Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Greg Ostertag Jersey .ca. Good morning Mr. F, First, thank you for helping to educate us fans about the rules of the game, and for sharing your stories. Second, my questions: What is the NHL policy on media and officials? Can they be on Twitter? Can they be interviewed by TSN? Can they publish a book? We rarely, if ever, see an active official make a comment off the ice. Is this because they dont have much to say, or because of restrictions? I could see referee interviews causing uproars among fans. Thanks!Kent Hi Kent: The policy the NHL has in place for their officials speaking to the media is clear and direct: NO COMMENT! All media access to the officials (interviews) must be cleared and granted through the office of Gary Meagher, Sr. Vice President Public Relations & Media Services. Gary is assisted by Julie Young, Manager of Public Relations. Once the content and nature of an interview is cleared, Julie is typically responsible for contacting the official and facilitating the interview. Both individuals are extremely professional and very good at their job. It was a treat to work with Julie Young because through her efforts things always went smoothly during the many times that I was requested for interviews. Social media is off-limits for all the officials! They are not allowed to have a Facebook or Twitter account as information could easily be misconstrued or deemed to be inappropriate. It is just another undesirable location that the officials could become accessible. After NBA referee Tim Donaghy was convicted on criminal charges and served time in federal prison for betting on games he officiated, NHL officials are "strongly discouraged" from entering casinos while travelling on NHL business. You can forget about reading a book written by any NHL officials until after they retire; unless perhaps it is a childrens coloring book! Other than the number on the back of their sweater (no names since 94) the league is most content when their officials are seen and not heard from. During the playoffs a supervisor (Officiating Manager) is assigned to each series. In the event that an explanation might be required for any reason, it is conveyed to the media through the series supervisor after he consults with the officiating crew. If a major controversy were to occur in game, Gary Meagher will typically craft a press release and/or instruct the supervisor as to the information that should be shared with the media. Personally, I preferred the day when a pool reporter was allowed into the refs room after a game to get the answer directly from the official who made the decision on the ice. I would rather explain the reason behind my decision than to have it communicated through a third party or worse yet not explained at all. On occasion, pertinent aspects of my explanation became lost in the transfer and delivery of information. There are even times when the only answer is that an honest mistake was made but I doubt youll hear about it! Some officials are media savvy while others are not. I know many officials that would get torn to shreds by the media if they became accessible following a game. The only time the press would be interested to hear what an official had to say would be following some sort of controversy. It is at times such as this when damage control is utilized. Most often however, there is a reasonable explanation for a refs decision that should become public. Players and coaches can provide post-game comments from an emotional and often biased perspective. Those are the sound bites and quotes that fans are left with even though the NHL can (and has) impose fines to players and team management when they impugn the officials publicly. To prevent embarrassment or limit the need for damage control by the NHL, it is most obvious that a broad policy has to apply which restricts all referees or linesmen from making public comments. I am under no such gag order so the best place to get a straight answer as we move into the 2013-14 Stanley Cup playoffs is right here at Cmon Ref! Fair, honest and opinionated - the spin truly does stop here Kent! Enjoy the final weekend of the regular season and the race for the playoffs. Rudy Gobert Jersey . -- Martin Kaymer never lost sight of opportunity even amid so much evidence of trouble in the closing stretch Sunday at The Players Championship. C. J. Miles Jersey . It was the most lopsided loss in Lakers history. Darren Collison had a team-high 24 points while starting at shooting guard for the injured Jamal Crawford. Chris Paul added 13 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who apparently are trying to make up for decades of humiliation at the hands of the Lakers all in one season; theyve