The John Tortorella press conference are kinda hilarious. Never known for wanting to breathe the same air as media members Tortorella takes it to a special place each post season. Complete sentences disappear faster than ice time for guys not living up to his expectations. The number of things he’s willing to discuss goes from nearly two teaspoons worth in March and the first week of April to just enough to see in the bottom of a single spoon by the middle of April. It’s clockwork, it might as well be tax day.
And yet the media is shocked and appalled it’s happening. This is when the laziest, most venal members of the media reveal themselves for what they truly are. It’s not the job of any athlete or organization to provide good copy and hand out stories in sippy cups with a side of goldfish crackers. Writers should write. If were in charge of a news organization and saw one of my staffers kvetching all over social media about someone “not giving them enough”, I know who’d be getting the warmest pink slip the next time layoffs rolled around.
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Raffi Torres had his appeal hearing with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman today. This is to appeal the hit that ended Marian Hossa’s post season. For those who missed it or need a refresher:
It was without a doubt a bad, brutal, unneeded and suspendable hit. It was a head shot, which last post season earned Rome a four post season game seat. Torres is a repeat offender so doubling that is still appropriate. If you want to tack on four additional games for leaving his feat again, no problem. Even 15 games would be acceptable, reasonable and in line with previous suspensions. 24 however is not. 24 games, especially given the number that are/could be playoff games is just absurd. It bares no resemblance to the suspensions given out even to other repeat offenders and puts this up there with players who have done unspeakably stupid things that don’t even marginally have a place in hockey, like for example Dale Hunter’s well documented suspension.
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