05-07-2016, 02:57 AM
Many have asked: why on earth is it taking so long to announce Shawn Thorntons suspension? On December 7, Thornton pulled Brooks Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him a few times in the face for good measure. Roger Clemens Jersey . Orpik was taken off on a stretcher, and having suffered a concussion, hasnt played since the incident. The scene was reminiscent of Tie Domi on Ulf Samuelsson, and to a lesser extent Marty McSorley and Todd Bertuzzi. Thorntons hearing will be Friday, almost a full week after the incident. Its not a surprise this one is taking time. The weight of the NFL concussion lawsuits, the recently filed NHL concussion class action and the Boogaard lawsuit are likely weighing heavily on the decision making process. The league may be looking at this one very carefully to ensure they send the right message, not only to players, parents and fans, but also to potential jurors. And that message is this: we are taking all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of our players. The league will want to be seen as being proactive when it comes to protecting the brains of players, and that means firmly addressing unnecessary risk on the ice. Hockey is an inherently dangerous sport and that will never change. Still, contact that is not part of the game will be scrutinized. It seems unlikely that NHL vice-president of player safety Brendan Shanahan will be working alone on this suspension. This will be a group effort with lawyers intimately involved. This incident raises complex legal issues and will be considered with care. Ultimately, the suspension is less a hockey decision and more a legal decision. So whatever the ruling by the NHL, the assumption needs to be that the league will actively consider the legal angles before making its decision. This is an important time for the league. The discussion about violence in sports has been rising over the past few years as the public becomes more aware of the potential long-term impact of headshots. Indeed, there seems to be a trend emerging: concerns over violence in sports have become part of the narrative of the game of hockey and they dont seem to be going away anytime soon. And, in part, those concerns are now being expressed in lawsuits. A Crime? One more question that is raised: were Thorntons actions a crime? The answer lies in the issue of consent, which is your starting point when assessing whether a hit on the ice is elevated to a crime. In hockey, when a player steps on the ice, he is agreeing to some form of bodily contact and the risk of injury that flows from that contact. Hockey is understood to be an inherently violent game and injuries happen. At law, this principle of consent is called voluntary assumption of risk. Players assume risk when playing and cant turn around and sue for the harm that comes from that type of fair and expected contact. However, a distinction should be made. Players are only consenting incidental contact (or contact that is part of the game like body checks). Players are not consenting to acts that are outside the scope of what is acceptable in the game. When that happens, you start asking if a crime has occurred. We did that in cases like Bertuzzi on Moore, McSorley on Brashear and Alex Perezhogin on Garrett Stafford. And we are doing that with Thornton on Orpik. Its tough to argue that Thorntons actions constitute incidental contact. Pulling Orpik to the ice from behind and punching him repeatedly in the face is not contact that is accepted as part of the game. So to characterize the incident as an assault is not unreasonable. And just because it happened on the ice doesnt change anything. Assault is assault is assault. That being said, the incident wasnt bad enough to warrant charges and thats why we didnt see any materialize. Finally, as far as length of the suspension, my best guess is 12 to 15 games. Anything north of 15 games will signal an acknowledgement that times have changed. Jose Bautista Grey Jersey .ca has you covered for whos in, whos out and what to expect from all 30 teams. R.A. Dickey Red Jersey . "When things get switched up," he said, "its usually because youre losing so you never want to see those line changes made.EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is going to start the off-season training program with a surgically repaired left ankle. The Giants announced that Manning had arthroscopic surgery Thursday to relieve some lingering discomfort in the ankle he sprained in the regular-season finale against Washington. The two-time Super Bowl MVP has been rehabbing the ankle for more than three months, but it was still bothering him. Dr. Robert Anderson, a foot and ankle specialist in Charlotte, N.C., performed a debridement, removing dead, damaged, or infected tissue to improve the healing potential of the remaining healthy tissue. Manning expects to be able to run in six weeks. Manning is coming off one of his worst seasons. The 33-year-old who will be entering his 11th season threw a career-high 27 interceptions playing behind a decimated offensive line that allowed him to be sacked 39 times. He completed 317 of 551 passes for 3,818 yards and 18 touchdowns. His quarterback rating of 69.4 was his lowest since a 55.4 in his rookie seeason in 2004. Edwin Encarnacion Blue Jays Jersey. "Im looking forward to the start of the off-season program on the (April) 21st," said Manning, who has started 151 consecutive games. "I will be in the weight room and in the meeting rooms so we can all learn the new offence. I got some good work in this week at Duke, and I think its smart to get this procedure done now so the ankle isnt an ongoing issue. Im eager to get to work with our new offensive coaches and system." The Giants will hold organized team activities May 28-30, June 2-3, June 5, June 9-10, June 12-13, and a mandatory minicamp June 17-19. Coach Tom Coughlin hired Ben McAdoo as the new offensive co-ordinator after Kevin Gilbride retired after last season. There also is a new quarterback coach, Danny Langsdorf. The Giants (7-9) scored 294 points, the lowest total of the Tom Coughlin era. They finished 28th in the NFL in total yards (307.5 a game), 29th in yards rushing per game (83.3) and 30th in yards per carry (3.5). New York has missed the playoffs the past two seasons. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '