> Also, my contention is that when the officiating *is* bad, it
> tends to cut
> both ways.  If the guy overlooks hooking, and makes weak
> elbowing calls, he
> calls it that way for both teams.
>

My rant was about enforcement of rules, not about "homey" calls or, even
worse, crooked officials.  I suspect the latter is extremely rare and
even the former rare.  I know players want consistency - basically so
they know how much they can get away with in that game.  But *I* want
enforcement.  It doesn't have to be perfect, and nobody is going to see
every infraction, but I really hate it when the ref "swallows his
whistle" so that the game can be "decided on the ice."  That's faulty
reasoning, IMO.

And since you bring it up about being even, ever notice how often those
penalties tend to balance out over a game?  Gee, I wonder if there is
some unconscious bias that makes the ref look for ways not to decide a
game by penalties.  Nah - couldn't be.  Forget I mentioned it.

TR