The distraction: Watching the off-season remodeling project that is the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now mind, with the honkin' tall French captain at the helm, I'll watch them even when they suck. But still, with Steven Stamkos' meteoric rise and the new addition of Simon Gagne, one must take this opportunity to silently salute Steve Yzerman. Or loudly. Your choice, really.
The other distractions: Sci-Fi geek shows like "Eureka" and "Haven." Don't think there's a hockey connection? Think again. Haven is filmed in Nova Scotia, home province of Sidney Crosby and Eureka is filmed in and around Vancouver and BC, home to the Canucks and an assortment of AHL, WHL and whatever-HL teams. To refresh, going three months without live hockey is simply not healthy for some people.
The rules: Section 5, Penalties. Other Penalties. Rule 567, Refusing to Start Play - Team Not on the Ice. Rule 568, Throwing a Stick or Any Object Out of the Playing Area.
As if one guy pouting and refusing to come out of his dressing room stall was bad enough, thank god there's this rule: 567.a. If a team, which is not on the ice, fails to go on the ice to start playing when ordered by the Referee through the Captain, Manager or Coach, the Referee shall allow to the refusing team two minutes to resume the game. 567.b. If you are good boys and resume playing, the Referee only awards the offending team a bench minor. But if you insist on sitting on the bench or in the dressing room until you turn blue in the face, you forfeit the game.
Rule 568: Any player or goalkeeper who throws a stick, any part of it, or any other object out of the playing area shall be assessed a game misconduct penalty.
Morals of the story:
The game: This rule doesn't specify what qualifies as "any other object." But considering that most of the non-playing area is protected by glass and netting, it's a limited selection: stick, puck, water bottle, maybe a Ref's whistle or possibly a jersey. But I guess they need to cover their bases in case someone gets crafty and decides to dislodge the goal from the frame AND throw it out of the playing area. In the end, these are really just the rules that tell players they can't pout like little boys by refusing to start play or throwing objects into oblivion just because a play didn't go their way.
Life: So, what if all the employees in a company decided not to come in to work, instead of just one? Or all the students paying that six-figure tuition decided not to come to class today? What if everyone who takes the slightest inch of crap from a boss, bagged it and went fishing? In reality we'd get the equivalent of forfeiture...of our jobs, of our education, of our future.
Life has a way of stopping us when we try to break free of its rules. Like this rule, the punishment for standing your ground is too severe, so most of us don't do it. Now mind, sitting on the bench and refusing to start play while millions of dollars, fan favor and the Refs' patience runs out should be punished. But in life, standing your ground isn't always a bad thing. The trick is knowing when it's ok to lose your nice safe life and when it isn't. For example: if you are or are about to turn into one of those people in your office who already looks exhausted on Monday, doesn't care about whether they look or act professional, is just there for the job security and the paycheck, and gets on the elevator every day and says the same thing... "I'll just be glad when this day is over"....that's probably the time when it's ok to break out of the life you're living and damn the rules.
Next up: Section 5, Penalties. Other Penalties. Rule 569, Throwing a Stick or Any Object Within the Playing Area.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment