No Suspension for Cooke is Proper Decision by the NHL

Erik Karlsson grimaces in pain after his Achilles’ tendon was cut by the skate of Matt Cooke. (Gene J. Puskar)

When Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Matt Cooke looked to check Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson into the boards during Wednesday night's game, Cooke's skate was slightly elevated. It made contact with the back of Karlsoon's leg, who immeadiately grimaced and went down on the ice.

The diagnosis was not pretty. Cooke's skate had caused a 70 percent laceration of Karlsson's Achilles’ tendon. This means Karlsson will likely be out three to four months, which is the remainder of the season. This is a just a big loss for the Senators, but for all of hockey. The reigning Norris trophy winner is one of the best and most enjoyable defenseman in the league.

The Senators organization, especially owner Eugene Melnyk, has been vocal about their desire to see Cooke suspended for what they believe to a malicious play. However, there is no evidence that Cooke had any malevolent intent during the play. The only reason that a rumor of suspension is being brought up is because of Cooke's history in the league.

Cooke has been suspended by the league five times for illegal hits. In 2009, he had hits to the head of  Artem Anisimov and Scott Walker. His blindside hit of Marc Savard in 2010 led to league changes to head shot rules. In February 2011, he had controversial hits on Alexander Ovechkin and Fedor Tyutin. The worst incident though came a month later when Cooke was suspended for a hit to the Ryan McDonagh.

The Penguins organizations even supported the suspension following the hit on McDonagh. General Manager Ray Shero told Cooke that he had to change his style of play, or he would be looking for a new place of employment. Cooke has kept himself clean since the suspension, until the incident with Karlsson came along.

Everyone who can look at the incident from an unbiased standpoint realizes that this was merely an unfortunate accident. Cooke did not even know what happened during the play until after the game.

"It wasn’t until after the game when I found out what actually happened, and instantly you feel awful,” Cooke said. “It was totally not my intent on the play. It was just a freak kind of accident, and I hope [Karlsson] understands that."

Even some of Cooke's harshest critics in the past have gone to his defense for this case. Don Cherry, the Hockey Night in Canada commentator who has ridiculed Cooke in the past, said Cooke did not intentionally try to injure Karlsson.

"No, he didn’t do that [on purpose]. It was a freak accident. No human being would do that," said Cherry. "I think he was just trying to take him in there [to the boards] … it was an accident."

Brendan Shanahan and the NHL's player safety department agreed with Cherry's assessment. They determined that Cooke should not be disciplined for his skate cutting Karlsson. I agree with their conclusion as well. The accident is an unfortunate one, but there was no malicious intent involved at all.

The Penguins organization feels badly about what happened and understands the pain that the Senators are now going through. They lost their leader, Sidney Crosby, for an extended time following a hard hit by David Steckel.

"I feel horrible for Erik Karlsson, I feel bad for Ottawa," said Shero. "It’s a bad feeling. But I can't rationalize where that was a dirty play or anything with intent. Our fan base knows how it feels to lose a star player. It's emotional. I know how it feels like. It's just very unfortunate. I would not be defending Matt Cooke if I thought it was a dirty hockey play."

I have a few last thoughts as a result of all of this. First, our prayers and thoughts go out to Karlsson for a speedy recovery. Second, I respect the NHL for making the proper decision in not suspending Cooke. Finally, I hope that players around the world realize the importance of wrapping tape around the area at the top of their skates to prevent this type of incident from every happening again.

Manimal Dominates BBVA Rising Stars Challenge

Kenneth Faried dominate BBVA Rising Stars Challenge with 40 points and 10 rebounds. (Nathaniel S. Butler)

Kenneth Faried has been overlooked the vast majority of his life. He played NCAA Division I basketball at Morehead State, a lesser-knock school in the state of Kentucky. Faried was undersized, didn't have great strength and lacked offensive effeciency. He used an incessant work ethic and his powerful leaping ability to break the NCAA's rebounding record.

The Denver Nuggets decided to take a chance on Faried late in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft. He has not disappointed. Faried has overcome his size disadvantage at the power forward position with explosive play and his continual work ethic to improve. The Nuggets have reward him with the team's starting job, where he is averaging 12.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.

Since the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge is part of the NBA All-Star Weekend, little effort is usually shown by the players on the court. Faried didn't let that stop him from putting on a show. He finished with 40 points on 18-for-22 shooting and had 10 rebounds. The performance earned him the game's MVP honors.

"I came out with the intent to put on a performance," said Faried. "But I wasn't thinking MVP type of performance. I was just thinking about winning the game and enjoying myself. And pretty much enjoying the game I love to play."

Faried's style of play has earned him the nickname of the "Manimal." With his untamed hair and fanged teeth and the performance like this, he will not be overlooked in the NBA much longer. Faried will try and impress even more people when he make his encore performance in the NBA Dunk Contest on Saturday night.

Super Bowl XLVII Preview and Prediction

The career of Ray Lewis has been the talk of the media, but Patrick Willis may surpass his greatness soon enough. (Cary Edmondson)

Super Bowl preview after Super Bowl preview focuses on how the head coaches of the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens are brothers. Thanks to Jim and John we have what has been dubbed the Harbowl.What has been somewhat overlooked is how talented a number of players in this game are. After all, when all is said and done, it is the football players on the field that decide the game not the head coaches.

49ers: Many questioned why 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh made a quarterback switch from Alex Smith to Colin Kaepernick in Week 11. Kaepernick has answered every question thrown his way. In his first career playoff game, he threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns. The latter was a new record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a playoff game ever. Kaepernick's addition was rejuvenated and diversified the 49ers offense. Last week, he helped the 49ers overcome a 17-0 road deficit to defeat the Falcons in the NFC Title Game. The 49ers defense that has been superb all season came up with a courageous goal line stand in the closing moments of that game to send their team to the Super Bowl.

Ravens: The Ravens got off to a strong 9-2 start to the season, but their offense sputtered midseason leading to consecutive losses. John Harbaugh made his questionable move by firing his offensive coordinator and bringing in Jim Caldwell. Caldwell has opened up the passing game, which has allowed Joe Flacco to shine. The Ravens defense got the boost it needed from the return of Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs. They dominated the Colts offense in the wild card game. The Ravens then needed a miracle to knock off the Broncos in overtime. Last week, they went on the road and got revenge on the Patriots in the AFC Title Game.

Prediction: As I already eluded to, I believe that the talent, focus, and execution of the football players is what will determine the outcome of this Super Bowl. I am convinced that the 49ers are superior in all three of those categories. The Ravens defense has taken advantage of the predictibility of the offenses they have faced so far in the playoffs. The complexity of the 49ers offense will not allow them to do so. What Kaepernick will do is nearly impossible for a defense to predict. If he throws, he has a stud receiver in Michael Crabtree, a matchup nightmare in tight end Vernon Davis and the still dangerous Randy Moss, who is capable of going deep at any time. The Ravens also have to try and stop the 49ers rushing attack that will feature Kaepernick's cleverness, Frank Gore's bruising attack and LaMichael James' explosive capabilities. That is too much to slow done for an older, worn down defense like the Ravens. The 49ers defense will come up with the big plays needed to take care of the rest. Justin Smith, Aldon Smith and the rest of the front seven will keep Flacco under pressure all night. Patrick Willis is the best defensive player on the field and will prove it with a big play late in the game.

My final prediction is that the 49ers will win Super Bowl XLVII 31-27 over the Ravens.