It’s my Parting Shot for my Monday Musings…..
Let me say it right now – whomever wins the A-B-C Championship game this coming Sunday between Kansas City and Buffalo will be the winner of Super Bowl 59 on February 9th. My pick to win the Super Bowl prior to the playoffs, the Detroit Lions, were ushered from the post-season by the Washington Commanders – of all teams – back on Saturday! And, you thought that picking N-F-L winners was easy, eh?!
Who wants to predict that shortly after his inauguration today, Donald Trump will decide that the Washington Commanders were named in his honour?!
I’m not saying this because I detest the Edmonton Oilers, but Connor McDavid should be slapped with a severe suspension for his loss of control cross-check to the face of Vancouver’s Connor Garland near the end of Saturday’s Canucks’ victory. The same goes for Vancouver defenceman Tyler Myers who delivered a similar type of cross-check to the head – let’s call it a real “Bouch Bomb” – of Edmonton blue-liner Evan Bouchard. Head shots with intent can’t be in the game and need to be dealt with more severely than fighting. Both should receive severe supplemental discipline, but a stick to the face is worse than a fist – in my humble opinion!
My fear is that Myers’ cross-check on Bouchard might actually knock some defensive sense into the Oilers’ D-man. He has an intimidating shot, but suffers from the same malady as his team-mate – the over-paid Darnell Nurse – poor defensive zone decision-making!
Seriously, though, the N-H-L’s Department of Player Safety should meet with the league’s officials and suspend some of them for their lack of consistency and disregard for the rule book, period. McDavid’s ill-advised and undisciplined actions against Garland are as a result of Garland being able to literally tie up the game’s best player for several seconds on end – grabbing, hooking, holding and tackling – without being penalized! How does that happen?! Oh, right, from the ridiculous idea, endorsed by such hockey dinosaurs as Don Cherry, Kevin Bieksa and others, to let the players figure it out and keep the officials out of the equation! It’s that notion that, sometimes, makes it hard to defend the game as being the best of the pro sports – which I truly believe is the case!!
That’s my Parting Shot. I’m Les Lazaruk…and it turned out nice again!
