The Walls of Rodriguez are Crumbling

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By Kaleb Page

February 20, 2015

Years ago as a young kid looking to get my hands on sports books to read, I came across a book about an athlete that intrigued me. I had this feeling that he was going to be a special player even more so than he already was. This player was a young budding star in the MLB playing shortstop for the Texas Rangers.

His name was Alex Rodriguez.

As the years passed, I guess my feeling did come true with how Rodriguez turned into a larger than life athlete in the MLB. Eventually he inked a deal in 2007 with the marquee team in the league, the New York Yankees, a deal so astronomical it still can blow your mind (10 years for $275 million).

Now as I mentioned earlier Rodriguez grew into this larger than life figure on the field, and it wasn’t just figuratively speaking either; it was definitely literal too. As soon as he switched from the Rangers to the Yankees he began to grow from a decent sized player to a rather hulking man who eventually moved over to third base.

With the eventual steroids scandal that rocked the MLB and prominent player being popped for it, one player had a big mark on his back. That player just so happened to be Rodriguez and rightfully so was he questioned and looked to since he had such a quick body transformation. In fact, back in 2009 Rodriguez sat down on ESPN admitting his usage of steroids from 2001-03.

However, this story was just merely a scratch on the surface with how Rodriguez was involved in the world of steroids.

Then in 2013 Rodriguez found himself back in another ring of steroid use when trying to rehab from hip surgery. As it came to light, his involvement with Anthony Bosch and Bosch’s Biogenesis corporation dropped Rodriguez in even bigger trouble.

His involvement resulted in him missing a substantial amount of time in 2014 (162 games) and with Bosch’s conviction Tuesday (four years in prison); Rodriguez is toeing the line of being banned from baseball for good.

I find it interesting that Rodriguez has been laying this low for this long. It has been far different from guys like Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa or even Mark McGuire in how the media handled their steroid convictions. It seemed as if the storm around their convictions raged on for months and never ended (maybe in part to the time the convictions came out).

It will be interesting to see where this whole thing goes, especially with baseball season approaching. It also will be interesting to see the dissection of a statement issued by Rodriguez on Tuesday trying to distance himself from not only Bosch but his past involving steroids. As spring training approaches and more is made of his statement, I wonder if it will grow to the level we saw with Bonds.

I can remember watching TV and all you would see is every stadium Bonds attended full of signs against everything he did. Will it be the same this season for Rodriguez if he plays? I can’t imagine it being any easier than it was with Bonds. This mainly being due to how adamant he was way back when about being clean and then turning around admitting his guilt. I also see the media scrutiny and pressure from questions before or after games ramping up as well.

I’m sure as Rodriguez wrote that letter today, he thought back to a time when things were much better, a time where a young kid like me was picking up a book about him being the next big thing to look up to.

Now kids see him as nothing more than another baseball cheat.

As the walls come tumbling down it makes you think ‘oh how the mighty have fallen.’

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Super “Star” Fallen: Tyler Seguin

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By Ellen Chlumecky

February 16, 2015

I have said it once and I will say it again, hockey players don’t understand how to hit people without permanently injuring other players. There is a difference between a clean hit and a cheap shot. Hockey players start to practice hitting other players as soon as they are out of squirts and pee wees. Hitting is a part of the game, there is no way to get rid of hitting in the game of hockey. There also seems to be no way of convincing bull-headed players to stop making these kinds of moves.

This cheap shot placed Tyler Seguin of the Dallas Stars on injured reserve on Friday night. On Saturday the 14th, Coach Lindy Ruff stated that Seguin had a knee injury and could miss two to four weeks. The Stars officially announced on Sunday, February 15th that Seguin has a lower-body injury and now could miss up to three to six weeks.

Seguin was hit by Dmitry Kulikov of the Florida Panthers and had to be helped off the ice. As you can see in the video, Kulikov went low and hit Seguin on his right knee right after he made a pass. Kulikov was ejected from the game. While it’s not official, it looks like Kulikov will be suspended indefinitely pending the hearing but could be suspended for more than five games.

Coach Ruff and players were irate with the whole situation. Teammate Vernon Fiddler described the play as “gutless.” Coach Ruff said it’s a play that “I don’t like” and, “It’s a dirty low play that the league doesn’t like, and I want to see the league deal with it.” I completely agree.

I don’t know how many times a player has to get injured the way Seguin currently is before players get it through their heads that they can’t keep making hits like this. Hitting is one of the entertainment factors for many fans of hockey. I would never say to remove hitting from the game. I would enjoy seeing players hitting people smarter than they currently are hitting fellow players.

