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Canes' Brind'Amour calls for expanded replay

Published in Hockey
Thursday, 16 May 2019 09:27

RALEIGH, N.C. -- On the heels of yet another officiating controversy in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour passionately advocated for expanded video review.

"It's been time forever," Brind'Amour said Thursday. "It's time to get the calls right, because it's just too important. Games matter so much. That was tough last night to watch."

Brind'Amour was referring to the NHL's latest officiating snafu, in overtime of Game 3 of the Western Conference finals between the San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues. Erik Karlsson's overtime winner counted, giving the Sharks a 5-4 victory. However, it should have been whistled down considering the assist was off a hand pass from teammate Timo Meier.

The NHL's Rule 79 specifically states that a player can't bat the puck with his hand to a teammate or allow "his team to gain an advantage."

However, the league said in a statement: "Plays of this nature are not reviewable. A hand pass that goes into the net can be reviewed, but a hand pass between teammates cannot be reviewed."

Kay Whitmore, the NHL's supervisor of officials for the series, told a pool reporter: "It's a nonreviewable play. You can read between the lines. You can figure out what you want. You watched the video. But it's just nonreviewable. I know that sounds like a cop-out answer, but that's the truth."

That incensed the Blues -- GM Doug Armstrong slammed his hand on the door of the officials' dressing room, yelling that the decision was "f---ing garbage" -- as well as many around the NHL, including Brind'Amour.

"Help the refs," Brind'Amour said. "These refs are great refs. A lot of you can't tell. I'm telling you. So many of the calls, I don't really know. I look down to see, then I lose my mind because I know it was the wrong call, but they can't be expected to make those calls like that. It's way too hard."

Brind'Amour said he believes there's "an easy solution."

The coach's suggested fix?

"Take two refs off the ice," said Brind'Amour, who had a 20-year NHL career before retiring in 2010. "Put them in the penalty box -- have their skates on if they want. One guy can be watching the calls. The linesman can be watching the offsides. Get them out of the way. They're getting in the way. It's hard, the game is so fast. You watch how often the puck hits them. To me, you can get these calls done quickly and done right, and that's all you want. As a player, as a coach, as a fan. You just want to make sure you get the calls right. I think. But we'll see."

After Wednesday night's game, San Jose captain Joe Pavelski admitted his team might have lucked out on the call.

"Everyone keeps talking about the hand pass, so there must have been something there," Pavelski said. "But at the end of the day, there are calls that go both ways. That's the playoffs."

The captain added: "[The refs are] not trying to screw anybody. They really aren't. They're good guys. May not always seem that way, but tonight, we may have caught a break. But there were a lot of breaks going both ways all night, all series."

ESPN's Greg Wyshynski contributed to this report.

Schoenfeld resigns as Rangers assistant GM

Published in Hockey
Thursday, 16 May 2019 11:24

NEW YORK -- Jim Schoenfeld has resigned as vice president and assistant general manager of the New York Rangers.

The former NHL defenseman and coach spent 17 seasons in the Rangers' organization, serving in a variety of roles. He spent most of that time as general manager of the AHL's Hartford franchise, which he also coached for two seasons.

Among the standout players Schoenfeld helped develop for the Rangers are Ryan McDonagh, Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Callahan.

"In nearly two decades with the Rangers, Jim made an impact on every level of the organization," Rangers President Glen Sather said Thursday. "His tireless efforts and contributions were vital to the extended run of success we experienced during his tenure in New York."

Schoenfeld has coached the Sabres, Devils, Capitals and Coyotes.

A player for 13 seasons with Buffalo, Detroit and Boston, he skated in 719 games as a stay-at-home defenseman and superb shot blocker. He played in two All-Star games, was the Sabres' captain for three seasons, and in 1974-75 helped Buffalo advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

Preds, Nashville reach 30-year lease extension

Published in Hockey
Thursday, 16 May 2019 12:23

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Nashville Predators finally have the kind of security the former expansion franchise has been wanting for years after agreeing to a new 30-year arena lease that runs through 2049.

