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MIA 24

CAR 17

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BAL 15

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DAL 7

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CLE 37

DET 38

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GB 30

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BUF 15

JAC 18

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PIT 24

KC 27

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SEA 9

MIN 35

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ATL 31

NYG 34

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NO 38

TB 7

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ARI 21

STL 13

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SD 32

DEN 3

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NYJ 14

NE 31

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CIN 17

OAK 20

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PHI 24

CHI 20

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TEN 20

HOU 17

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COLO 28

OKST 31

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BOISE 52

UTAHST 21

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DUKE 16

MIA-FL 34

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OHIOST 21

MICH 10

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MINN 0

IOWA 12

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CHAT 0

ALA 45

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FIU 3

FLA 62

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MEM 14

HOU 55

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TCU 45

WYO 10

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AF 21

BYU 38

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UVA 21

CLEM 34

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WISC 31

NW 33

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RUT 13

SYR 31

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PSU 42

MSU 14

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NCSU 10

VATECH 38

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10
30

LSU 23

MISS 25

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SDSU 7

UTAH 38

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OREST 42

WASHST 10

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28
14

CAL 34

STAN 28

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KANSAS 20

TEX 51

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11
29

OREGON 44

ARI 41

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From Our Editors

Constantly updated with quick takes from the staff.

Georges Laraque Suspended For Five Games

Georges Laraque has officially been suspended for five games for his knee-on-knee hit on Niklas Kronwall Saturday night. Laraque met with Colin Campbell and the NHL today to discuss the play and for Laraque to explain his side of the story. Former Red Wing Brad May had this to say about the play and punishment:

"If they summon you to Toronto, it's at least four games," said May, who has been through the process.

May joked, "He probably didn't mean to hurt him, Georges is just too heavy on his skates. The punishment should be five games and skating lessons."

So the league decided against the skating lessons.

0 comments

by Zachary Zielonka • Nov 23, 2009 8:18 PM EST

Comparing The Treatment Of Concussions Between The NFL And NHL

Cassie McClellan has a great article today on Raw Charge, comparing the issues of hits to the head and concussions between the NFL and the NHL. The NFL has just recently started to acknowledge the severity of these injuries, after years of league-wide neglect and basic ignorance concerning concussions.

It's been well documented that the National Football League has had serious problems with concussions. The latest findings, however, suggest that the NFL has an even bigger problem than they had previously thought. Many football players aren't reporting their concussions for fear of ridicule and losing their spots on the roster. Part of this is due to the military-esque culture within football, but it's also due to the fact that the NFL does not guarantee player contracts.

Cassie goes on to compare this to the NHL, where head injuries are at an all time high as the game becomes faster and more violent.

The NHL knows that part of its appeal lies in the level of violence in games. This contradicts its desire to be a family-friendly show, however, which is why it tries to walk that fine line between boxing and figure skating. Fighting is technically illegal in the NHL, but no one gets suspended for it.

A five minute penalty is nothing but a mere slap on the wrist as compared with other sports penalties on fighting, and a two-minute penalty for roughing is even less than that. Suspensions are often handed out in Major League Baseball and the NBA if the situation degenerates into a brawl of some kind. In the NHL, the instigator penalty and associated fines and suspensions are to make sure that the game still keeps some semblance of respectability among the easily offended.

Cassie makes the argument that the NHL and NFL are more concerned with appearing as if they care about head injuries, while they have yet to make the big steps to truly prevent them. She goes on to suggest a number of interesting theories on how to help curb the rise of injuries in the NHL, including removal of the instigator penalty to allow the players to police themselves if the NHL won't do it consistently themselves.

You can read the entirety of the article here.

0 comments

by Brandon Worley • Nov 23, 2009 3:21 PM EST

Daniel Sedin To Return From Injury Tonight

The Vancouver Canucks get a key piece to their offense back tonight as Daniel Sedin returns to the lineup after missing the past 18 games with a broken foot. The Canucks have gone 10-7-1 in Sedin's absence and his brother Henrik has picked up the scoring with 10 goals and 18 points. Sedin has been the leading goal scorer for the Canucks for the past three seasons and the Canucks are looking for their third straight win.