won the last two meetings by a combined 84 points. https://www.cheapjazzonline.com/348e-andrei-kirilenko-jersey-jazz.html . -- The way Ted Ligety carved into turns looked so easy.KAMLOOPS, B.C. -- John Morris is now just one game away from bringing British Columbia their fifth Canadian mens curling championship, after handing Albertas Kevin Koe his second loss of the day Friday. "Hopefully we can play the same come 4:30 Sunday," said B.C. fourth stone Jim Cotter. "Ive never been in a Brier final myself so were still soaking it in right now." "We got a little fortunate this morning," added skip and third stone Morris, thanking Quebec for getting them in the 1-2 game by beating Alberta earlier in the day. "Coming out of the gate strong and being sharp like that, having the draw weight was important, and Jimmy made a couple of bonus highlight reel shots." He also liked the energy from the almost packed house, by far the biggest crowd of the week at the Interior Savings Centre. More than 4,300 filled the 5,000-seat arena and loudly cheered B.C. and Cotter, a Kamloops native. B.C. scored two in the first end with the hammer and stole another in the second when Koes draw to the button was millimetres short. With a three in the fourth set up by one of Cotters house-clearing highlight reel shots, Morris was up 6-1 and it looked like the 1-2 Page playoff game was over except for the handshake. But Koe finally picked up a deuce in five off a miss on a half-rock double by Cotter and a steal in eight kept it going through nine, when Koe conceded after B.C. picked up one to make it 9-5. "I struggled a bit, kind of the wrong side of the inch there tonight," said the Alberta skip, who won the Brier and a world championship in 2010. "Obviously they werent missing much so we were in trouble when we werent playing our best." Alberta also dropped their last round-robin game to Quebec Friday, which cost them the hammer in the evening 1-2 Page playoff game and got B.C. into the game. B.C., Manitoba and Alberta all finished at 9-2 and a tiebreaking formula was used to rank them. Had Alberta beat Quebec, they would have faced Manitoba. Alberta will now have to play the winner of the Manitoba-Quebec 3-4 game Saturday. The winner of that semifinal will face Morris Sunday in the final. "Today wasnt our day but fortunately we put ourselves in a position where we have another life," Koe said. "Weve done well in the semis at the Brier before." The last B. Blue Edwards Jersey. C. rink to win the Brier was Greg McAulay in 2000, who went on to become world champion that year. Coincidentally, Both McAulay and Morris were born in Winnipeg. Earlier Friday, within the span of a minute or two, Saskatchewan was out and Quebec was in the playoffs, and only partly because of Jean-Michel Menards 7-5 upset win over Alberta. Even with Quebecs victory, Saskatchewan skip Steve Laycock was up one with the hammer and had an open draw against three to beat New Brunswick and force Menard into a tiebreaker. Laycock was heavy with the final stone and it proved costly. "We knew that we had to win," said Laycock. "We knew it was in our control to try and get in that tiebreaker and just didnt finish that game out, a really poor last end." Saskatchewan finished at 6-5, tied with Newfoundland and Labradors Brad Gushue and New Brunswicks Jamie Grattan. Had Menard lost, there could have been a four-way tie for fourth place and a round of afternoon tiebreakers. Instead hell now get to play Manitobas Jeff Stoughton Saturday in the 3-4 Page playoff game. Stoughton took it in stride, although Albertas loss also cost him the spot in the 1-2 game. "Quebecs a great team and Kevins team just wasnt quite as sharp as they had been all week and Quebec got them, so we get to play Quebec now," said Stoughton, a three-time Brier winner and two-time world champion. "Its good though, because they beat us earlier so we can get a little revenge on them at this game." Menard, the 2006 champion whos making his fifth Brier appearance for Quebec, was 7-4, although he also beat each of the top three teams in the round robin. "Our goal was to make it to the playoffs and there you never know whats going to happen ... if theres still some magic in our bag well try to use it," he said. Menard seemed in control throughout the game and got a boost with a three-point end in the fifth. Koe, who was solid all week, finished with a 76 per cent rating and his teammates struggled as well. Prince Edward Islands Eddie MacKenzie (4-7) finished the round robin with an 11-7 win over Jamie Koe of Northwest Territories/Yukon (3-8). Ontarios Greg Balsdon (5-6) capped his Brier debut with a 9-6 win over Jamie Murphys winless Nova Scotia team (0-11). Northern Ontario was also well back at 2-9. ' ' '