tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620317590507430466.post686577112243774764..comments2011-12-24T21:32:43.409-05:00Comments on The Sports Nation: The NHL Again Proves It's Incompetent When Handing Out PunishmentsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2620317590507430466.post-35433378215486709582011-03-17T12:51:07.608-04:002011-03-17T12:51:07.608-04:00Bettman’s inconsistencies in handing out suspensio...Bettman’s inconsistencies in handing out suspensions/fines to different players are glaring. Worse yet, the inconsistencies between his words and his actions set the tone for the entire league. Inconsistency is a NHL problem and will likely continue to dictate the league’s place as a minor sport in the US. An NHL ref. tandem one night calls things tight, the next night the standards are different. The differences between ref. tandems on any given night can be far worse. Even within a game, what is a penalty in the first period becomes a non-call in the third. I understand that the refs might have missed seeing the hit on Wallin (although at least one ref seemed to be looking right at the hit in the replay). But Bettman can’t let that hit slide in light of the suspension to Heatley (one that Heatley deserved). The hit on Wallin was a far more dangerous hit. So Bettman preaches player safety; those are his words. Yet he focuses on a minor cheap shot by Heatley (with a massive dive and exaggeration by Ott after the fact) and then entirely ignores the really dangerous hit on Wallin. Why not give the “War Room” in Toronto the authority to call down to the refs when they have missed something significant and assess a penalty? Consistency in calling everything that needs a call would improve. I’d argue that under Bettman, inconsistency will continue to be the norm; he needs to go.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com