The Predators announced the agreement Thursday for Bridgestone Arena at a Metro Nashville Sports Authority meeting. The sports authority is expected to vote on the new lease next month.

"This is exactly where we want to be -- in the center of downtown and playing an integral role in our community's growth and development for the next 30 years," said Sean Henry, Predators' chief executive officer and president.

The extension comes 12 years after Craig Leipold, now owner of the Minnesota Wild, announced a deal to sell the franchise to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie. That deal in May 2007 fell through after Balsillie started taking season-ticket deposits in Hamilton, Ontario, and local businessmen bought the team instead.

Since the Predators and Nashville revised the arena lease last in 2012, more than $78 million has been spent on improvements and renovations. Bridgestone Arena has hosted the 2014 Women's Final Four, the 2016 NHL All-Star Game and the 2017 Stanley Cup Final. The Southeastern Conference has made the arena home for its men's basketball tournament with an occasional women's tournament through 2035.

The Predators will take a 153-game sellout streak into next season.

This new deal will eventually end a Nashville city subsidy that costs Metro Nashville approximately $3.5 million a year for arena maintenance and improvements. The Predators will use money from sales and ticket taxes to help pay those costs. Nashville, through the sports authority, had been responsible for investing an estimated $183 million into the arena over the next 20 years.

Henry also announced at Thursday's meeting the Predators plan to spend $350 million in renovations and maintenance to the arena over the next 20 years. The Tennessean reports the first phase of those renovations scheduled for 2021 to add about 1,200 seats and a new press box.

"It's a moment when the city can look back and say, 'Aha, our investment in this team has paid off," Nashville Mayor David Briley said. "And now we're at a point where we don't need to worry about public subsidy for this team."

It's a test: Blues must focus after blown call

Published in Hockey
Thursday, 16 May 2019 12:12

Despite a missed hand pass that led to St. Louis' loss Wednesday, the Blues say they can't dwell on what happened while they look to come back from a 2-1 deficit to the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference finals.

"It is hard [to move on], for sure. It's not easy to do. It's a test. That's how you look at it," coach Craig Berube said Thursday. "It's a tough play, tough call, but it's just a test, and we've been tested over and over throughout the season and the playoffs, and I think we're pretty good at bouncing back. That's the way I look at it. It's a mental thing more than anything."

A hand pass by the Sharks' Timo Meier -- undetected by the on-ice officials and not reviewable under NHL rules -- led to Erik Karlsson's overtime game winner and the 5-4 victory.

Berube felt his team was moving past the controversy, rather than using it as a rallying cry. Blues players echoed the sentiment.

"We had chances to close the game out. We didn't. Play happened in overtime, we move on, move forward and look to Game 4," said forward Brayden Schenn." I think we've all seen it. Move on from it, don't worry about it."

Forward Vladimir Tarasenko said there's no reason to bring up the controversy because "it's not going to change" no matter how many times it's discussed.

"We have [the] option to discuss it for next days and be not ready for next game or just step over it," Tarasenko said. "We're down in the series, but we have a chance to tie it again. It's our focus and focus on ourselves. ... There's a lot of stuff around. It's your guys' job to do this too, but [it's] our job to prepare ourselves, and I think the best way to prepare is to stay tight and focus on our game and not anything going [on] outside of the team."

There was some good news for those who had wagered on the Blues on Wednesday. A few sportsbooks announced that they were refunding losing bets on the Blues.

But that's no compensation for the Blues.

Whenever a controversial call affects the outcome of a game, the immediate reaction is often outrage. Blues players smashed their sticks on the ice, and general manager Doug Armstrong profanely shouted his displeasure while banging on the officials' dressing room door. But eventually, those emotions can become more introspective; for example, the fact that there wouldn't have been the opportunity for the officials to miss the call in overtime had the Blues not given up a game-tying goal to Logan Couture at 18:59 of the third period.

