undetected puck that leaves the playing

Carl Robinson has accomplished quite a bit in his first nine Major League Soccer games at the helm of the Vancouver Whitecaps. After a rocky off-season that saw star striker Camilo Sanvezzo force his way out of town, the energetic and enthusiastic rookie head coach retooled his roster and has Vancouver off to a 3-2-4 start, including a 3-1-1 mark at B.C. Place Stadium. Robinson then admittedly took a risk this week by selecting a "younger than young" starting 11 in a hard-fought 2-1 road defeat to Toronto FC in the first leg of Amway Canadian Championship semifinal that resulted in the Whitecaps escaping with a valuable away goal. But like so many teams in MLS, picking up wins on the road has been elusive, and Robinson will be looking for his first on Saturday when the Whitecaps visit the Columbus Crew. You can see all the action on TSN beginning at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. "Were hungry. Part of the reason I left some of the senior guys out on Wednesday was to rest them for Saturday," said the Welshman. "Theyve got to go in now and give me everything theyve got for the weekend." Vancouver is 0-1-3 on the road so far in 2014, but played tough in a loss to the L.A. Galaxy and a draw against to Real Salt Lake — two teams considered to be among the Western Conferences best. Robinson said its his job to find a way to get his players on the front foot when they are the visitors, something that comes much easier at home. "Once I find that solution its going to be a lot easier because it wont put us under as much pressure at B.C. Place in getting results," said Robinson. "Its known throughout MLS that teams, when they go on the road, do struggle. But I think that if youre able to win four or five games away from home and take care of your home business then youre going to be there in the playoffs. "MLS brings up funny results. You lose two or three games and youre down at the bottom of the conference. You win two or three games and youre at the top of the conference. Thats the way Major League Soccer is set up and I think its an exciting way to go." Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted said its up to the squad to trust themselves and their abilities in tough environments. "I think its a mentality thing — going away from home and still believing fully that you can go win, even against good teams," he said. "Believing in the team and believing in your own ability and going away from home and trying to win every game is an important thing." Ousted and the Whitecaps other regulars saw some of that fight from the sidelines on Wednesday as Vancouvers kids battled a Toronto roster that boasted high-priced talent like Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley. "The senior players were there and rooted them on and tried to support them as best as possible," said Ousted. "The young guys did brilliantly. It was a chance for them to show the coaches what they can do and they did really well." The Crew (3-3-3) won their first three games of the season but have failed to record a victory in the last six, including a 1-0 road loss to the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday. "They are a little bit of a wounded animal. Theyre a good team and teams like that will do anything to get back to winning ways," said Ousted. "Were going to their place, were going away from home and they probably are going to come out and give all they can to get the win. We need to be ready for both a battle and a soccer match. "The start of the game will probably be a battle and be about finding the edge. After that we can hopefully get our game going and keep the ball and get chances." Columbus, meanwhile, will be hoping to get back in the win column for the first time since March 29. "Well be coming home, so well have a little more energy, hopefully, that were playing in front of our home fans," Crew midfielder Ethan Finlay told the clubs official website. "(The Whitecaps) are a really good team ... theyre a team that you have to watch for, they have a lot of pieces going forward, and it will be a tough test." One of those pieces in Vancouvers attack is Pedro Morales, who has three goals and two assists in six games this season, including two in last weekends 3-2 home victory over the San Jose Earthquakes. The Chilean is one of the pieces Robinson brought in after Sanvezzos departure and his presence in midfield has been a big part of the Whitecaps early success as the team looks to return to the post-season after missing out in 2013. On the other side, Columbus boasts the equally dangerous Federico Higuain, a striker who has four goals and two assists so far in this campaign. "Hes a special player," Robinson said of the Argentine. "Ive got one in Pedro Morales. He makes things happen in games. "Its going to be interesting. Theres two playmaking players (who are) going to be on the field on Saturday and whichever one probably has the biggest influence will win the game." Notes: Vancouver is 2-2-0 all-time against Columbus, including a 2-1 home victory last season. ... Robinson said he was pleased with striker Omar Salgados performance on Wednesday. The 20-year-old started the season with the second-tier Charleston Battery, but was recalled after the Whitecaps parted ways with Kenny Miller. And with Darren Mattocks out injured, Robinson said the first overall pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft will remain with Vancouver for the foreseeable future. ... The second leg of the Amway Canadian Championship tie between Toronto and Vancouver goes Wednesday at B.C. Place. The winner of the two-game, total-goals series will meet either the Montreal Impact or FC Edmonton in the final. Rod Gilbert Jersey . Still, Encarnacion felt a sense of relief. He felt a pop just before crumpling to the ground after running out a groundball in the first inning of Saturdays game. It could have been worse. “Its going to take maybe two weeks,” said Encarnacion. “It depends how Im going to be and how Im going to be day after day, feeling better or not. Adam Graves Jersey . It is unclear how long Kallstrom, who was brought in to alleviate the teams midfield problems, will be sidelined. Arsenals communications director, Mark Gonnella, says the club decided to proceed with Kallstroms signing despite the injury. http://www.rangershockeyonlineshop.com/chris-kreider-hockey-jersey/ . He still wanted out. "It just seemed like the direction they were going didnt fit what I thought my career was going to be," Kesler said. "At the end of the day I want to win a championship and I want to win it now, and four years is a little too long for me. Ron Greschner Jersey .com) - The Grand Slam season will get underway Monday at the Australian Open in Melbourne, where a new champion will be crowned this year. Kevin Klein Jersey .C. - NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick headlines this years electees into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Kerry, Ive been a huge fan of you and your hair for as long as I can remember. Loved your book and the insights you give in your columns. In regards to the disputed goal by the Red Wings during their game versus the Kings on Saturday, can you provide some insight as to how the on ice officials made their determination?From what Ive read, there seems to be two different thoughts on why a goal was allowed with a puck that was clearly out of play. One, none of the on ice officials saw the puck clearly hit the safety netting so the call on the ice stands, a goal. Two, on ice official(s) did see the puck hit the safety net, but as none of them blew the play dead (or intended to), the play was still active and whether or not they saw it hit the net is irrelevant. The call on the ice stands as the play was active and cant be overruled. Both reasons center around the fact that no video review was allowed so the call on the ice had to stand. In an age where basic things like boundary violations can easily be determined with video review, when is the NHL going to change things to expand video review for goals? Thanks for your great work and insights. Sincerely,Kurt JordanEncinitas, CA Kurt: To answer your first question, you can take it to the bank when I tell you that none of the four officials on the ice saw the puck strike the fan-friendly protective netting above the end zone glass. If one of the crew had witnessed the puck leave the playing surface (or even came to that conclusion through self-reflection) a goal would have subsequently been disallowed in spite of the fact that the whistle had not blown. The officials intent to blow the whistle would prevail to ensure that the correct call was made. When the play occurred in real time, I was bombarded with questions on Twitter as to how four officials can possibly miss this call. I hope you will understand there are times when it is next to impossible to track the puck at ice level. The perfect storm resulted on this play after Niklas Kronwalls slapper was blocked by Jarret Stoll causing the puck to rocket into the upper atmosphere of the Joe. Referee Rob Martell was appropriately focused on Todd Bertuzzi and the action in and around Jonathan Quick. The other three officials attempted to locate the puck in its flight path. Please dont suggest that the whistle should have immediately blown because these three officials lost sight of the puck. A reasonable time frame is allowed to make sure the puck is either frozen or out of play in an effort to avoid a premature whistle. The very best angle to track and detect the puck hitting the protective net was enjoyed by Kings defenceman Drew Doughty as he approached the goal line, facing the end boards and looking in an upward stare. None of the Officials shared Doughtys perspective! The next visual connection with the puck that any of the offficials possibly had was when it was tracking downward just prior to striking Jonathan Quick on the numbers and deflected directly into the net.dddddddddddd Drew Doughty immediately appealed to referee Martell and provided the evidence he had witnessed. Doughtys information would have been communicated in the conference held at the Referee crease. The gut wrenching truth these guys wrestled with was that none of them had seen the puck strike the protective netting to rule the play dead. The Officials were helpless to do anything other than allow the goal to stand since the puck clearly enter the net off the back of Quick. With an understanding of what took place I cant fault the Officials one bit. The blame rests clearly on the current video review process and the Hockey Operations Department and personnel that make exclusive "officiating decisions" on a nightly basis in the Situation Room in Toronto. Kurt, you asked when is the NHL going to change things to expand video review for goals? I cant understand why the general managers have not insisted on revamping the review process. It is surely time for a complete overhaul! I point out Rule 38.4 (viii) which says, "The video review process shall be permitted to assist the referees in determining the legitimacy of all potential goals (e.g. to ensure they are "good hockey goals". For example (but not limited to), pucks that enter the net by going though the net messing, pucks that enter the net from underneath the net frame, pucks that enter the net undetected by the referee, etc." I would hope that an undetected puck that leaves the playing surface (hitting protective netting out of play) and then directly results in the puck entering the net would fall under that broad "ETC" in the rule to permit video review to "assist the referees" in determining the legitimacy of the goal. This was well beyond the parameters of a "good hockey goal!" There was absolutely zero "assistance" provided from the Situation Room as the officials huddled on the ice in an attempt to make a correct determination. I suspect the officials were dying a thousand deaths on the ice and the replay clearly demonstrates that a telephone call was not initiated by the Toronto Situation Room to "assist the referees." Major League Baseball announced last Thursday (link) at the Owners Meetings their unanimous decision to fund and expand instant replay for the 2014 season. The key points for quick reference are including the managers challenge and most importantly that off-site decisions will be conducted at the Replay Command Center in New York which will become their Situation Room. Two additional four-man umpire crews will be hired and rotated through New York to review video feeds. The replay umpires decision in New York will be final. Take a lesson NHL; its time to make a positive change with regard to video review. Perhaps Los Angeles Kings general manager Dean Lombardi might agree. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '