A crisis for the NHL; Heat man up and NFL labour war turns into Twit-spat

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Is hockey in crisis? I'm not sure about that, as my bet would be that if nothing happens in the wake of the Zdeno Chara-Max Pacioretty tumult the game will continue. Most of us will still watch and Air Canada will remain a sponsor. If it were truly a crisis something drastic would alter some or all those things. But what there is, I think, is an opportunity to examine the game and find ways to manage the risk that is clearly involved in playing it, and reduce the possibility that as fans we're somehow complicit in a culture where it's okay for players to maim each other for our viewing pleasure; comforted in the knowledge that they're paid well. I encourage you to read this Globe story by Sean Gordon and Les Perreaux to get a sense of the scope that's being covered here. When the Prime Minister thinks something needs to be done and when the New York Times devotes significant resources to covering the issue and the league's very best players are crying out for change, burying your head in the status quo can't possibly be an option.

But we'll see.

We have that; Chris Bosh delivering, Kobe Bryant simmering and more.

1. Hockey's steroid moment:

It's interesting when guys can step across different sports or subjects and bring perspective to something. Jeff Blair's years of speaking baseball as a first language serve him well here when he raises the question, in the context of everything swirling around the NHL, is this hockey's steriod moment?: That time when other people hold a mirror up to the face of the game and simply say enough with the excuses, it's time to change.There is no Mark McGwire blubbering or Rafael Palmeiro jabbing his finger and saying, "I have never used steroids. Period." Just Pacioretty lying on the ice motionless. Just Sidney Crosby, wobbling off the ice and onto the couch of his parents' living room.

2. Hopefully the league will listen to the players on the ice:

Joe Thornton and Henrik Sedin are two of the NHL's best players and from every indication two of their most intelligent and reasoned veterans. That both are willing to speak up in the wake of this issue speaks volumes in itself. While it's likely Thornton's comments will make more of a splash -- the former Bruins' star, now with the San Jose Sharks, says Boston gets a break in disciplinary matters because the league's president of Hockey Operations, Colin Campbell, has a son on the team -- Sedin's get to the real heart of the matter: Citing Chara's clean disciplinary record, [the NHL's vice-president of hockey operations Mike Murphy]said the stanchion in Montreal caused Pacioretty's injury, not the Bruin pushing the Canadien towards the partition. Presumably, then, if one player injures another by running him into a goalpost, the post is at fault? "Exactly," Sedin said. "What are you doing to do the next time Trevor Gillies comes down and runs a guy into the thing? You can't give him anything. And you tell the guys [Chara] has no history, so the next time he does it he still has no history because he didn't get suspended. I don't see the reasoning behind it. Give him at least something to show that's not acceptable." Sedin said he doesn't believe Chara intended to seriously injure Pacioretty, but it was no accident that the Canadiens player struck the pillar that supports the glass separating the benches. Thornton said the decision not to suspend Chara reflects even worse on the NHL than the actual hit. "I'll tell you this: if you say that you don't know where things are around the ice, I think you're not telling the truth," Sedin said. "You play the game for 20 years, you know it's there. It's gotten to the point, you have to suspend guys if you hit the head. You have to do it even if guys say they didn't mean to do it or it's an accident. You have to start somewhere. "I don't think players know where the limit is. That's the bottom line."

3. Of course those consipiracy theorists, they might have a point:

It's impossible that the Boston Bruins got a break in the discplinary process because their owner, Jeremy Jacobs, is the chairman of the NHL's board of governors and the board just gave Gary Bettman a new five-year contract extension. Impossible! The Globe's David Shoalts breaks the story: Even as the NHL comes under attack, commissioner Gary Bettman won't have to worry about lacking support from the board of governors. That is because he quietly negotiated a five-year contract extension last November. Bettman's current contract pays him $7.2-million (all currency U.S.) per year and was to end this summer, although the governors may have earlier picked up an option that extended it to 2012. One source said the contract extension was unanimously approved by the nine-member executive committee. What will surely fire up the conspiracy theorists, who have been venting loudly on all forms of media following Zdeno Chara's hit on Max Pacioretty of the Montreal Canadiens, is the identity of the driving force behind Bettman's new contract. It is Jeremy Jacobs, the NHL's chairman of the board of governors who just happens to own the Boston Bruins, the team that employs Chara. However, as chairman, one of Jacobs's duties is to keep the commissioner and the other key executives of the NHL under contract.