The NHL Department of Player Safety needs to review these tapes further in-depth, consider the injury and the length of the time the injured player with be out. Then they need to assess the injury accordingly. Clipping is a type of hitting that could permanently end a player’s career. It is not something they should take lightly. Players need to be smarter about hitting or abstain from it if they can’t learn the correct way to do it.

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What a Difference a Year Makes: The Story of BGSU Men’s Basketball

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By Kaleb Page

February 16, 2015

The Bowling Green State University men’s basketball team has seen something of a metamorphosis from just a year ago. At this point a year ago the Falcons were sitting at an overall record of just 11-14 with a 5-7 record in the Mid-American Conference. That season went down as a rather unsuccessful one that could be added on to the list of ones before it (2012-13 season: 13-19, 2011-12 season: 16-16, 2010-11 season: 14-19).

Where was the hope? Where was the possibility of even seeing men’s basketball have any amount of success moving forward? Those questions could be answered by a change of direction.

Upon finishing the season on a four game losing streak along with a record of 12-20 (6-12 MAC), the time for change was now. On March 25, 2014 a new leader entered and the direction for the Falcons changed. That leader was none other than former Wichita State assistant coach Chris Jans. From the start of his press conference announcing his hiring, he had that feeling of someone who was going to turn things around.

What that turnaround might be nobody could know. Would it be a two or three game improvement, development that was hard to see but diagnosed by Jans as being there in practice or something different altogether? In the eyes of the media it seemed as though this new hire would help the Falcons reach fifth place at best in the eastern side of the MAC.

But what if I told you none of those things have happened thus far? You would probably think it went south fast and the bottom is where this Falcon’s team went if none of the above things happened. However, that would be far from the reality of this season thus far.

At this point in the season the men’s basketball team sits at an impressive 17-6 record (9-3 MAC East) and in sole possession of first place on the eastern side of the conference. This team has grown leaps and bounds from what it was a year ago at this time. The team has already surpassed its win total from all of last season and there are still six games remaining on the schedule.

If you told someone this would be what the team of a year ago looked like today, they probably would laugh and think you were crazy. Even more so would it be crazy to even imagine this team in talks to be an NCAA tournament team. Which this week has seen the Falcon’s mentioned as a 12 seed, and if they would reach the tournament it would be the first time since 1968 a team from BGSU made the big dance.

Even though coach Jans and his staff deserve a lot of credit with taking basically the same team and building them up to what they are today; an equal amount of credit needs to be shown the way of the players. You can start with the star player Richuan Holmes being a force inside on defense and offense showing his array of high-flying dunks and blocks. Even though he can be looked to as the ‘star,’ he would probably be the first to say the season would be nothing without guys like: Zack Denny who leads the MAC in steals with two a game, junior college transfers (Delvin Dickerson, David Joseph and Jovan Austin) making huge contributions, Spencer Parker becoming a dynamic threat off the bench and senior guards Anthony Henderson and Jehvon Clarke providing pop in the back-court. With young guys like Garrett Mayleben, JD Tisdale, Rasheed Worrell and Matt Fox waiting their turn, it looks like the team has a good balance of youth, size and athleticism to power this bright future forward.

I’ve had the privilege of broadcasting two BGSU games as a member of the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO) this season, and it has been something special to witness. This team just looks like a team you want to be on. They actually hustle and go for it on both ends of the floor each and every night. While I know at times they do have their lapses of judgement like any other team, it still must be said that this team is something special considering what it has done in a relatively short time.

With little expectations for this squad, they have proven the doubters wrong in every way thus far. This is why it is time for this team to capitalize on what it has done so far and push all the way to something bigger than anyone could have imagined: a MAC title. If that goal is accomplished then the sights should be set on getting to the NCAA tournament, and not only getting there but being competitive.

Even if the big prizes don’t end up in Bowling Green this year, this team has nothing to be ashamed of. Coming out of the seller to being a team to look out for is quite the accomplishment in itself.

Keep it up BGSU men’s basketball and ROLL ALONG!

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What Happens in the Dark, Will Come to Light

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By Kia Tyus

February 13, 2015

The Jackie Robinson West Little League team from Chicago was recently stripped of their Little League World Series U.S. Championship.

The adults that are in charge of the program decided it was okay to put kids on their team that were out of the district. Tom Farrey and Joe McDonald both contributed to the ESPN written article.

This article gets straight to the point going into detail about the punishment of the staff. Team manager Darold Butler has been suspended from all Little League activities and Michael Kelly Illinois District 4 administrator had been terminated from his position.

In the Little League World Series if a champion is found to have cheated their way to victory, the runner-up will receive the championship. In this case, the team from Las Vegas, Mountain Ridge Little League is the new 2014 Little League World Series U.S. Champions.

The feeling of the article shifts to more of a compassionate state. Little League CEO Stephan D. Keener feels horrible for the kids of the Jackie Robinson West Little League. Keener said, it was something that had to be done. The Little League carries them selves with pride always. One thing that I like about what Kenner said was, winning isn’t everything. The important thing is the kids get an opportunity to play with their friends and develop character.

President Obama even stood up for the kids. He is still proud of the team and what they accomplished. And it is unfortunate that irresponsible adults have cost this team a historic run.

The Jackie Robinson West team was the first all African-American to win the Little League World Series U.S. Championship.

I really liked this article because it got straight to the point and gave you different feels. From what I read, the kids are not being blamed for this unfortunate event. The authors did a great job at not bashing the team but still voicing their disappointment about the adults that were in charge of the organization.

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Chicago Stripped of Little League U.S. Championship

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By Ellen Chlumecky

February 12, 2015

My hope in sports always drops a little when a team is suspended or stripped of a title because of the actions of a coach. Especially when the players might not have any idea of the wrong doing. This may or may not have been the case for the Jackie Robinson West team.

The Little League Baseball organization has stripped the U.S. championship title from Jackie Robinson West. They also suspended their coach and team manager for violating a rule that prohibited the use of players who live outside the geographic area that the team represents. The team must vacate wins from the 2014 Little League Baseball International Tournament. In addition, Illinois District 4 administrator has been removed from his position.

The Little League Baseball organization found out that the team used a falsified boundary map. The team officials met with neighboring Little League districts in Illinois to claim players to make the perfect team and obviously they succeeded.

The Little League International president/CEO Stephen D. Keener stated that it was only fair to make this decision. He made it clear that the league had to maintain the integrity of the program. While he felt he made the right decision at the end of the day, he stated that he did feel sympathy for the players on the team. He reiterated multiple times that it was a “heartbreaking decision,” considering the circumstances of the situation surrounding the team.

The Jackie Robinson West team were true underdogs and they worked their butts off to achieve this high honor. They showed true athleticism and great sportsmanship off the field. While I understand that an organization is not sound unless they follow the rules, it truly upsets me that they had to take the title away from these innocent kids.

Being from Chicago, if you saw the hype that this team brought to the city, you would defend these hardworking kids to no end. They worked hard just to have their title stripped from them for a decision that they had no control over. Keener even said that as far as he knew the players had no knowledge of what was going on.

So the bottom line question is: do the kids deserve the title or do you think this is just a part of life they need to learn about? My opinion is they deserve the title, no questions asked. They showed the world that they had what it takes to win the title. It’s not fair that their coach wrongfully cheated and they’re being punished for it. I understand that organizations need to follow rules, but to what extent in that it’s affecting young players.

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The Social Media Age and Teammate Interaction

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By Kaleb Page

February 12, 2015

Right now as you read this very post, you are probably getting a notification from one of your social media sites about something. Which hopefully you ignore and continue to read this post, but in today’s day and age social media surrounds everything we do. This surrounding by social media can be a good thing but equally bad as well.

While it provides us all with a connecting platform that in the past was never there and ultimately providing opportunities we never could have imagined; there is still an underlying point that can be crossed for the worse. Posting negative things, calling out people behind a keyboard, etc. has been something I’m sure all of us have seen.

Athletes are no different and many are very active with different social media outlets. That is why when a comment is made by a big figure in sports on social media, everyone critiques it. No different was it when LeBron James tweeted a statement in response to something said by his teammate Kevin Love.

This whole season for the Cavaliers it has been a continuing process to see what will be the optimal lineup and style this team will play with. It seems like since the recent additions of J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov the team has found a sense of direction. Along with that it seems like the ‘jelling’ is starting to solidify into a strong team that is enjoying its basketball.

