alocispepraluger102 Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 NHL's Player Association Director Hit With Possible Email Scandal March 9, 2007 7:06 a.m. EST Todd Sikorski - All Headline News Sports Reporter Toronto, Canada (AHN) - The hockey world was hit with a rather bizarre public relations problem on Thursday. Surprisingly, it had nothing to do with the whole Penguins-city of Pittsburgh dilemma or the recent controversial violent play that has sent various NHLers to hospitals. Instead, NHL's union head Ted Saskin has been accused of tapping into players' email accounts in order to find out about people who opposed his hiring in 2005. The allegations are so severe that insiders say if they are proven true, NHL players might discuss firing Saskin very soon. The whole incident was first reported in the Toronto Star this week. The newspaper said the Toronto Police Service was investigating claims that Saskin and other members of his office were accessing NHL players' email accounts without their permission. Saskin responded to the allegations in a statement on this past Monday in which he said "there have been no illegal activities at the NHLPA." Saskin became head of the player's association back in 2005 when he replaced Bob Goodenow. At the time, his hiring was heavily criticized by such respected NHL players as Chris Chelios and Trent Klatt. His two-year tenure at the position has not been the most trouble-free either. Along with questions as to how he was hired which happened after hockey's lockout, Saskin's salary has been heavily criticized. In a sport struggling to survive financially, he is making over $2.13 million a year which is more than double the amount that baseball's Donald Fehr is making at a comparable position. NHL players are just starting to react to Saskin's allegations. A conference call for players is expected to take place this weekend in which player reps will confer over what to do next. Saskin is not rumored to be part of the call which leads many to believe a big majority of hockey players have lost their faith in their union's top director and he might be forced out soon. For that to happen, more than half of the 30 team player representatives in the NHL would have to vote for his firing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.D. Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Yeah, it's embarrassing, but Alan Eagleson, decades ago, raised the bar of NHLPA misconduct so high that Saskin's follies hardly rank... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Larsen Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 I thought you were going to say the league had folded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alocispepraluger102 Posted March 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 (edited) after the brutality of last night the nhl website's lead story is about players wielding pink sticks for cancer research. nothing about this: Rangers 2, Islanders 1 Rangers Take a Big Hit, Then Deliver a Bigger Blow By LYNN ZINSER UNIONDALE, N.Y., March 8 — Ryan Hollweg, the Rangers’ agitator, stood in the locker room sporting the most visible mark of his team’s hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Islanders on Thursday night — a bloody gash on his chin that soaked part of his scruffy beard. Islanders forward Chris Simon had slammed Hollweg in the face with his stick late in the third period, but Hollweg wore the injury with pride when Petr Prucha scored the winning goal on the ensuing five-minute power play. “I just finished a check and I turned around and the next thing I knew, the stick was across my head,” Hollweg said. “I’m glad we scored on the power play and got the 2 points.” The victory pushed the Rangers (33-27-7) into a tie with Carolina and Toronto for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 73 points, a huge accomplishment for a team that has spent weeks desperately scrambling to get back into the race. The Rangers are only 3 points behind the seventh-place Islanders (33-24-10), who had beaten them in the first four meetings of the season, several times by embarrassing margins. After Hollweg shoved Simon into the glass in the Rangers’ end with 6 minutes 31 seconds remaining, Simon turned and headed toward Hollweg at the blue line. With his hands on his stick, Simon bludgeoned Hollweg in the face. Hollweg dropped to the ice and lay motionless for a few minutes while his teammates rushed to hit Simon. Simon was given a match penalty for intent to injure. Afterward, Simon was visibly upset, but he said he would not discuss the incident until he spoke with the league. National Hockey League officials will probably suspend him for the brutality of the hit. Exactly three years ago, Todd Bertuzzi, then with the Canucks, punched Colorado’s Steve Moore from behind, drove him into the ice and tried to fight him, which led to a lengthy suspension. “I’ve always been known as a clean guy and I just feel bad for letting my team down,” Simon said. “I just don’t really want to say anything about the incident right now because I have to talk with the league first.” Hollweg did not express anger at Simon. “I’m a little surprised,” Hollweg said. “As far as I knew we respected each other as hockey players and that’s it. I just play my game. And playing my game helped us win, so that’s good.” The Rangers capitalized when the diminutive Prucha camped in front of the net and poked at a rebound of a Michael Nylander shot with 5:14 left, sending the puck trickling past goaltender Rick DiPietro. “I didn’t even see which way the puck went,” Prucha said. “I just heard people and saw guys cheering and it was in.” But this game would not end so simply. The Islanders thought they had scored the tying goal with 20.4 seconds left, when Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist lost the puck in a crowd in front of the goal and swiped it off the goal line with his stick. The referees ruled it no goal, and after a long look replay officials confirmed it. “At first I thought it was a save and then I looked at one replay and it looked like a goal,” Lundqvist said. “I think we deserved this after a lot of games this year that have gone the other way. We finally got that extra luck that we need in this game after such small things being the difference.” The Islanders were the ones to absorb the bad luck this time and the loss could end up even worse if forward Ryan Smyth, who skated off the ice at the end of the game dragging his right foot, is injured. Smyth was acquired from Edmonton in a trading-deadline move to galvanize the Islanders’ playoff push. Islanders Coach Ted Nolan said after the game that he had no information on Smyth, but Smyth later left the arena walking normally. Until Thursday, the injury woes had all belonged to the Rangers. They lost forward Marcel Hossa