after racing back to save a goal (or at least a shot that was very close to going in) late in the game. Moments later Colorado pulls their goalie for a 6 on 5 game tying goal and of course Erik Johnson gets an assist on the game tying goal as well. Cheers,Mike Mike, This time, it was not a case of the refs whistle being put away but instead the correct judgment made that Erik Johnsons momentum accidentally displaced the net from its moorings. Johnson made a terrific play to rush back and knock the puck toward the corner as it was less than a foot away from entering the empty net. The only way that Johnson could keep the puck out of his net was with a full-speed sprint with no let-up until he contacted the puck with his stick. That sprint took Johnsons body position deep into the goal crease. After knocking the puck from harms way less than a foot from the line, the Avs defenceman shifted his focus and attempted to execute a hard stop. Johnsons close proximity to the goal frame, combined with his momentum, resulted in unavoidable contact with the goal post. The correct determination was made by the referee on the play. While this wasnt the case, let me play out the various scenarios for you, Mike, if it had been ruled that Johnson displaced the goal post deliberately with 1:32 remaining in regulation time and with Colorado goalkeeper Semyon Varlamov on the bench for an extra attacker. - A minor penalty could not be assessed due to the fact that there was insufficient time remaining in regulation to serve the penalty in its entirety (or by reason of penalties already imposed or anytime in overtime). Instead a penalty shot would be awarded. (Rule 63.5) Varlamov would be allowed to return to his net and defend the shot. - An awarded goal shall be imposed when the goal has been displaced deliberately by the defending player when their goalkeeper has been removed for an extra attacker, thereby preventing an impending goal by the attacking team. (Rule 63.6). After knocking the puck away, had Johnson deliberately pushed the net off the moorings as Matt Cooke was in the act of shooting the puck into the net (impending goal) an awarded goal could result. For either of these situations to apply, it must be determined that the defending player "deliberately" displaced the goal post. That was not the case when Johnson accidentally and unavoidably made contact with the goal frame after knocking the puck away and saving a sure goal. Nike Shoes Black Friday Online . Tensions rose in the first period when Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik hit Bruins forward Loui Eriksson with what appeared to be a clean hit. Cheap Nike Shoes Black Friday . The 7-foot-1 Hawes, who is in the final year of his contract, is averaging 13 points and 8.5 rebounds, both career highs, and shoots 40 per cent from 3-point range. The 25-year-old Hawes is in his seventh NBA season. http://www.nikeshoesblackfriday.com/. After missing 20 games as a rookie a year ago, Valanciunas - like the Raptors as a whole - has been fortunate to be in good health this season. As he spoke about it, the Raptors sophomore centre scanned the room for wood to knock on. "It is disappointing because we lost today so thats the worst part of the day," said Valanciunas, who left Tuesdays game with a lower-back sprain in the third quarter, missing the rest of Torontos 118-113 overtime defeat at the hands of the Hawks. Fake Nike Shoes Black Friday .Mila Kunis was a guest on Kimmel last night and revealed a surprising side of herself that comes out when she watches sports. It turns out screaming something vulgar at professional athletes is therapeutic for Kunis. Nike Shoes Black Friday Sale . Vonn "reopened" the idea of competing in the season-opening World Cup event on Oct. 26-27 in Soelden, Austria after returning to the slopes last month in Portillo, Chile.ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Splitting a four-game series felt pretty good to the Texas Rangers. "You can see how everythings starting to fall on track," said Elvis Andrus, who drove in three runs in the 8-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night. "Everybodys feeling better, relaxed out there. Our pitchings doing great ... thats what were looking for." The split left the Rangers tied with the Rays for the ALs top wild-card spot. The Rangers won the season series with the Rays 4-3, earning home-field advantage should the teams finish in a tie for the two wild-card spots. They each have 10 games left. The Cleveland Indians pulled within a half-game of the leaders by beating Houston 2-1 in 11 innings. Andrus said Thursdays game was a must-win for Texas, which carried a seven-game losing streak into the series. "Yesterday (a 4-3 loss in 12 innings) was a tough loss, so to come back today and win the way we did, that was huge," he said. Yu Darvish won for the first time in seven starts since Aug. 12, surviving a 40-pitch first inning in which he hit a batter and walked three, falling behind 2-0. Darvish (13-9) made it through five innings despite walking six, throwing 109 pitches. "When he had to make a pitch, he made a pitch," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "Sometimes you have to figure out ways to get things done when youre not at your very best or even at your minimal, and he did that tonight." Mitch Moreland, Andrus and Alex Rios homered off Matt Moore in the third inning to put the Rangers ahead to stay. Andrus drove in two runs with an infield single in the fourth, stretching the lead to 6-2. Craig Gentry had four of the Rangers 16 hits and three of their five stolen bases, the most against the Rays this season. "The way we ran the bases tonight, the at-bats we put together, when we start doing that throughout the lineup, thats when we play good baseball," Washington said. "In the four games here, we played good baseball and we won two games.dddddddddddd" Andrus homer was his second of the series and fourth of the season, all since Aug. 4. Moreland, the only left-handed hitter in the Texas lineup, hit his 23nd long ball and Rios his 17th. Geovany Soto added his eighth home run, off Cesar Ramos in the ninth. The Rangers were down 2-1 when Moreland led off the third with long drive to left-centre. Following Ian Kinslers fly out to the warning track in left, Andrus and Rios hit consecutive home runs to left. "That was a big inning for us all the way around," Moreland said. "We hit two more after that, so three home runs in one inning definitely swung the momentum in our favour. "Darvish had to fight tonight. He kept us there and we made the most of it." Moore (15-4) gave up six runs, five earned, while striking out six in four innings. He served up three homers in a game for the first time this season after giving up only four in his 16 preceding starts. "Theres someone responsible for the damage and Im that person," Moore said. "Going into today I had a chance to keep us on top of the leader board as far as the wild card goes. Its frustrating tonight, but were back at them tomorrow." NOTES: Tim Beckham, the Rays first overall draft pick in 2008, singled as a pinch-hitter in his major league debut. ... Texas OF Nelson Cruz (suspension) has started playing games with the Rangers instructional league team in Arizona. ... Tampa Bay sent Class-A LHP Matthew Spann to Washington as the player to be named in an Aug. 23 trade in which the Rays obtained OF David DeJesus. ... Rays rookie OF Wil Myers got his first haircut since spring training, which garnered a lot of attention in the clubhouse. "He told me he paid $14 for it, and thats $14 too much," pitcher David Price said. . . . Rays RHP Jesse Crain (right shoulder strain) threw 26 pitches in an instructional league game. The Rays expect to activate him soon. ' ' '