Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Nacho Fernandez Spain Jersey .ca. Hello Kerry, After watching Nino Niederreiter clobber Alex Burrows with an open-ice hit on Wednesday, do you think he should have gotten more than the two minutes for interference. He got him in the head with his shoulder! Thanks,Gary Gary: While I do not like the contact that Nino Niederreiter delivered to the head of Alexandre Burrows one bit, a two-minute penalty was about all the refs could assess on this play under the rules. A more meaningful and deserved penalty to Niederreiter should come his way via a Player Safety Committee review of this illegal check to the head. I watched Mike Milburys take on this play during the NBC intermission of the Rangers-Flyers game last night. Mike didnt agree with the "interference" call since the puck had just left Burrows stick. Beyond that, Milburys comments relative to the Niederreiter hit included, "I dont mind it. I think its more than 2 minutes he should have got." (Which I interpret as no penalty was deserved in Mikes opinion.)I completely agree with one element of Mike Milburys assessment on this play; it was not interference! Nino Niederreiter however should be held accountable for the significant contact he delivered with his shoulder cap to the head of Alex Burrows from the side; which by the way I believe was avoidable. For ongoing player safety this hit, and all similar in nature, need to be regarded as an illegal check to the head in violation of rule 48.2—on a hit resulting in contact with an opponents head where the head was the main point of contact and such contact to the head was avoidable. That can only happen if those responsible for doling out punishment interpret the rule verbiage, "main point of contact" to mean "significant" contact to the head coupled with some/secondary contact with the body. Alexandre Burrows lowered his posture to reach for a puck through the neutral zone. After gaining puck possession Burrows straightened to an upright body position, glided a couple of feet and then released the puck. Nino Niederreiter approached from the side angle position with his skates in a glide and his posture coiled (knees bent and flexed) to deliver a body check that would appear at, least through this setup, to make contact squarely through Burrows body. Just prior to delivering the hit Niederreiter stiffened his legs, thereby elevating his posture significantly upwards towards the head of Burrows. From this strike position, Niederreiter slipped his body just off the center line of Burrows and continued to elevate his shoulder that made significant contact with the head of Alex Burrows. The contact delivered off the center body line and to the head of Burrows resulted in a helicopter freefall for the Vancouver Canuck player. I doubt very much we would even be talking about this play if Nino Niederreiter had maintained a lowered and flexed posture from the setup and approach through contact of his intended hit on Alexandre Burrows. Like most players however, Neiderrreiter made the dangerous decision to increase velocity through the hit by straightening with an upward drive of his legs and shoulder cap that had no other place to connect than the head area of his opponent. Rule 48.1 (i) (ii) (iii) provides lots of reasons to determine whether contact with an opponents head was avoidable. Practically all of these allowances place considerable onus on the recipient/victim of the hit. From (iii) Alexandre Burrows did not "materially change the position of his body or head immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit in a way that significantly contributed to the head contact." The material change in position came from Nino Niederreiter. If the rule verbiage doesnt qualify hits of this nature as a "head pick," at the very least it needs to be acknowledged that significant contact resulted from an illegal hit to the head in an ongoing effort to hold players accountable. David de Gea Jersey . Jeff Carter had two goals and an assist as the Kings stretched their streak to seven wins in a row with a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. Sergio Ramos Jersey . Canada Day is here and with it comes Free Agent Frenzy as the NHLs 30 teams storm out of the gate for signing season. http://www.spainsoccerpro.com/Dani-Carvajal-Spain-Jersey/ .Hoffenheim forward Anthony Modeste opened the scoring on a counterattack in the 15th minute, shooting though Jaroslav Drobnys legs after Lewis Holtby lost the ball in midfield.SAO PAULO, Brazil -- FIFA said Wednesday it is not considering changing kickoff times or adding mandatory cooling breaks during World Cup matches, despite being sued by Brazils players union because of health concerns. FIFA said it spent nearly two years analyzing starting times for the tournament in Brazil and always took into consideration the players health. The players federation filed a lawsuit this week to change kickoff times of the 24 matches scheduled to start at 1 p.m. local time (1600 GMT), saying players would be at risk because of intense heat and humidity in some venues. It said FIFA, at least, must introduce two-minute water breaks in each half during those matches. The players federation is asking for a temporary injunction against FIFA but theres no timetable on a ruling. "FIFAs medical team is always monitoring carefully all venues during any FIFA competition to protect the players health," footballs governing body said in a statement. "Cooling breaks will be considered on a match-by-match basis for the 64 matches. Official and mandatory cooling breaks will not be pre-established. Rather, climate conditions will be evaluated prior to each match by the FIFA venue medical officer." There were similar health concerns during the 1994 World Cup in the United states, when temperatures reached the mid-30s (Celsius) in some of the games. Extreme heat is also a problem for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, with FIFA considering moving the tournament to winter to avoid the hot weather in the Gulf nation. FIFA said it already made the schedule changes it felt were needed in the Brazilian cities with the highest temperatures. It will be winter in Brazil during the World Cup, but it may be hot and humid in many of the 12 host cities, especially in the northeastern and northern regions. "One coore aspect in defining the kickoff times was the very thorough analysis of the historical climate data in all venues," FIFA said. Cesar Azpilicueta Spain Jersey. "Therefore, the venues with the highest average temperatures such as Manaus, Cuiaba and Fortaleza do not have any matches with 1 p.m. kickoff times during group stage." Seven matches had their kickoff times altered by FIFA last year. The players federation, known as Fenapaf, wants the changes based on local labour regulations and a study conducted by renowned Brazilian sports doctor Turibio Leite. The study was requested by Fenapaf and FIFPro, the international players union. "We have been trying to discuss this with FIFA for nearly two years and they wont even sit down to talk to us," federation president Rinaldo Martorelli told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "The only alternative was to seek legal action. We really hope that they make the changes in kickoff times, but if that doesnt happen, they need to at least make the cooling breaks mandatory." FIFPro did meet with FIFA last year to discuss the issue, although no direct action was taken at the time. FIFA said that defining the World Cup match schedule is a "complex process" that involves "detailed assessments" from experts in several areas, with players health the "highest priority." It said other considerations include travel logistics and the global television market. FIFPro last year accused FIFA of considering "the demands of TV companies of greater importance than the health and safety of the players." FIFA officially approved referees to implement cooling breaks in 2013, though water breaks were made during the final of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when Argentina beat Nigeria in grueling conditions at the Birds Nest. Jerseys NFL Cheap China NFL Hoodies Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Hoodies ' ' '