The other story line in this game is the reunion of Jonathan Toews and Willie Mitchell. The last time these two met, Mitchell smacked Toews with an open-ice hit that saw Toews miss six games with a concussion. Some believe that the Blackhawks will find some retaliation at some point during the game. This is what our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, has to say about the game:

Many wonder if the Hawks are going to seek some kind of retribution against Vancouver tonight for the Mitchell hit on Toews. It is quite possible. So they had better prepare themselves for a potential war tonight. There is no love between the 2 teams that's for sure. The animosity continues to grow.

Game time is 10:00 p.m and can be seen on our affiliate site Yahoo! Sports.

0 comments

by Zachary Zielonka • Nov 22, 2009 8:33 PM EST

Georges Laraque Being Criticized For Knee On Knee Hit

Against the Detroit Red Wings, Georges Laraque has an obvious knee on knee hit against Red Wings forward Niklas Kronwall. Here is the video:

Kronwall has suffered a second to third degree sprain of the MCL on his left knee and will miss two to three weeks. Kronwall has had knee injuries before, back in 2005 he tore his left ACL which caused him to miss much of the season.

Many Red Wings feel that the hit was dirty and that Laraques should see some sort of discipline. Knowing the NHL though, if and how long the suspension will be cannot be determined. Laraques was only penalized two minutes for that hit.

0 comments

by Zachary Zielonka • Nov 22, 2009 10:00 AM EST

David Legwand Completes The Newly Formed Legwand Hat Trick

So you ask what is a Legwand Hat Trick. Well, it would be a goal, an assist, and...a baby? Legwand's wife, Lindsey Legwand went into labor earlier in the day and it was assumed by the Predators that Legwand would not make it for the game. The baby was delivered by 5:30 and Legwand made it to the arena in time for warmups. He then went on to score a shorthanded goal, an assist in regulation, and then the game winning goal in the shootout for the 4-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Here is what Legwand had to say after the game:

"It's been interesting,'' Legwand said. "It was all a pretty last-minute thing. I didn't have much thinking to do. I just went out and played.''

Predators head coach had this to say about the situation as well:

"I talked to David about an hour-and-a-half before warm-up and he said his baby was on the way,'' Trotz said. "I texted him back and said, 'That's fantastic. I'll see you on Monday. We'll get the win tonight without you.'"He texted back about an hour later and said, '(The baby) is here and my wife says (I) better get to the game.'''

So the Predators win the game, but who should get the first star of the game. Fans over at our Predators blog, On The Forecheck, believe it should be Lindsey Legwand for delievering the baby on time.

0 comments

by Zachary Zielonka • Nov 22, 2009 9:04 AM EST

Pro Skateboarder Loses Ducks Affiliation After Starting Fight

On Thursday, Tyler posted the video of Anaheim Ducks fans fighting over the stick that Scott Niedermayer handed over the glass after he was named the first star in the game. The OC Register has identified the man that started the fight as pro skateboarder Mike Vallely. The account of the situation is this:

Martinez said those who were interviewed in and around the area said that another man attempted to grab the stick from the girl when Vallely, who Martinez said had indicated that the stick was intended for his daughter, intervened (Vallely has two daughters, according to several Web sites).

"It looked worse than it actually was," Martinez said. "But nonetheless there was a brawl involving the hockey stick."

None of the parties involved wished to press charges, Martinez said. The man who attempted to take the stick from Vallely and the girl has not been identified. He was not cited but could still face consequences, Martinez said.

Vallely was a Ducks blogger but since has been removed from the site. The Ducks have commentated that they will not condone this type of behavior. While what Vallely did makes sense, and honestly I might have done the same thing myself, it is against the law and should be punished. The lesson in all of this, don't take a stick away from a kid.

0 comments

by Zachary Zielonka • Nov 21, 2009 11:58 AM EST

Zdeno Chara's Slapshots Are So Fast They Defy Physics

Zdeno Chara is kind of a freak. He's really tall, he hits really hard and he's arguably the best defenseman in the NHL. But what you might not know is that his slapshots are so fast that they actually speed up as they approach the net!

At least that's what Andy Brickley thinks.

After a Chara slapshot hit a Sabres player in the shin and sent him out of tonight's game, Brickley, the color commentator for the Bruins on NESN, said "the closer the better" if you're going to get hit by a Chara slapshot because "the puck doesn't have enough time to reach it's full velocity."

Right?

Jack Edwards, the play-by-play commentator for NESN, was most likely stunned. After a second of dead air, Edwards replies: "I think the physics professors in the audience will tell you that the puck starts losing velocity as soon as it leaves the stick. ... but it's still fast!"

Brickley laughed it off. Edwards laughed, too, but it was awkward. You just can't get around that. What makes this even better is that Brickley didn't let it die. Twenty minutes later, Brickley -- who obviously was still thinking about this the entire time -- pondered: If they measure speed of slapshots at the All-Star game, "why don't they shoot closer to the net?"

Oh, Andy. What is NESN going to do with you?

1 comment

by Randy Booth • Nov 20, 2009 9:10 PM EST

Is Hockey Losing Its Popularity To Ultimate Fighting

Hockey is a rite of passage in Canada. Most people eat, breathe, and sleep hockey and is so much apart of the Canadian culture that the one of the largest TV channels carries games every Saturday night. So, this post from The Vancouver Observer could be a telling change in Canadian culture.

On a recent Saturday night my friend and I went out to watch the Canucks play during CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada. Normally you’d assume every pub in the city would be playing the Canucks on every TV but that night was different. When we arrived we were surprised to see a completely packed pub with 6 out of 8 TVs showing Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The sound in the pub was also tuned to the UFC match so that every punch and submission hold could be heard loud and clear. At the second pub we went to it was the same story. How, then, to explain this shift in allegiances from one apparently violent sport to another?

Hockey is nothing like it used to be back in the rough era of the 1970's and may be missing the edge that it used to have, but what is the world coming to when Canadians seem to care more about UFC than hockey.

1 comment

by Zachary Zielonka • Nov 20, 2009 7:29 PM EST

Steven Stamkos' Goal Of The Year (So Far)

Lost in the midst of a night that was filled with fans fighting over sticks and debate over another hit from behind, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos scored one hell of an unbelievable goal.

Raw Charge does a great job breaking down the amazing goal, frame by frame as well as what led up to the initial shot:

Almost every goal is set up by someone, and seldom are those set-ups the very reason why the goal takes place - the how and the why of the pass enables. It's no different here.

0 comments

by Brandon Worley • Nov 20, 2009 6:48 PM EST

VIDEO: Fight Breaks Out Over Scott Niedermayer's Stick

Here's an equation for you...apply one part alcohol, one potential Ebay item in a bad economy and some sweet seats right next to the glass at an Anaheim Ducks hockey game and what do you get? Insta-brawl!

Yep, Anaheim Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer was named the first star of the Ducks overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning and he celebrated that fact by skating over to some fans and attempted to hand his stick to a little girl. Well wouldn't you know that a couple of knuckleheads decided to get into a MMA match over the stick.

And here is the always classy Niedermayer's reaction to the fracas:

All I'll say is, dudes need to grow the hell up.

3 comments

by Tyler Bleszinski • Nov 20, 2009 1:23 AM EST

NHL Senior VP Mike Murphy Explains Non-Goal Call

…and does a pretty poor job of it. Here’s his quote from today when he appeared on NHL Live!

“The way we’ve always handled it and the way we will continue to handle it until we have a procedure change is the referees call on the ice stands. He sees the shot and he sees the save and doesn’t see the puck in the net and kills the play or blows the whistle,” Murphy said. "It’s not when you hear the whistle blow, it’s when he intends to blow the whistle. There is a little bit of a gray area there between when he intends and when the whistle sounds.

“In this case Dennis LaRue was clear with what he saw and clear with what he interpreted and that was, ‘I had killed the play before the puck entered the net.’ When we scrutinize it and go through video review I think everybody would concede that the puck was in the net, and Dennis didn’t see that unfortunately.”

I guess I can understand that the ref ‘intended’ to blow the whistle, but it was an instantaneous goal. It was a quick shot and the puck was in the net. No delay at all; therefore the explanation still makes no sense.

by Brandon Worley • Nov 19, 2009 9:41 PM EST

The Goal That Wasn't A Goal

In last night's game between the Red Wings and Stars, Brad May thought he had tied the game at 2-2 in the third period when his shot slipped under Alex Auld's glove and was pinned against the inside of the net by his pad. Replay clearly showed the puck over the goalline, but well...I'll just let the video speak for itself.