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! Hi Kerry, My question to you is what is the going through a referees mind when a missed call or a wrong call results in a game winning goal? I refer back to last weeks game involving Edmonton and Toronto. There was a clear mistake made by the officials in overtime against Ryan Nugent-Hopkins that resulted a turnover and a 3-on-1 break and a game-winning goal for Toronto. I am sure that the referees knew that they had messed up and would certainly have known after the fact. I am sure that during your career that must have occurred at least once. My question is how do you feel after and do you apologize for the error? Chuck --- Hi Chuck: I messed up more than once during my career for sure; the most obvious being Wayne Gretzkys missed high-stick on Doug Gilmour in 1993. A referee never wants to affect the outcome of a game. That infamous missed call certainly affected the outcome of Game 6 of that Western Conference Final when Gretz scored the winning goal in OT immediately after play resumed. Instead, he should have been sitting in the penalty box with a double minor. The teams would have played 4-on-4 until Glenn Anderson served the balance of his boarding penalty. The Leafs would have then gone on the power play "if" neither team had scored to end the game at that point. We know one thing for certain; Wayne Gretzky would not have scored the winner for at least four minutes! Tremendous uncertainty surrounded the aftermath of the missed infraction. When I asked "Killer" what had happened he said that Waynes follow-through of his shot struck him on the chin. I responded, "If thats the case a normal follow-through of a shot does not constitute a penalty!" Gilmour was okay with that understanding. Something just didnt sit right with me so I sought assistance from my two colleagues. Neither of the linesmen (Kevin Collins and Ron Finn) was able to confirm the high-stick which left me with a totally helpless feeling of uncertainty. My desire as the sole Referee in a game was to see everything. In this situation I had failed my objective miserably. It wasnt until the next day however, when I saw a replay of the incident that I became aware of the missed call. As a result, the sick feeling an official gets in the pit of their gut when they mess up wasnt instantaneous but delayed for 24 hours. That sick feeling didnt subside any time soon as I watched Gretzky light it up back in Toronto to eliminate the Leafs in Game 7. While the memory of the incident could never really be erased (nor should it) I had to learn from it and move forward no differently than a player mistake costs his team a game, a series or even a Stanley Cup. Rookie Steve Smiths errant bank shot off the back of Grant Fuhrs leg comes to mind. To his credit and personal strength Smitty bounced back and had a tremendous NHL career. One play or one call should not define a career. There were other times that I knew in the moment that I had blown a call. If I overreacted by signaling a phantom/marginal penalty I wanted to chew my arm off during the delay. At times such as this I instantly knew it was a bad call as much as the player I was sending to the box. Whenever the team captain approached me in protest of the bad call I would admit my mistake immediately. Inevitably the Captains next response was, "You owe us one" or "Better make one up!" While I would respond that "Two wrongs dont make a right" the most difficult challenge was always to fight human nature when you know you erred. I did my very best not to do that very thing - make the dreaded makeup call. I will tell you there were many times that I silently rooted for the success of a teams PK unit. Two minutes can seem like an eternity when your mouth feels like its full of dry sawdust. If the team was scored upon that sick-gut feeling intensified but had to be pushed aside but remaining ever hopeful through the ebb and flow the game would be clearly decided by the players. When an error has been made it is really important to bear down and keep your head in the moment and not dwell on the past mistake. You have to push negative thoughts out and allow them to pass through as opposed to dwelling on them. Sometimes that takes self-talk; almost in a running play-by-play dialogue to maintain focus and avoid missing yet another call. What I am attempting to share with you here is not only the reality of human failure (mistakes made) which we all know happen but more importantly how we respond in dealing with that failure through our individual human nature. Every Official truly cares about the game and gives their very best. Their desire for perfection is an impossible task to achieve yet every Official chases that illusive "perfect game." The most respected and proficient Referees are the ones that minimize their mistakes, admit to them when they occur but most importantly learn from them and move forward. There are always calls throughout a game, a season or a career that every Official wishes he had the opportunity to do over again. Perhaps the Refs in the Leafs-Oilers game would like another shot at viewing and responding as Cody Franson punched Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to the ice from behind in overtime resulting in a three-on-one and Dave Bollands winning goal. Ill leave that call for them to wrestle with and perhaps learn from. Thanks for the thought-provoking question Chuck. Know that we cant alter history - just our response in the present. http://www.nonikeskobilligsalg.com/nike-free-5-0-herre/nike-free-5-0.html .Y. -- San Jose coach Todd McLellan was happy enough to laugh about the winning goal, even if it didnt come on the play he designed. http://www.nonikeskobilligsalg.com/nike-roshe-run-herre-dame.html . -- Tiago Splitter tipped in a rebound with 2. http://www.nonikeskobilligsalg.com/nike-roshe-run-herre/nike-roshe-run-hyperfuse.html . The top-ranked player twisted his ankle while representing Serbia in the Davis Cup in April then appeared to hurt it again in a second-round loss to Grigor Dimitrov at the Madrid Open on Tuesday. http://www.nonikeskobilligsalg.com/nike-blazer/nike-blazer-herre.html . Promoters InterBox and Groupe Yvon Michel announced Wednesday that the former world champions will meet May 25 at Montreals Bell Centre. http://www.nonikeskobilligsalg.com/nike-roshe-run-herre/nike-roshe-slip-on.html . The Ottawa Senators are quickly getting known for their ability to overcome just about anything thrown at them, and its a reputation they relish.GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- J.R. Smith is recovering from knee surgery, then faces an NBA suspension when he returns. Amare Stoudemire is recovering from knee surgery -- yes, thats three in the last year -- and faces a restriction on his minutes when he returns. The New York Knicks have the NBAs leading scorer in Carmelo Anthony, but after that there are questions about whos going to put the ball in the basket until their second- and third-leading scorers get back. They downplayed those concerns Tuesday after their first practice of the season. "Weve just got to be patient until we get those guys back, and then when they get back, theyre going to fit right in," coach Mike Woodson said. Smith was the NBAs Sixth Man of the Year last season after averaging a career-best 18.1 points. Though he apparently experienced knee pain since early in the season, he waited until well after it was finished to have patella tendon surgery and an arthroscopy on his left knee to repair a tear in the lateral meniscus. He said Monday the delay until mid-July was in part family related, that he felt it was more important to focus on getting his new contract done first. The Knicks said at the time the expected recovery time was 12-16 weeks, and along the way five more games have been tacked on to his absence when the NBA suspended him for violating the anti-drug program. Hell sit out the first five games hes physically able to play. The Knicks already planned to be cautious with Stoudemire this season after he played in just 29 games last season because of a pair of surgeries, one on each knee. Then he underwent another procedure on his left knee this summer, and though he was able to do some shooting Tuesday, the Knicks dont know when hell be ready for game action. Woodson said the former All-Star will play very limited minutes at the start, and its doubtful hell play more than about 25 a game at any point.dddddddddddd. Add the 14.2 points he averaged, and the Knicks are missing 32 per game from their top two reserves on last seasons 54-win team. "I think guys just have to do their part, making shots, and when their time comes just contribute everything that they have," Anthony said. "Well see what happens. Until J.R. gets back, until Amare gets back, we have enough guys that can score the basketball." He mentioned Andrea Bargnani, the former No. 1 overall pick the Knicks acquired from Toronto in July. But the Italian forward-centre played in just 66 games the last two seasons, his scoring nose-diving from a career-high 21.4 points per game in 2010-11 to just 12.7 last season. The Knicks think hell regain his form and provide outside shooting that will keep double-teams away from Anthony. "The main thing is winning, because in Toronto we didnt go to the playoffs for five straight years so Im starving for winning and get back to the playoffs," Bargnani said. "So its all about the team. I can score the ball, thats what I do, so I hope my scoring skills can help the team." New York also signed Metta World Peace, but he hadnt even averaged in double figures for two straight seasons before rebounding with 12.4 points per game last season. Still, Woodson thinks this team has enough options that it can be more balanced than the 2012-13 squad that set an NBA record with 891 3-pointers but often became stagnant when the outside shots werent falling. He said Anthony, Bargnani, World Peace and eventually Stoudemire can all play in the post. "It gives us a better threat this year," Woodson said, "where we dont have to always live on the perimeter and be able to explore mismatches, which is kind of nice." cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '