Vancouver's Burrows blasts Ref for make up calls

[b.shanafan14 733]

Saw this on TSN and was about to start a thread, luckily LGW is on it

This is getting pathetic. The officiating has become a deciding factor in games before but this is just ridiculous. More and more I watch Burrow play I like the guy and he couldn't be more right. All of the calls on him were complete phantoms and in the end it turns out to be a personal vendetta for Burrow "making a ref look bad"?

Note to NHL Refs: You make yourselves far look worse than any player could. You don't need help from Burrows to blow a call and look like a jackass. In fact, this is a prime example.

Well done, Alex.

[PotbellyJoe 10]

Auger and LaRue did the game last night. They were the pair that screwed Brad May. Best line I heard on it this monring was one of my buddies out west...

"This brings new insight into how early a ref can intend to blow a whistle"

[akustyk 84]

Burrows gained a few points for me, but he really screwed himself in the future. Refs have even longer memories than players do...

my thoughts exactly.

it looks to me like Burrows did it quite cleanly, speaking about his view towards a person

and avoiding mixing the NHL and generalizing with officiating, so I don't really expect

NHL handing him any slap. but it sure is something which will buy him a lot of extra attention

from the refs around the NHL

Edited January 12, 2010 by akustyk

[Guest mindfly]

I know the refs in NFL and MLB have high standards but some say NBAs refs are pretty brutal, are they as bad as the NHLs?

[edicius 3,269]

"Best in sports...blah blah blah...right 99.9% of the time...blah blah blah..."

It would be so nice if this paved the way to investigate some other questionable officiating, picking up patterns between officials and specific players being penalized (of course, O'Halloran and Holmstrom instantly come to mind).

[creedie 2]

It is interesting that NHL.com has nothing about this incident on their site, not even in their game highlights.

[Datsyuk2Zetterberg 1]

The refs fixing games? No way.

The NHL will do the logical thing and fine Burrows and then pretend like there is nothing wrong with the officiating.

[egroen 384]

I know the refs in NFL and MLB have high standards but some say NBAs refs are pretty brutal, are they as bad as the NHLs?

Worse, with an official currently in jail for betting on games and effecting their outcomes (and wrote a book stating it was common practice amongst officials). Large part of the reason I can barely watch the NBA any more.

Though at least in the NBA you are not surprised by the BS calls (always favor the "star") while in the NHL there is often no rhyme-nor-reason to them -- unless Pittsburgh is playing.

Edited January 12, 2010 by egroen

[PotbellyJoe 10]

Worse, with an official currently in jail for betting on games and effecting their outcomes (and wrote a book stating it was common practice amongst officials). Large part of the reason I can barely watch the NBA any more.

Though at least in the NBA you are not surprised by the BS calls (always favor the "star") while in the NHL there is often no rhyme-nor-reason to them -- unless Pittsburgh is playing.

But if Bettman still believes (with very little evidence in either direction) that Performance Enhancing Drugs are not an issue in his sport because they don't help with the skill of the game, then how can we expect him to take his head out of the sand on the issue of refs and possible vendettas?

This is equivalent to a Police Chief being asked if one of his officers was out of line. No facts stated, no facts needed, he's one of their own, they say "He's a veteran in the league, has reffed umpteen hundred games and has shown to be a very good ref over his career"

At least on his show on Thursday the discussion won't entirely be about programming for Center Ice.

[egroen 384]

But if Bettman still believes (with very little evidence in either direction) that Performance Enhancing Drugs are not an issue in his sport because they don't help with the skill of the game, then how can we expect him to take his head out of the sand on the issue of refs and possible vendettas?

This is equivalent to a Police Chief being asked if one of his officers was out of line. No facts stated, no facts needed, he's one of their own, they say "He's a veteran in the league, has reffed umpteen hundred games and has shown to be a very good ref over his career"

At least on his show on Thursday the discussion won't entirely be about programming for Center Ice.

I honestly expect nothing to come about this...

Bettman will barely have to dust off his canned "we have the best refs in the world; they have a tough job to do; they get it right 99.99% of the time" and that will be that. At the very least, you probably will not see Auger in any playoff games, hopefully.

[b.shanafan14 733]

The refs fixing games? No way.

The NHL will do the logical thing and fine Burrows and then pretend like there is nothing wrong with the officiating.

The saddest thing is, I do expect a fine coming to Burrows when in fact the ref should be the one fined and canned.

[edicius 3,269]

I honestly expect nothing to come about this...

Bettman will barely have to dust off his canned "we have the best refs in the world; they have a tough job to do; they get it right 99.99% of the time" and that will be that. At the very least, you probably will not see Auger in any playoff games, hopefully.

Or at least not any Vancouver playoff games.

[toby91_ca 620]

To be fair, I think NHL refs are very good and they do make the right call most of the time. Out of all the major sports, I can't think of a more difficult one to officiate. People have to keep that in mind when they see bad calls made or missed calls. Refs will make the wrong call every now and then and when they do, people will jump all over it, but you need to step back and remember just how difficult a job it is and understand that sometimes mistakes will be made.

Okay, all that said, none of that applies to the case with Auger if we are to believe everything Burrows has said.

Edit: forgot to comment, a lot of fans tend to be critical of the league in defending the refs even though they've made terrible calls, etc., but the league does look at and take a refs performance seriously and does discipline refs behind the scenes. In the majority of cases, discipline would come in the form of not being assigned playoff games, or only being assigned games in the first round.

