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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. Hey Kerry, Did you catch Tampa and Florida last night a€“ the hit by Radko Gudas on Scottie Upshall? Upshall appeared to have his head down but how would you interpret this hit? What will be factored in on deciding the punishment, if any? Michael Sekoff, Toronto Welcome Michael: I did see the hit last night while I was watching the Devils 6-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at the Well Fargo Center. Let me state right off the bat that I have a real soft spot for any player that suffers a direct blow or some form of contact to the head; no matter how significant. I always felt my primary function as a referee was to provide for player safety by applying the rules of the game to act as a deterrent for escalation of hostilities. Many times I was called upon to apply the most severe penalty in the book, a match for deliberate attempt to injure or deliberate injury, which resulted in a hearing and ultimate suspension to the guilty player. While it pained me to see the result of Radko Gudas hard open-ice hit on Scottie Upshall, I dont believe there will be any further punishment issued by the Player Safety Committee. I base this on the circumstance of the play and actions by both players as defined and interpreted in rule 48-Illegal Check to the Head. While I believe a minor penalty should have been called on the play it will not result in a suspension to Gudas. Let me provide you my interpretation of the play and the factors that must be considered. There was significant separation between Upshall and Gudas when Upshall picked up a loose puck four feet inside the top of the Panthers end zone face-off circle and contact was eventually made approximately six feet outside the circle. Once Gudas began to step up and pinch from his defense position inside the blue line, Upshall placed himself in a vulnerable position with a lowered posture and his head looking down at the puck. Rule 48.1 (ii) Whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position by assuming a posture that made head contact on an otherwise full body check unavoidable.) It could also be argued that as per item (iii), Upshall materially changed the position of his body or head immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit in a way that significantly contributed to the head contact. I am often uncomfortable casting an element of blame upon the victim, but based on Scottie Upshalls actions he does bear some responsibility on this play as defined by the rule. The mitigating factors relative to Gudas actions are also outlined in the language of Rule 48.1: A hit resulting in contact with an opponents head where the head was the main point of contact and such contact to the head was avoidable is not permitted. In determining whether contact with an opponents head was avoidable, the circumstances of the hit including the following shall be considered: (i) Whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponents body and the head was not picked as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward. Gudas approached Upshall from a slight angle as opposed to straight on and first separated Upshall from the puck with a poke-check. This demonstrates a conscious effort to play the puck first as opposed to delivering a devastating hit on a vulnerable player. Following this, Gudas continued to alter and slide his body position off the center line of Upshall to finish with an intended shoulder check. While there was certainly contact to Upshalls head as Gudas slid by to deliver an intended shoulder check, I would contend that it was not the main point of contact. Gudas elbow remained in a tucked position and his skates firmly planted on the ice as evidenced in freeze-frame images. Another mitigating factor which would be considered is that Scottie Upshall remained in the game and did not sustain apparent injury (My preference is to rule on the act and not the result but its not my stick and puck!). As I said from the outset of this column, I cringe whenever a players head is contacted. I would like to see head contact totally eliminated from the game. Based on existing rules, precedent that has been set and acceptable checking practices you can rest assured it wont happen any time soon. Aaron Rodgers Jersey . Mike Ribeiro had a goal and an assist as Phoenix held on to snap a two-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. Bart Starr Jersey .ca contributor Grant McCagg provides a look at some risers and fallers on the prospect watch. http://www.officialgreenbaypackerspro.com/Jaire-alexander-packers-jersey/ .Brooks, a three-year veteran, was slow to get up after suffering the injury during a 5-yard run by Arian Foster.Brooks limped off the field midway through the quarter and then slowly walked to the locker room a few minutes later. Clay Matthews Jersey . In the other Group A game, the Czech Republic stunned Canada, 5-4 in a shootout. Dominik Simon scored the deciding goal in the tiebreaker. The United States scored its first three goals on power plays. "Overall, I love to see the power-play goals we were able to get tonight," said U. Reggie White Jersey . -- Top-ranked Stacy Lewis birdied the last three holes and five of the final six Thursday for an 8-under 64 and a share of the lead with Mi Jung Hur in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic. LONDON -- With a dominant display of grass-court tennis, Roger Federer kept up his bid for a record eighth Wimbledon title by beating Tommy Robredo in straight sets Tuesday to reach the quarterfinals at the All England Club for the 12th time. The fourth-seeded Federer, who has not dropped a set in the entire tournament, overwhelmed the Spaniard 6-1, 6-1, 6-4 in just over 90 minutes on No. 1 Court. He hit 11 aces, faced only one break point -- in the final game of the match -- and broke four times in a performance that showed he remains a real contender at the age of 32. "Its really nice the way Im playing," Federer said. "Im serving well, moving well, returning all right, so all the things are happening that need to be happening to go deep in this tournament again." Federer received a standing ovation after closing out the match with a serve-and-volley point, hitting a backhand volley that Robredo couldnt handle. The win avenged Federers straight-set loss to Robredo in their last meeting in the fourth round of the U.S. Open. Apart from that defeat, Federer has won all of his 11 matches against the Spaniard. Federer has lost only 32 games in four matches at the All England Club, the same number as defending champion Andy Murray. "Clearly Im very pleased with the first week, and here we go now into the quarters," Federer said. "Its always really exciting being so deep into a tournament and feeling you are closer to the finish line. "Ive played a lot of matches so things are exactly where I want them to be, but then again youre sort of only in the quarterfinals and thats when the tournament kind of really starts." Federers win set up an all-Swiss duel with Australian Open championn Stan Wawrinka, who beat Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7), 6-3 to make it to the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time.dddddddddddd Federer holds a 13-2 record against Wawrinka, though Wawrinka won their last encounter in the Monte Carlo final in April. In womens play, French Open runner-up Simona Halep breezed into the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan. The third-seeded Romanian needed just 57 minutes to beat the 72nd-ranked Diyas, who was playing at Wimbledon for the first time. Her next opponent will be 2013 finalist Sabine Lisicki of Germany, who overcame shoulder trouble to defeat Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in two hours. Halep is the second Romanian woman to reach the quarterfinals at the All England Club, joining Virginia Ruzici, who made it to the final eight in 1978 and 1981. Ruzici is now Haleps manager. Halep, who has reached the quarterfinals at all three Grand Slams this year, is the only player among the top four seeds left in the draw. No. 1 Serena Williams, No. 2 Li Na and No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska are all out. The 19th-seeded Lisicki took an injury timeout while facing break point at 1-1 in the second set and was treated by a trainer on her right shoulder. After returning to the court, Lisicki saved the break point and held serve, then broke in the next game for a 3-1 lead. She was broken by the 72nd-ranked Shvedova while serving for the match at 5-3, but broke again in the next game to close it out. An emotional Lisicki celebrated by falling to her knees at the baseline and resting her forehead on the grass. Both players piled up more unforced errors than winners. Lisicki had 33 errors and 29 winners, while Shvedova had 34 and 18. 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