Vote for Crosby, tell Iginla you're sorry
DeCock: Question: If the Pittsburgh Penguins miss the playoffs, and Sidney Crosby still wins the Hart Trophy, will everyone who voted for Jose Theodore in 2002 please apologize to Jarome Iginla?
'Vote for Rory' critics are kidding ... right?
Decock: 1. While the "Vote for Rory" write-in campaign to get Vancouver defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick into the All-Star Game admittedly is a little silly, even sillier is the sanctimony expressed by a cadre of humorless people led by none other than Wayne
Enforce charging rule to limit hits to the head
Decock: 1. Amid all the (justified) hand-wringing over hits to the head, there's an easy way to prevent about half of them -- enforce charging as written.
Atlanta thriving without Savard
Decock:1. Despite his 97 points in 2005-06 season, the Atlanta Thrashers had no interest in paying open-market rates to retain Marc Savard because the high-scoring center scored most of his points at home (57) or on the power play (50).
Savard takes shot at changing Chicago
Decock:1. Denis Savard becomes the latest to don the captain's hat on the bridge of the NHL's version of the Titanic, and it will be interesting to see if the Blackhawks legend can turn that team around.
Panthers' play is puzzling, to say the least
Decock:As the guy at the locker next to him finished dressing, Steve Smith warned the crowd of reporters and cameramen they were waiting in vain.
Keeping penalties equal
Decock:1. Prevailing sentiment seems to be that the delay-of-game penalty for firing the puck over the glass in the defensive zone may not survive the summer. Many GMs feel it is too harsh a punishment for the crime, particularly when it turns a power play
Russia, NHL on thin ice
Decock:1. When a soccer team in one of the big European leagues wants a player under contract to a Russian team, they have to pay a transfer fee in the millions of dollars. When an NHL team wants one -- say, Evgeni Malkin -- they don't want to pay a dime, l
Zamboni drivers needed
Decock:1. The New Jersey Devils are scheduled to move out of the Meadowlands after this season to a new arena in Newark, and the lack of interest in hockey there is apparent. Fans are staying away in droves, but that's not as much of a problem for the team
Injury reporting trend irrational
Decock:1. Paranoia 1, Common Sense 0.
U.S. needs to turn to Klinsmann
Decock:There was a time not long ago when turning to a foreigner to coach the U.S. national team would have been an admission of defeat for American soccer.
Stalling a decision on Staal
Decock:1. New Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ray Shero faces one of the toughest decisions of his short tenure today. If Jordan Staal, younger brother of Carolina's Eric, plays in another game, it activates the first year of his entry-level contract. S
To the ice, take a left at the bar
Decock:The St. Pete Times Forum used to be one of the most hassle-free arenas for a visiting team.
Bad starts can be corrected
Decock:All of the pundits who picked a Carolina Hurricanes-Nashville Predators Stanley Cup finals series -- and there were a few -- must be wondering what they were thinking.
No more excuses for Versus
Decock:1. The grace period is over. The NHL can make all the happy talk it wants, but no one legitimately can argue that the first year of the league's agreement with Versus, nee OLN, wasn't a disaster last season. Fans couldn't find the network o
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