non-fic related
I went to the game last night and, regarding the hit on Tomas Kaberle, I can't really tell if it was dirty or not. From where I was sitting, it looked like a lot of shoulder on Cam's part, but then again, what constitutes as a dirty hit? The hit didn't so much knock Kaberle out as his head hitting the boards did. Everyone's saying it was so late in
( Read more... )
What constitutes a late hit?
I believe that it's a hit that comes more than 3-4 seconds after a player is no longer touching the puck *or* after the whistle has blown at a stoppage of play.
They give the players some wiggle room. Using that example, if Kaberle had the puck and Janssen was lining him up to hit him, but Kaberle dishes it off before Janssen reaches him--how much time does it take for Janssen to finish closing the distance? Would he reasonably have time to pull up or stop himself or swerve to avoid Kaberle? If the general consensus of trained hockey officials is 'yes', he had the time to do any of those things, then if Janssen hits him anyway, it's considered to be late.
The problem is that it's all opinion of the observer. I think refs, players, commentators (who have frequently previously been players) probably have a very good idea of how to judge these things, but there is going to be differences of opinions unless it's just incredibly clear-cut.
Reply
It looks to me like Cam did have time to stop and turn around, avoiding the hit on Kaberle. Chico, the colour commentator, believes it was borderline, and I would almost agree with him, with the exception of the fact that Cam looked as if he wound up and then hit Kaberle. In that case, the hit should be considered late. I don't know, I've never really thought about the properties of a late hit, and now it's frustrating me. *hmph*
Reply
Leave a comment