rtly after the puck was chipped through the neutral zone. T

(SportsNetwork.com) - Marshawn Lynch wont be joining Lech Walesa on the list of most famous dissidents but the Seattle Seahawks star running back is always ready to fight the power that is the NFL. Lynch is often difficult, a moody, distant man who doesnt seem to enjoy the microscope professional athletes find themselves under. And plenty of people have made excuses for Lynchs behavior over the years, including yours truly who doesnt believe dissing the media should be labeled as a federal offense. Most recently Pete Carroll was busy jumping on his sword for the misunderstood Marshawn. First off, lets not miss that he is a very unique individual and he has a way that we have embraced, that we understand Marshawn and we support him every way that we can, the Seahawks coach said. But he is a very unique guy, and hes got his own way of looking at things, and hes also a very private person, too. Thats why the media thing is as it is. Its not something that he is going to express a whole lot to you. Ive said this before, that theres a great deal spoken in his silence as well. To his enablers Lynch gets a pass because he grew up in a tough neighborhood in Oakland with an absentee father. Of course, plenty of people have overcome far bigger hurdles in life and when it comes to the fork in the road where its time to be a professional or a professional troublemaker, they chose the right path. Lynch, on the other hand, always seems to speed down the left lane of dissension boulevard, intent on creating trouble where none exists. Its easy to make fun of the NFLs rules at times and point out the absurdity of preventing a grown man from wearing gold spikes or fining him tens of thousands of dollars for impudence toward reporters. But, unlike the tuck rule or the Calvin Johnson rule there is a method to the NFLs madness when it comes to Lynchs chutzpah. Sponsors pay big money to make sure there products are worn by NFL teams and everyone, including Lynch, seems to enjoy the heavy paychecks they receive because of it so the No Fun League label everyone likes to throw out when the NFL makes a big deal out of a seemingly trivial issue has sound business sense behind it. The same applies with Lynchs shrinking-violet persona when it comes to the microphones. We can all stipulate to the fact that if Lynch doesnt talk, its no great loss to our national discourse but if the NFL lets him get away with it without a significant punishment, plenty of others could follow suit and access would then become a real problem. All that said, Lynchs flouting of uniform standards or insolence toward nameless, faceless reporter No. 266 at Super Bowl media day means little on the football field, where he remains the Seahawks offensive MVP. Contemptuous people, however, can rarely keep their effrontery caged while protesting their uneducated goals strategically. Lynch has already been fined twice for grabbing his crotch after scoring touchdowns, first during a backward dive into the end zone in a game against the Arizona Cardinals in December, and most recently after scoring a touchdown late in the NFC Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers. If the officials happened to notice Lynchs Degeneration X-like celebration, though, they would have thrown a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct, making the ensuing two-point conversation against the Packers untenable, you know the one which made Mason Crosbys field goal in the closing seconds of the NFC title tilt for the tie and not the win. Thats how close Lynch came to throwing away a second straight trip to the Super Bowl for the Seahawks. all because of a complicated mixture of ego, vanity and smugness. And now Lynch has a target on his back as Super Bowl XLIX approaches with the NFLs head of officiating, Dean Blandino, confirming that if Lynch does it again in the big game, his team is getting punished. If he does it after scoring a touchdown, That means they will kick off from the 20-yard line, Blandino told ESPN. Instead of getting the message Lynch took to Twitter to complain about his teammate, wide receiver Chris Matthews, getting fined for the same gesture after Lynchs touchdown against the Pack. I feel embarrassed to work for a particular organization that fined a teammate of mine for shaking my hand after a touchdown, Lynch wrote. Yeah, Marshawn, thats why the NFL fined Matthews. You can now add disingenuous to the list of adjectives to describe Lynchs childish behavior. Carroll of course is most concerned about winning a football game and took a little time off from sanctioning Lynchs tired act to hear the NFLs warning loud and clear. I havent talked to him about the thing that just came up from the league and the things about the game and all that yet, but that will be addressed and I expect him to have a great Super Bowl week, Carroll said. Nsimba Webster Jersey . Toronto ended an 0-4-0 skid with Sundays shootout win over visiting New Jersey, but the club could have a difficult time making it two victories in a row tonight. The Maple Leafs have dropped three straight and 11 of the last 12 regular- season meetings against Boston overall and the Bruins have claimed six straight in Beantown. Joseph Noteboom Jersey .com) - Stanley Johnson had 18 points and No. http://www.cheapramsjerseyschina.com/eric-dickerson-jersey/. Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs Friday at 8 p.m. ET on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. Marshall Faulk Jersey . - A Tuesday funeral is planned in Toronto for 20-year-old Saginaw Spirit forward Terry Trafford. Clay Matthews Jersey . Matt Carkner got back into the Ottawa lineup, and made his presence felt right away by settling his clubs score in a one-sided fight with Rangers forward Brian Boyle.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. I am sitting here watching the remainder of the Bruins and Habs game. You have said on numerous occasions that referees do not decide games or in this case, series. Was that the case with Game 7? I have many calls that we could discuss but I only want to ask about the one called against Boston with 4:31 left in the game. Did that call not decide the series? That was an interference call, however to be fair, lets sit and review the game. Can you tell me that throughout the game(s) it was fair and the calls were fair? They let so much go and then make calls like snow on the goalies shoulder! When was the last time that was called? Definitely not in a Game 7! Brian Gamley Brian: First, the Montreal Canadiens were the better team on this night and deserved the win and the series. The Bruins were tight and out of sync throughout most of Game 7. If you look at the penalty called by referee Dave Jackson on Johnny Boychuk with 4:31 remaining in regulation time it is fair to determine that by the letter of the law interference was committed once Boychuk built a bridge with his stick and shoved Bournival to the ice shortly after the puck was chipped through the neutral zone. There is also some argument to make that since Bournival did not alter his path to get outside Boychuk, but instead skated a stride or two directly into the Bruins defender that contact was inevitable and no harm, no foul - resulted 130 feet from the Bruins net. Whatever you believe to be most accurate is your prerogative. I want to focus my attention on how this specific call, with the score 2-1 and 4:31 remaining in Game 7, fit into the overall standard that the refs employed throughout the game. When I do that, it is only reasonable to conclude there were too many inconsistencies to deem this a penalty at that particular time in the game. Before I explain why I believe this to be true I want to provide some background on how the officials prepare for a game of this nature and the assignment process. When approaching any playoff game, especially a deciding game or Game 7, it is vital that the officiating crew be well prepared mentally and physically. In this case, that process would actually begin at least a day before the game when the officials left home and travelled to Boston (they might have also anticipated or even been assigned to Game 7 prior to Game 6 being played in Montreal. In any event they would have likely watched that game closely on television). While the officials are responsible for their personal preparation and readiness, the series supervisor (in this case, Kris King) also has some responsibility to get the crew mentally prepared in a meeting he conducts at noon on the day of the game. He, of course, cant work the game for them so his job is more like that of a coach and motivator. Selecting the officials assigned to the game is the direct responsibiliity of Stephen Walkom, V.ddddddddddddP. of Officiating based on his evaluation process and that of his supervisors and Hockey Operations. Referee Dan ORourke has been selected to work the Stanley Cup Final on a couple of occasions. Dave Jackson returned to playoff assignments this season under Stephen Walkom after not participating in the playoffs from 2010-13 under boss Terry Gregson. The first period was crucial for the referees to set an acceptable standard and tone that hopefully the players would respond to and could be consistently applied throughout the game. From almost the opening puck drop key decisions were made on calls and non-calls that made this objective almost impossible to be maintained and achieve success. On the very first shift, Brad Marchand caught Michael Bournival with a high-stick to the head just inside the Montreal blue line that went un-penalized. Marchand then received the first penalty at 6:18 of the game for goalie interference assessed by referee Jackson. On this play, it was Andrei Markov of the Canadiens that cross-checked Marchand in the neck and caused the Bruins player to fall through the crease and contact Carey Price. The first penalty call is often crucial to set the standard and this one clearly sent the wrong message. At approximately 9:48 of the first period, Reilly Smith was given a rough ride with an obvious leg/stick trip takedown in front of the Habs net by Josh Gorges as Price caught on incoming puck. The same referee was once again in good position to see the play but chose not to call this tripping/interference infraction. At the other end of the ice, Zdeno Chara received a holding penalty following a puck battle with Rene Bourque against the boards where some detainment was exerted by Chara and a quick call resulted from Dan ORourke. These decisions set a difficult standard for the referees to maintain as it appeared the game was being worked differently from end of the ice to the other. It only took seven seconds into the second period when Brad Marchand was whistled for stopping hard at the crease and penalized for a snow-shower on Habs goalie Price. These calls are typically something that needs to be addressed early in a series and not in game seven. It would be at this juncture that some "game management" as I described in yesterdays column could be used to the refs advantage. Then at 17:06, David Krejci had his lower glove hand slashed by Lars Eller on the back-check as Krejci was attempting to redirect a centering pass from Torey Krug. Krejci had words with referee Jackson when no call was made. So now we move to the Johnny Boychuk interference penalty that was c