However one player has been up and down trying to find his all-star form. That player is starting power-forward Kevin Love who even though is playing well, still is not hitting on all cylinders. In the preseason Love mentioned something about trying to ‘fit-out’ with this team as he was unsure his role and place in the team. Then after a loss to the Indiana Pacers this past Saturday, Love was interviewed and said that it was one of the toughest situations he had to deal with. Thus, on Saturday night a tweet by James was sent out with some advice:

“Stop trying to find a way to FIT-OUT and just FIT-IN. Be apart of something special! Just my thoughts”-LeBron James (@KingJames)

Quite the public remark to be made by ‘the King’ and one that saw its fair share of debate from those on every sports outlet imaginable. From ESPN to Fox Sports the debate raged on with if James was out of line and what will this relationship look like moving forward. After the media ran away with the tweet, James responded back saying that the media essentially needed to relax and if he has a problem with a teammate he tells them to their face.

Personally I think James would be someone to actually go up to a player and give his thoughts, but I think this tweet is nothing more than a call out to Love. A call out to basically say the team needs you (Love) to step up and be that dynamic big-man you were out in Minnesota. A public motivation point put out by James may be what wakes up Love, but only time will tell.

As for now it looks like King James is sending the message, get on board as the stretch run of the NBA season is approaching.

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Diana Taurasi’s Decision: What It Means For The WNBA

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This piece is written by Alexx Klein. She was a journalism major at Indiana U with a sport marketing and management concentration. Currently she serves as the Athletic Communications GA where she is the primary SID for cross country and swim/dive. Previously, she worked as the media relations intern in the IU athletic department, as well as the PR intern for the Washington Mystics. This summer she will further continue her WNBA experience and serve as the PR intern for the Indianapolis Fever. 

By Alexx Klein

February 9, 2015

While it may not have been at the top of the average sports fan’s radar, the Diana Taurasi decision was one that holds significant impact for the future of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). This blog is not meant to criticize or condone the WNBA’s highest-paid player’s decision, but rather to voice my concern for what this means moving forward.

To backtrack, Taurasi recently announced that she would be sitting out the entirety of the 2015 WNBA season to focus on herself, her family and honing her basketball skills. How she will be able to do that is because her Russian team she plays for in the off season offered to pay her more to sit out than she would make playing in the WNBA this season.

Taurasi wrote a letter to the Mercury fans and in it, stated that, “The year-round nature of women’s basketball takes its toll and the financial opportunity with my team in Russia would have been irresponsible to turn down. They offered to pay me to rest and I’ve decided to take them up on it. I want to be able to take care of myself and my family when I am done playing” (Taurasi, 2015).

It is the culture within the WNBA for athletes to play overseas during the winter because of the short WNBA season (four months). Taurasi’s team is UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia, where she is making about $1.5 million, according to a Washington Post article. Her salary with the Phoenix Mercury amounts to just less than $107,000 a year, which is less than the league maximum available.

So what can be done?

ESPN’s Kate Fagan suggested a restructuring of salaries within the league. In the 2014 season, there were about 40 players receiving close to the league max, which breaks down to 3-4 “max” players on each team and if anybody has watched a WNBA game you know that is definitely not the case. Fagan’s article suggests that there should only be 12 players in the league to receive that type of money: one on each team.

If the NBA doesn’t pay Cleanthony Early (a mediocre, at best, player for the Knicks who very few have heard of) the same as Lebron James, then why pay average WNBA players the same as its stars? Yet that’s what the league chooses to do.

She also goes as far to say that the highest paid member of the team should not be the coach, it should be the player, like it is in most other professional leagues. You’d be hard pressed to find a sport where the coach makes over twice the salary as his/her players do.

If Taurasi’s decision to sit sparks other WNBA stars into following her lead, then the league needs to implement a solution sooner than later. Other players have been offered money by their overseas team to sit out the WNBA season, Taurasi is just the first to take the deal.

Without the Taurasi’s, Britney Griner’s, Elena Della Donne’s, Skylar Diggins’ and Maya Moore’s of the league, the WNBA loses a large chunk of its entertainment value and that is where the downward slope would begin. Without fans to consume the product, there is no revenue coming in from ticket sales, apparel or concessions, and with only half of the teams currently turning a profit, the league cannot afford to take such a financial hit. As stated by a Deadspin article, if the players “begin to make decisions based solely on finances, there may not be any players left” (Draper, 2015, para 11).

Is this simply an issue of money or do you think the athletes are actually concerned about their long-term health? Is it right for a coach to be making two or three times more than these star athletes in the league? Do you think the salary reallocation proposed by Kate Fagan is a good solution?

