Brooks Bratten on the Upcoming Islanders/Pens Rematch

Fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins remember what occurred on February 11^th of this year. They remember Matt Martin applying a sucker punch that barely missed the skull of Max Talbot. They remember Trevor Gillies throwing a flying elbow into the face of Eric Tangradi, and then continuing to throw punches on the defenseless winger as he lay on the ice. They remember Michael Haley goading Brent Johnson into his second brawl in nine days, and Eric Godard coming off of the bench to protect his goaltender.

The massacre on Long Island is still fresh in my mind, and I imagine I am not the only fan of the flightless fowl that shares these vivid images. That game was scary to watch. It was frightening to come to the realization that what I was witnessing was not hockey; not the game I love, but a gongshow that has no place in professional sports.

The thing that scares me now is that there is still one more visit to Long Island looming on the calendar. Friday night, the Penguins will faceoff at the Nassau Veterans’ Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, against the Islanders.

Veteran Referee McCreary Reflects As He Blows The Whistle One Final Time by Brooks Bratten

It is one of, if not the most thankless job in sport. The referee. There is perhaps no single word that garners more hatred and disgruntlement from sports aficionados.

It is impossible to be involved in sport and agree with the men and women in the stripes and whistles all of the time; for some, they tend to spend every waking moment in disagreement with the officials’ rulings.

On over 2000 separate occasions in the National Hockey League during the last 26 seasons, Bill McCreary has been the recipient of profanity-laced tirades from coaches, players and fans, and has taken it all in stride. Sometime in early April of this, the 2010-11 campaign, McCreary will flip the puck, then drop it for the final time.

“I’m quite happy when my last game will be taking place, but I still think there’s going to be mixed emotions,” McCreary said, “because after 29 years it’s all you’ve known in your life and its coming to an abrupt halt. That being said, with a month to go, winding down very quickly, you’re starting to realize, at least I’m starting to realize and accept that yes it is coming to an abrupt end.”