First, the news: Donald Brashear, noted hockey goon and executioner for the Washington Capitals, received a six-game suspension for his blind-sided shot to the head of New York Rangers Center Blair Betts. The suspension was issued by NHL Senior Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin “Soupy” Campbell.

This suspension is, in essence, another win-win situation for the Capitals. Brashear does little to contribute to the success of the Capitals. On the other hand, Betts brings speed to the Rangers fourth line and is arguably one of the better penalty killers in the league. Others much wiser than me have suggested that Brashear’s knock-out of Betts may have indirectly contributed to two power play goals by the Capitals in their 5-3 win in Game 6 on Sunday.

Since Betts will definitely miss Game 7, the trade-off is that the Caps lose Brashear and the Rangers lose Betts. Who do you think wins that trade-off? The hockey gods at Puck Daddy would have you believe that the punishment fit the crime and this suspension was “another” (???) stroke of genius by Soupy. Just like the death penalty, this “landmark” (???) suspension would serve as a deterrent. The gang at Puck Daddy really needs to stop planting their lips on Soupy’s ample arse and must bring an end to their chemical dependencies before it is too late.

In the meantime, I guess I should be flattered that Puck Daddy threw my humble little blog a link yesterday, even though the editor felt compelled to misinform readers of my intent. Quoted from the Monday Morning Headlines: A contrarian view on the John Tortorella suspension, which calls our analysis “lame” and then argues that the NHL is fixing the series to increase television ratings. Written from the co-pilot’s seat of a black helicopter hovering over Area 51.

It must be hard for them to write such pearls of wisdom in-between dropping and raising those baskets of fries into and from the tasty oil bath at McDonald’s.

For the record, I responded to Puck Daddy’s statement that “the punishment fit the crime” regarding Rangers Head Coach John Tortorella’s one-game suspension for his stupid antics (see Soupy Blows It Again). My argument, although admittedly not clear in the article but later clarified in comments, is that Tortorella deserved to be punished but the punishment issued by Soupy was not appropriate. Common sense says that Tortorella should have been heavily fined, fired after the season was over, and then subjected to criminal prosecution and civil suits if appropriate. My issue with Soupy was that he punished the Ranger players, not Tortorella. This is a team that is mentally messed-up, and the whole scenario just added to their emotional fatigue.

This attack on the Rangers psyche may seem like an insignificant issue but, as I also mentioned in comments about yesterday’s article, the 1994 Stanley Cup winners almost choked away a 3-1 series lead when it was learned that Head Coach Mike Keenan was talking to other teams for the following season. That Ranger team had tougher guys than the current team but still almost blew it (thank God they won Game 7). The emotional and mental impact on the Rangers with the suspension of Tortorella was more detrimental to the team than the suspension was to Tortorella. So, again, who was Campbell punishing? It looks like he missed the target (unless, like me, you believe that he did hit the target that he was aiming at).

The second issue is that Soupy and the NHL declined to take action against the Capitals and their security personnel. This is another calculated step by Soupy … he has rewarded the Caps for their bad security and inability to control fans around the bench. The Rangers, as has been too common, get the short end of the stick from Soupy once again and you can be sure that the level of mental torment has been increased.

However, some observers would have you believe that it is wrong for Ranger fans to feel like the table is slanted towards the Capitals. Even a second-grader could tell you that that is based upon are feelings, beliefs and past history … not hard facts based on admissions by St. Soupy and the Holy Bettman. But saying that the Brashear suspension fits the crime … well, it really is a drug-induced hallucination to justify another major screw-up by Campbell.

A real deterrent would be that Brashear would have been suspended as long as Betts is injured PLUS an allotted amount of games. That would be a deterrent. There is no way that you can equate the loss of a Blair Betts with the loss of a goon like Brashear. Nobody will miss Brashear, but Betts’ absence leaves a gaping hole in a Rangers team facing an almost impossible challenge of Game 7 in Washington. What do you think the suspension would be if Sean Avery or Colton Orr did the same thing to the sacred Ovechkin?

Note that I did not suggest a banishment for Brashear, although that might be appropriate in other circumstances. Hockey is a game with physical contact and there will be injuries from contact, whether the conact is incidental or deliberate. As I have argued for a long time, the “intent-to-injure” and the new “hit-to-the-head” injuries must be handled with more deliberate recourse than a six-game suspension. An “eye-for-an-eye” approach may or may not be a good approach, but I have always liked a line by John Forsythe in one of my favorite movies, And Justice for All … “maybe the punishment should be worse than the crime.”

That thought may not make sense all the time because we, as humans, could use more compassion and forgiveness. But it does make sense when a moron like Brashear causes an injury that, in all likelihood, may haunt Blair Betts for the rest of his life.

Also, if you want to believe that the NHL does not have a vested interested in assuring that either Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin make it to the Cup Finals, you are delusional. Go back and check the rating when the Devils were playing in the Finals. That is not a slap at the Devil fans … there just aren’t a lot of them around.

Wyshynski would have you believe that the punishment fit the crime, and that’s what you would expect from the usual lame analysis from Wyshynski . The true statement is that the punishment fit the financial objectives of the NHL.

From the outset, let’s make it clear, I am a long-time Rangers fan but I am not a fan of Tortorella. I openly condemn his actions. While a HUGE fine to Tortorella and the Rangers was in order, hockey fans need to understand two things. First is that a suspension serves the business interests of the NHL. Second is why Soupy must accept blame for mismanaging yet another incident.

Let’s examine Soupy’s “as usual” screw-up first. Even if you put aside Campbell’s well-documented inclination to stick it to the Rangers every chance he gets, there is an issue in law called proximate cause. Proximate cause refers to the specific action that ultimately results in an outcome. Lay people may understand the principal better from a related term called mitigating circumstances, which is actually justification for somebody responding in an incorrect manner.

There are no mitigating circumstances in what Tortorella did. His exchange with the Washington fans was totally unprofessional, unacceptable and contrary to everything he preaches. However, the proximate cause of the situation was the lack of response by Capitals’ security to complaints from Rangers’ bench personnel about spitting, cursing and threatening behavior from the fans near the bench.

Again, the behavior of the Capitals’ fans and the lack of response by Capital’s security does not justify or mitigate Tortorella’s actions. However, do not be fooled … Soupy’s suspension of Tortorella was well-calculated for maximum impact against the Rangers. Soupy needs to explain why he only took action against the Rangers and did not punish the Capitals and their fans.

The end result is that Soupy, by only punishing Tortorella, rewarded the Capitals and their fans for their poor behavior.

That subtle message reinforces the acceped belief that Campbell and his oblivious boss, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, are not managing a sport but are promoting a business. The sooner hockey fans realize this, the sooner they will be able to reclaim their beloved sport from the clutches of these two satanic officials.

The NHL Playoffs are cash cows for the league, play-off teams and TV networks (currently NBC and Versus). Ticket prices go through the roof and TV reveues increase dramatically for the brief playoff season. The current play-off year is killing the NHL coffers. With Montreal gone in four games and Calgary on the verge of elimination, Vancouver is the only Canadian team that has made it to the second round. The Canadian TV market for Stanley Cup Playoff hockey is going down the drain fast.

Another problem for the NHL is the New York TV market for NHL hockey is a major enigma. The Devils, despite their success, cannot build their fan base and only sell out games against local rivals. The Islanders, who have done horribily over the last two decades, cannot fill their arena. The Rangers have a large and loyal fan base, but we are fickle fans because we have seen just one successful Cup quest in 69 years.

While there are more hockey fans in the New York area than in any other American city, the number of fans produce an actual TV viewing audience in terms of Neilsen ratings that is almost negligible (unless two local teams are playing each other). There are more people watching infomercials in the New York market than a hockey game.

Also, New York fans do not care about the other teams; in fact, fans of one team truly hate the other two teams and rarely will ever watch them play. In reality, the elimination of New York teams from play-off contention is good business for the NHL because there are other markets with better potential.

The second issue from a business point of view is that the NHL does not generate star-quality players with a personal fan base like other sports. Most people can name handfuls of stars from each of the other three major sports: the NFL, NBA and MLB. Hell … the average person could name more professional golfers than NHL stars. Other than Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, who is catching the imagination of kids around North America?

And that is why Soupy’s decision to suspend Tortorella was good bsuiness for the NHL. First, Tortorella benches fan favorite and team spark plug Sean Avery in Game 5; even chalking that up to coach’s perogative, the negative effect on the team’s performance was predictable. Then Tortorella follows that up with a stupid move that results in a suspension to Tortorella and no action against the Capitals. Campbell and Bettman, unless they are bigger morons than most people think they are, had to know that end result would be a Rangers loss in Game 6, forcing a Game 7 in Washington.

Other than the obvious fact that a Game 7 in Washington will be the biggest hockey event in years, it will be against the hated New Yorkers. That means good TV ratings and better advertising revenues (even if it is on the fledgling Versus). It also gives Alex Ovechkin a chance to win and keep on playing into the second round.

If you doubt what I am saying here, watch and see what action Campbell takes against the biggest jerk playing in the NHL, Donald Brashear of the Capitals. He is a player with absolutely no skill and less intelligence than skill. In case you missed it, Brashear blind-sided Blair Betts of the Rangers with a cheap shot, knocking him unconscious. Of course, the two referees and the two linesmen caled it wrong, so there was just a two-minute penalty against Brashear. Like, what else is new?

As for sending a message, please join me in boycotting the NHL’s web site. Even if you are an out-of-control addict, stay away for two or three days. Also, boycott as many games on TV as you can … I boycotted today’s game, getting my updates online, and apparently I didn’t miss very much. But hockey fans must do something that gets Bettman and Campbell out of OUR sport.

Wow! It’s been almost 16 months since my last post, and it is amazing to see the changes in the world and my own life during that span. It’s been an interesting time, hasn’t it?

Let’s see … Hillary didn’t make it, Obama did, but Hillie is playing Secretary of State. I looked at my prediction for an Obama v. McCain Presidential Race and was amazed at my accuracy; overall, it was a good, fair race. The one black spot was the biased attacks from the media on Sarah Palin. Once again, anyone who turns to network news in this country is a damned fool.

In the world of “Nothing Changes” (so true), a hockey fan found this blog yesterday searching for stuff on one of my favorite whipping boys, Colin “Soupy” Campbell (see Why the NHL Sucks … besides Colin Campbell. Our beloved Soupy issued another in a long series of ridiculous suspensions to Boston’s Milan Lucic (one game) for a cross-check that was little more than a love tap … but Soupy did not suspend Ian Lappierre or Mike Komisarek of “Les Habitants” for their cheap shots. Little matter as the Canadiens got flushed down the bowl in four by the Bruins. And, for all the miserable Canadiens fans who booed the “The Star Spangled Banner” on Monday night, go to hell!

Imus, who recently announced that he is battling cancer, survived his first year at Citadel and WABC-AM (New York) in grand fashion and, despite a few backhanded stabs at him, was doing some of the very best radio of his career. While the snipers are still ready to take Imus out, he is not going to leave himself open. The New York Rangers … well, it’s kind of like when Ron Swoboda was playing right field for the Metsies: every day is a new adventure for the Garden Faithful. Even being up 3-1 on OvieCaps doesn’t make a Ranger fan feel safe. Bloomberg … well, he and the entire NYC Department of Education can also kiss my grits.

So what changes are happening in Mr. Smith’s Neighborhood … or, should I say Senor Smith’s Barrio?

Mr. Smith’s Neighborhood has relocated to the great state of New Mexico, a lovely land blessed with a governor who also has a flair for headlines. Looks like I brought Uncle Bill the same luck that Elliot Spitzer and David Patterson were enjoying when I left New York. Good Old Bill had to turn down a cabinet post from Obama when it was discovered that there was some financial hanky panky back home … you don’t want a cabinet member who’s under investigation, but I guess it’s okay to have a him as governor. At least he hasn’t gotten caught with his zipper down yet, but there is always hope.

I escaped New York and the New York City Dept. of Education after working for the worst principal in the entire school system. Rumor has it that NYC has made the decision to shut down Roberto Clemente (C.I.S. 166) after this year, and it is a great decision if, for no other reason, to get rid of the school adminsitration. My favorite moment from last year was when our great leader stood up in front of the staff and said, “I’m white, look … I’m white. It doesn’t rub off. I am also rich. I grew up rich. Get over it.” And she couldn’t understand why a staff comprised largely of minorities accused her of bigotry and racism.

So why leave New York? I couldn’t handle the commute anymore, paying $125 per month for parking pissed me off, the cost of living was ridiculous, stress smacks you in the face the moment you wake up in the morning, and the weather is attrocious. But moving back to New Mexico has been my dream for a very long time. I lived here 27 years ago … it was the best place on the planet then and it still is now. The sky is bluer than blue, the air is clean and the high desert country is open and free. The mountains and mesas, which are more brownish than green, make you feel like you are in a John Wayne western everyday.

I did not have to shovel any snow this winter, nor have I spent a single day sweating from the humidity, In fact, I haven’t used a hair dryer in ages because my hair dries within minutes after a shower. I have a great job … it isn’t perfect but I like it most days. I have a great house … it isn’t perfect but it is very liveable. Instead of driving an hour each way to work (about 90 miles roundtrip), my commute is one mile each way.

Actually, the one thing I have enjoyed more than anything else is gazing at the stars at night. The clean air, high elevation and lack of bright city lights make star-gazing fabulous. It is not a lifestyle for everyone, but it is working for me.

One of the reasons I stopped writing last year was that I had to watch my mother die slowly. The one-year anniversary of my mother’s death is coming up, and it is time to move on with life.

If you are living in the New York City area and you have a loved one dying of cancer, DO NOT have them admitted to Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. You would be better off leaving them in a gutter somewhere. The adminsitrators and doctors there were among the lowest people whom I have ever met, and my mother’s suffering was beyond words. One of the key administrators told my family lie after lie, and she did everything except drive a stake through my mother’s heart. Coincidentally, my mother just happened to die the very last day that Medicare paid for her care (or lack thereof).