When the NHL would not discipline Chris Pronger for his actions toward Ryan Kesler ... We at Ice Junkies were surprised, Vancouver fans were surprised and Bob McKenzie thought we were all just silly and needed "more evidence!" In his first story - "More evidence needed to suspend Pronger" Mr McKenzie goes on to say "whether it had malicious intent or was just part of Pronger trying to break free, well, the Zapruder film was better quality than this video." I am not sure how far away from the screen Bob was sitting, but on my tv - I saw it clear as day ... Chris Pronger made a "stomping" motion on Ryan Kesler's leg.
That story from Bob McKenzie broke on March 13th at 7:05pm ... fast forward to March 14th, at 8:50am (yes - 13 hours and 45 minutes later) and Bobby is back with his - "Upon Further Review" post on his blog (not where his original story was posted). Now he is saying "the same thing cannot be said after watching Pronger deliver a "stomp" on Kesler that is much clearer on the second generation of video that became available." I watched both videos, in both videos I saw the same thing - the same thing we all saw! Then McKenzie goes on to say "This wasn't nearly as flagrant or obvious or malicious as Chris Simon's stomp on Jarko Ruutu..." - Wait ... so if he was not obvious or malicious it would be ok? This makes no sense - if you purposely step on a mans leg while wearing a razor sharp blade on your foot ... Its Malicious!
Lets take this another direction ... What If Ryan sustained an injury to his leg? What If Prongers skate cut into his skin? How many games would he be suspended then? It is sad to watch the NHL pass down their suspensions based on the outcome of the event rather than on the actual infraction. Forget motivation, forget "the rap-sheet" as Bob McKenzie likes to call Prongers history ... Chris Simon is out for 30 games because he made a "stomping" motion onto the leg of Jarkko Ruutu, the same exact "stomping" motion made by Chris Pronger! This inconsistency in discipline should not be tolerated. Greg Wyshynski did a piece on this issue ... "Revealing the Secrets of Suspensions" ... I personally like how the NHL keeps its Standards, Practices and Politics of Suspensions a SECRET! Check out Mike Heika's piece on that - "Fans Left In The Dark"
It appears that the NHL is going to re-review their review of the Pronger stomp ... Chris has waived his "in person" review and has accepted the "on the phone" review with the league. With Chris being the Super Player that he is ... I am guessing he will be handed a hot steaming bowl of "no more than a 5 game suspension!"
In case you have not seen it and would like to see "The Original" - Check out the 19 second mark ... and Bob McKenzie needed MORE evidence? You can also read Clint's take on the whole matter by scrolling down 4 posts to his "Pronger Stomp" post - there you'll find a nice collection of video's to compare.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Chris Pronger, Super-Players And Bob McKenzie
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2 comments:
The league plays favorites for whatever reason. I was talking to my friend who is a Ducks fan, and she said she thinks he'll get 3-5 games, because he had no intent to injure...but when I look at the video, I see Pronger looking down and then stomping...TWICE, it's ridiculous. I think he should get the same as Simon 30 games, it has to be fair...but will that happen? Nope.
I am thinking no more than 5 games ... seeing how "important" he is to the NHL. I think the league will need to address consistency in their rulings soon enough - or they will drive fans away.
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