7070088's blog: "123"

NEW YORK -- The NHLs new rule banning blindside hits to the head is called "Rule 48. Matt Ryan Jersey ." It easily could be named after victims David Booth and Marc Savard, or offenders Mike Richards and Matt Cooke, who might be the last players to get away with such shots unscathed. For the first time, a lateral or blindside hit on an opponent in which the head is targeted or is the main area of impact will not only be subject to supplemental discipline, but a major penalty and ejection from the game. Players have had only last seasons playoffs and one exhibition season to alter their play and keep their shoulders away from the head when they hit an unsuspecting opponent. "Weve seen a couple of blindside hits, shoulder to shoulder, shoulder to chest, that are still legal," league disciplinarian Colin Campbell said. "I cant tell you that Ive seen exactly a player whos tried to avoid it. Hopefully they are avoiding it." Savard is still bothered by the effects of a concussion he sustained March 7 when he was hit from behind by Pittsburghs Cooke. Savard missed the rest of the regular season and didnt return to the Bruins lineup until the first game of Bostons second-round playoff series against Philadelphia. Booth, a Florida Panthers forward, missed 45 games because of a concussion he received after Richards blindside hit in Philadelphia on Oct. 24. "As the players got bigger, the hits became more frequent," Campbell said. "We took a look at this as our concussion study was taking place. The (general managers) said, Enough. We have to do something about these concussions. Certainly that got us going. We were going to do something about it." The board of governors, general managers and the leagues competition committee unanimously agreed that these specific hits no longer had a place in the game, but they stopped short of eliminating all head contact. "The hitter really has to be cognizant of where hes coming from and where the contact is going to be made with the player," said Terry Gregson, the NHLs director of officiating. "Theres still going to be contact with the head. If its coming from the blindside, my guys are to penalize that player. "We cant lose sight of the fact theres going to be elbowing majors to the head and things like that. Those dont go out the window. I dont want guys to morph to this rule every time theres contact with the head." Before this season, violators only had to worry about suspensions. Now these infractions also will impact the games in which the hits occur. "Our managers felt at this point in time we had to shift the responsibility from the player getting hit to the player delivering the hit," Campbell said. "One of the aspects that really drove the managers to make this decision was the fact that 50 per cent of our concussions in the NHL were delivered from the side. "Our managers felt by getting rid of this particular hit ... it would essentially reduce concussions. Hockey is a hitting game. Like saves, goals, other things in the game, its part of the entertainment aspect and part of the game of hockey. Our managers were sensitive about removing hitting altogether." The style and long-standing tradition of clean contact in hockey is important to players, too, and they want that aspect of the game to be preserved. But they understand that their careers and long-term health are on the line while playing a sport that is fast and violent by nature. "You want to keep the history of the game and you want to keep the game the same. Thats fine," Montreal Canadiens forward Mike Cammalleri said. "I am a romantic when it comes to sports, especially hockey. But at the same time lets not be ignorant. The guys are bigger, stronger, faster. The game is evolving as far as the athletes, the equipment and on and on and on. "Golf courses played at 6,500 yards and now theyre playing at 7,500 yards. Theres a reason for that. Its the same thing in hockey. There are certain subtle changes that need to take place to keep our game as exciting as possible." Clay Matthews Womens Jersey . Chinas skip Wang Bingyu delivers the stone during their womens round robin curling game against the United States at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics February 23, 2010. [Agencies]    China, ranked third in the round robin standings with six victories and three losses, will clash with defending champion Sweden in the semi while host Canada is to meet Switzerland in another semi. Randall Cobb Youth Jersey . A truck and a bus collided around 3:30 p.m. in Harbin, capital of northeast Chinas Heilongjiang province, killing three passengers on the bus, including a baby girl, and injuring more than ten other passengers, said the municipal traffic police. Roddy White Youth Jersey . (AP) -Jack Johnson scored the go-ahead goal with 2:20 left in the third period and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 on Tuesday night in the first meeting of the season between the Southern California rivals. Eli Manning Youth Jersey . The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hurler now tries to shake his team out of a brief current funk when he takes the hill for todays game against the Toronto Blue Jays from the Rogers Centre.Jermichael Finley Jersey . Rangers head coach John Tortorella is furious with Avery after he squirted water inexplicably at TSN game analyst Ray Ferraro in the first period of Wednesdays game. Calvin Johnson Womens Jersey . With the Anaheim Ducks desperate for points, Selanne has had a big hand in four victories since Feb. 11 by scoring the tying goal in the final three minutes of regulation. Calvin Johnson Youth Jersey . After all, youre staying up late every night for the latest installment of the new hit show "Stanley Cup Playoff Overtime Hockey. Jermichael Finley Jersey . Both teams came into the game with their playoff seeding set as the Titans have the top overall seed in the AFC while the Colts sit in the fifth playoff spot. Since the game had little meaning for either club, most of the starters either sat out the game or saw limited playing time.DENVER -- Chauncey Billups settled down his teammates, then stepped up his game. Billups scored 36 points and sank a career-best eight three-pointers in leading Denver to a 113-84 rout of the New Orleans Hornets, the second-biggest blowout in the Nuggets playoff history. "I just got it going. Its just one of those special nights that you have sometimes," Billups said after his first postseason appearance in his hometown. "Youd like to think you can do it again, but you probably cant." Capitalizing on their first home-court edge in a playoff series in 21 years, the Nuggets nearly bested their previous biggest margin of victory, a 141-111 wallop of San Antonio back in 1985. Billups sank four of his threes in the third quarter, when the Nuggets began to turn a tight game into a laughter. At one point, they led by 34. "I say all the time hes a winner but he doesnt have a lot of skills," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "Tonight he had a lot of skills." Denver used a 21-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to build a 97-69 cushion, a run that was highlighted by Billups seventh and eighth threes, which set a team franchise record. Billups was one shy of the NBA playoff single-game record of nine three-pointers held by Ray Allen, Rex Chapman and Vince Carter. "What Chauncey did wasnt a surprise. Hes done it throughout his career. Hes very good at making that shot and he made a lot of them tonight," the Hornets James Posey said. "Chauncey got it going. He was pulling up in transition and attacking the basket and getting to the line. We didnt have an answer." Billups was 8-for-9 from beyond the arc, and the best long-range performance of Billups career helped negate all-star point guard Chris Pauls big game. The all-star had 21 points and 11 assists but also an abundance of angst as the Nuggets dominated the boards, set the tempo and ran away with it in the second half. Before tip-off, Hornets coach Byron Scott characterized the key matchup in this series as that of "an old warrior in Chauncey against this young thoroughbred that really wants to get up and down the floor." Chalk up Round 1 to the grizzled veteran. "We just couldnt stop him tonight," Paul said. The Nuggets host the Hornets for Game 2 on Wednesday night. "Thats the best thing about tonight: we lost by 29 points tonight, but its just 1-0," Paul said. Billups arrival in the Allen Iverson trade a week into the season transformed the Nuggets from an afterthought into the Western Conferences No. 2 seed. He took all their immense individual talents and blended them into a cohesive unit that looks primed to finally make some noise in the playoffs. The Nuggets are one of four teams making their sixth straight postseason appearance, joiniing Dallas, San Antonio and Detroit. Jason Witten Jersey. But while the Nuggets are just 5-20 in the postseason during that stretch, each of the other three have reached the NBA Finals. Both teams started out shaky as everyone on the floor seemingly had butterflies -- save for Billups, who wasnt fazed a bit by the postseason atmosphere -- hes been to six straight conference finals with the Pistons and won the NBA title and Finals MVP trophy in 2004. Billups, who averaged 17.7 points in the regular season sank four three-pointers and scored 16 points in the first quarter until his teammates settled down and took a 55-47 lead into the locker room at the half. "Hes a winner, thats the bottom line, and hes going to come ready to play," Scott said. The game was still tight and a little bit chippy when the Nuggets turned a 76-69 lead into a blowout by holding the Hornets without a point for nearly seven minutes. Denvers bench performed as expected as the Nuggets got 19 points from J.R. Smith, 13 from Linas Kleiza and nine from Chris Andersen, who blocked four shots. Carmelo Anthony scored 13 on 4-of-12 shooting but said he wasnt bothered by his sub-par offense. "Tonight, I didnt make a lot of shots that I normally make. Thats a good thing. Chauncey stepped up, J.R. stepped up. As a team we played defense," Anthony said. "As far as me, Im not really worrying about me. I know what I can do out there." Hornets center Tyson Chandler, who had played just 20 minutes since inflammation in his left ankle forced him out of the Hornets lineup on March 2, started and logged 27 minutes, scoring six points and pulling down five boards while committing five fouls. Chandler missed all four games against Denver this season, and the teams split 2-2. Kenyon Martin committed a hard foul on Paul as the nimble point guard drove past him and to the hoop in the second quarter. Sean Marks took exception to the foul, walking across the lane to holler at Martin. Both Marks and Martin were given technical fouls. Paul and Dahntay Jones were whistled for a double-technical in the third. Notes: Billups eight threes bested the Nuggets old playoff high of six set by Michael Adams in 1989 and tied by Voshon Leonard in 2004. ... Billups previous playoff high for threes was seven at Orlando in 2003, and his regular season high was also seven, which he accomplished three times, the last on Jan. 11, 2004, against Dallas. ... Nene briefly left the game after getting poked in his left eye by Devin Brown late in the third quarter. ... Grammy-award winning rapper Lil Wayne, a native of New Orleans, had a front-row seat. ... A fan threw a bottle on the floor in the closing minutes but nobody was struck on the court, and Paul said a fan threw a giveaway towel in his face at halftime. ' ' '