Tonight at 7:05pm et a referee will drop the puck to kick off the 2013-14 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Cheap Jordans Shoes For Sale . The first round is always the toughest brand of hockey and the most difficult for the Officials to work effectively. Finishing on top of a division does not always guarantee advancement beyond the first playoff round as we have seen through several upsets in recent years. This years matchups will guarantee that some legitimate Cup contenders will be eliminated with a one and done series appearance. The margin for victory between all the teams is very slim and mistakes made by players and officials are magnified at this time of year. Simply put, mistakes can be the difference between a team and an official from going on in the playoffs or going home! Last night I joined James Duthie for a brief segment in the playoff preview show shot in Studio 9 at TSN where I will be monitoring games and officials calls on a nightly basis throughout the first round. James asked me what I will be looking for from the Officials the moment the playoffs begin. My response was for strict adherence to the letter of the law. The rules do not change during the playoffs and neither should the expected standard of enforcement! The referees have often been accused of putting their whistles away during the playoffs. Far too many times we have seen the score and time of a game factored into the refs judgment as to what constitutes an obvious penalty. I cited a game between the NY Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens from the final weekend of the regular season as an example of what we should hope from the referees throughout this postseason. In that game, referee Gord Dwyer awarded a penalty shot to Brian Gionta in overtime when the Habs captain was tripped from behind at the Rangers blue line by Raphael Diaz. Gionta was chasing a loose puck at the time he was fouled and therefore did not have possession and control of the puck. This aspect of the play could have offered the referee an out to take an easier path and simply assess a minor penalty for tripping. Instead, referee Dwyer made the correct judgment as stipulated in rule 24.8 (iii) that Brian Gionta would have obtained possession and control of the puck and was denied a reasonable chance to score. The game ended when Brian Gionta scored on the ensuing penalty shot awarded by the referee. Kudos to referee Dwyer for making this perceived tough call (video link). In reality the more difficult position a referee will place himself in is if he attempts to manage the game by letting an obvious infraction go uncalled. This often sets a chain of events in motion that is difficult for the ref to recover from. The subsequent infraction committed by the other team is usually worse than the previous one he let go. By applying a sense of fairness, the official feels helpless to call that next penalty and the standard becomes lost. The best deterrent for a player to avoid committing an infraction is the fear that he will be placing his team at a disadvantage by incurring a penalty. When that fear factor no longer exists as a result of the refs whistle being put away the game can deteriorate and the integrity of the outcome placed in jeopardy. Anarchy can result until an automatic penalty is called such as puck over the glass or too many men on the ice and a semblance of order is restored! This negative influence on a game can be avoided it the referees call the obvious infractions that are committed regardless of the score or time in a game. Whenever the officials make the tough but correct call they must receive the support of the Officiating Department heads. Management needs to demonstrate their courage by publicly backing the officials when they make the right call at a crucial time in the game. A season long subjective performance evaluation has been tabulated by the Officiating and Hockey Operations Department on each referee and linesman to determine selection to the playoffs. Congratulations and best of luck to the following officials that have been selected to the first round: Referees Francis Charron, Paul Devorski, Gord Dwyer, Eric Furlatt, Dave Jackson, Mark Joannette, Steve Kozari, Chris Lee, Wes McCauley, Brad Meier, Dean Morton, Dan OHalloran, Dan ORourke, Chris Rooney, Tim Peel, Kevin Pollock, Francois St.-Laurent, Justin St.Pierre, Kelly Sutherland, Brad Watson Linesmen Derek Amell, Steve Barton, David Brisebois, Lonnie Cameron, Scott Cherry, Michel Cormier, Greg Devorski, Scott Driscoll, Darren Gibbs, Shane Heyer, Brad Kovachik, Matt MacPherson, Steve Miller, Brian Murphy, Jonny Murray, Derek Nansen, Brian Pancich, Pierre Racicot, Jay Sharrers, Mark Shewchyk The hockey world will be watching closely as each of you display the courage and good judgment necessary to get the job done. Air Jordan Shoes Wholesale .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings take aim at an eighth straight victory on Monday night as they wrap up a road trip versus the Calgary Flames. Cheap Real Jordans .com) - It appears both the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls will reach the playoffs, but the two squads are coming off losing efforts. http://www.cheapairjordanfastshipping.com/ . -- Damian Lillard couldnt believe when he got a clear look at the rim. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- A convicted match-fixer denied a report in a German magazine Tuesday that he predicted the result and details of a World Cup football match. Cameroons football federation said it was investigating the report in der Spiegel magazine that Wilson Raj Perumal accurately predicted in an online chat with one of its journalists that Cameroon would lose 4-0 to Croatia and would have a player sent off in the first half. And that is exactly what happened in the June 18 match. Cameroon midfielder Alex Song was sent off before halftime for striking Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic in the back. Der Spiegels claims rang alarm bells because Perumal is the best-known match-fixer in football. He was convicted of fixing matches in Finland and suspected of fixing other games in Africa and involving African teams. He also isnt averse to self-publicity, having recently published memoirs with two journalists as co-authors. Perumal denied having predicted the outcome. "The Facebook chat with the Der Spiegel journalist took place a few days after the match - June 21st, as confirmed by my Facebook log," his statement said. "At no time did I make reference to four goals being scored or to a red card being issued. At no time did I suggest that I had any way of corroborating or substantiating what was meant to be an educated guess based on my extensive match-fixing experience. Last but not least: at no time was I informed by the Der Spiegel journalist that our chat was going to end up in the German publication." "I am shocked and amazed that a respected magazine such as Der Spiegel would go so far as to fabricate statements by yours truly with the visible aim of stirring the row over match-fixing," he said. "I apologize to the Cameroon FA and to its fans if I inadvertently offended them; it was not my intention. Cheap Nike Jordan Basketball. I strongly believe that Der Spiegel should also do the same since they placed words in my mouth that I did not utter." One of the Spiegel reporters involved, Rafael Buschmann, said the magazine stood by its story. "We firmly stand by our assertion that Mr Perumal wrote in a Facebook chat with der Spiegel some hours before the world cup match Croatia vs Camerooon, that the result of the match will be a 4-0-victory for Croatia and that a player of Cameroon will get a red card in the first halftime," Buschmann said. Earlier, Cameroons football federation had said it instructed its ethics committee to open an investigation. The federation, Fecafoot, evoked the possibility that seven players on its team may have been corrupted. "Recent allegations of fraud around Cameroons three 2014 FIFA World Cup preliminary games, especially Cameroon vs. Croatia, as well as the existence of seven bad apples (in our national team) do not reflect the values and principles promoted by our administration in line with the FIFA Code of Conduct and the ethics of our nation," Fecafoot said in the statement. "We are strongly committed to employ all means necessary to resolve this disruptive matter," the federation said. FIFA President Sepp Blatter confirmed that a probe was underway, telling reporters: "Yes I have been told about this but let them do their work on this investigation." That game was the low point of a disastrous World Cup for Cameroon, which conceded nine goals and scored just one in its three games. The Croatia match was also marred by an argument between Cameroon teammates Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Benjamin Moukandjo that ended with Assou-Ekotto head-butting his teammate. 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