Coach’s challenges for goaltender interference and the ensuing arguments aren’t going away.There will just be a new place to direct the
complaints.With the goal of refining the consistency of goalie interference
challenges
Artemi Panarin Jersey , NHL general managers on Wednesday recommended shifting the decision from on-ice officials to the league’s situation room in
Toronto. The change could go into effect as soon as the playoffs, which begin
April 11, after the NHL Players’ Association signed off and now just needs
approval from the board of governors.”The players want consistency in the
application of the rule, and therefore support this proposed change in order to
help accomplish that goal,” said NHLPA special assistant to the executive direct
Mathieu Schneider said after consulting with competition committee members and
other players.Commissioner Gary Bettman said only perhaps a half-dozen of about
170 challenges this season were controversial, yet GMs overwhelmingly were in
favor of a centralized location for final decisions.”The objective is to be as
close to perfect as possible,” Bettman said, noting goalie interference is a
judgment call. ”The recommended change is intended to help resolve the rare
cases in which the situation room and the referees might have different opinions
of a particular play and is intended to produce more predictability for our
players and coaches.”Currently, on-ice officials have the final say on whether a
goal should count or be disallowed when challenged. Under the proposed change,
the officials would continue to be involved, but a member of the NHL Officiating
Management Team – made up of former referees – would be part of the
decision-making process.Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz said this won’t
affect how he approaches challenging goalie interference but believes having
someone outside the area making the call is a positive.”There’s some referees
who are more established and, I’d say
Cam Atkinson Jersey Kids , sure of themselves, they won’t reverse the calls,” Trotz said. ”They almost say, `That’s the way I saw it and that’s the
way it is and live with it.’ And others get swayed by what they see or maybe the
crowd or another coach or how the game’s going.”So it’s no different than the
student marking their own papers. Let’s have a non-emotional person who has no
skin in the game and is not in an emotional environment to make those calls and
I think you’ll find it will be more consistent.”Coaches and goaltenders have
complained about the inconsistency all season. Bettman said during All-Star
weekend in late January that officials might be ”overthinking” reviews and that
the intent was, ”Take a quick look, but don’t search it to death.”The league
sent a memo to all teams outlining the standard, which is closer to what Dallas
Stars coach Ken Hitchcock prefers. Hitchcock said he and his colleagues want to
lean toward allowing more contact and counting more goals.”We’re tie goes to the
runner,” Hitchcock said. ”I think that’s how a lot of the coaches feel is that
when you see a situation that is a positive-area sacrifice (for players), give
the runner the benefit.”It took years of debate for GMs to approve coach’s
challenges for offside and goaltender interference, which are in their third
season. The gray area in interpretation still causes issues.”I don’t know what
is and what isn’t,” New York Islanders coach Doug Weight said recently. I think
there’s a lot of confusion. That’s tough. It’s frustrating for us.”The hope is
to lessen the frustration by letting a rotation of former officials take over.
But nothing about the way goalie interference is called is being changed.Former
player Ray Ferraro suggested adopting the international standard that says a
goal is waved off if a skater interferes with a goalie’s positioning but allows
it to count if the goalie initiates contact.”You’re never going to find a
solution for this because what you see when you’re 200 feet away in a press box
is different from what you see on TV, which is different from what is happening
on the ice
http://www.bluejacketsshoponline.com/authentic-david-savard-jersey ,” goaltending analyst Justin Goldman of The Goalie Guild said. ”I feel bad for the
referees because it’s so hard to make that call in that moment, but to go to
Toronto and expect Toronto to get it right every single time, you’re at the
mercy of what they’re seeing on a TV screen, not what actually happened on the
ice. For the goalies, that’s super frustrating.”— BASEBALLNEW YORK (AP) Major
League Baseball imposed stricter limits on mound visits by players in an effort
to speed games but decided against 20-second pitch clocks for 2018.After more
than a year of negotiations, the Major League Baseball Players Association
refused to agree to the changes but also signed an agreement that it will not
oppose the rules.Article continues below ...The amendments to the playing rules
announced Monday include a general limit of six mound visits per nine-inning
game without a pitching change, whether by a manager, coach or player.To assuage
players’ concerns about sign stealing, MLB will install new telephone lines from
dugouts to video replay rooms. MLB said the lines will be monitored, and a
person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press all conversations on
the lines will be recorded. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because
that detail was not announced.MLB has the right to make playing rules changes
absent an agreement with one year notice and made proposals during the 2016-17
offseason for a pitch clock and more restrictions on mound visits.SAN DIEGO (AP)
– Eric Hosmer and the San Diego Padres have finalized their $144 million,
eight-year contract.The team announced the signing Monday night after Hosmer
passed his physical. The first baseman, who spent his first seven major league
seasons with Kansas City before becoming a free agent this offseason
Jack Johnson Jersey , can opt out of the deal after five years.The contract is the largest in Padres history.Hosmer gets a $5 million signing bonus
payable within 30 days of the contract being approved by the commissioner’s
office. His salary is $20 million each year from 2018-22 and would be $13
million annually from 2023-25 if he doesn’t terminate the deal.A four-time Gold
Glove winner and 2016 All-Star, Hosmer will be introduced during a news
conference Tuesday morning at Padres camp in Peoria, Arizona.HOCKEYPHILADELPHIA
(AP) – The Philadelphia Flyers have acquired goaltender Petr Mrazek from the
Detroit Red Wings for two conditional draft picks.Flyers general manager Ron
Hextall made the move Monday night, a day after losing his second goalie to
injury in less than 10 days. Starter Brian Elliott had core muscle surgery last
Tuesday and is expected to miss up to 6 weeks. Backup Michal Neuvirth was
injured in Sunday’s win at the New York Rangers. The team didn’t update his
status before making the trade.Mrazek was 8-7-3 with a 2.89 goals-against
average and a .910 save percentage this season for Detroit. He’s 72-58-20 with a
2.60 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 166 appearances in six seasons for the
Red Wings.The Flyers sent a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2018 and a
conditional third-round draft pick in 2019 to Detroit.SOCCERBARCELONA, Spain
(AP) – Police in Spain have cleared four West Bromwich Albion players who were
being investigated for the theft of a taxi in Barcelona last week.Catalonia’s
regional police said on Monday no charges will be filed against the players.
Police did not say why the investigation was archived.Jonny Evans, Gareth Barry,
Jake Livermore, and Boaz Myhill were accused by a taxi driver of stealing his
vehicle early Thursday morning.The players issued a public apology on Friday for
breaking a team curfew and breaching the ”standards of professionalism required
of us as representatives of West Bromwich Albion.”Last in the Premier League,
West Brom was in Barcelona for a midwinter training trip.West Brom said the
players ”will be subject to the full rigors of our internal disciplinary
procedures.”