References:

Boren, C. (2015, Feb. 4). Diana Taurasi’s decision to skip this season is sobering message for WNBA. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2015/02/04/diana-taurasis-decision-to-skip-this-season-is-sobering-message-for-wnba/

Draper, K. (2015, Feb. 3). Diana Taurasi’s Russian Team Is Paying Her To Skip The WNBA Season. Dead Spin. Retrieved from http://deadspin.com/diana-taurasis-russian-team-is-paying-her-to-skip-the-w-1683643165

Fagan, K. (2015, Feb. 4). Diana Taurasi’s decision to sit out should spark WNBA salary changes. ESPNW. Retrieved from http://espn.go.com/wnba/story/_/id/12272036/diana-taurasi-decision-sit-spark-wnba-salary-changes

Taurasi, D. (2015, Feb. 3). Diana Taurasi’s Open Letter To Phoenix Mercury Fans. Arizona Republic. Retrieved from http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/wnba/mercury/2015/02/03/diana-taurasi-open-letter-to-phoenix-mercury-fans/22808453/

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“It Felt Like the Team We Wanted to Be”

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By Ellen Chlumecky

February 9, 2015

This weekend past weekend the Bowling Green State University Falcons swept the Ferris State Bulldogs under the rug. While their first win on Friday night, February 6th, was not the win they were looking for there seemed to be a burst of energy instilled in the team on Saturday night.

The air was heavy with frustration on Friday night when the Falcons beat the Bulldogs 2-1. While coach Chris Bergeron said, “There is no such thing as a bad win” you could tell he was much more satisfied with the win on Saturday.

While the Falcons were trailing the Bulldogs 2-1 heading into the third period, junior Ben Murphy and sophomore Pierre-Luc Mercier scored within two minutes of each other to clinch the W on Saturday. While junior goalie Tommy Burke stepped up and blocked 21 of 23 shots to move his record to 8-3-3 on the season.

On Friday night there seemed to be no energy behind the players. There were only 19 shots on goal for each team. While the end result was obviously a victory, there seemed to be a struggle. CJ Motte’s, goalie for Ferris State, who has an overall save percentage of .918, was playing hard. He played hard to make sure it was very difficult for the Falcons to score. He left very few opportunities to score on goal.

While Motte’s efforts were unsuccessful, Bergeron and the Falcons went into Saturday’s game with a different game plan. Bergeron’s opinion on Friday’s game from Saturday’s was a remarkable improvement. He stated that he saw the work ethic he’s instilled in his players. He saw a calm focus in the team and there wasn’t panic among the team when they were down in the third. They continue to push and push until they saw the results they wanted.

Dan DeSalvo, Ben Murphy, Adam Berkle, Brent Tate, and Pierre-Luc Mercier played huge contributions in the rise of energy during Saturday’s game. You could see their commitment to win and their continuous support they gave to their team members. These are the type of players you look to for leadership in the game and they brought it.

The Falcons’ record is now 17-6-5 and 13-4-3 in the WCHA. The Bulldogs are now at 11-17-1 and 8-12-0 in the WCHA. The Falcons will play Ferris State again next weekend. Hopefully they will be able to bring home wins on Ferris’ home ice. We all know that if the Falcons keep applying that pressure, they will be victorious.

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A String of Positive Drug Tests: Could it Hurt the UFC?

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By Kaleb Page

February 9, 2015

A competitive advantage.

A statement heard over the past few weeks involving the Patriots and ‘Deflate Gate‘ where there was debate on the competitive advantage gained from deflating footballs. Now in a different sport the statement ‘a competitive advantage’ was mentioned in a different way.

It was revealed this past Tuesday that one participant in the main event of UFC 184 was taking performance enhancing substances. What makes it more surprising is that it is someone who is thought of as (probably) the greatest fighter to ever step in the octagon. That person being the legend Anderson “The Spider” Silva. This test was taken as part of a practice done by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to test fighters on an out-of-competition basis. This ‘out of competition’ is meant by any sample not taken within 12 hours of competition.

Even though the sample from Silva was supplied on January 9th, the results were not reported until February 3rd. His opponent Nick Diaz also tested positive for Marijuana and those results were released on the same day. Quite the gap in time to not tell the results of such a test. This is leaving some to wonder if there is some back deals between the athletic commission and UFC to delay the findings of results in order to save fight cards. The reason for such speculation is that the Nevada State Athletic Commission receives 6% of the total gross receipts from live events and anywhere up to $50,000 depending on broadcasts of events (pay-per-views). Even though those claims of tampering between the commission and UFC are made, the leader of the commission Bob Bennett said the claims are “outlandish.”

