Seabrook blindsided by Torres: Primeau

Former NHL star Keith Primeau says the violent hit by Vancouver Canucks forward Raffi Torres on Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Brent Seabrook exposes a "grey area" in the league rule designed to limit concussions.

"It was 100 per cent my definition of a blindside hit," Primeau said in a telephone interview with CBC News. "Not a blindside hit to the head but still a blindside hit to a player in a very vulnerable position."

The collision occurred in the second period of Sunday night's 3-2 Canucks' win over the Blackhawks in Chicago.

Seabrook was skating behind his own net and looking back for the puck when Torres slammed into him. Torres received a two-minute minor penalty for interference.

Under the NHL's Rule 48, had it been ruled an illegal blindside hit to the head, Torres would have been assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct.

And there's the rub.

Seabrook was clearly dazed by the body check, lying face down on the ice momentarily before getting up and skating to the bench.

Primeau thinks Seabrook suffered a head injury on the play.

"In my opinion he [Seabrook] suffered a concussion."

And that, Primeau says, exposes a second grey area in the league rules.

"He should not have returned to play. It's extremely dangerous. He's going to need time to recover."

The NHL's revised Protocol for Concussions Evaluation, which went into effect in March, states: "a player who is suspected of having a concussion will be removed from the game and sent to a quiet place free of distraction so they can be examined by an on-site physician."

Seabrook spoke briefly with the trainer on the bench but returned to the ice and was then hit into the boards again by Torres. Seabrook went to the dressing room after the second hit.

Primeau — whose own career ended after multiple concussions and who is still suffering from post-concussion syndrome five years later — says it was difficult to watch.

"I was watching the highlights and I saw the hit and my head just dropped because it was so upsetting. And then to see him get hit again … it was just so frustrating," he says.

"You can't trust the player to say he's OK. He's not OK, trust me. It was the same as [NHL superstar Sidney] Crosby, the same as [Toronto forward Mikhail] Grabovski. It takes far less contact to get hurt the second time."

Crosby hasn't played since suffering a concussion when he was slammed into the boards by Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman in January. Some suspect Crosby was actually hurt prior to that hit when he was knocked off his skates by Washington's David Steckel during the Winter Classic on New Year's Day.

Grabovski was hit twice during a game with Boston in February and appeared to be dazed and disoriented but remained in the game, eventually returning to score the winning goal.

Primeau says it can take days to notice the symptoms of a concussion.

"With my numbers three and four [concussions] I didn't feel the true effects until 48 hours after the hit. Extreme headaches, head pressure, dizziness and disorientation, sensitivity to light."

Primeau also says the Seabrook situation makes it harder for him to sell his message of the dangers of blindside hits and subsequent concussions.

Primeau has been an outspoken advocate for more awareness of head injuries.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see hitting removed from the game," he says. "I don't want to see the nature of the game changed."

"I just want to see the rules clearly defined and enforced."

It's not known if Seabrook, who reportedly suffered two concussions last year, will miss any time.

The Canucks lead the best of seven series 3-0.

Lamb proves to be productive sidekick to Walker

ANAHEIM, CALIF.—The skinny, long-armed teenager from Norcross, Ga., showcased himself brilliantly in the shadow of a bigger star.http://beautifulweddingdress.webblogg.se

Connecticut’s 6-foot-5, 185-pound freshman guard, Jeremy Lamb, and the rest of his teammates have been playing just outside the spotlight of do-everything point guard Kemba Walker this season. But when the lights were at about their brightest, Lamb stepped into it alongside Walker.

Lamb tied a career-high with 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting in the West region semifinal against San Diego State on Thursday, including a critical 3-pointer off an offensive rebound that swished through to give Connecticut a 68-64 lead with just more than a minute to play. Lamb found himself wide open on the left wing as the Aztecs scrambled for the rebound and to locate Walker.

“I get easy shots playing off Kemba because if they don’t throw two or three people at him, he’s going to make them pay,” Lamb said. “So I get open shots and all I can do is try to knock them down and I was able to do that.”

Lamb followed that with a defensive gem, leaping to snatch a post-entry pass with his long arms, starting the break and then getting the ball back for an emphatic two-handed dunk to seal the victory.

Back at the hotel, Lamb fell asleep early but noted, “of course I watched highlights first.”

“It was real cool,” said Lamb, who also had 24 against Marquette in January. “Just growing up watching the NCAA Tournament and then playing in it, it feels real good to excel in it.”

Lamb is the son of Rolando Lamb, the man who drained a buzzer-beating shot for Virginia Commonwealth and sent Jim Calhoun and Northeastern packing out of the 1984 NCAA Tournament.

