On Suspensions

Everyone probably knows about the Suns suspensions I mentioned last night. But given the ratings, I'm guessing most don't know about Chris Pronger. He and his defensive partner, Niedermeyer, tag teamed Holdmstrom about midway through Game 3, with some checks that needed 13 stitches to close. Niedermeyer drew the Major there and was ejected from the game. But now the word from the commissioner's office is that Pronger's blow to the back of Holmstrom's head was the far more dangerous and he's out for Game 4. That's a big blow to the Ducks because, with Niedermeyer, he anchors there defense. if anything, it's an even bigger loss than Stoudemire and Diaw because Pronger's not just an All-Star, he's been a legitimate Conn Smythe candidate for the Ducks. Suspending him is almost giving Game 4 to the Wings just like a lot of people are saying the Suns are in a deep, deep hole for tonight's game (I'm not quite sure. If it were being played in San Antonio, I'd buy it. But I think the Suns and their crowd come out of the tunnel really fired up about the whole thing. And that might be enough to get them past the Spurs.).

So, why aren't I upset? Two cases where the league office has basically decided a series by suspending a star for a questionable call. The basketball one sets my teeth on edge. The hockey one makes me think they might just know what they're doing after all. Well, I'm hoping it's not just rampant homerism because unlike the Suns' suspensions this directly benefits my team (Although avoiding more Spurs in the playoffs isn't exactly an outcome I'd be unhappy with, either.). But I think it has more to do with how Pronger was suspended for actually doing something.

There's some argument to be made, and I'm sure Ducks fans are making it, that at those speeds, and with the way the hits happened that Pronger didn't really intend to hurt Holmstrom and all he was doing was finishing a legitimate check and wound up in a bad situation. I don't really buy that, however, because while Pronger might have not even been penalized if it wasn't for Niedermeyer's hit, that's not how the play unfolded. The situation did involve Niedermeyer's hit and that put Holmstrom in a really vulnerable position for Pronger to hit him around the head area. He was trying to check Holmstrom and that involves taking responsibility for that check going awry. That's not a dirty play, necessarily, but it's a dangerous one. And, in my opinion, the league is quite right to lay the hammer down to discourage that kind of action in the future. That kind of stuff leads to people getting seriously hurt.

But the Stoudemire and Diaw didn't involve them doing anything dangerous or potentially injuring someone. They “escalated” an altercation by leaving a narrowly defined area in the heat of the moment. They left the bench but they didn't get involved in the scrum – which wasn't in much danger of breaking out into a fight anyway. And, as has been said, that's the reason they're sitting this game out. The league's terrified of bench clearing brawls and they've tried to legislate them (Along with, unfortunately, a lot of the passion) out of the game. They don't want even the chance of a fight breaking out so they have this brightline rule and bring the hammer down whenever it's violated.

They're both cases where emotions got the better of someone in a split second but the NBA overreacted out of cowardice while the NHL took a principled stand out of no small amount of courage.