Before we begin: TSN is Canada's equivalent to ESPN.
 
I apologize in advance if I'm a bit incoherent. I'm traumatized because the
Junior team I work for lost last night and is heading to a seventh and
deciding game tonight. We blew a 3-0 lead. AARRRGGGGHHHH!!! Anyways....
 
Last night, TSN's Inside Sports show had a discussion of athletes and teams
suing governing bodies. Guess who they talked to first. That's right, Robert
DeGregorio of Hockey East and Shawn Walsh of Maine. Here's roughly what they
said (they taked to DeGregorio first, and then Walsh). BTW, these aren't
exact quotes, but I think I've managed to get the context of it.
 
Robert DeGregorio
Q: Why were you disappointed by Maine's action?
A: It wasn't an easy decision. With all the problems Maine has had this year,
and not just in hockey, we told them to get your house in order and come back
for next year.
Q: What about Maine's claims that you were in a conflict of interest?
A: Maine also said that it was one school ramrodding it through. [He then
talked about how he was appointed interim commissioner, mentioned that Hockey
East was a one-sport league and they didn't know if they needed a full-time
commissioner] I would have supported the action if I was only the AD of
Merrimack College.
Q: Should governing bodies be wary of getting sued?
A: The NC$$ was taken to court by Jerry Tarkanian, and the NC$$ won. The NC$$,
and its conferences, are each vountary organizations. When teams join they
know they have to abide by the rules.
 
Shawn Walsh:
Q: Should DeGregorio have been disappointed or surprised with Maine's action?
A: I'm not really a proponent of going to court. But we wanted to see it
settled on the ice, we wanted a chance to play. There were also teams who
were in a conflict of interest. Hockey East is likely to have 3 or 4 teams
in the NC$$ tourney, the other teams stood to benefit by keeping Maine out of
the tournament. The Court ruling was that nowhere in the HE bylaws is there
provision to ban a team for administrative errors. A team can only be banned
for misconduct, but there are four students at UNH who were arrested. That
would seem to be misconduct, but they weren't banned.
 
Q: Was there any HE or NC$$ appeal process?
A: It was only a HE ruling. The NC$$ had said that we were eligible for their
tournament. A few years ago, UMass-Lowell was ineligibly for the NC$$ tourna-
ment, but was still eligible for the HE tournament. I don't think we should be
compared to the Tonya Harding. The irony of this is that the straw that broke
the camel's back was Patrice Tardif, who is the epitome of a student-athlete.
But he was misadvised by our Compliance Officer.
 
-- end stuff
 
I've got a couple of comments on this pair of interviews. There wasn't really
much new (to me, at least) in these. Coach Walsh made a good point about
UMass-Lowell, but I think talking about UNH's players was unnecessary. I still
don't buy the anti-Maine conspiracy theories, though. Maybe if Oliver Stone
goes over there and starts filming "U.M.O."... :-)
 
I guess my most important thought is on the fact that this interview took
place at all. It is, I'm sure, the only coverage that TSN has given to NC$$
hockey in the past season. This whole spectacle is really more sad than
anything else. I think it's put a black eye on Maine, certainly, and maybe
NC$$ Hockey as a whole.
 
At my team's game last night, I was talking to a couple of NC$$ coaches (who
shall remain nameless) and one of them made the best comment I've heard on
this. He said, "Now, when people think of Maine, they will think of this,
instead of someone like Paul Kariya."
 
See you later,
John
 
--
John C.K. Edwards         Stats Geek, Ottawa Jr. Senators (CJHL, Jr. A)
Poli Sci/Law III                  It must be the pretzels!
CUSA Arts/SS Rep  [log in to unmask]      [log in to unmask]
Ottawa, ON       Unfortunately, my opinions aren't those of CUSA or Carleton U.