"We scored four goals in a playoff game, we should win it," said Berube. "Some of it is self-inflicted by us on the goals. We've got to clean that up a little bit."

Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily: Blues get handed a loss

Published in Hockey
Thursday, 16 May 2019 04:56

The 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs continue to be defined by some of the most egregious officiating mistakes in recent memory. The St. Louis Blues were the latest to be on the wrong side of one of those mistakes, losing Game 3 to the San Jose Sharks as a direct result.

Here's what happened in the NHL last night (check out replays of every playoff game on ESPN+) and what to watch for tonight, in today's edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily:

Jump ahead: Last night's game | Three stars
Play of the night | Today's game | Social post of the day


About last night ...

Game 3: San Jose Sharks 4, St. Louis Blues 3 (OT) (Sharks lead series 2-1)

It's a shame that the controversial goal by Erik Karlsson in overtime -- on a missed hand pass by Timo Meier -- overshadowed what was a tremendously entertaining playoff game. The Sharks scored twice in the first. The teams combined for five goals in the second, with the Blues leading 4-3 headed into the third. Logan Couture tied the game at 4 with a goal at 18:59 -- after a couple of icings by the Blues -- and then Karlsson's second of the night ended it. Well, the officials' blown call ended it, and Karlsson's tally was a formality.

Three stars

1. Logan Couture, C, San Jose Sharks. Overtime never would've even happened without Couture's goal late in the third period, when he tucked the puck past Jordan Binnington's pad for his 14th goal of the playoffs and his 20th point.

"I was happy that they kept icing the puck," he said. "I was a little tired, I had been out there for 30 minutes. [Alex] Pietrangelo kept icing it, gave me some time to catch my breath. I think a couple of us were tired, so we were happy that he kept icing it. Jumbo [Joe Thornton] made a good play on the wall, kind of a battle, their guy threw it at the net, we were able to outnumber him. The puck came loose a little bit, and I think I got my stick on it before Binnington could cover it."

2. David Perron, LW, St. Louis Blues. The forward scored two goals 2:39 apart in the second period to give the Blues the 4-3 lead, including the first power-play goal for St. Louis since Game 4 against Dallas.

3. Martin Jones, G, San Jose Sharks. The beleaguered goalie wasn't the sharpest early in the game, but also had two pucks go by him that deflected off defenseman Justin Braun. But as has been the case in the last two rounds, he was there when they needed him, making 15 saves in the third period and overtime. "For him to keep his composure, and then we're chasing the game in the third, you gotta open it up, so he's getting some grade-A looks," Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said. "I didn't think there were a lot of grade-A looks in the second period, but in the third he did because we had to open it up, playing from behind. He came up with some huge saves to get it to overtime."

Play of the night

Heck of a pass from Ivan Barbashev, fighting off Karlsson, to Alexander Steen for the Blues' first goal.

Dud of the night

The fact that all four on-ice officials all missed this hand pass from Meier is just stupefying. Said Kay Whitmore, the NHL supervisor of officials for the series: "It's a non-reviewable play. You can read between the lines. You can figure out what you want. You watched the video. But it's just non-reviewable. I know that sounds like a cop-out answer, but that's the truth."

It's technically not a cop-out. Going forward, this kind of play has to be reviewable in the NHL. What an embarrassment.

Craig Berube on the hand-pass the referees missed in OT in Game 3

Greg Wyshynski, ESPN17h ago

On the schedule

Boston Bruins at Carolina Hurricanes, Game 4, 8 p.m. ET (Bruins lead series 3-0)

As Justin Williams of the Hurricanes so eloquently put it: "I can't sugarcoat it. This isn't an ideal situation." Carolina played its best game of the series and came up empty in Game 3, and sounded like it afterward. Is there any hope? Well, keep in mind that the 2010 Bruins are one of only four teams that have blown a 3-0 series lead in Stanley Cup playoff history. Three players who played in Game 7 of that series currently play for the Bruins: Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara and Tuukka Rask.

