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Many have asked: why on earth is it taking so long to announce Shawn Thorntons suspension? On December 7, Thornton pulled Brooks Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him a few times in the face for good measure. Orpik was taken off on a stretcher, and having suffered a concussion, hasnt played since the incident. The scene was reminiscent of Tie Domi on Ulf Samuelsson, and to a lesser extent Marty McSorley and Todd Bertuzzi. Thorntons hearing will be Friday, almost a full week after the incident. Its not a surprise this one is taking time. The weight of the NFL concussion lawsuits, the recently filed NHL concussion class action and the Boogaard lawsuit are likely weighing heavily on the decision making process. The league may be looking at this one very carefully to ensure they send the right message, not only to players, parents and fans, but also to potential jurors. And that message is this: we are taking all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of our players. The league will want to be seen as being proactive when it comes to protecting the brains of players, and that means firmly addressing unnecessary risk on the ice. Hockey is an inherently dangerous sport and that will never change. Still, contact that is not part of the game will be scrutinized. It seems unlikely that NHL vice-president of player safety Brendan Shanahan will be working alone on this suspension. This will be a group effort with lawyers intimately involved. This incident raises complex legal issues and will be considered with care. Ultimately, the suspension is less a hockey decision and more a legal decision. So whatever the ruling by the NHL, the assumption needs to be that the league will actively consider the legal angles before making its decision. This is an important time for the league. The discussion about violence in sports has been rising over the past few years as the public becomes more aware of the potential long-term impact of headshots. Indeed, there seems to be a trend emerging: concerns over violence in sports have become part of the narrative of the game of hockey and they dont seem to be going away anytime soon. And, in part, those concerns are now being expressed in lawsuits. A Crime? One more question that is raised: were Thorntons actions a crime? The answer lies in the issue of consent, which is your starting point when assessing whether a hit on the ice is elevated to a crime. In hockey, when a player steps on the ice, he is agreeing to some form of bodily contact and the risk of injury that flows from that contact. Hockey is understood to be an inherently violent game and injuries happen. At law, this principle of consent is called voluntary assumption of risk. Players assume risk when playing and cant turn around and sue for the harm that comes from that type of fair and expected contact. However, a distinction should be made. Players are only consenting incidental contact (or contact that is part of the game like body checks). Players are not consenting to acts that are outside the scope of what is acceptable in the game. When that happens, you start asking if a crime has occurred. We did that in cases like Bertuzzi on Moore, McSorley on Brashear and Alex Perezhogin on Garrett Stafford. And we are doing that with Thornton on Orpik. Its tough to argue that Thorntons actions constitute incidental contact. Pulling Orpik to the ice from behind and punching him repeatedly in the face is not contact that is accepted as part of the game. So to characterize the incident as an assault is not unreasonable. And just because it happened on the ice doesnt change anything. Assault is assault is assault. That being said, the incident wasnt bad enough to warrant charges and thats why we didnt see any materialize. Finally, as far as length of the suspension, my best guess is 12 to 15 games. 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Adidas Shoes Uk Sale .com) - Novak Djokovic captured a mens Open Era-record fifth Australian Open title on Sunday by defeating rival Andy Murray in the final in Melbourne.INDIANAPOLIS -- Lance Stephenson slumped his shoulders and dragged his feet to the bench with three minutes left in the game. Three points shy of a triple-double, Stephenson heard the crowd boo his removal and chant moments later for his return. Things are going so well for the Indiana Pacers that they can contemplate personal milestones and finally turn their attention to a difficult road trip awaiting them in early December. "I knew we would be a good team," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. "They are driven and hungry. Were off to a good start." Paul George scored 23 points and Roy Hibbert added 13 and eight rebounds to easily lead surging Indiana past injury hampered Washington 93-73 on Friday night. The Pacers won their sixth straight and extended their best start in franchise history to 15-1. The Wizards (7-9) snapped a three-game winning streak and lost their 11th straight game in Indianapolis. They committed 18 turnovers, shot 40 per cent from the field and went 6-of-18 from 3-point range. Star point guard John Wall struggled badly, rarely attacked the rim and finished with eight points on 4-of-14 shooting. Marcin Gortat led Washington with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Trevor Ariza scored 14. The Pacers shut out a transition attack that came in ranked second in the NBA. After averaging 18.6 points a game on the fast break, Washington had none against the defensive-minded Pacers. "When we did get in the open court we turned the ball over," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "They got back and jammed the lane. That was the opposite of how we wanted to play." Washington had won five of six before injuries finally caught up. The team announced shortly before the game that starting power forward Nene would sit due to a sore right Achilles tendon. Also missing were starting shooting guard Bradley Beal and prized rookie Otto Porter, the No. 3 pick in the draft. "That took a little bit out of us," Wittman said. "Down seven (43-36) at half, It might have been one of our worst halves. I could tell they just didnt have the vibe. We were drained." As usual, the Pacers stifled spirits and took control in the third quarter. They entered the day outscoring opponents by an average of 6.7 points in the third and followed that script once more by ooutscoring Washington 26-20 to carry a 69-56 lead to the fourth.dddddddddddd The gap only widened from there. "We just come out focused," George said. "We really are dialed in. We are working on that dead spot in the second quarter. Hopefully we can shore that up on our road trip." Stephenson departed with seven points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He made multiple flashy passes that drew oohs and aahs before Vogel replaced him with Orlando Johnson. On Wednesday in Charlotte, Stephenson had 15 points and 10 rebounds. He had the first two triple-doubles of his career earlier this month. Vogel knew bigger things are ahead. "I love to see guys get triple-doubles. But you cant make moves that compromise the next game," Vogel said. The Pacers begin a five-game road trip against the Western Conference on Sunday at the Los Angeles Clippers. Four of the five opponents are above .500 and the slate ends with games against Oklahoma City and reigning conference champ San Antonio. Vogel had hushed talk of the trip to help the team focus. Now, Indiana is ready to test its league-best record against other top teams. "We must continue to play our game on the road trip," forward David West said. "This will really tell us something and give us an idea of what we are made of. Theyre all good teams. Well have to play at our highest level." 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