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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! Hi Kerry, I was wondering what influence, if any, the home team fans can have on the on-ice officials? If a referee misses or blows a call, but its not missed by the other 18,000 refs in the arena and lets the referee know about it by booing and such, does that impact any future calls or how the game is further officiated? Does the name calling and heckling by the fans get under your skin or just fall on deaf ears? Always looking forward to your column, Stephen Lee Stephen, In theory the objective of every sports official is to remain focused and in the moment, regardless of mistakes that have been made. Dwelling on a missed/wrong call or to be intimidated by the fallout from players, coaches and of course, the fans is a recipe for a ref to compromise his integrity and/or commit further errors. It is best to keep all mental thoughts in perpetual motion to allow your brain to function in the moment. A missed opportunity is one youll never get back. A makeup call diminishes any credibility and respect that every official works so hard to achieve. In practice however, we must recognize that refs arent mechanical robots but human beings with feelings, emotions and individualized character traits. These traits are developed over a lifetime but especially during the early formative years. Positive and negative elements of an individuals personal makeup and self-worth are brought into the arena every game and will often dictate how an official responds in stressful situations. One of the most basic human instincts is a desire to be loved; okay maybe way over the top here but how about a need to be liked, appreciated and accepted? If we can agree on that premise then, now place yourself as a referee in front of 20,000 out-of-control hockey fans chanting in unison "Ref, You SUCK," throwing debris at you and threatening your personal safety. How would that make you feel? More importantly, how would you respond? Would you have the courage and personal strength to stand tall in the face of adversity or would you give in to the pressure and alter your judgment in their favor? The flip side is, if you possessed a combative nature, stubbornness and/or arrogance as dominant traits, you just might stick it to someone! What Im really saying here is that the response and action taken by an official when hes pushed to the wall results from his unique internal makeup. All referees will rely on their strengths (skating, judgment, positioning, communication skills etc.) but I found it was most important to recognize my personal deficiencies and keep them in check. I never lacked courage but I recognized very early in my career that positive trait could quickly erode to a stubborn Ill show you attitude that was very counterproductive once my authority was challenged. I have observed a potential infraction and, as the information was being sifted through my brain, the crowd reaction beat my switch to pull the trigger, giving the impression that the crowd made the call. We have all witnessed situations (or been involved in them) when the ref has been jolted to a better sense of awareness as a result of the crowd reaction. Whenever the ref raises his arm, the call should be scrutinized based on its merit and not through the reaction time it took for the referee to make it. I saw old-school referee Wally Harris (excellent ref and great guy) call an infraction that happened behind his back when he caught the reflection of the play in the glass. It was a legitimate infraction but unorthodox in Wallys detection method. Nothing ever phased Wally. A game was held up for over 20 minutes in the Boston Garden to clear debris from the ice that was thrown at this courageous ref. While I experience many emotionally charged moments from fan vitriol, allow me to share one unusual incident. It resulted from ejecting Blackhawks coach Orval Tessier from a game in the Chicago Stadium just prior to him being terminated and replaced by Bob Pulford Feb. 4, 1984. Tessier was feeling intense pressure with speculation of his imminent termination. His players were still smarting from the coachs public suggestion they required heart transplants from the Mayo Clinic. The comment backfired and their ongoing play reflected a seeming lack of interest. When Mt. Orval erupted to incur the game ejection, Hawk fans (21,000 strong) started throwing everything that wasnt nailed down. I was their intended target and the ice became a sea of debris. A chair even flew over the glass from the high-priced seats. I took safe refuge underneath the big clock above centre ice. Coach Tessier walked across the ice to make his way to the Hawks dressing room and slipped as he kicked at a popcorn box in his path. My mouth was dry as sawdust and the blood felt like it had drained from my entire body, causing numbness in my extremities as shock and awe rained down from the rafters in the Madhouse on Madison. My emotions were raw. I felt vulnerable and alone as Hawk fans did their very best to inflict some form of retribution against me. Moral support then came to me from the most unusual of places. Captain Doug Wilson and alternate captain Bob Murray skated up to me. I was expecting additional protests to be lodged against me by the two captains. Instead, they thanked me for ejecting their coach and expressed a wish that I had done so earlier in the game! I thank them sincerely for the support they provided but suggested they should move away since the three of us made a bigger target and I feared for their personal safety. When the fans had nothing left to throw, the rink attendants filled wheelbarrows with the trash and the game resumed without further incident. Buoyed in part with the support I had received from the Hawks captains, in addition to my personal character traits, I weathered the storm. I did not allow the fans to dictate what I called moving forward in that game. After all, they had nothing left to throw at me! Under Armour Wholesale Uk . "It feels good, Ive never had one before, not even in College," Hagelin said after the Rangers outgunned the Jets 4-2, behind some solid goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist following a pretty wide open first period. 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Hardy had two hits and Matt Wieters chipped in with an RBI double for the Orioles, who pushed their winning streak to three games.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - The Denver Broncos havent missed tight end Julius Thomas — until they reach the red zone.The Broncos (9-3) have scored just six touchdowns on 15 trips inside the opponents 20-yard line since Thomas sprained his left ankle in the first quarter at St. Louis three weeks ago.That 40 per cent red zone efficiency pales in comparison to the 77 per cent success rate (24 for 31) they had before Thomas got hurt.Julius is one of our top players and when you have one of your top players go out, you are going to miss him, Peyton Manning said Wednesday. We hope to get Julius back out there. Theres no question when hes out there he makes a difference, he makes a lot of plays for us.Thomas leads the league with a dozen TD catches even though he hasnt scored since Nov. 9. He was limited at practice Wednesday and hopes to return to action this weekend against the Buffalo Bills (7-5).Last week at Kansas City, the Broncos settled for five field goals from Connor Barth after stalling at Kansas Citys 4, 6, 11, 14 and 19.Im looking forward to getting back, Thomas said, so maybe my presence can have us kicking a little bit less field goals.Manning called it unfair to blame Denvers red zone woes solely on the absence of Thomas.I cant point it there, said Manning, who lamented his missed connections with Demaryius Thomas and Jacob Tamme last week when the Broncos scored on just one of six trips inside the 20 before a game-ending kneel-down at the 7.Every red zone opportunity has its own story, Manning said. Nobody wants to hear it. They just want to see if you got a touchdown or a field goal. Some way, weve got to find a way — Ive got to find a way — to help us get into the end zone with Julius or without him.Thomas return would add an intriguing challenge not only for the Bills but for the Broncos, who have had success emphasizing the run in Thomas absence.Behind an O-line thats jelling after a midseason shake-up, the insertion of third tackle Paul Cornick and the return of physical tight end Virgil Greeen, C.ddddddddddddJ. Anderson has run for 335 yards in back-to-back wins over Miami and Kansas City.C.J. has been awesome the past couple of weeks and its been awesome to watch, Manning said.If Thomas returns to the lineup, I dont really know how its going to change them, Bills coach Doug Marrone said. Obviously, theyve got another great player coming back. They can do so many things. They can hurt you so many ways. Thats a challenge and you have to be careful. If you try to take someone out or you try to take someone away, they have so much talent on that offence that theyll exploit whatever weakness you have whether its by putting too many guys in the box or putting too many in coverage.The Broncos want Thomas on the field but they dont want to take Green out — he was sorely missed in all three of Denvers losses. The game plan was built around him as a fullback and a second tight end at Seattle in Week 3, but he sustained a concussion on the first drive. His calf injury sidelined him at New England and St. Louis.With Green back in the lineup, Denver has piled up 415 yards rushing the last two weeks.Thomas said his return to action wouldnt necessarily mean the Broncos will go back to throwing the ball more. Were going to go with whatevers working well, and for us, weve been able to run that ball consistently well, and if thats the case, well continue to do that when I get back, he said.Green said he cant venture a guess as to what happens upon Thomas return, but he knows one thing: Hes a red zone nightmare.Notes: WR Demaryius Thomas (foot) and C Will Montgomery (knee) were limited Wednesday. ... Bills QB Kyle Orton didnt want to reminisce about his time in Denver. Asked at the end of a five-minute conference call what comes to mind when he thinks about Denver, he replied, The mountains, then added See ya, and hung up.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton ' ' '