Now Calhoun is coaching the younger Lamb to the brink of a Final Four berth.

“There is something ironic about this whole situation,” Calhoun said, “and I couldn’t be more thrilled as a coach.”

While Walker outshined his younger teammate, he knows Lamb’s ceiling is high. And now he knows Lamb is a capable sidekick on the biggest of stages.

“Jeremy has been playing some great basketball for a long time now,” Walker said. “I know it’s a big stage but he’s had 24 before. He had one stretch in the beginning of the season where he was unstoppable.

“I’m happy he had a big game because we definitely needed it from him.”

Players standing strong -- and better stay that way

MARCO ISLAND, Fla. -- For those who think the NFL and its players will settle their differences soon -- or soon enough so that mini-camps, offseason workouts or training camps won't be affected -- there was a sobering message Thursday from San Francisco player representative Takeo Spikes.

"The mindset," he said, "is not to show up until August. That's the mindset we have to take for now. As players, we want to play. We didn't lock ourselves out."

Spikes is right on two counts. They did not lock themselves out, and, yes, they should prepare for the worst -- even though a court decision in early April could bring relief. Ten players signed on as plaintiffs in an antitrust lawsuit scheduled to be heard in a federal court April 6.

If the players win, the lockout is broken and players can return -- though it would be under rules imposed by the league and almost surely rules for the 2010 season.
But if they lose? Well, that's why Spikes and others are here. Their message to players is to stay united, stay strong and stay together -- and for now they are. But it's March, and no game checks have been missed, and bills aren't accumulating. But if it's August, and there's still no football ... well, then we have a potential problem.
Correction: The players have a potential problem.
Because the last time there was a work stoppage in the NFL striking players couldn't wait to jump the picket line. Granted, the scenario was different. It was a strike, not a lockout, so players can't cross a picket line that doesn't exist.
But they can cross their leadership. The unity on display at this weekend's meetings will be tested if nothing is resolved in the coming months, which is why player representatives are here. Like Spikes, they're preparing themselves -- and teammates -- for worst-case scenarios, hoping they don't happen but prepared if they do.
”You have to continue to feed guys information," said the Jets' Tony Richardson. "I know some guys can get isolated and bury themselves in that deep corner, but those are the guys I have to keep reaching out to. A lot of our young players ... I have to keep them engaged because this thing could go for a long time."
As I said, the courts will have something to say about that, but, in the end, so will NFL owners. The last time we saw them they were preaching negotiation, not litigation, so you have to believe they'll return to the bargaining table. The question, of course, is: When?
For the moment, players don't seem concerned, content to let the federal courts weigh in first. Eventually, however, they'll have to deal with owners again, and they made it clear again Thursday that they cannot and will not strike a deal without gaining detailed financial statements.
That's not exactly a revelation. But this is: Players acknowledged that they don't need 10 years of audited statements, as they demanded, or even five, as owners proposed. What they do want are detailed audits, and they said they would be willing to have them submitted to a neutral party agreeable to both sides.
Thus far, they said they've seen nothing of the sort -- getting "snapshots, an aggregate of a few teams," as Richardson put it -- and that won't cut it.
"How far apart are you?" Sean Morey, a former player and member of the players' executive committee, was asked.
He shrugged.
"How do we know?" he said. "If the owners are incapable of providing audited financial statements. We can't sit back and just trust them at their word."
That's understandable, particularly in light of this month's court decision that ruled the NFL acted against the players' interests when it negotiated its last TV contracts. But the more players press, the more, they say, management resists.
Once upon a time, I thought the problem was the disclosure process itself -- basically, that players wanted financial statements that owners were unwilling to provide. But then owners offered five years of team-by-team statements to be reviewed by a neutral party, and when that didn't fly I thought the neutral party was the problem.
Wrong again. It turns out the players want line-by-line itemizing, and they don't care who sees it -- just so long as they're viewed. Good luck. I don't see that happening soon, another reason Spikes and his colleagues better stay strong.
"The numbers they're willing to provide," said Morey, "don't give us any sort of definitive ability to analyze data and reach a conclusion as to what we can negotiate and what's a fair deal.
"I mean, they say they have decreasing profitability. But if you think of the significance of profitability -- with all the other line items unavailable -- how do we get a real clear picture of what their potential costs are, what their revenue is and what their decreasing profitability is?"
"But when you ask for those statements," he was asked, "what is their response?"
"We wouldn't be able to understand it" Morey said, quoting a management source. "They said, 'We provided that information, and you wouldn’t be able to understand. (We said) 'You know what? We're players, and we're coachable."
Morey went to Brown University, so he knows he would be able to understand. So would Richardson, who has an MBA. So there must be another reason, and Morey thinks there is.
"(So we don't) see how much money they're going to make down the road," he said. "They understand. They totally comprehend it. (Dallas owner) Jerry Jones sat across from us and said he's a professional optimist. Damn right he is. He understands the league now is more profitable than ever and the amount of money they're able to make down the road is something I personally believe they don't want to share."
Maybe. All I know is that talk is cheap, and this lockout is not. And it could be months before it's resolved. Players keep telling us they stand for what's right and what's fair, and maybe they do. But they also tell us this is a business negotiation, and what's right and what's fair don't always win.
"I think we're stronger than ever," said Richardson.
They may have to be.

