The “non-call” against Brashear and Campbell’s latest antics inspired my most recent post, “Soupy Blows It Again.” The Rangers have little chance of winning a Game 7 in Washngton, but there is always hope. The Bruins will be the likely team to advance from the East, and I can live with that (as long as it isn’t the NJ Debbies or Ovechkin). Still, I’d like to see Avery do a payback on Ovechkin for the hit on Betts. I would condemn it on principal, but I would be smiling while writing. I would also like to see Campbell do a Gerald Ford and slip on ice.

Thanks for reading.

I applaud this site for bringing the truth foreward. I’m watching the Rangers and Caps in game 6 2009 at the garden. Brashear basically elbows Betts and Betts is helped off the ice by 2 of his teammates…and Brashear gets 2 mins? If it was Avery he’d be gone, followed by a congressional hearing. Avery sneezes and gets 2 mins. Ovechin sneezes and the Rangers get a 5 minute major for not giving him a napkin.
Of course I’m kidding (except for the Brashear thing), but the bottom line is that Campbell/officials will make sure that the NY Rangers (and any other team they don’t like) won’t have a chance to advance. As everybody knows fair officiating is at the heart of any game, and with all do respect to the referees, if you can’t stay objective enough…get out…. this holds especially true for playoff time.
I predict the Capitals will win the Cup in 2009. Because the officiating is so biased and clearly tilted against the Rangers.

I also extend my condolences to the fans of any other NHL team Colin Campbell hates.

The point isn’t whether or not the players on your list (and dozens of others) were angels. Every sport has its trash talkers and instigators, but hockey is the only one in which fighting and retalliation are considered acceptable and HIGHLY NECESSARY responses (even though they are penalized. My only point is that all decisions need to be consistent, and the punishment must consistently fit the crime. Yes, the Rangers have had their share of instigators and cheap shot artists, but they didn’t create the process and, like every other team, they did what they needed to do to “keep up with the Joneses” (as it were).

It has been a long time since I’ve written here, but not because I have given up on hockey. I moved away from New York, so Center Ice is my new season ticket with more chances to watch hockey.

I saw the game and Lucic’s cross-check was no big deal. Avery takes far worse stuff that the ref’s ignore (I still follow the Rangers for amusement … the soap opera never ends … but I am glad they got Andropov).

Colin Campbell’s biases are well documented and supported by facts (as the suspension to Lucic bears out). With Toronto, Ottawa and even border-hugging Buffalo already on the golf course, Montreal is the last Canadian team east of the Mississippi that can deliver audiences and substantial advertising revenues to Canadian TV.

Campbell has never been one to put the game above his own selfish interests. What a shame.

Are you still staying away from Rags games?

Great comment! I agree with almost everything you said.

The reason that stupid U.S. cities have hockey teams is money. And marketing. And the fact that players get a better deal tax-wise by playing anhd living in the USA. Also bear in ming that both Quebec and Winnipeg have had NHL franchises that were failures.

Honestly, the new rules are terrible. They take out a lot of the grit, and because players can’t fight they resort to cheap shot tactics.

Real sports don’t need to change their rules every year, look at Soccer and American Football. Some of the best run sports leagues in the world – they don’t run around making rule changes.

A good 0-0 hockey game is much more fun than 7-6 game all on PPG’s.

I always like a dreamer! Not a bad team but some way to go before ruling.

In the meantime, let me repeat a message I left above:

As far as writing the NHL, good luck. You can send an email to the NHL Officials Association from their web site at http://www.nhlofficials.com/contact.asp … you can also express your displeasure at the NHL Fans’ Association (not associated with the NHL) web site at http://www.nhlfa.com/ …. contacting the NHL itself would be a waste of time.

Colin Campbell’s email is probably very well hidden. Snail Mail is your best shot, but don’t expect a response.

BTW, I personally think the Vancouver Canucks’ fans are as obnoxious as any I have ever seen.

I will check this site again from time to time to see if you have responded to my request. Thanks

I don’t think I can disagree with you. The Islanders have been victimized by a number of bizarre calls and video reviews. However, if your comment is a reaction to the Chris Simon suspension for the Jarkko Ruutu incident, I think you are off base.

It’s been about eight moths since I wrote this article and, other than an obvious prejudice against Sean Avery and Ryan Hollweg, the refs have been more balanced in their calls in Ranger games. However, I have seen games on Center Ice that have made me wonder if the refs are watching the same game as me.

My concern now is the need for better attention by the refs and the league in protecting players against hits that can injure other players. I will not disagree with Soupy (Campbell) and his 30-game suspension of Chris Simon. I believe that the suspension was far too lenient … Simon should have been banned forever from the league.

If you want to fight, fine. If you want to rough it up, fine. However, if you intentionally or accidentally cause a severe injury to a player, there needs to be consequences. That includes low hits, aiming for the knees, blind-siding players, charging, boarding, “deliberate” slashing and high sticking, or anything that can be described as a deliberate intent to injure.

What Simon did was criminal. Deliberately stepping on a player with a skate blade as sharp as the finest knives is not the act of a rational human being. I don’t care how emotional you are or how big a jerk Ruutu is, Simon’s actions cannot be tolerated. Campbell wimped out.

I always get worried when the Flyers start to play that ugly brand of hockey. As an avid Ranger fan, I have some experience with the hatred towards idiotic players like a certain Islander who ended the career of one of the NHL’s first Euros. I really didn’t see the hits by Hartnell or Jones but my friends who are Bruins’ fans are on your side. The fact of the matter is that hockey is a brutal sport, like football, and injuries are going to happen. When I played football in high school and college, I hit the opposition clean and hard without any regard as to whether or not they might get hurt. In fact, hurting another player was often rewarded with praise from coaches and teammates. However, a tad of maturity and the wisdom that comes with the years of wandering Planet Earth makes me wonder how one pro could deliberately hit a comrade in a way that might end a career. Career-ending injuries are a fact of life in pro sports, but I hate to think that players do it with intent.

As far as writing the NHL, good luck. You can send an email to the NHL Officials Association from their web site at http://www.nhlofficials.com/contact.asp … you can also express your displeasure at the NHL Fans’ Association (not associated with the NHL)web site at http://www.nhlfa.com/ …. contacting the NHL itself would be a waste of time.