Alex Hammond supplied us with the big-race winner Profitable last week. Nike Tn Womens Sale . Can the Sky Sports News HQ racing expert do it again? Awtaad lowered the colours of Galileo Gold on Saturday but do you think he would come out on top if the pair met again?Awtaad was impressive wasnt he? He seems the complete racehorse as he has a great attitude, loads of speed and tons of ability. Id like to be on him when the pair next face off thats for sure. Its fair to say Frankie Dettori had to sit and suffer on Galileo Gold whereas Chris Hayes was able to ride the race he wanted to on the winner, but regardless of that I think the Irish Guineas winner has the edge. Awtaad has now won his last four starts and is improving at a rate of knots and if the pair meet in the St Jamess Palace Stakes Id rather be on the Kevin Prendergast-trained colt; he looks by far the most straightforward of the two. He is currently 3/1 with Sky Bet for the one-mile Group One at the Royal meeting whereas Galileo Gold is 9/2. They may both have to play second fiddle to The Gurkha regardless - his performance in France looked very impressive. Skiffle won the Height Of Fashion Stakes at Goodwood and now looks like being supplemented for the Investec Oaks but do you think that is the right move and is Minding vulnerable after her defeat on Sunday?We thought the three-year-old fillies looked much superior to the colts, but the Oaks door has been left ajar after the defeat of Minding behind Jet Setting in the Irish 1000 Guineas. Minding is still favourite for the Epsom Classic, but has now been pushed out to 6/5 with Sky Bet. Its probable that the incident as the gates opened that saw her bang her head had a bearing on the outcome of the race and its also true that the ground was testing enough for her at the Curragh, but with the doubt over her stamina for the mile and a half at Epsom I can see why other trainers are happy to try to take her on. The Height Of Fashion (formerly the Lupe) is a race that has had an influence on the Oaks in the past and Skiffle has been introduced at 10/1 with Sky Bet for Epsom. Charlie Applebys filly is improving fast and as this was only her second outing youd have to expect further improvement. She completely cocked up the start on debut, rearing and missing the break, but she was much more savvy at Goodwood and I can see the attraction of adding her to the Oaks field. She is guaranteed to stay, being a daughter of Dubawi out of a mare that was useful up to 1m4f and is a half sister to a horse that was also effective over middle distances. So a lots of ticks there and lets be honest, the £30,000 itll cost to add her to the field isnt going to make a dent in the Sheikh Mohammed coffers!Has anything else caught your eye for Epsom following Breakfast With The Stars on Tuesday and if you had to have one ante-post bet at this stage, what would it be? Well, much of the talk after Breakfast With The Stars was of the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Ulysses. Sir Michael isnt usually one to give much away, but he has spoken well of this beautifully bred colt who has now shortened into 8/1 with Sky Bet for the Derby. He had one run at two, going into winter quarters with an encouraging sixth in a mile maiden at Newbury behind Algometer. That horse has gone on at three and has some decent form so far, including a second place to Midterm in Sandowns Classic Trial and winning a Listed race at Goodwood. Ulysses reappeared this term in a hot Leicester maiden finishing second and then got off the mark in a 10-furlong Newbury maiden earlier this month. So, back to that pedigree; hes by Galileo who won the English and Irish Derbies in 2001 and is out of a mare called Light Shift, who won the Oaks at Epsom for Sir Henry Cecil in 2007. Derby pedigrees surely dont get much better than that and Andrea Atzeni will ride him in the big race. I also have plenty of respect for Cloth Of Stars who motored round the course on Tuesday morning and is trained by Andre Fabre. He is 7/1 third favourite and needs to be supplemented at a cost of £75,000.Clive Cox has another smart sprinter on his hands in Profitable, is the Temple Stakes winner on your radar for Royal Ascot?How pleased was I to see Profitable earn followers of the blog a few quid on Saturday?! Delighted! Meccas Angel was being supported as if defeat was out of the question after the rain had turned the ground in her favour; but I was screaming home Clive Coxs four-year-old and my prayers were answered. As predicted, he has improved for another winter on his back and looks a force to be reckoned with this season. Granted he carried Meccas Angel across the track in the final furlong, but no momentum was lost and the stewards decided it hadnt made a difference. I was sure Profitable needed a bit of ease in the ground, but his trainer said afterwards he thinks he will be even better on a quicker surface. This is great news for his likely Royal Ascot aspirations and going forward for the rest of the season as he is clearly versatile on that front. Hes now 8/1 co second favourite for the Kings Stand next month and as a sprinter on the upgrade, I wouldnt be disappointed if I had an ante-post voucher in my clutches.Theres another big card at Haydock this weekend, what should we be backing?Well, after last weekend Haydock is my new favourite track, so lets try and find another winner or two! There are three Group races that should be pretty competitive. The Group Two Sandy Lane Stakes is the feature with a strong entry for the six-furlong contest. Classic winning trainer Hugo Palmer could have a good day at the Lancashire track and his Gifted