Donald Sterling and now the looming sale of that franchi

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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Compared to what hes gone through in recent weeks, that seemed like a breeze. Speaking to The Associated Press on Friday at an NBA Cares event, Silver said hes thrilled that the leagues attention can be on the championship series between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs -- and not, as it was for so much of the post-season, on the off-the-court matters involving the banishment of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and now the looming sale of that franchise.Hull City are interested in signing Scotland goalkeeper David Marshall from Cardiff City, according to Sky sources. Newly-promoted Hull will be without Marshalls international colleague Allan McGregor until at least November due to a back injury. Transfer Centre Keep up-to-date with all the latest comings and goings - both here and abroad McGregor missed Hull Citys Championship play-off victory over Sheffield Wednesday after injuring himself in the last regular season game against Rotherham and now requires surgery. Marshall, who is understood to be interested in a switch to Humberside, impressed in his one season in the Premier League withh Cardiff two years ago and was close to joining West Brom last summer.dddddddddddd. Allan McGregor is set to undergo surgery on his back He made his Scotland debut in 2004 - three years prior to McGregor - and has gone on to make 10 appearances for his country.The Tigers are currently in Portugal as they continue their pre-season preparations. Also See: Hull: No FA approach for Bruce What do Hull need? Transfer Centre Latest transfer news Transfer betting Paper Talk ' ' '