r could ultimately be suspended for three plu

MADRID, Spain -- Maria Sharapova held her nerve Saturday to reach her second consecutive Madrid Open final, where shell play Simona Halep of Romania. Sharapova was cruising against Agnieszka Radwanska before allowing the third-seeded Pole to break back in the second set. But the eighth-ranked Russian recovered to secure a 6-1, 6-4 win. Earlier, Halep rallied in the hot conditions to dispatch former champion Petra Kvitova 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2. "Shes having a great year so its going to be an extremely difficult match," Sharapova said of Halep. Despite a few blips, Sharapova has been steady all week and has lost just three times on clay since the 2011 French Open. All three of those losses came against Serena Williams, the two-time defending champion in Madrid who withdrew with a left thigh injury on Friday. Kvitova, the 2011 winner, looked on course for victory before unforced errors and the rising temperatures took their toll. The Czech was 2-0 up in the second set and cruising against Halep, who was visibly frustrated after a late call went against her during the first-set tiebreaker. But Kvitova hit 66 unforced errors and that inconsistency caught up with her as Halep recovered, with the now composed Romanian hitting 22 winners and breaking Kvitova four times over the last two sets. Kvitova struggled in the final set, looking sapped of energy by the end of a match that lasted more than 2 1/2 hours. "Its been an amazing week for me, I feel very well here in Madrid," said the fifth-ranked Halep, who reached her first Masters series final. "I played really well, I was striking the ball really well." Sharapova hit 28 winners to four for Radwanska, who netted a forehand on match point to be broken for a seventh time. In the mens semis, three-time champion Rafael Nadal faced fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut while David Ferrer was up against Kei Nishikori of Japan. Ryan McMahon Jersey . Messis father, Jorge Horacio Messi, is apparently still under investigation for an alleged 4 million euros ($5.3 million) in unpaid taxes from Messis image rights from 2007-09. Messis public relations firm confirmed Spanish media reports that the state prosecutor has asked for Messi to be dropped from the investigation that began in June 2013. Tyler Anderson Jersey . After losing Brett Cecil to groin tightness on Friday, the Blue Jays watched as R. http://www.rockiesgearproshop.com/Rocki ... ds-Jersey/. Casey Janssen was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday due to a strain in his left abdominal area and lower back. Tony Wolters Jersey .ca contributor Grant McCagg provides a look at some risers and fallers on the prospect watch. Colorado Rockies Jerseys .com) - The Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics both entered Wednesday nights game riding lengthy losing streaks.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at [email protected]! Kerry, In the Canadiens/Oilers game Thursday night - third period - Lars Eller crosschecked Taylor Hall directly from behind, face first into the boards. And it was face first - Halls face was the first part of his body to make contact with the boards. He did not get his hands up in time to protect himself (and I watched it several times, frame by frame). But no major penalty? Seriously? In minor hockey that is at least a major and a game, and if you assessed a match, you would be justified. Whats the rationale? Because there was no blood or teeth lost? The non-call is particularly frustrating in comparison to the Mike Fisher hit on Cody Franson on Thursday night, which was not as bad but resulted in a major penalty and a game misconduct because Franson was bleeding all over the place - but only because his visor cut him (and if we want to get into players being driven into stanchions - Chara on Pacioretty is the standard, and there was no penalty on that one). Whats the explanation and wheres the consistency? Cole MacKay Cole: I totally concur with your assessment on this play and the resulting penalty should have been a major and game misconduct (rule 43—Checking from Behind) to Lars Eller for this dangerous hit. A check from behind is a check delivered on a player who is not aware of the impending hit, therefore unable to protect himself, and contact is made on the back part of the body. Any player who cross-checks, pushes or charges from behind an opponent who is unable to protect or defend himself shall be assessed a major penalty and game misconduct. Note also that when a player intentionally turns his body to create contact with his back, no penalty shall be assessed. While Taylor Hall did turn slightly toward the side boards after gaining possession of the puck it would be unreasonable to suggest that Hall did so intentionally to expose his back for the purpose of creating contact as described in rule 43.1. Lars Eller on the other hand travelled from his location in front of the Montreal goal and had sufficient time to alter both his approach and method of contact (cross-check directly from behind to opponents back) once Taylor Hall faced the boards and was placed in a vulnerable position. The visual picture presented by Taylor Halls snap/arch of his back and face-plant into the boards following the cross-check by Eller clearly fall within the languaage and application of rule 43—Check from Behind and should have been penalized as such.dddddddddddd I am not suggesting that there should be any further discipline to Lars Eller since we should recognize that while the hit was illegal Eller didnt utilize "excessive force" through the hit worthy of a suspension. The correct call (major and game misconduct boarding) was made last night when Mike Fisher pushed Cody Franson from behind creating some additional velocity at the last instance and causing Franson to contact the curved glass/stanchion at the end of the players bench. While Fransons visible injury most definitely had relevance to the application of a major penalty and game misconduct as prescribed in the boarding rule, the fact remains that a dangerous situation resulted from the unexpected push from behind by Fisher. Your call for "consistency" is well taken, Cole. It is imperative that the Referees differentiate between varying degrees of boarding, checks from behind and illegal checks to the head but more importantly not have any reluctance in assessing major penalties when warranted. Too many player suspensions have been imposed by the Player Safety Committee when a minor penalty or worse yet no penalty at all were assessed on the play. Brad Stuarts three-game suspension for what was ruled upon as an illegal check to the head of New York Ranger Rick Nash is the most recent example of this. That will likely change today, pending the outcome of an in-person hearing called for Patrick Kaleta of Buffalo (suspected illegal check to the head of Jack Johnson, Columbus) and a hearing for Vancouvers Alexander Edler (suspected illegal head check on Tomas Hertl, San Jose). Neither Kaleta nor Edler were penalized on the plays in question. I see one of the problems the Referees created for themselves and the game was the elimination of a major penalty (due to Refs reluctance to impose it) when an illegal check to the head is called. Rule 48 provides for a minor penalty or a match penalty. The major and game misconduct provisions were eliminated in this rule. So whenever an illegal check to the head is identified in a game at best it results in a minor penalty and the player remains in the game. Upon further review that player could ultimately be suspended for three plus games pending the outcome of a hearing. Putting consistency aside, for something as serious as the protection of a players head I think the rule and the application by many of the Refs is far too soft and short sighted. Cheap Cubs Jerseys Cheap Yankees Jerseys Cheap Rays Jerseys Cheap White Sox Jerseys Cheap Tigers Jerseys Cheap Angels Jerseys Cheap Athletics Jerseys Cheap Mariners Jerseys Cheap Rangers Jerseys Cheap Braves Jerseys Cheap Marlins Jerseys Cheap Phillies Jerseys Cheap Reds Jerseys Cheap Pirates Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Padres Jerseys ' ' '