Sports

Predators’ Matt Duchene on hot mic incident: ‘You gotta call the game’ – Sportsnet.ca

Published

4 years ago

March 24, 2021

NHL referees and the idea of “game management” is in the spotlight following a Tuesday night incident where veteran official Tim Peel was caught on a hot mic as the Nashville Predators broadcast was breaking to commercial.

“It wasn’t much, but I wanted to get a (expletive) penalty against Nashville early in the,” the ref was heard saying before it was cut.

The penalty in question was given to Viktor Arvidsson about five minutes into the second period. At the time of the call, the Predators held a 1-0 lead thanks to a first period power play goal. To that point, the Red Wings had been handed one penalty and the Predators none.

That’s when Arvidsson was given a tripping minor on this play:

The Predators killed the penalty and went on to win the game 2-0. Afterwards the NHL said it was reviewing the incident and on Wednesday morning it announced that Peel would no longer be working games for the league. He was due to retire next month after 22 years.

Predators centre Matt Duchene had a front row seat to the incident. Speaking on 102.5 The Game in Nashville Wednesday morning, he shared his opinion on the incident and the idea of even up calls.

“He’s a veteran ref,” Duchene said. “It’s his last year anyway so I think that’s maybe why they let him go rather than maybe suspending him or fining him. The crazy thing is he was talking to Filip Forsberg in that clip and he told our bench that. Really bizarre. I just think that can’t happen.

“Imagine the scenario where they score on that power play, we lose the game and we miss the playoffs by a point? Imagine that scenario. That could happen. That is not out of the realm of possibility. I don’t think there’s a place in hockey for that. You gotta call the game. I’ve always been frustrated when I see even up calls or something like that. If one team is earning power plays you can’t punish them because the other team is not. That call was not a good call on Arvi. We were watching and were like ‘what the heck was that, that wasn’t even close to a penalty.’ It was bizarre. I hope that’s not something that goes on with most officials, but there’s definitely nights when you’re skeptical of it for sure.

ICYMI: @Matt9Duchene was asked this morning about the breaking news of Tim Peel no longer officiating NHL games following last night’s hot mic incident in the #Preds game.

Here was his response w/ @RStanleyNHL & @joerexrode pic.twitter.com/idaVaMOlOc

— ESPN 102.5 The Game (@1025TheGame) March 24, 2021

The fact is, game management and even up calls aren’t new and shouldn’t be shocking, but hearing a referee discuss it so openly is jarring and leaves us questioning its place in the game. Why should teams that don’t earn penalties be given one to either keep the advantages relatively even, or make up for a missed call earlier in the game? At the end of Tuesday’s game Nashville was given four penalties and Detroit three.

Peel is gone, but even up calls weren’t a one-referee issue. Will, and should, the NHL use this as a watershed moment to consider overhauling its officiating standards?

Leafs Hour

Tim Peel hot mic incident an opportunity for NHL to re-evaluate officiating

March 24 2021

“I could tell you just from the course of my conversations with all kinds of people around hockey, I sense there’s more frustration this year with the refereeing than certainly any other time I’ve encountered in my career,” Chris Johnston said on Sportsnet 590 The FAN Wednesday. “I don’t know if that’s a sign that refereeing itself has gotten worse or maybe the tolerance for what’s accepted is changing or what it is. But I do think that we’re gonna see more pressure put on the league and maybe the league itself is feeling the same way.”

It’s not the first time the league’s officiating standards have been in the spotlight this season either. On opening night, the constant cross-checks by Montreal defencemen to Auston Matthews in front of the net led to a discussion about on-ice abuse of star players and if the league should focus on protecting its top assets better, which was heightened when Matthews’ agent tweeted about his frustration of the standard.

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Sports

Sports betting roundup: NFL and college football were all about the favourites

Published

16 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.

The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.

Trends of the Week

The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.

In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.

When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.

Upsets of the Week

The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.

Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.

Coming up

Right after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series, odds for the 2025 World Series were released.

The Dodgers have the best odds at +400, while the Atlanta Braves and Yankees are next at +800.

The Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies round out the top five, both at +1100.

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

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AP sports:

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Longtime rivals Ovechkin, Crosby join Necas as NHL’s three stars of the week

Published

16 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.

Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.

The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.

Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.

Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.

Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

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Oliveira, Mitchell named as finalists for CFL outstanding player award

Published

5 days ago

October 31, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.

Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).

Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.

Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.

Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.

Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.

The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).

The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.

The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.

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