Klassenforum » uillon. When players crash the crease and ja

METAIRIE, La. - The New Orleans Saints will have to continue their chase for an NFC South title without a pair of starters: receiver Brandin Cooks and safety Rafael Bush.Cooks had surgery on Monday on his broken right thumb and his recovery time is expected to be four to six weeks, said his agent, Jeff Sperbeck.Bush said he has a fractured bone in his lower right leg. Bush initially said the broken bone was his tibia, but a person familiar with the situation said Bush mistakenly used the wrong term and that the fracture was to Bushs fibula. The person spoke to The Associated Press Monday on condition of anonymity because the team has not disclosed the injury.The person said the injury will likely be surgically repaired to hasten healing, but its not yet clear if Bush will miss the rest of the season.Both injuries occurred inside the final five minutes of New Orleans 27-10 loss to Cincinnati on Sunday, and because Cooks and Bush were hurt when that game was no longer in doubt, theyll miss far more meaningful action coming up.New Orleans (4-6) has six games remaining and is tied with Atlanta (4-6) atop the NFC South. Carolina (3-7-1) is close behind, followed by Tampa Bay (2-8) which won only its second game of the season in Week 11 but is now just two games out of the division lead.Cooks, a first-round draft choice last spring, has assumed a prominent role in the offence and also has been New Orleans primary punt returner.Hes second on the Saints in both catches with 53 and yards receiving with 550, to go with three touchdown receptions this season. He has also rushed seven times for 73 yards and a touchdown.His injury occurred during a punt return. His right hand appeared to be struck by a tacklers helmet, and he fumbled.Bushs injury occurred when he raced toward the line of scrimmage to help tackle Cincinnatis Jeremy Hill on a running play.Its just a freak accident. Obviously you dont want those things happening that late in the game, Bush said after the game on Sunday. I dont want to say things had gotten out of hand, but we kind of knew the outcome of this game. Being a competitor and continuing to fight was all I was doing. It was just one of those plays that happen.Bush has made or assisted on 54 tackles, which ranks second on the team. He also has been credited with two tackles for losses and three passes defended.Saints coach Sean Payton was somewhat cryptic when asked if he was comfortable that his current roster possessed the depth to overcome recent injuries.Theres certain positions in-house that are deeper, Payton began, adding that there are others where you would look very quickly to a short list that are outside the building. Those are things we meet on all the time.The roster upheaval comes as the Saints try to sort out costly breakdowns, particularly on defence. New Orleans has lost leads in the last two minutes of four games and on Sunday allowed Cincinnati to convert nine of 13 third downs, including five conversions ranging from third-and-8 to third-and-18.After Sundays game, safety Kenny Vaccaro vented his frustration over the constant breakdowns, citing a lack of chemistry and veteran leadership and suggesting the cause was the departure of players who were part of the past four playoff squads between 2009 and 2013.Payton said he was aware of Vaccaros postgame comments and did not think any of them were really out of line.When you watch that game toward the end, and there was a pretty good chance the score was going to end in (Cincinnatis) favour, I love how he was playing, Payton said. I love the attitude and the toughness he brings. And the frustration? That comes with it.Yet linebacker Curtis Lofton, one of the Saints defensive captains, indicated that he would rather Vaccaro limit such rants when reporters are around.When you express your frustrations, you dont express them to the media. You keep that in house, Lofton said. Hes not the only player that feels that way. There have been numerous guys that have expressed the same feeling, but theres a different way of doing it. Thats how its been handled here in the past, and thats how it needs to be handled here in the future, too.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Paul Hornung Jersey . The photograph shows Parker and a French comedian making a gesture known in France as a "quenelle," which critics describe as inverted Nazi salute. Parker said in a statement released through the Spurs that the photograph was taken three years ago. 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Speaking with TSN 1050 following Brendan Shanahans introductory press conference, the Leafs GM also addressed the clubs perceived leadership issues and the type of working relationship that can be expected within Torontos front office.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Ref! Been a long time Sens fan and stuck with them through the ups and downs. Ive always liked the fact that theyve made no excuses for their wins and their losses but their game with the Habs has me a tad irate with the what appears to be inconsistent calls. For example, there were a couple goalie interference calls against the Sens, like it or not, they were called, yet there were at least two non-calls for Robin Lehner being bumped including the game-tying goal at the end of regulation. Im not even going to go on about the non-call on the dive that caused that power play. My question is this: In the replay of the game-winning OT goal, the play moved into Ottawas end, a shot was taken that was stopped by Lehner and the puck was in/on/around his pads. The overhead camera angle showed the puck on the ice, not covered for a few seconds and then it was jammed in. Unless the referee is 35 feet tall and looking straight down at that angle, there is no way he could have even seen the puck free as the goalie had his back to him and there was a scrum of players there. Yet there was no stoppage even with the puck out of his sight for over five seconds (according to the game clock) and he later told Spezza that he didnt blow the whistle because of the noise level in the building. I would like