—————— << lleeeee ety es NHL’s disciplinary sucks By David Hollinshead ast week, the Boston Bruins | visited the Montreal Canadians in a game that the NHL disciplinary committee should’ve already had their eyes locked on, after in their last meeting, both teams had almost their entire benches in the penalty box, giving their lack of punishment towards Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara for his hit on Canadians forward Max Pacioretty; The hit made anyone who was watching the game, highlights, or YouTube clips cringe. Both players were racing towards the puck at center ice, and as the puck was cleared, Chara hit Pacioretty face first into the boards, where the wooden beam was standing, supporting the glass. The impact left Pacioretty with a severe concussion and a fractured vertebra in his neck. As he was writhing on the ice before showing no signs of life, Chara was handed a game misconduct. Canadians goaltender Carey Price said that he “was happy Patchy is still alive.” The NHL decided to not suspend Chara. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman cautioned against “over-legislating” head hits, and added, “Our hockey operations people are extraordinarily comfortable with the decision that they have made.” He acknowledged the fact that it was a “horrific injury”, but defended it by playing it off as a result of hockey evolving into such a “fast-paced physical game.” A fast paced game even Pittsburgh Penguins owner and hall of famer Mario Lemieux may not even want to be a part of anymore. As the head hit count continues rise, bench brawls ensuing, and players getting away with a lot more than they should, Lemieux said that if the NHL doesn’t start to tighten up with its punishments, he doesn’t want a part of it. Air Canada, having charter deals with all six Canadian teams, and five American squads, sent a letter to the league demanding “immediate” and “serious” actions on head hits, prompted by the Chara hit. Bettman was not concerned by the threatened end to the sponsorship, saying that “if they décide they need to do other things with their sponsorship dollars, that’s their prerogative...” The dark side of hockey was certainly made apparent in the press conference Thursday. A caucus was held to get American children more interested in the game of hockey; one kid marvelled, “T can hit people and not get in trouble.” This has to be a slight worry for the league’s future, if kids are growing up playing this game and they see it happen on TV, they are prone to do it in their own games. When pressed at the end of the event about devastating head hits, Bettman told reporters that the NHL considers player safety “a paramount concern.” And he pointed out to an apparent trend this year. ““What’s interesting... is that the rise in concussions off the preliminary data from this season seems to be coming from accidental events, collisions, players falling and banging into other things, not from head hits,” he said, “And so before you over-legislate, because our players are pretty conscious of what they’re allowed to do and not allowed to do, you’ve got to look at the source for what the problem is.” It sounds like Bettman isn’t going to do anything about the rising number of concussions, which has been at an all- time season high for weeks. Perhaps the problem is that there are just too many thug type players in the league, in which case the NHL ice should be increased to the size of Olympic regulation ice, making it bigger. That way, there is much more open ice for the speedy, skilled players to manoeuvre around the slower, thug players that are doing the cheap shots, and eventually all players will need to elevate their skill to play in the NHL and those cheap shot artists will be assimilated out of the league. United Rugby is open at Douglas By Josh Martin, Sports Editor | J nited Rugby was established in 2005 as the product of the merger of two established clubs, Douglas College and Pocomo RFC. United Rugby provides all sorts of programs for men and women of all ages, skills, and abilities. There are three senior men’s teams, three junior boys’ teams, two senior women’s teams, a junior girl’s team, a 18 mini rugby program for children under the age of 14, and alumni and social club members. Games for all divisions are played on Saturdays with practices on Tuesdays on Thursdays. So basically if you like rugby you can join this club and play the sport, whether your nine years old or even 45. It’s open to all ages. For more information - check them out at www.unitedrugby.ca and or on Facebook, search United Rugby Club for further details. NHL playoff spot predictions By Josh Martin, Sports Editor ith the playoffs right around the corner, here’s a look at the teams in the Western and Eastern Conferences fighting for their lives. The Western Conference is and has been a total traffic jam from the start of the season until now. From the fourth to the eleventh spot in the conference, it has been a back and forth battle with only four points separating the eight teams. Nashville (78 points), Anaheim (77), and Minnesota (77), are on the outside looking in with the Los Angeles Kings rounding out the final playoff spot with 79 points. Here’s how I predict the Western Conference will pan out. 1-Vancouver Canucks 2-San Jose Sharks 3-Detroit Red Wings 4-Chicago Blackhawks 5-Pheonix Coyotes 6-Dallas Stars 7-Calgary Flames 8-Nashville Predators The Eastern Conference on the other hand hasn’t been nearly as crazy as the West but needless to say it has had its moments. Buffalo (74 points) and the New York Rangers (74) round out the seventh and eighth spots in the conference with Carolina (72), Toronto (68), and. Atlanta (67) on the outskirts. New Jersey - has had a miraculous comeback to a nightmarish year, going 20-5 in their last 25 games, but it seems like it’s a little too late for the veteran Brodeur’s team. As much as I would like the Toronto Maple Leafs to make the playoffs and represent as a Canadian team, I don’t think that the rookie goaltender James Reimer, “Optimus Reim,” has it in him to backstop the Leafs into the final playoff spot. It’s just not going to happen. Here are my Eastern Conference Predictions. 1-Philadelphia Flyers 2-Washington Capitals 3-Boston Bruins 4-Pittsburgh Penguins 5-Montreal Canadians 6-Tampa Bay Lightning 7-New York Rangers 8-Carrolina Hurricanes B.C. youth to a conference in Vancouver from August 19-21, 2011 If you’re aged 18-30, live in BC, and want to learn about transportation, sustainability and planning, apply to attend by January 31, 2011. See translink.ca/bcyouthsummit for full details! We’re inviting — all expenses paid!