Officials...Conspiracy or Incompetence?

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

I wonder how proud Bettman is about his fighting to the death to keep hockey in Phoenix only to see them average what, 8,000 fans per game?

[Echolalia 2,961]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=506731

That's total bulls***. if there was intent to blow the whistle to blow the play dead it would have had to occur before the shot was taken (so the whistle could be blown as late as just after the goal was scored). Otherwise the intent to blow wouldn't occur until after the goal was already scored. Instead the whistle goes off a full 2.5 seconds after the puck is in the net. Do me a favor and count that out in your head. Anybody. Mississippi, one. Mississippi two. Mississ. It doesn't take Michael J Fox 2.5 seconds to get his hand to his mouth. There's no reason a perfectly fit referee shouldn't be able to do it. Furthermore, this is the NHL, not kiddie-pool water polo for autistic kids. The refs are a part of the game too, and they are expected to show reflexes and athletics worthy of the NHL. A 2.5 second delay on an intent to blow the whistle is far from athletic. Its far from average.

[Mors 201]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=506731

It's ridiculous they can actually put out an official response to something so blatantly wrong and stand by their story. All this tells me is that Senior Vice President Mike Murphy is as completely full of s*** as the rest of the NHL management.

[Inultus 12]

I've said it before and I still feel the same. Forget the intent to blow stuff. Like it was just said, it doesn't take much time to blow the whistle. Either blow it or don't, but eff this "intent to blow."

Also, even if I was a ref and I lost sight of the puck, the blew the whistle and found out that the puck was in the net, I would go look at the video, see that it was a clean goal and call it so.

Doesn't seem that hard to me...

[esteef 2,679]

I just don't understand why it's so hard to just admit that the ref made a mistake. The blown call is bad enough but the cover-up denial bulls*** after the fact is just insulting to everyone - Wings AND fans.

esteef

[stevkrause 1,247]

LOL... I didn't realize that was also him.

exactly... the guy is a joke...

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

I guess the good news is that this no-goal has stirred up a huge s***storm in the hockey community. I somehow doubt the NHL has got the guts to make the necessary changes right away but if there's enough widespread outrage it might get the ball rolling.

[deetroit dario 27]

as far as conspiracy, i don't think so. the level of incompetence is too high for any two individuals to conspire with one another...

though i often suspect it was their intent to be competent enough to conspire...

suddenly, i feel a little better about my secret KHL fandom.

[WpgMikos 17]

I guess the good news is that this no-goal has stirred up a huge s***storm in the hockey community. I somehow doubt the NHL has got the guts to make the necessary changes right away but if there's enough widespread outrage it might get the ball rolling.

Ya even guys who hate the Wings agree that the call was bush league.

[ami 273]

Usually the referees know exactly what's happening and they would come to us and say, 'Listen, I blew the whistle or my intent to blow the whistle was there. I've got this play dead before the puck crosses the goal line.' No more need be said. Once we hear that, basically video review is now out of the process. We step aside and say it's a call made on the ice and it's a non-reviewable call. It's a whistle blown by the referee and it was blown or the intent to blow it was before the puck crossed the goal line."

No more need be said, indeed.

2nd overtime of 7th game of SCF. Team A is on PP after questionable interference call made by Ref. X. Then their defender scores from slap-shot from the point, but Ref. Y blinks that exact moment and happens to loose site of the pack and therefore intended to blow a whistle...

If league (including GMs) keep defending their incompetent officials, we are not very far from watching that type of 7th game of SCF...

Edited November 19, 2009 by ami

[evilmrt 636]

Say there are sensors inside the goal posts and crossbar which create a sort of field the puck would have to pass through to enter the goal. The FoxTrax puck system wouldn't work for this because it was based on similar technology to GPS; it was an imprecise location based on an in-arena satellite. Another advantage to my system? The nets could be set up so that when knocked off, the gate is deactivated but the clock is still stopped. Now we just need someone to design the actual programming and get the technology working together.

That technology has been around 20 years or more. Like I said, the NHL is stuck in the 80s. Do we see innovation under Bettman?

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

I just assumed the League has been using "sensor technology" for awhile now, especially in the player's equipment; how else could they get accurate totals for something like TOI? If they can use it there, they can expand that same concept to other areas of the game.

