Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Colin Kaepernick 49ers Jersey .ca. Im sure you have thousands of emails on this already. How can that third Kings goal in Game 2 be allowed? The Kings player went in to the blue paint on his own accord, made contact with the Rangers defender and then laid on Lundqvists leg as the shot went in. If it is not a two-minute goalie interference call, it is at least a disallowed goal because of "incidental" contact with the goalie. I really dont see how they could rule any other way. Thank You,Bruce ChangoDillsburg, PA ----- Hi Kerry, Dwight Kings goal with plenty of time left in the third period last night was a huge momentum swing, eventually resulting in the Kings overtime win. However, the Rangers were unhappy about what they thought was goaltender interference on Henrik Lundqvist. Do the Rangers have any argument here? Anthony Z.Sault Ste. Marie, ON ----- Kerry, Im sure youve been asked to comment on the Kings third goal in Saturdays game and the goaltender interference controversy. But Ill ask again. What did you see and how would you have called it? J. RockwellEaston, PA Bruce, Anthony and ‘J-Rock: A violation of Rule 69 (goalkeeper interference) was committed by Dwight King when he initiated contact with Rangers goalkeeper Henrik Lundqvist inside the goal crease. As a result of this deliberate action by King, the goal should have been disallowed and a minor penalty assessed to King for goalkeeper interference. Some fans will maintain that King was pushed into Lundqvist through the actions of Rangers defenceman Ryan McDonough, which would have resulted in the scoring of a legal goal. From the quick look and decision rendered by referee Dan OHalloran, I have to believe that he also felt McDonough was guilty to some degree of pushing King into the crease. Allow me to explain why this was not the case and why I am confident that, if the referee was afforded the luxury of video review, he would have also concluded that Lundqvist was the victim of goalkeeper interference and the goal subsequently would have been disallowed. What I want to disprove is the premise that King was pushed into Lundqvist and that he did not make any reasonable effort to avoid the Ranger goalkeeper as per 69.1: “If an attacking player has been pushed, shoved, or fouled by a defending player so as to cause him to come into contact with the goalkeeper, such contact will not be deemed contact initiated by the attacking player for purposes of this rule, provided the attacking player has made a reasonable effort to avoid such contact.” We pick up the action outside the goal crease to the right of Henrik Lundqvist when Dwight King (approaching on an angle outside the crease and from behind goal line) and Ryan McDonough (front of net) engaged one another in frontal combat with their sticks in a prone cross-check position toward one another. With McDonoughs posture and position, he was set to move his opponent away from the crease and not into it. King was also moving in a direction towards the slot and not facing into the blue paint. Note also that Kings stick blade appears to be in tight on Lundqvist. In this pose, both players are willing combatants engaging in a battle for position outside of the crease. Following their initial contact, King played off McDonough to the inside and then slipped laterally into the blue paint and toward Lundqvist. King then made a movement independent (separation) of McDonough with a backward press deeper into the crease and a resulting lateral ‘skate hop that initiated solid contact with the Rangers goalie. The resulting tumble caused King to land on the right pad of Lundqvist inside the crease. This action took place as Lundqvist was attempting to remain square and set for a shot from the point that King was ultimately given credit for deflecting past the Ranger goalkeeper. Once again from 69.1: “The overriding rationale of this rule is that a goalkeeper should have the ability to move freely within his goal crease without being hindered by the actions of an attacking player. If an attacking player enters the goal crease and, by his actions, impairs the goalkeepers ability to defend his goal, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.” So why was this play, as I described it, missed by the referee you might ask? First of all, contact such as this can happen very quickly in real-time and, especially, while other action is taking place. Different angles can also be deceiving. In this situation, Justin Williams carried the puck behind the Rangers goal and deep into the corner directly toward referee OHalloran. The referee was forced to pivot out from the corner and then back to allow Williams space to carry the puck wide and up the wall. Based on the referees body posture, he visually followed Williams carry the puck up the wall and then deliver a cross-ice outlet pass to Matt Greene at the right point position. While this action was taking place, the contact between King and McDonough had been initiated. This, along with Kings independent move into the blue paint, would have been undetected by the referee. With a pending shot from the point and a refocus by the referee toward the front of the net, it would likely have appeared from the refs vantage that McDonough deposited King in the goal crease as a result of the fall. It would have been a “bang-bang” play in the eye and mind of the referee under these circumstances. Lundqvist claimed that the referee told him the puck had already entered the net prior to any contact by King. Plays of this nature and magnitude must be reviewable as I have contended for at least the past couple of seasons! Review will be a crucial safety-check for the referees to correctly determine and enforce goalkeeper interference. The Competition Committee apparently met today. The eventual outcome of some games might just rest in their hands pending final approval of the rules committee. Justin Smith Jersey . Turns out, the alternative wasnt any fun for Malone, either. Durant scored 30 points and embraced a role as a facilitator by finishing with nine assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder past Sacramento 108-93 on Sunday night. Steve Johnson .4 million contract extension. Garbutt has a career-high 18 points with 10 goals and eight assists in 46 games this season. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Don Zimmer wasnt a fixture in baseball forever. It just seemed that way. He played alongside Jackie Robinson on the only Brooklyn Dodgers team to win the World Series. He coached Derek Jeter on the New York Yankees latest dynasty. And his manager once was the illustrious Casey Stengel. For 66 years, Zimmer was a most popular presence at ballparks all over, a huge chaw often filling his cheek. Everyone in the game seemed to know him, and love him. Zimmer was still working for the Tampa Bay Rays as a senior adviser when he died Wednesday at a hospital in nearby Dunedin. He had been in a rehabilitation centre since having seven hours of heart surgery in mid-April. "Today we all lost a national treasure and a wonderful man," Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said in a statement. Zimmer started out as a minor league infielder in 1949, hitting powerful shots that earned him the nickname "Popeye." He went on to enjoy one of the longest-lasting careers in baseball history. And oh, the stories he could tell. "I loved listening to him every day," Billy Connors, a coach under Zimmer with the Chicago Cubs, told The Associated Press. Zimmer played on the original New York Mets, saw his Boston Red Sox beaten by Bucky Dents playoff homer, got tossed to the ground by Pedro Martinez during a brawl and was Joe Torres right-hand man as the bench coach with the Yankees. "I hired him as a coach, and he became like a family member to me. He has certainly been a terrific credit to the game," Torre said in a statement. "The game was his life. And his passing is going to create a void in my life and my wife Alis. We loved him. The game of baseball lost a special person tonight. He was a good man," he said. A career .235 hitter in the big leagues, numbers could never define all that Zimmer meant to the game. He did have tremendous success, too -- his teams won six World Series rings and went to the post-season 19 times. Zimmers No. 66 Rays jersey had been worn recently by longtime Tampa Bay third base coach Tom Foley in tribute. The Rays hosted the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night, and Foley was crying in the dugout. Earlier this season, the Rays hung a banner in the front of the press box at Tropicana Field that simply read "ZIM." There was a moment of silence at Dodger Staddium for Zimmer before Los Angeles played the Chicago White Sox. Steve Young 49ers Jersey. "On behalf of Major League Baseball and the many clubs that Popeye served in a distinguished baseball life, I extend my deepest condolences to Dons family, friends and his many admirers throughout our game," Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. Zimmers biggest admirer was his wife "Soot" -- they were married at home plate during a minor league game in 1951. Two years later in the minors, Zimmers path took a frightening turn -- he was beaned by a fastball and left in a coma, and doctors had to put metal screws in his head. He recovered well enough to wear a lot of uniforms during his 56 years in the majors. He played for the Dodgers, Mets, Cubs, Cincinnati and Washington. He managed San Diego, Boston, Texas and the Cubs. "Probably the best baseball man I knew," Connors said. Yankees executive Hank Steinbrenner echoed that sentiment. "I loved Zim. I loved his passion. He was a great, great guy. He was a great baseball guy," he told the AP. "Everybody loved him." Steinbrenner, son of late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, said Torre and Zimmer were the "perfect team" during New Yorks run that brought four titles in a five-year span. "Joe was low-keyed. Zim would get fired up. He was a bench coach for real," Steinbrenner said. "He was an extremely important part of the 1990s success." Zimmer hit 91 home runs and had 352 RBIs in 12 seasons. He started Game 7 when Brooklyn beat the Yankees for the 1955 crown and was an All-Star in 1961. The next year, he played under Stengel on the 1962 expansion Mets, who famously went 40-120. "Dont blame them all on me," Zimmer once said. "I got traded after the first 30 days." Zimmer was the 1989 NL Manager of the Year with the Cubs and was at Yankee Stadium for three perfect games, by Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series and by David Cone and David Wells in the late 1990s. "Its a sad day for the game of baseball," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said after a 3-2 loss at San Diego. "Don impacted lives from the time he put a uniform on in the minor leagues until today." Zimmer is survived by his wife; son Thomas, a scout with the San Francisco Giants; daughter Donna, and four grandchildren. wholesale jerseys ' ' '