Master is clear favourite on the ante-post book. At 2/1 with Sky Bet though I think we can find a bit more value elsewhere. Having said that, he hasnt seen the back of another horse since last June and despite being a bit quirky is clearly very talented. He is already 6/1 second favourite for the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. A few of his rivals on Saturday could also have the Royal Ascot race on their radar, including Buratino, who is dropping back in trip having failed to stay a mile in the 2000 Guineas. He also has the beating of Air Force Blue as a juvenile when winning the Coventry. Remarkable went into a few notebooks when runner up to Log Out Island in a Listed race at Newbury this month and John Gosdens son of Pivotal looks a horse on the up. At 9/1 for Saturdays race, he could run a good race if the forecast rain arrives. La Rioja is another unexposed likely improver at three. Henry Candys filly hasnt run yet this season, but was a Group Three winner at Salisbury on her last start. She is another horse that will need the rain to fall. Jim Bolgers Smash Williams is potentially a very nice horse too. He is one of a strong entry for Irish-trained horses and looked exciting as a juvenile. Its a very good renewal of the race and I dont have a really strong view at the moment, but if the rain comes then Ill be backing Remarkable to cause an upset.Then we have two Group Three races to look forward to, the Pinnacle Stakes for fillies and mares over an extended 1m3f, and the Timeform Jury Stakes over seven furlongs. Last years winner Miss Marjurie is among the entries for the Pinnacle Stakes and trainer Denis Coakley has snapped up the services of Oisin Murphy. However, last year she won a Listed race at Goodwood en-route to this, but was disappointing in the same race this time round. The powerful combination of John Gosden and Frankie Dettori look like they will be hard to beat here with Journey. She wasnt disgraced in finishing third to Beautiful Romance and Koora in the Middleton Stakes at Yorks Dante meeting and a reproduction of that will be good enough here. She just ran a bit free at York and that may have cost her but the fillies that finished in front of her that day are top class and it doesnt look like theres anything of that quality entered at Haydock.The Timeform Jury Stakes looks more open and has attracted a strong entry. Home Of The Brave represents trainer Hugo Palmer and is Sky Bets ante-post favourite at 9/2. He was snapped up by Godolphin after his reappearance win at Leicester last month, but was unable to represent his new owners in the Lockinge Stakes after the ground turned too soft. There is plenty to recommend him providing Haydock dont get too much rain before Saturday. William Haggas horses are running well and his Adaay is another for the shortlist. He was a bit disappointing over a mile on his return to action at Sandown last time out, but I think a drop back to seven will be just the job and on the best of his form he is right up there with a big shout. He won the Sandy Lane Stakes on this card last year beating Limato, which is very good form. Unlike Home Of The Brave he wont mind a drop of moisture in the ground and at this stage hell do for me. Also See: Live results service Full racecards Get Sky Sports Nike Vapormax Wholesale China . MacArthur scored two goals, and the Senators outlasted Detroit in a testy third period to beat the Red Wings 4-2 on Saturday night. Vapormax Sale Australia . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley. http://www.vapormaxaustraliashoes.com/ . The appointment of Boullier continues the behind-the-scenes restructuring at McLaren, who recently brought back former team principal Ron Dennis as its new chief executive.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 Ref! Been a long time Sens fan and stuck with them through the ups and downs. Ive always liked the fact that theyve made no excuses for their wins and their losses but their game with the Habs has me a tad irate with the what appears to be inconsistent calls. For example, there were a couple goalie interference calls against the Sens, like it or not, they were called, yet there were at least two non-calls for Robin Lehner being bumped including the game-tying goal at the end of regulation. Im not even going to go on about the non-call on the dive that caused that power play. My question is this: In the replay of the game-winning OT goal, the play moved into Ottawas end, a shot was taken that was stopped by Lehner and the puck was in/on/around his pads. The overhead camera angle showed the puck on the ice, not covered for a few seconds and then it was jammed in. Unless the referee is 35 feet tall and looking straight down at that angle, there is no way he could have even seen the puck free as the goalie had his back to him and there was a scrum of players there. Yet there was no stoppage even with the puck out of his sight for over five seconds (according to the game clock) and he later told Spezza that he didnt blow the whistle because of the noise level in the building. I would like to know if theres any disciplinary action for a referee who blows a call like that and then makes a "its too noisy to hear the whistle" comment as an excuse? Roger Smallman,St. Catharines, ON --- Hello, I just wanted some clarification - I thought when the goalie has the puck covered, the ref has to blow the whistle. Its my understanding that if the goalie has the puck covered, then an opposing player cannot jam at the goalie to knock the puck loose! Is that true or not? Josh Knowles Roger and Josh, Thank you for your questions following a