in Monday’s game to a knee injury that will keep him out up to four weeks. That is on top of the extended absence of forward Brendan Shanahan, who has a concussion, and defenseman Fedor Tyutin, also rehabbing from a knee injury. But the Rangers had been playing with a newfound fire since falling behind St. Louis last Saturday in a home game they came back to win in a shootout. They won a thrilling shootout against the Islanders on Monday night at Madison Square Garden, pouring 57 shots on DiPietro. “We just knew we had to,” forward Sean Avery said. “We went out and battled and Prucha gets a big goal. He’s 150 pounds and he’s getting beat on in front and stays with it and scores. That’s what we need. That’s what we need every night.” The newly gritty Rangers have a new poster boy and Hollweg wore his gash with pride. SLAP SHOTS Islanders captain Alexei Yashin returned to the lineup after missing 16 games with a knee injury. ... The Rangers prospect Brandon Dubinsky played his first N.H.L. game after being called up to replace the injured Marcel Hossa. ... The Rangers face fifth-place Pittsburgh on Saturday and Carolina, one of the teams tied for the eighth playoff spot, on Sunday. check the new york times or espn for pics, not the nhl site. there's nothing quite like a shot to the neck with a hockey stick. Edited March 9, 2007 by alocispepraluger102 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.D. Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Actually, hockey's my favorite sport. Admittedly, I lost most of my interest during the long "work stoppage", and it never came back... Was slightly surprised not to see any hockey threads, a la NFL, MLB, NBA, etc. But I guess the demographics/TV ratings are pathetic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alocispepraluger102 Posted March 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Actually, hockey's my favorite sport. Admittedly, I lost most of my interest during the long "work stoppage", and it never came back... Was slightly surprised not to see any hockey threads, a la NFL, MLB, NBA, etc. But I guess the demographics/TV ratings are pathetic. it is a very beautiful sport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Is that pundit guy Don Cherry still in action these days? (not he with the Mosaic but the mouthy one with the stiff collars and gangster suits). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Actually, hockey's my favorite sport. Admittedly, I lost most of my interest during the long "work stoppage", and it never came back... I'm in the same boat, unfortunately. I'm pretty much 'sports-free' these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indestructible! Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Is that pundit guy Don Cherry still in action these days? (not he with the Mosaic but the mouthy one with the stiff collars and gangster suits). Yep, Don's still there on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada every Saturday (well, most Saturdays). He spouts the same old stuff he's been saying for the past two decades. He has become a bit softer over the years in some ways, though... Heck, he even cries on the air every now and then! As for Saskin... well, he reaps what he sows. The fallout from the lockout is still present in the NHLPA, as some of the players still think they shouldn't have settled on the salary cap... Saskin made a powerplay to become Director of th NHLPA, and pissed a few players off in the process (including some of the more vocal veteran players). It'll all get sorted out, of course... and this really is nothing like the vile, disgusting, and illegal shit that Alan Eagleson did back in the day. That man was truly the spawn of Satan! Finally, Chris Simon is in a world of shit! That was a brutal slash, and he's been suspended indefinitely by the league. I'm guessing he's gone for the year (and rightly so). Not a smart thing to do, especially considering it was the "anniversary" of the Todd Bertuzzi-Steve Moore incident yesterday! Having said that, Colin Campbell has no friggin' clue when it comes to suspensions, so maybe Simon will only get three games! Only a few more weeks until the greatest time in all of professional sport... the NHL Playoffs! Cheers, Shane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted March 10, 2007 Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 I thought you were going to say the league had folded. You mean it didn't? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted March 10, 2007 Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 He has become a bit softer over the years in some ways, though... Heck, he even cries on the air every now and then! Almost unthinkable ! Thanks for the clarification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indestructible! Posted March 10, 2007 Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 He has become a bit softer over the years in some ways, though... Heck, he even cries on the air every now and then! Almost unthinkable ! Thanks for the clarification. Now, I'm no great fan of Don Cherry, but I'll give him credit for one thing... over the past year or two he's highlighted a few tragic stories of people that are not necessarily hockey related. For example, a couple of months ago there was a car crash in a small Ontario town that killed five teenage boys... Don showed pictures of the boys and got pretty broken up/teary-eyed when he sent his thoughts to their families. He's also highlighted some young hockey players and soldiers that have been killed or severely injured (e.g. spinal cord injury), and you can tell he fights back the tears. I may not agree with Don most of the time, but he does care about the game of hockey more than most people ever will. Wonderfully "eccentric" wardrobe, though! Cheers, Shane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted March 10, 2007 Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 Wonderfully "eccentric" wardrobe, though! If "eccentric" means "will blind you with one quick glance", I agree! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alocispepraluger102 Posted March 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=ap-i...p&type=lgns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris olivarez Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 Barry Melrose thought he should have had 40 games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.D. Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 Barry Melrose thought he should have had 40 games. What does Don Cherry think? Probably a lot less than 40... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van Basten II Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 Toronto is out, Toronto is out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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