Have I mentioned recently that Colin Campbell is a petty
little man with a New York vendetta?

How can I put him in context?

The recent Quizno's mascots have more integrity than Campbell.

I'd rather entrust the league operations to Carrot Top than this
thin-skinned disgruntled employee of MSG.

I've ranted before with past facts, so let's jump right into the
recent episode that merits your attention.

The Bertuzzi Incident

The punishment to Todd Bertuzzi was fine. Indeed, it was the
right decision because of the severity of the injury to Moore.

But, as Larry Brooks noted before I had time to pen an article,
coach Mark Crawford got off scott free.

Joe Sakic gave his perspective, explaining that ultimately it was
Bertuzzi who committed the infraction, not the coach.

But let's compare the situation to a past New York scenario.

The Columbus Game

Early last season, Bryan Trottier ended the Columbus Blue Jacket
game by putting Kristof Oliwa, Sandy McCarthy and Dale Purinton
on the ice in the final three seconds, sparking an inevitable brawl.

Colin Campbell decided that by placing those players on the ice
in a game that was already decided, the coach should be punished
with a two-game suspension.

Fine. So let's use that as a precedent.

The Nucks-Avs game

Let's forget for a second that Crawford smirked after Bertuzzi
laid out Moore. You can't penalize a coach for a facial expression.

But let's recognize that Crawford whipped his team into a revenge
frenzy, with forward Brad May acknowledging the existence of a bounty
on Moore's head.

And even after the injury, Crawford was STILL sending out his
pugilists on the ice in the final few minutes of a 9-2 game. It's
safe to venture that constitutes an "already-decided game."

Isn't this, at the least, the equivalent of sending out your
enforcers in the final seconds of a tough game?

Shouldn't Mark Crawford, using the New York incident as precedent,
get at least a two-game suspension?

Different Rules for New York

So chalk up another ruling that distinctly separates Colin Campbell's
suspensions for the Rangers versus the rest of the league.

It is so blatant that were the Rangers a team with any on-ice success,
it would be a major issue.

I wish Campbell would leave the league office and go to another team
so we can be rid of his ineptness at the league, and watch him fail
when he can't ride on the coattails of Keenan or Gretzky.

-Gabe

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