STAR PLAYERS FILE ANTITRUST LAWSUIT IN MINNEAPOLIS

MINNEAPOLIS -- MVP Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Breesare among the players who filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL on Friday to prevent a lockout.

Just after the players' union decertified, the star quarterbacks and seven other players filed suit against the NFL in U.S. District Court, seeking class-action against the league. They also filed a request for an injunction that would keep the NFL and the teams from engaging in a lockout.

The collective bargaining agreement with the league expires at the end of Friday.

Also involved in bringing the lawsuit: San Diego receiverVincent Jackson, Minnesota linebacker Ben Leber and defensive endBrian Robison, New England guard Logan Mankins, New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora, Kansas City linebacker Mike Vrabel, and Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller, who is entered in this year's draft.

"The torch has been passed to a young Aggie who has decided to put his name on a lawsuit," Smith said.

Manning, Jackson and Mankins are free agents. The Colts tagged Manning as a franchise player, while the Chargers did the same with Jackson and the Patriots with Mankins. The union is disputing the validity of those tags.

The players allege that the NFL conspired to deny the players' ability to market their services.

NFL notes: Clinton is run out of D.C.

The Associated Press

First published 10 minutes ago
Updated 1 minute ago
“Southeast Jerome” is officially gone for good. As well as “Dolla Bill” and “Sheriff Gonna Getcha.”

Clinton Portis was released by the Washington Redskins on Monday, ending a charismatic and sometimes contentious seven-year stay that, for a while at least, made him the face of the franchise.

Injuries and money led to coach Mike Shanahan’s decision. Portis had played in only 13 games over the past two seasons because of a severe concussion in 2009 and a torn groin muscle in 2010.

Portis was scheduled to make $8.3 million next season, and Shanahan made it clear Friday that the franchise wouldn’t keep the 29-year-old running back at that price.

“We’re going to let him test the market,” Shanahan said, “and see what’s out there.”

Portis told 106.7 The Fan that he was given a chance to restructure his contract, but he said it would be “hard to accept not being the go-guy.”

“It was kind of a mutual decision,” Portis said. “They could have sat and held on and played around. They gave me an opportunity to further my career and go somewhere where I can help.”

Portis is 77 yards of 10,000 career rushing yards and leaves Washington 648 shy of one of his oft-stated goals — Hall of Famer John Riggins’ franchise record.

Around the league http://beautifulweddingdress.webblogg.se

Bears • Chicago released veteran defensive tackle Tommie Harris on Monday, cutting loose a three-time Pro Bowl pick who had struggled in recent years with injuries. The Bears also released linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer and offensive tackle Kevin Shaffer.

Jaguars • Jacksonville has signed quarterback Luke McCown to a one-year contract, giving the team an experienced backup to David Garrard. McCown has played in 16 games, with seven starts, in seven seasons.

Avs' Peter Forsberg retires from hockey

For Avalanche fans, it will forever be known as the Valentine's Day heartbreaker.
Everybody knew Peter Forsberg was on borrowed time in his latest comeback with the Avalanche. Fans had been conditioned only cheap jerseys too well never to look very far into the future when it came to their brilliant but brittle hockey star. But two games — and none at home, with a chance to see him one last time — well, that was just a little too brief for the Avalanche faithful.

With tears in his eyes that no doubt were matched by those who were lucky enough to see him play in Denver for parts of 11 seasons, Forsberg bade farewell to his hockey career Monday, just two games into a comeback with the Avs at age 37.

"One thing is for sure: I won't be able to second-guess myself. I really tried — and I tried and I tried," said Forsberg, seated next to his fiancee, Nicole Nordin, at a news conference at the Pepsi Center.
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The Avs immediately announced a special night will be held for Forsberg at a future date, when his No. 21 will be retired.

For Forsberg, it was at lunch Sunday with Nordin at the Cheesecake Factory in downtown Denver when the words he didn't want to say nonetheless spilled out.
"He was very quiet, not talking, and I said to him, 'Peter, what are you thinking?' " Nordin said. "He finally said, 'I can't play anymore.' "

From there, the couple drove to the house of Avalanche general manager Greg Sherman, where Forsberg informed Sherman of his decision.

"It was not an easy decision," Forsberg said. "But I finally decided, with my fiancee, Nicole, that I would not put my health at risk anymore."

Forsberg retires as the NHL's fourth all-time leader in assists per game (0.90) and 10th in points per game (1.25). He won two Stanley Cups with the Avalanche, in 1996 and 2001, and won two Olympic gold medals for his native Sweden. He won the NHL's Hart Trophy in 2003 as MVP.

USC will not wilting in opposition to Illinois Condition, 63-61

Reporting from Tempe, Ariz. — This credit score seemed to be close, some time running away, this crowd for its feet, a building rumbling and rocking.

However for USC, its exhilarating, backside-and-forth second half This against Arizona State from Wells Fargo Arena, where 7,638 raucous fans bore along, appeared to be absolutely nothing new.

“It kind with looked familiar,” junior guard Jio Fontan said.

The idea should have. Entering Thurs ., USC acquired gamed with nine game titles determined by simply six to eight or fewer points this coming year.

And 7 acquired recently been losses, four within the game’s final possession.

Thus while Arizona State senior shield Ty Abbott have missed a several-place picture by using 0.five with the second eventually left, giving USC a 63-61 win, your Trojans acquired exactly what they’ve already often also been denied: the close win.

“It was big for us for you to accomplish in which,” USC Mentor Kevin O’Neill claimed.

Especially on the highway, exactly where USC (15-9, 4-4 in Pacific 10 Convention participate in) won pertaining to just this fifth occasion inside its previous 22 league video game titles.

A Trojans started slowly along with fell behind by simply twice digits midway throughout the 1st half against Arizona State (9-11, 1-7).

But USC found its means through Arizona State’s zone immunity having junior forward Nikola Vucevic, which shone following scoring merely 6-8 issues throughout USC’s 2-position reduction next to California, inside which he / she spent considerably period around the common, dazed in addition to bleeding soon after taking a elbow to his or her jaw.

“Right after the final sport, I’m truly mad,” Vucevic claimed.

Your dog have scored USC’s first nine details, as well as carried out with 26 points as well as 10 gets back, his or her Pac-10-main 12th double-dual in 2010.

The Vucevic hook chance as well capped USC’s 15-2 run in which gave the actual Trojans any 53-45 head along with half-dozen:53 left.

Nonetheless Arizona State’s Rihards Kuksiks, who had your time-great 22 items, scored 11 straight for that Sun Devils to tie the idea with 58-58 along with 1:04 left.

USC won four straight, then a Trent Lockett some-point picture made it your 1-factor recreation along with thirty just a few seconds eventually left.

Soon after USC freshman forward Garrett Jackson built a new cost-free throw, Abbott, who scored 19, had missed the first of not one but two desperate about three-point pictures. That seemed to be that will.

Pertaining to once, USC battled very little towards a new zone safety, capturing all day and pertaining to 50 (48%).

That it was hindered through foul issues, nonetheless that is outweighed mainly because Arizona State built solely a dozen regarding 25 absolutely free includes.

Which proved to be the difference inside a recreation USC wanted badly from a new Pac-10 bottom-tier squad.

“Arizona State necessary to help win too,” O’Neill pointed available. “While an individual possess two teams playing desperate, you get this kind associated with intensity.”

But had USC lost, primarily after recently falling on the highway towards the subpar Oregon schools, its year or so would certainly are with serious issues.

“Most people required a win of which would boost us right up,” Vucevic reported, “as well as most people feel like we do that tonight.”

Not to get shed inside win can be USC’s your five-foot-7, 155-pound mighty mouse freshman level shield, Maurice Jones.

Jones entered Thurs . because Pac-10′s leader within minutes (36.7), which seemed to possess worn your ex along, although O’Neill wished more aggression.

“They’ve ended up telling me of which most the following weeks time, this particular morning, even right before the adventure,” Jones stated.

Jones followed orders, finishing with age 14 things, half dozen facilitates, six to eight steals along with 1 income inside 39 moments.

“Maurice performed their best activity on the season, almost all around,” O’Neill stated, “offensively along with defensively.”