Social post of the day

Laila Anderson, who has a rare disease called HLH (hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis), had been in only her home and in the hospital for the past four months. Her doctor cleared her to go to Game 3, and the results were emotional.

Quotable

"[Expletive] garbage." -- Blues GM Doug Armstrong, slamming his hand on the officials' dressing room door after Game 3.

Highlights: Tiger's eagle bright spot of opening 72 at PGA

Published in Golf
Wednesday, 15 May 2019 18:10

Bethpage Black wasn't too kind to many players Thursday morning in the opening round of the PGA Championship. ( Well, unless your name is Brooks Koepka.)

But Tiger Woods battled through two first-nine double bogeys to come alive on the second side. Though he struggled down the stretch, shooting 2-over 72, there were still several highlights.

Woods' first circle came at the par-4 14th hole, where he sank a 15-footer that got him to 1 over through six holes.

After turning in 3 over, Woods caught fire. He started his second nine with birdie on the par-4 first hole and then added another at the par-4 second to get back to 1 over.

He then jumped into red numbers with a huge 30-foot eagle make at the par-5 fourth hole.

Illness kept Woods away from Bethpage on Wednesday

Published in Golf
Thursday, 16 May 2019 07:57

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Tiger Woods confirmed that his decision to skip practice on the eve of the PGA Championship was rooted in illness rather than a desire to get extra rest.

Woods made a scouting trip to Bethpage State Park for 18 holes last week, but he played only nine more in the three days leading up to the opening round. Those holes came Monday morning in dreary conditions, as Woods opted to simply hit balls on Tuesday. 

But on Wednesday, he was nowhere to be found. It was an absence that Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, attributed to rest, adding in comments to ESPN.com that, “He’s all good.” When asked about that decision after his opening round, Woods shared that it was because he was under the weather.

“I wasn’t feeling that good yesterday, so I decided to stay home and rest,” Woods said. “I got a little bit sick, so I decided to stay home.”

Woods had his fair share of ups and downs during his opener on the Black Course, starting his round with a double bogey on No. 10 and later adding an eagle on No. 4. It added up to a 2-over 72, one that left him nine shots off the lead set by playing partner Brooks Koepka.

Woods struggled to maintain the momentum of his eagle, playing the subsequent five holes in 3 over to close his round, but insisted that those late bogeys had nothing to do with the illness that sparked his absence the day prior.

“Yeah, I felt good,” Woods said. 

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Everyone has to do it at some point, but that doesn’t make it any easier when you have to begin your day at the PGA Championship on what is statistically the toughest hole this season on the PGA Tour.

The par-4 10th hole at Bethpage Black is 502 yards of heartache under the best of circumstances, but for those who began their rounds there on Thursday it was particularly unsettling. The 10th played to a 4.524 stroke average, which would place it ahead of this season’s toughest hole (the par-4 ninth at the WGC-HSBC Champions that played to a 4.435 average). But it was how the dogleg left unraveled rounds right out of the gate that drew the most attention.

Tiger Woods started his day with a double bogey-6 at the 10th hole, as did Rickie Fowler and Kiradech Aphibarnrat. At least they fared better than Thomas Pieters, who hit his third shot from 99 yards about 3 ½ feet, took a drop and finished with a triple-bogey 7.

“Any time you have a 500-yard par 4, they're not ones you look forward to, especially when it's your first hole of the day,” Fowler said. “[No.] 10 is a lot easier as the 10th hole. You know where your game stands. You know where your misses are at and how you're driving the ball.”

Fowler rebounded from his potentially disastrous start to finish his day with a 1-under 69. Woods wasn’t as fortunate and finished with a 2-over 72 that also included a double bogey at the 17th hole.

“Didn't get off to a very good start,” Woods said. “It was a good drive and ended up in a bad spot, and I compounded the problem with trying to use the backboard behind the hole there and missing a putt I should have made.”

Poa problems? Koepka shows no signs Thursday at Bethpage

Published in Golf
Thursday, 16 May 2019 08:41

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – One doesn’t think weakness when they think of Brooks Koepka, particularly at major championships, but following his record-breaking start at the PGA Championship on Thursday the three-time Grand Slam winner conceded a rare shortcoming.

“I'm not the most confident person on Poa, believe it or not. I know I won Shinnecock on Poa, but I haven't played on it too much,” said Koepka, who won last year’s U.S. Open on that particular putting surface.

It might have been an even bigger surprise that he was able to post a 7-under 63 to match the PGA Championship scoring record and top the Bethpage Black course record by a stroke.

He opened his day with a 40-footer for birdie at the 10th hole and needed just 25 putts on Bethpage’s Poa greens, on his way to an early advantage. For Koepka, his newfound confidence on the greens, be they Poa or another surface, stems from some work with his short-game coach Pete Cowen before the Masters.

“It was nice because I was doing it on my own,” Koepka said. “To have him back and just kind of touch up some speed control, he comes over to the house every night and we just putt downstairs in the basement and make sure everything is fine tuned and ready to go.”

Arsenal demand UEFA reason over UEL tickets

Published in Soccer
Thursday, 16 May 2019 04:17

Arsenal have demanded an explanation from UEFA over the decision to host the Europa League final in Baku after they were allocated just 6,000 tickets for the match against Chelsea.

UEFA has blamed transport and infrastructure concerns for the limited allocation of tickets to travelling fans, with both clubs offered only a small fraction of the seats available in the 68,700-capacity Baku Olympic Stadium.

In a statement released Thursday morning, Arsenal said it was "simply not right" for UEFA to select a venue that could not provide better transport options for fans.

"We are bitterly disappointed by the fact that due to transport limitations UEFA can only make a maximum of 6000 tickets available to Arsenal for a stadium with a capacity of well over 60,000," the club's statement said. "Time will tell if it is even possible for 6,000 Arsenal fans to attend the match, given how extreme the travel challenges are."

"We have 45,000 season-ticket holders and for so many fans to miss out due to UEFA selecting a final venue with such limited transport provision is quite simply not right.

"The reality is that whoever reached the final would not be able to meet demand from their supporters."

Fans of both London clubs have hit out at the decision to stage the final in Baku which has left those who can afford to travel and are lucky enough to get a ticket with a 2,850-mile trip.

There are no direct flights to the Azerbaijan capital in the week of the final, with fans facing 25-hour long journeys and stopovers in Frankfurt, Vienna, Kiev, Istanbul and Tehran.

The Foreign Office has also warned fans terror attacks are "likely" in Baku where the final will take place on May 29.

UEFA has previously defended its ticket allocation for each to the two finalists, saying it would not have been responsible to offer more tickets when fans were unlikely to be able to make suitable travel arrangements.

"We have received many complaints from our fans about this and we fully share their concerns," Arsenal's statement continued.

"On behalf of our fans, we would like to understand the criteria by which venues are selected for finals, and also how supporter requirements are taken into account as part of this.

"Moving forward we would urge UEFA to ensure that supporter logistics and requirements are a key part of any future decisions for final venues as what has happened this season is unacceptable, and cannot be repeated. We would be happy to join any future discussions to avoid this situation happening again."

Arsenal forward Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been assured he will be able to travel to Baku for the final, despite tensions between his native Armenia and neighbouring Azerbaijan.

Mkhitaryan has previously avoided travelling to Azerbaijan and was not part of the Arsenal squad when they played Qarabag in the Europa League group stage in October.

Last week a spokesperson for the Azerbaijan Foreign ministry said the country had hosted many sporting events where Armenian athletes had taken part.

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