The Matthew Cooke/Vincente Padilla corollary

Matthew Cooke should've been suspended by NHL head of discipline Colin Campbell for 'Conduct detrimental to the game' or as I think it's known by the less than average fan, The Sean Avery Memorial Douche Award. Maybe we can just narrow that whole thing down and call it The Avery?

I'm almost afraid of what could happen tonight in Boston when the Penguins come to town. All eyes of the NHL and the hockey world will be on the ice, the Bruins, and probably Sidney Crosby. Allow me to be really clear on this-I really, really, really don't want to see anyone get hurt. But I think we all know that there is the potential for something very bad to happen to someone tonight, and it could very well happen to the most marketable bankable player in the NHL today. And if it does happen, it lays at the feet of Cooke and Campbell.

So why the title of this blog? Well, it's easy for me. To me, even though I never played hockey nor watch it like it's my lifeblood, I know in my heart that hockey has a code. Just like every other sport has a code. I found out one nugget from a great friend of mine who played goalie in high school-no one from the opposing team fucks with the goalie. Not a snow wash, not a love tap, nothing. Mess with the goalie and it's on.
Basketball has a code, although it's starting to get to be a bit much. I'm not a big fan of guys getting trampled if they drive the lane, but if you mean-mug in the lane, you have earned what happens to you the next time you venture down the ave. Just the way it is. Not written anywhere, but dems da rules.
Football has stuff, too. You have dirty players doing things in the middle of piles and on the line that quite frankly would probably be considered sexual assault if it weren't in the course of the game. I'm glad I wore a cup, and heck, I even wore my baseball catcher's cup when I played football. No one was twisting my twig and giggleberries, ever. I also never appreciated someone trying to poke me in the eyes, either. But, I got to play nosetackle and center, so no one ever saw my retaliation.
Baseball has it's own version of retaliation as well, and here's how I tie everything together. I saw a clip, below, and saw Sidney Crosby's face when talking to a Bruin while Marc Savard was laid out on the ice after a cheap shot by Cooke:



now maybe that's a bit long for you, but remember all those cheap shots you just saw Cooke make? Why has he not been suspended under the aforementioned Avery Award? That's a legit question, right? But back to the baseball thing-last year Vincente Padilla was starting for the Texas Rangers. And on a night when they played the Yankees (I can't believe I'm about to side with NYY, but what's right is right), Padilla hit Yankees 1B Mark Teixiera twice. And both were intentional. Now, I'm sure most don't remember this, Padilla's Ranger teammates were pissed at him. Clips were shown of the Rangers dugout, and comments were made after the game as well. And why were Padilla's teammates torqued off? Well, the AL has the DH, so Padilla was never going to bat , so he could hit, and head hunt whomever he wanted. But the Yankees are well within their right to retaliate. So what happens if one of Padilla's teammates gets plunked in the head for his transgressions? See where I'm going with this?

I don't think Cooke is going to get hit tonight. I hope Crosby doesn't get knocked out. If anyone should get the business, it ought to be Cooke. But the NHL has already thrown a wet rag on this one. Gary Bettman and Colin Campbell know they screwed up, royally. How do I know that? Well, guess who will be in attendance tonight at the Garden? Sonofa...Colin Campbell, along with the head of officiating, and an officiating crew that has over a combined 4000 hockey games under its collective belt. Gee, I wonder why (if you can't feel the sarcasm dripping off that last sentence than allow me to say 'Hi' and welcome to my blog)? If anything should happen to a Penguin, while Mario Lemieux is attendance as well, then I unfortunately have to say So Be It. And I hope that Bruins VP Cam Neely locks all those idiots in their suite, slips a note under the door and tells them that they had the chance to do the right thing, and someone got hurt, unnecessarily. And it's on them. I hope I'm wrong. But the city of Boston expects retribution. And I think most of the fans of the game of hockey are pissed as well at the lack of fine/suspension of Cooke and won't be shocked at what could happen.

We just had one of the greatest displays of this game, ever, up in Vancouver at the Olympics. And there were no head shots. None. In the last week alone I've seen 4, and only one so far has gotten a penalty and a suspension, by Ovechkin. I swear I think it's the NHL's way of saying 'Look over here, quick, we suspended a star. Please don't be turned off by the fact that there is no rhyme or reason to the way we hand out discipline.' Sorry, I'm not buying it. And I really do hope I'm wrong. I wish I could write it here and tell you that the B's should take the high road, but I think the boys in Black & Gold will do tonight what so very few others have done in the past to cheap players like Matthew Cooke-payback. Watch that YouTube again, Cooke has gone headhunting and kneehunting, and I think he's about to get his comeuppance.