very emotionally charged come-from-behind overtime victory by the Montreal Canadiens over the visiting Ottawa Senators. I want to share a general philosophy and understanding as to when the referee should blow the whistle. There is a misconception by some fans that a puck must be frozen for three seconds before the referee should deem it unplayable and then blow his whistle. This stems from language in Rule 85.2 when a puck falls onto the back of the goal netting and the referee is specifically directed to allow three seconds for it to be played unless the goalkeeper uses his stick or glove to freeze the puck on the back of the net, in which case the whistle is immediate. This three second application is also generally applied to determine a "frozen" puck between opposing players along the boards; although we often see the refs encourage play to continue with a non-whistle and audible command to "play it". The philosophy employed to kill play in and around the goal crease is somewhat consistent with Rule 69 (Interference on the Goalkeeper.) This rule was formerly called "Protection of the Goalkeeper" for good reason by recognizing, in part, the vulnerability of a goalkeeper given his unique position and the obvious impairment to defend his goal that would result through player contact. As such, the referee must first determine that the goalkeeper has control and coverage of the puck prior to his intent to blow the play dead in order to avoid a quick whistle. Of equal importance, is for a ref to be aware that an attacking player(s) does not dislodge or expose a covered puck by contacting the goalkeeper with a stick or any part of the body! Rule 85.3 (puck out of sight) states that should a scramble take place or a player accidentally fall on the puck and the puck be out of sighht of the Referee, he shall immediately blow his whistle to stop the play. Nike Vapormax Flyknit 3 Australia. Truth is, there are many times during a scramble that the referee loses sight of the puck but does not blow his whistle immediately while he moves in an attempt to visually locate the puck. Every referee has had the embarrassment of blowing his whistle too quickly, only to have the puck slip through the goalies equipment and into the net causing a legitimate goal to be disallowed. Previous embarrassments such as this are always in the back of the refs mind. To avoid the quick whistle, but also to be aware of the potential for players to dislodge a covered puck, the referee must attack the net quickly from the best angle and react quickly to potential contact of the goalkeeper. Lets apply the above philosophies to the reality of the eventual winning goal scored by Francis Bouillon. Max Pacioretty, who was being checked by Jared Cowen, threw the puck at the Ottawa net from the bottom middle point of the end zone face-off circle to the left of goalie Robin Lehner. The shot was gobbled up in the right pad of Lehner, protected and appeared to be covered by Lehners blocker. The referee began to drive toward the net from his initial position some 30 feet from the right post. The closest Montreal player to the net, David Desharnais, was at the bottom of the end zone face-off T some 20 feet away and positioned on the outside of Sens player Bobby Ryan. Cody Ceci approached the centre of the goal crease from 15 feet out. This distance of other players from the net creates time and space for the goalkeeper to control and cover the puck. With all these parts of the puzzle moving quickly toward Lehner, who remained in a stationary position tight to the post with his blocker and stick down in front of the right goal pad throughout, my radar as a ref would go on high alert! The very last thing I would want to have happen is for the goalkeeper to be contacted and the puck dislodged. From the sight line the referee had at the time (and the multiple camera angles shown), I find it hard to imagine the puck was visible to him or anyone else at this point. Desharnais stepped to the inside of Ryan and jammed at Lehner with his stick and body as his momentum took the Hab forward behind the net. Ceci then made contact with the right side of his goalkeeper causing Lehners blocker to elevate off the ice and rotate. The contact by both players altered the position of Lehner sufficiently to expose the puck in front of Lehners pad. At this point, the puck would be clearly visible to the referee from his position closer to the net and as detected on the overhead camera shot. Pacioretty then came in hard from the side and jammed the puck outside the crease for an easy layup for Bouillon. When players crash the crease and jam at the goalkeeper, bad things usually happen. Typically, the refs will exercise the philosophy I described above and blow the whistle in advance of any deliberate contact exerted by an attacking player. This play was allowed to continue too long without visible evidence of the puck being uncovered prior to the contact exerted by Desharnais and then Ceci. In my judgment Josh, the whistle should have blown prior to that contact. Roger, if Stephen Walkom, Sr. V.P. of Officiating assessed this play as I did, he will review and discuss the play with the referee and make suggestions as to how a similar situation should be ruled upon in the future. There is no disciplinary action in place for officials beyond the ongoing rating and ranking system that every official is subjected to for playoff assignments and ongoing employment. One call or one game does not greatly impact the overall season performance rating of any official. Great calls are made and some are unfortunately missed. Thats the human element of the job. ' ' '