Author Danny Vinik

Shanahan Fumbles Explanation of Lucic’s Suspension

Danny Vinik Leave a comment


Milan Lucic was forced to sit out Monday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens because of a boarding penalty and game misconduct he received in the Bruins previous game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Lucic hit Flyers center Zac Rinaldo from behind in the game and was immediately ejected from the game.

On Monday morning, Lucic had a conference call with NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan to discuss the incident and Shanahan decided to suspend Lucic for a game. I have no problem with that. Lucic’s hit was bad and he has a history of walking a tight line between playing hard and dirty. What I have an issue with is Shanahan’s explanation for the suspension:

While this hit is not particularly egregious, it is illegal. However, the overriding factor in elevating this hit from behind from a penalty on the ice to a suspension is his history of similar infractions, warnings and a fine. We’ve taken into account that Rinaldo suffered no apparent injury as a result of this hit.

 Emphasis is mine.

Why does Rinaldo’s injury, or lack there of, matter? It doesn’t change Lucic’s hit. It doesn’t change Lucic’s intentions. Whether or not Rinaldo is hurt should not have any affect on Shanahan’s decision. Yet, he says the exact opposite. Continue reading “Shanahan Fumbles Explanation of Lucic’s Suspension” →

Ohio State Penalties Enough and Not Enough

Danny Vinik Leave a comment

The NCAA announced today that Ohio State will receive a one-year bowl ban, lose nine scholarships over the course of three years and face an additional year of probation. These penalties, while damaging to Ohio State, are not as severe as they could have been. The one-year bowl ban will greatly hurt the university, but this is just another demonstration of the NCAA’s inability to police college athletics.

Who pays most for the indiscretions of Terrelle Pryor and Jim Tressel? The current players at Ohio State. The ones who did nothing wrong.

Now, Pryor had to serve a five-game suspension in the NFL and that was an excellent, bold move by commissioner Roger Goodell. And any school that wishes to hire Tressel in the next five years will have to demonstrate why it needs to employ him. Thus, neither escaped unscathed from the scandal in Columbus, but they are not hit particularly hard as well. Pryor is on the Oakland Raiders roster while Tressel is now a video-review coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts. Certainly, that is not the dream job for either man, but each is making a living and still actively involved in the NFL. Continue reading “Ohio State Penalties Enough and Not Enough” →

Bruins Update 12/20

Danny Vinik Leave a comment

A Quick One:

There’s not much bad I can say about the Bruins right now. They’re up 10 points in the Northeast Division, lead the Eastern Conference and are 19-2-1 in their last 22 games. Even though they didn’t play their best against the Habs last night, a couple timely goals and a great performance by Tim Thomas led the B’s to a win over their arch-rivals. And this was with Milan Lucic suspended for the game. As I said, there’s not much to complain about with this team. Goal for the rest of the season: avoid injuries. And then we will see if it’s possible for any team to beat the Bruins in a seven-game series. Right now, it certainly doesn’t look that way.