4. Chris Bosh mans up:

After admitting he was one of the players in the Miami Heat dressing room who was "misty-eyed" after Miami lost the the Chicago Bulls and after venting publicly about his role following a subsequent loss to Portland, Miami's fifth straight, the former Raptors got all determined and played hard, helping the Heat to a much needed win over the Los Angeles Lakers, his two second-half alligator arms air-balls notwithstanding: [The Heat] didn't have to wait until the start of Thursday night's game against the Los Angeles Lakers to see that Bosh was serious about assuming a take-charge role. He brought his game face to the team's shootaround Thursday morning. "He went full speed," Spoelstra said of Bosh's pace during what, for everyone else, was essentially a walk-through in preparation for the Lakers. "He was also very demonstrative and vocal to everybody. It almost caught everybody by surprise. It was a great step in leadership on his part."

And it was only an appetizer for what was to come in a much-needed 94-88 victory against the Lakers. The Heat ended their longest losing streak of the season at five games and restored a bit of the swagger, direction and chemistry they had lost amid their toughest stretch of their schedule....

In leading the Heat with 24 points and nine rebounds on 10-of-17 shooting from the field, the embattled Bosh delivered on his promises to be more aggressive, demand the ball and score in the post. Not only did he come through in a major way for the Heat, he did so against arguably the most productive and imposing front lines in the league, anchored by 7-footers Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

"This was a very big game, and we had everything riding on it," Bosh said when asked if he felt vindicated by his performance. "I put everything I have into it. When it's time to play, the way I know I can play, I just go out there and let it happen. I know I can help this team in a different way. I told [Spoelstra] I wasn't playing around."

5. Kobe Bryant down, but not out:

The Lakers had their eight-game win streak snapped and lost for the second time to Miami, so Bryant went into mind-game mode, returning to the floor of the American Airlines Center in Miami and putting in a 90-minute shooting practice: Yes, the Heat got Kobe again on Thursday night, beat the Lakers 94-88. Wade owned the fourth quarter, ended a five-game losing streak, and the Heat's three stars embraced long and hard at midcourt when it was over. Out of the arena they walked with such a sense of relief, with a renewed belief, and here was Bryant illustrating his devotion to the game's pain: physical and mental. He was beating himself up on the floor late Thursday, stealing the stage and sending a bleep-you to James and Wade: Enjoy your night out after a big March victory, because I'm staying back to turn out the lights in your gymnasium. Bryant wanted the workout, wanted the chance to cleanse himself of missed shots and missed opportunities in the final minutes. Mostly, he wanted James and Wade to understand the lengths they'll need to go to take his title away. "This is my job," Bryant would say 2½ hours after the game, slumped in a chair courtside. "This is what you're supposed to do … "

6. With a $9-billion industry at the edge of a cliff, the NFL and the NFLPA get in a Twitter fight:

I enjoy Twitter; it is usually pretty fun and helps me do my "job". You can follow me right here; Don't be afraid. But shouldn't the future of the NFL be negotiated behind closed doors with lots of pots of coffee and even some cigarettes? Instead, with the extension of the labour agreement set to expire at midnight Friday, talks broke down and the tweeting heated up, this from Pro Football Talk: In an exchange that encapsulates the rising tension between the league and player's union, we present some comments from NFLPA spokesman George Atallah and NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. Atallah, speaking to Bob Glauber of Newsday: "If owners continue to question players' commitment to negotiations, we're prepared two make public all our unanswered proposals." Aiello on Twitter in response: "While George is at it, ask him when is union going to respond to our 150 pages of draft CBA provisions that they received eight days ago. Waiting."

Atallah on Twitter: "I would like to request an expense credit from the owners on the last three hours of my life."

Attallah also emailed to the Associated Press that the only thing the NFL has "been committed to is a lockout."

Well, that was depressing.

We've apparently reached the point where both sides are trying to win public favor and snipe instead of truly working together. It's amazing to think either side believes this approach will go over well with fans.

7. Warning - reading this may cause you to choke up:

A high school basketball player's mother dies at age 46. Two days later her 16-year-old son scores 46 points in her memory: [Brad]Rhoades told his teammates and coaches of his plan to score 46 points just before they returned to the court. With plenty of supporting assists, he began launching up threes, hitting a hot streak and scoring his 46th point with two minutes remaining. As soon as he hit the milestone, Rhoades ran to his father, who stood besides the stands at all of his son's games. Leaping into his arms in a cathartic release, the Rhoades turned to realize that the entire gym, with fans of both Pembroke and Bishop Brady, were giving the family a standing ovation.