Edited January 12, 2010 by toby91_ca

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

To be fair, I think NHL refs are very good and they do make the right call most of the time. Out of all the major sports, I can't think of a more difficult one to officiate. People have to keep that in mind when they see bad calls made or missed calls. Refs will make the wrong call every now and then and when they do, people will jump all over it, but you need to step back and remember just how difficult a job it is and understand that sometimes mistakes will be made.

Okay, all that said, none of that applies to the case with Auger if we are to believe everything Burrows has said.

....to everything said.

Not only that, I get so sick of people crying and whining about biased officiating in favor of any team/player other than the Wings and its players. The fact of the matter is that when the Wings lose, its because they either didn't play well enough, were too injured or weren't talented enough to beat their opponents on that given night. The sad part is, far too many people want to use the refs as their excuse so they can feel better about a loss.

The truth is the Wings aren't always the best team in NHL. Not every single year and most certainly not every single night. Apparently, its just easier for people to blame the refs then to accept the aforementioned fact.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

To be fair, I think NHL refs are very good and they do make the right call most of the time. Out of all the major sports, I can't think of a more difficult one to officiate. People have to keep that in mind when they see bad calls made or missed calls. Refs will make the wrong call every now and then and when they do, people will jump all over it, but you need to step back and remember just how difficult a job it is and understand that sometimes mistakes will be made.

Okay, all that said, none of that applies to the case with Auger if we are to believe everything Burrows has said.

Edit: forgot to comment, a lot of fans tend to be critical of the league in defending the refs even though they've made terrible calls, etc., but the league does look at and take a refs performance seriously and does discipline refs behind the scenes. In the majority of cases, discipline would come in the form of not being assigned playoff games, or only being assigned games in the first round.

Agree with absolutely all of the above.

Man, seeing those penalties on Burrows, it's not hard to believe his story. The diving was pretty weak. It honestly just looked like he fell down. There shouldn't have been any call either way. And the interference is the most damning evidence of what Burrows is alleging. That was a total joke. And it's not like he's a frustrated player who's not scoring. He had two goals in the game.

Wow. It'll be interesting to see what if anything comes of this.

Edited January 12, 2010 by haroldsnepsts

[Miller Brew 0]

I don't know that the ref said anything to Burrows about "getting him back", but watching the replay it's an obvious bad call. Officiating is just horrible and I would like to see refs getting fined and/or lose their job. A message needs to be sent for all this poor officiating.

[toby91_ca 620]

Bob MacKenzie has a pretty good write-up on this, suggesting it's going to get ugly and won't go away anytime soon.

[Miller Brew 0]

Bob MacKenzie has a pretty good write-up on this, suggesting it's going to get ugly and won't go away anytime soon.

I certainly hope Vancouver make lots of noise. These bad calls are unacceptable and, as a professional hockey league, we should demand higher standards.

[Guest micah]

Anyone who reads what I write on here knows what I think of diving and divers - they are the scum of the earth.

This was not diving. It was a ref with a personal vendeta against a players and he should lose his job for it. Burrows fell down. There was no reason to dive in this case, as there was nothing the opposing player was doing that might have drawn a penalty. There was no hit from behind that Burrows wanted ti imbelish, there was nor trip for him to make look worse than it was, he just fell. The interference call really seals the deal though.

Burrows deserves a thank-you note from all of us for risking punishment to bring this case to light. When this stuff happens, players, coaches and fans have a responsibility to make noise about it, for the good of the game.

[Xitium 272]

SO not surprised by this news.

**coughO'Hallorancough**

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Another fairly surprising admission by a ref, when talking about the Burrows incident.

Asked by sportsnet.ca what referees do when a player like Burrows, who is known for diving, burns them the way Burrows did to Auger back in December, an NHL ref said Tuesday, "You file it away in the back of your cranium.

"You wait until you get a game where the score is 5-1, and then you might call him for something. You just say, 'We'll meet up again one day.' But you don't hurt the team. You wait for the score to be 5-1."

As for the video of Auger speaking to Burrows before the game, the official said, "You don't even have to be a ref to figure it out. Don't leave the gun at the scene with your fingerprints all over it."

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2010/01/12/..._auger_burrows/

I can't believe would even admit that, though I'm not surprised it happens. Even if you get burned by a guy for diving, giving some bulls*** call when the score is 5-1 is still no way to deal with it. That ref just validated what a lot of fans have thought about officials.

Though I still don't think it's a conspiracy against teams, this sure shows that some refs have it our for certain players.

Edited January 12, 2010 by haroldsnepsts

[Guest ToMaToToWnWinGsFaN_24]

oh now i cant wait to hear what bettman will have to say this thursday on the nhl hour...but what im lookin forward to more is hearing an angry vancouver fan yell at bettman for this lack of officiating this past decade

btw..is this ref new?

ive never heard his name before...?

[Yzerfan1999 81]

I dont doubt Borrows' story at all. The evidence is everywhere that this ref had it out to get him. Good for Burrows' for saying something - though it might have done his team more good if he mentioned something to the media during the intermissions or something before it happened, then we would all know for sure. Either way, this Auger is right up there in my bad books with Dennis LaRue - the two worst refs in the league.

Have fun reffing preseason games and the odd Lightning vs. Thrashers game, you loser.

[Guest ToMaToToWnWinGsFaN_24]

i can just see this board go crazy if this ref officiates a wings game sometime soon ...

OH THE TRAVESTY!

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Here's the video of Auger talking to Burrows in the pregame skate for those that are interested. It's just a quick one, but its still a discussion.