Paul Stewart: Good Morning, Montreal... Know of a Good Dry Cleaner?

Claude was a punk of the highest order.

Paul, I relish the thought of reading your articles. You really bring a new dimension to game! Thanks for your candor and Happy New Year to you and yours.

Claude was a punk of the highest order.
- MBFlyerfan

Yesss....But who would not take him on his team?

Paul, am I reading more into this comment you made "Referees have to try to make things as fair as possible."? Are you saying the Refs had to "fix" things so games came out closer than they were?

Paul, am I reading more into this comment you made "Referees have to try to make things as fair as possible."?
- powerenforcer

Yes.

Are you saying the Refs had to "fix" things so games came out closer than they were?
- powerenforcer

No.

Paul,

Quick question. Why does it seem like hockey refs appear to miss more calls than other sports. I know early on it was hard because there was only on ref, but why now that they have four officials on the ice?

I personally don't agree that hockey officials miss more calls than other sports, but most missed calls in hockey can be attributed to the speed of the game (hockey is by far the fastest moving game) and improper positioning by officials which creates poor sight lines. There are a lot of moving parts on a sheet of ice and as officials develop a better feel for the game, they learn to position themselves in more favorable positions to maximize the field of vision.

As far as the 4-man officiating system is concerned, more infractions are properly identified now than in the 1-ref, 2-linesman system of the past. In the 1 and 2, as the referee moves up the ice with the play, it becomes harder to keep tabs on activity behind the play and vice versa. Adding the 2nd referee to the ice alleviates this problem and also provides for much better coverage in all zones. Good linesmen provide assistance to both referees on plays where major violations occur especially related to contact to the head and other plays resulting in serious injuries. The end result is more infractions being properly identified and I think hockey does this as well as if not better than other sports at present.
- sWuave24

Ummmmm....no.

Paul,

Quick question. Why does it seem like hockey refs appear to miss more calls than other sports. I know early on it was hard because there was only on ref, but why now that they have four officials on the ice?
- faustus1500

The game is faster than any other?
Football has more officials... the game is slower...
Basketball has fewer officials... the game is pretty much non-contact so they call everything...
Baseball has the same number of officials... It's slower and is also non-contact... and they blow calls ALL THE TIME

Yes.



No.
- Paul Stewart

What exactly are you meaning by that comment? Aren't Refs supposed to make sure the game is played by the rules and uphold the rules of the game? Where does fair come into play?

The game is faster than any other?
Football has more officials... the game is slower...
Basketball has fewer officials... the game is pretty much non-contact so they call everything...
Baseball has the same number of officials... It's slower and is also non-contact... and they blow calls ALL THE TIME
- mlindsay

Football still blows numerous calls every week. Hockey officiating has it's flaws but it is probably the best around still. We are the only sport with a war room to review calls well at least goals. The NFL just has the head ref go look at replays until he figures out what he wants to call.

there's a cleaner on st. denis right next to carre st. louis. i go there and find them to be very good.

The game is faster than any other?
Football has more officials... the game is slower...
Basketball has fewer officials... the game is pretty much non-contact so they call everything...
Baseball has the same number of officials... It's slower and is also non-contact... and they blow calls ALL THE TIME
- mlindsay

There is a saying that in football, there's a hold on every play. It's pretty much a 110% true statement. They actually blow more calls in football as far as penalties go.

I think in Hockey, they are doing a descent job at calling penalties. I still don't get why players slash a guys hand when he's pursuing him. The only time I've seen it work on an NHL player, he got called for a penalty. I think the problem in hockey is that since they now call almost everything, the diving is getting out of control. I think for obvious dives, they should fine $5000 each time for making the ref look like a dumb ass. They would eventually stop.

this was the best hockey writing I have read in the past week - on this or any other location.

thank you.

What exactly are you meaning by that comment? Aren't Refs supposed to make sure the game is played by the rules and uphold the rules of the game? Where does fair come into play?
- powerenforcer

he was talking about an altercation where on guy had an upper hand on the other. not the game, the icings, the offsides, etc.

reading WAY too much into it.