[Sgt. Angry 23]

I guess one of the advantages of having to live through all of the similar crap the Wings went through last season, is that I really don't give a rats a$$ about this regular season. Even when the Wings only give a half-hearted effort during their games, I can forgive them, because I am only half-heartedly watching. I say give Ozzy and everybody else lots of time off during the regular season - just be ready for the playoffs.

Watching the ineptitude transpire at the bowling alley last night, someone said (before the goal was called off) "how can they not call that a goal?" My prophetic response was, "for any other team, that's a goal!" Every time you see the refs start dinking around at the end of a play, you have a 99% chance that it will be bad news for Detroit. If crap like this had happened at the Olympia years ago, the refs would have been in real danger. Oh for the good old days.

[Vladifan 680]

Wilbon and Kornheiser JUST talked about THE goal and showed it. They agreed it was a rotten call and said the refs "covered it up" and said after the fact that there was intent to blow the whistle. They also quasi-joked about a conspiracy. But kids, it is out there. Not a moment too soon.

Edited November 19, 2009 by Vladifan

[titanium2 867]

LaRue let Pittsburgh have 6 skaters on the ice for more than 30 seconds in a SCF game...

once again... LaRue is by FAR, the worst official in NHL history

I didn't realize that was him as well.

I've really only added O'Halloran to the Red Wing hater ref club but I guess LaRue can be the vice president.

[pirateasaurus 0]

The whole "intent" rule has bothered me for quite some time and what i have always maintained is that players play from the drop of the puck to the whistle. Whistle being a very key word.

Auld's comments about it amused me because on the replay you can clearly see his reaction right after he notices it in the net is "ah s***" and seems to concede that it's a goal.

[Echolalia 2,961]

By the way has anyone seen the Dallas feed of the non-goal? The commentators actually laugh out loud at the call.

[Vladifan 680]

By the way has anyone seen the Dallas feed of the non-goal? The commentators actually laugh out loud at the call.

I have it on our recorder and I will watch it tomorrow morning. And to think I almost erased that game. Those guys are really quite good at calling games too, so I can hardly wait to see/hear their reaction.

[DMAC 25 18]

one day babcock is going to be whereing his skates during the game and if the same ref from last nights game is refing their game again i see him jumping over the boards and beating the crap out of him haha just kidding but i dont understand the refs intent to blow the whistle. why does it seem like this crap happens every year, remember a year or two ago when the puck went into the net above the glass and dropped next to the goal. i just dont understand how that stuff can be missed

[WpgMikos 17]

Wilbon and Kornheiser JUST talked about THE goal and showed it. They agreed it was a rotten call and said the refs "covered it up" and said after the fact that there was intent to blow the whistle. They also quasi-joked about a conspiracy. But kids, it is out there. Not a moment too soon.

I'm not sure what's more shocking, the blown call or hockey being discussed on PTI.

Edited November 19, 2009 by WpgMikos

[ManLuv4Clears 7]

I thought this was pretty cool. The guys at ESPN where doing live chatting during an ESPN.com Thursday Night hockey segment and they replied to my question about it, though they didn't really say anything special or out of the ordinary:

They did also say earlier in the thread that they think the NHL will be on ESPN again in time.

Edited November 20, 2009 by ManLuv4Clears

[cupforwings 138]

I thought this was pretty cool. The guys at ESPN where doing live chatting during an ESPN.com Thursday Night hockey segment and they replied to my question about it, though they didn't really say anything special or out of the ordinary:

They did also say earlier in the thread that they think the NHL will be on ESPN again in time.

ha ha nice, Matthew Barnaby answered my question the other day... He told me that Chicago was going to win the central... pretty funny

[Brad Kepler 0]

I guess the good news is that this no-goal has stirred up a huge s***storm in the hockey community. I somehow doubt the NHL has got the guts to make the necessary changes right away but if there's enough widespread outrage it might get the ball rolling.

What's funny is that it's NOT being covered in Bleacher Reports. I wonder why

[blankrap 9]

EVEN NHL09 Refs have the intent to blow the whistle... I found this on Youtube and the goal didn't count when it was clearly in... Just to throw a little humor in for us.

How pissed would you be if you were in a heated tourny with someone and that was the clincher or tier...

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Ya even guys who hate the Wings agree that the call was bush league.

From what, other boards?