I would have to agree with Mike and Adam Wodon about Gaudet.  The night before
the Merrimack game, Brown played UMass-Lowell and I was at the game.  Gaudet
yapped the whole night at the officials.  I remember making a mental comparison
to Doug and Wendy Whiner.  He clearly was off the charts in terms of his abuse
of officials.
 
FWIW I didn't think the Brown player deserved a DQ from what I saw (although
the fracas was in the far end and I may have missed something) but the
announcement over the PA system indicated a game "for punching" and I recall
a discussion earlier this year about how punching penalties indicated an
automatic game DQ rather than a game misconduct.  Perhaps this is one of those
conference-specific rules (sorry but I'm not one of those who keep an NC$$
rulebook in the bathroom for light reading on the throne), but if it's an
NC$$-wide rule, the DQ was automatic.  At the time of the announcement I
recall thinking, "He's gone from the next game for *that*?"  In any case,
Gaudet's actions in trying to avoid the DQ had at least the *appearance* of a
sleezeball trying to get away with something.  Unless there really was a
screwup on the game sheet (something Gaudet rightly takes responsibility for)
he makes himself and his institution look *very* bad trying to dress the player
the next game.
 
Finally, I would have to argue that Mike's posts in the years that I have been
on the list have been a model of even-handedness.   As an occasional poster
myself I'm not happy to see an objective post get unduly flamed in the way that
Luis flamed Mike.  If posters must avoid content to avoid flaming, then we'll
all be the poorer for it.
 
DaveH
 
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