>
>   Apparently what happened is that in the tunnel, several of the
> Wisc. Players wanted a piece of McConahgy (sp??). There were NCAA
> officials, one pushed a Badger, and got thrown  out of
> the way. Subsequently, he a a linesman were hurt.  The area was sealed
> off by Albany Police, who let no-one in the area (and locked the teams
> in their room) until the refs were showered, changed and escorted out
> of three different exits.
>   Now as a former player I will make the following remark for you all
> to take or leave --  In order for a team to "snap" like Wisconsin did,
> something had to be very wrong.  I have played in  over a thousand  hockey
> games in my life, and will say there had to something very wrong for
> what happened to happen.  Fact is, if I were a Badger, I would have
> likely lost it too. Hell, I almost lost it in the Times-Union box at
> the game on Sat. just watching that travesty.  Maybe I would have been the
> first one to try and hit that clown, but fact is, unless you have ever
> been there -- getting screwed by a guy who wouldn't know a 2-1-2
> forcheck if it hit him in the head -- you probably can't relate to
> what the Badgers went through.
 
Please tell me that you are kidding....  I never played anything
approximating Division I hockey (or even Division 3 for that matter),
but I know that there is no justification for attacking a referee
(particularly if physical contact or intimidation was involved).
Knowlege of the game doesn't have a damn thing to do with this...it is a
issue of right and wrong.  Imagine what the game would be like if every team
that thought it was unfairly penalized could just use intimidation to
accomplish its'goals.
 
Re: questioning the refs' knowledge of the technical aspects of the
game, do you know him personally?
 
I didn't see the game in question (I don't have cable TV), so I don't
know how well or badly it was refereed.  However, I am very concerned
with the amount of referee bashing that occurs among this group of very
knowlegeable fans.  If the above justification is used by the elite,
it is not hard to imagine how we end up with "fans" like our embarassed
brethren from NMU described.
 
On the other hand, I would love to see the quality of refereeing
improve and appreciate good suggestions (if we could get around the cost
issue I think the idea of referees rotating among the conferences is a
good one)....keep 'em coming.
 
>   As for the NC$$ investgation, I can't speak highly of that
> organization either, so I'll just let it be, but I hope no penalties
> are brought against Wisconsin (sorry all you pacifists out there).
>
I hope you are wrong.  Physical intimidation and verbal attacks should
get at least a five game suspension.  If any player laid a finger on the
ref or linesman, he should be suspended for next season.
 
Jon Greene
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RPI '82   Cornell '84