to know if theres any disciplinary action for a referee who blows a call like that and then makes a "its too noisy to hear the whistle" comment as an excuse? Roger Smallman,St. Catharines, ON --- Hello, I just wanted some clarification - I thought when the goalie has the puck covered, the ref has to blow the whistle. Its my understanding that if the goalie has the puck covered, then an opposing player cannot jam at the goalie to knock the puck loose! Is that true or not? Josh Knowles Roger and Josh, Thank you for your questions following a very emotionally charged come-from-behind overtime victory by the Montreal Canadiens over the visiting Ottawa Senators. I want to share a general philosophy and understanding as to when the referee should blow the whistle. There is a misconception by some fans that a puck must be frozen for three seconds before the referee should deem it unplayable and then blow his whistle. This stems from language in Rule 85.2 when a puck falls onto the back of the goal netting and the referee is specifically directed to allow three seconds for it to be played unless the goalkeeper uses his stick or glove to freeze the puck on the back of the net, in which case the whistle is immediate. This three second application is also generally applied to determine a "frozen" puck between opposing players along the boards; although we often see the refs encourage play to continue with a non-whistle and audible command to "play it". The philosophy employed to kill play in and around the goal crease is somewhat consistent with Rule 69 (Interference on the Goalkeeper.) This rule was formerly called "Protection of the Goalkeeper" for good reason by recognizing, in part, the vulnerability of a goalkeeper given his unique position and the obvious impairment to defend his goal that would result through player contact. As such, the referee must first determine that the goalkeeper has control and coverage of the puck prior to his intent to blow the play dead in order to avoid a quick whistle. Of equal importance, is for a ref to be aware that an attacking player(s) does not dislodge or expose a covered puck by contacting the goalkeeper with a stick or any part of the body! Rule 85.3 (puck out of sight) states that should a scramble take place or a player accidentally fall on the puck and the puck be out of sighht of the Referee, he shall immediately blow his whistle to stop the play.dddddddddddd Truth is, there are many times during a scramble that the referee loses sight of the puck but does not blow his whistle immediately while he moves in an attempt to visually locate the puck. Every referee has had the embarrassment of blowing his whistle too quickly, only to have the puck slip through the goalies equipment and into the net causing a legitimate goal to be disallowed. Previous embarrassments such as this are always in the back of the refs mind. To avoid the quick whistle, but also to be aware of the potential for players to dislodge a covered puck, the referee must attack the net quickly from the best angle and react quickly to potential contact of the goalkeeper. Lets apply the above philosophies to the reality of the eventual winning goal scored by Francis Bouillon. Max Pacioretty, who was being checked by Jared Cowen, threw the puck at the Ottawa net from the bottom middle point of the end zone face-off circle to the left of goalie Robin Lehner. The shot was gobbled up in the right pad of Lehner, protected and appeared to be covered by Lehners blocker. The referee began to drive toward the net from his initial position some 30 feet from the right post. The closest Montreal player to the net, David Desharnais, was at the bottom of the end zone face-off T some 20 feet away and positioned on the outside of Sens player Bobby Ryan. Cody Ceci approached the centre of the goal crease from 15 feet out. This distance of other players from the net creates time and space for the goalkeeper to control and cover the puck. With all these parts of the puzzle moving quickly toward Lehner, who remained in a stationary position tight to the post with his blocker and stick down in front of the right goal pad throughout, my radar as a ref would go on high alert! The very last thing I would want to have happen is for the goalkeeper to be contacted and the puck dislodged. From the sight line the referee had at the time (and the multiple camera angles shown), I find it hard to imagine the puck was visible to him or anyone else at this point. Desharnais stepped to the inside of Ryan and jammed at Lehner with his stick and body as his momentum took the Hab forward behind the net. Ceci then made contact with the right side of his goalkeeper causing Lehners blocker to elevate off the ice and rotate. The contact by both players altered the position of Lehner sufficiently to expose the puck in front of Lehners pad. At this point, the puck would be clearly visible to the referee from his position closer to the net and as detected on the overhead camera shot. Pacioretty then came in hard from the side and jammed the puck outside the crease for an easy layup for Bouillon. When players crash the crease and jam at the goalkeeper, bad things usually happen. Typically, the refs will exercise the philosophy I described above and blow the whistle in advance of any deliberate contact exerted by an attacking player. This play was allowed to continue too long without visible evidence of the puck being uncovered prior to the contact exerted by Desharnais and then Ceci. In my judgment Josh, the whistle should have blown prior to that contact. Roger, if Stephen Walkom, Sr. V.P. of Officiating assessed this play as I did, he will review and discuss the play with the referee and make suggestions as to how a similar situation should be ruled upon in the future. There is no disciplinary action in place for officials beyond the ongoing rating and ranking system that every official is subjected to for playoff assignments and ongoing employment. One call or one game does not greatly impact the overall season performance rating of any official. Great calls are made and some are unfortunately missed. Thats the human element of the job. ' ' '