It is hard to look at this instance and not wonder a bit about some type of issue involving hiding the facts. Especially with how the sample was done on January 9th and then results taking until February 3rd to get released; when they knew the fight was coming up on the 31st of January. It also is something interesting to note with the above mentioned payout for the commission from successful events.

Now I don’t want to make it some ‘witch hunt’ of sorts to figure out if this sport is dirty behind the scenes with handling performance enhancing policies and the fighters. However it is something that must be noted since this is not the first time that a fight has been compromised after the fact with positive drug tests.

You can even go back one event to see that. After UFC 183 it came out that light heavyweight champion Jon Jones had cocaine metabolites in his system. However it wasn’t a test that was taken after the fight that found it, it was a test taken a month prior to the fight taking place on January 3rd (just like with Silva and Diaz). Then last August the UFC had a problem with a fighter, Cung Le, showing in a post-fight blood test elevated levels of growth hormone.

The list of incidents I could go on and on about but it brings me to one point. Will this problem of positive drug tests (drugs, PEDs, etc.) end up hurting the UFC? If people start to think the product is tainted with cheating and people taking anything they can to go in the cage and feel less pain or be stronger; this could bring a bigger problem than anyone at the UFC could imagine.

I am a big fan of the UFC and the sport of mixed martial arts, but if they aren’t careful with this problem we could see a possible boxing scenario. At one point boxing was one of the biggest sports in this country, but once things started to get dirty (plus other sport popularity growth and head trauma concerns) the nose dive began to where the sport of boxing has never been the same. Yeah there is Mayweather, Pacquiao and the Klitschko brothers but other than that I doubt any casual fan could name you another boxer right now.

That’s what I fear for the UFC they could lose the casual fan and hurt their brand with more things like this happening. Especially if an icon (Silva) is proven to be a cheater, it could be a big blow to what was supposed to be a big year for the organization. As an avid fan of the sport and the organization I hope it isn’t the case where we see a crumbling sport/organization, because if the UFC goes down then pretty much the whole sport goes down with it.

Now this is all talking in the worst case scenario, but the UFC better take more proactive steps to keep the sport clean. Also they better think of how they are trying to make the sport more mainstream and something everyone watches just like football, basketball or baseball. If they keep this up with scandals of drug use and/or cheating with PEDs then they might as well kiss that idea goodbye.

Just be careful UFC. Nobody is too big to fail.

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You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

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By Ellen Chlumecky

February 5, 2015

Sometimes hockey players who have been playing the same way for an extended period of time are naive to change. This might be the case for Daniel Carcillo of the Chicago Blackhawks. Scratch the “might be,” he refuses to change his game for the rules of the NHL.

I wrote about Daniel Carcillo’s cross check to Mathieu Perreault about two weeks ago. On February 3rd, he came out with a statement about the incident. Carcillo stated, “I had thoughts when it happened, but right now I’m just trying to get past it. I don’t really see a point in rehashing any emotions that I had. You can’t do what I did in the league today; there’s no room for it.” Seems like a pretty sincere comment, right?

However he went on to say that despite his lengthy history with the league, it’s not going to change the way he plays the game, it hasn’t yet and it won’t in the future.  He made it clear that even after this serious offense, he still will not change his ways.

Even coach Joel Quenneville, who I rarely disagree with, made a statement saying that Daniel Carcillo did what he did because he has to bring an energy to the game. He said that he didn’t believe his resume has hurt him as far as how he’s competing and how he’s playing. Quenneville asserted that he thinks Carcillo sees the balance between rough play and having control over the situation.

I honestly couldn’t disagree with Quenneville more. I don’t believe Carcillo tries to control his game at all. I believe that sometimes he just blindly hits other players and doesn’t really think about what it will do to them or himself.

While I understand there are an excessive amount of reasons why a hockey player might hit another player, many that are reasonable. I also believe that these players make a conscious decision about whether or not they’re going to hurt another player.

While the enforcer’s job is be the tough guy and push around the team, I don’t feel it’s completely necessary to permanently or seriously injure another player. So no, with Carcillo’s current track record I don’t think he knows the balance between rough play and control.

While I want my team to be tough and be intimidating, there are other ways to do that. Carcillo needs to realize that if he continues to act the way he does, he’ll have to deal with serious consequences.

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