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*Zerg* · 02-06-2023, 01:06 PM

Grzegorz Brzeszyszczykiewicz has just had his chin barely grazed by the butt end of an opponent's stick. His response is to flail backwards, dropping his stick to clutch at his chin, and fall with enough force to knock his net off its moorings. This last little bit of theatrics ensures the play is stopped even if the refs don't fall for his dive. He'll stand up, make a huge show of wincing and clutching his chin, convince every Raptors fan on the continent that he was almost murdered and every rival fan that he's a diving olympian and furthermore a buffoon. If the dive doesn't make the opposing fans rage, it wasn't enough of a dive. South American Soccer levels of diving theatrics are required. This must of course be used sparingly, since if the refs are on alert for it they may hesitate to call the play dead if he is ever actually injured, but in crucial situations like a late game seven of a playoff series against a rival, "if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying."

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**RomanesEuntDomus** · 02-06-2023, 01:11 PM

Hockey Prompt

This is an interesting question, especially since I'm refereeing myself in real life and am also a fan of two sports that take very different approaches in this regard: Hockey and Soccer. I love Soccer as a sport but diving and embelleshing is rampant there to an extent where it ruins the fun quite often for me, whereas in hockey there is more of a code of honor and be tough kind of attitude, which makes these kinds of moves less acceptable. I think Hockey (and many other Sports like Basketball, Football or Handball) definitely have it right here. The mere fact that embelleshing and diving is less accepted in these sports both among players and pundits makes these acts less common, because there is a high risk to lose face if you get caught in one of these acts. I certainly think it's better for any Sport to handle it that way, while also taking into account that you can't always get it one-hundred percent right and accepting the fact that sometimes players will go down if they don't have to, if only to highlight a foul that did happen but would have been much tougher to see otherwise. Another example would be a player being grabbed or held, losing his balance for a split second and losing the ball or puck as a result, even though it wasn't enough for him to actually fall. I at least have some sympathy for players in these kinds of situations. Here it comes down to us referees to make sure that these calls are made regardless and to teach players that yes, we see those things and punish them even if you manage to stay on your feet.

***Rankle*** · 02-06-2023, 02:35 PM

Pork Tenderloin has never claimed to be an honorable meat sack. He would absolutely embellish the high stick and attempt to get a penalty call for his team. The Grizzlies need every single point they can get in the standings and honestly, all's fair on the ice. If you've got a problem with me taking some liberties on a potential penalty then you can ask me to drop the gloves once youre out of the penalty box bud. However for those two minutes the Grizzlies are going to do their best to take the lead in the way they know how, on the powerplay. We have the second best powerplay percentage in the SMJHL with a 25.4% success rate with the man advantage and with that being the case, I'm not going to deny my team the opportunity to take the lead when I know there's a really good chance that we're gonna be able to score.

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CrazyMojito · 02-06-2023, 02:39 PM

Player Prompt

It doesn't matter if the opponents stick barely touches my players chin or they full on whack him, a high stick is a high stick and Jack St. Clair is making sure the ref sees it. Whats more, he keeps a razor blade in his glove for just these occasions and will absolute cut himself like they do in wrestling. A four minute power play is is better than a two and late in a game where a goal is needed JSC is going to do what it takes to get them that goal. Not saying he'd do it every time, he does like to play by the rules and will play as hard as possible through trips and hooks and slashes especially if there is a scoring chance. But a scrum in the corner against a divisional rival where two points could seperate the team from playing hockey in May/June or golf? Going to go for the call every time.

***lore*** · 02-06-2023, 02:52 PM

PLAYER PROMPT

I suppose Viktor would "embellish" it in that he would disproportionately dodge the heck out of that stick, because that's just how he is in all life situations, hockey or otherwise. The dude doesn't like pain, and he isn't afraid to admit it. I don't think he'd dive, but he would surely snap his head back in such a way that it would get noticed easily. That said, he certainly doesn't have the desire to cheese his way into drawing a penalty. Viktor is most definitely a lawful good kind of person and everyone knows it, so that might work in the team's favour when a referee sees his reaction to the stick. In Viktor's world, if he can't accomplish what he needs to by being fair and following the rules, then he shouldn't–with or without the false opportunity to do so. Fortunately, he doesn't expect everyone around him to operate along the same lines, so if someone else wants to flop he will not hesitate to go along with it.

*Otrebor13* · 02-06-2023, 03:19 PM

I don’t even think this should be a question: absolutely try to get the call and help your team win the game. I think in that situation, everyone is trying to get an edge, everyone is trying to win, and trying to get a call at an opportune time is necessary. I think the call may not always go your way, but you have to try. You don’t want to embellish too much, or else you might get called for it, but moving slightly to signal that you were clipped up high could do it.

I think everyone wants to be the type of player that plays by the rules and is well respected, but we all know that competition brings out the will to win, and I think everyone in the league has that willingness to do what it takes to win. I like to get under people’s skin and I like to play hard, so trying to get that call and win the game is not something I would be opposed to doing.

Massive Coiler · 02-06-2023, 03:35 PM

Player prompt - Written

My head would shoot back so fast I would probably get whiplash. I would bite a chunk out of my mouth so big that the infection would take months to heal, all to spit a bunch of blood all over the place. I would lay motionless on the ice to the point where the game may have to be delayed. The team doctor could say there's nothing wrong with me and I would fake spasms and relieve myself of all fluids on the ice. I would be stretchered off without so much as a thumbs up to the crowd, leaving them wondering the extent of my injuries.
Diving is super lame and pathetic, but if you aren't willing to do it for your team, you aren't the ultimate competitor and frankly, don't belong in the league. I would go through physio and give interviews about how my attacker has left me emotionally scarred. Charges would be pressed, a petition for the other player's removal from the league would be made and signed.

MN_Moosey · 02-06-2023, 03:39 PM

Hockey Prompt

I think in the NHL, and really in any sport, there is a lack of consistency. Every zebra will call something completely different. These days you see players being faster and faster. They are quicker with their sticks and thus it becomes harder to see every single infraction. I do think that you see more embellishment penalties now a days than you might have 10-15 years ago. Players are not flopping because they are soft or can't take a little stick to the face. They are doing it because they are getting rewarded for it and there is no way to challenge those penalties. There are only 4 people on the ice who are able to make penalty calls. They simply cannot see everything. Did a stick come up near your face in a corner scrum? Maybe you can get away with it by cupping your chin. Some penalties are easier to get a phantom call on. I think the bigger issue is the calls that aren't made rather than the ones that are. (174)

***artermis*** · 02-06-2023, 04:41 PM

HOCKEY PROMPT

In the end, the diving rule is in the books for a reason, but as a referee, it is so hard to use. Usually, even on embellished plays, it makes sense how someone would react that way (re: the example provided in the other prompt). The only time I've called diving as a referee was when a player jumped and essentially swan dove, so I felt it was so blatantly selling for a call, that I could make a diving call with confidence. That bar I set isn't special, I only make calls that I see and feel with confidence. I can't really comment on the NHL environment and diving, but yeah from what few clips I've seen, it seems like diving is a rarity, as one might expect, at the highest level.

From a competitor's standpoint, I think diving is reprehensible as is any act which ignores sportsmanship. The goal of the game, it could be argued, is to win (I'd argue that it's to do your best), but then the question of to what ends is asked, to which I respond that if you're trying to win at all costs, than you are doing it wrong.

teztify · 02-06-2023, 07:55 PM

Player Prompt

It is do or die time in Newfoundland at the Mary Brown's Centre as the beloved hometown Berserkers are taking on their Atlantic rivals, the Maine Timber. In clutch time in this all important game with both teams jockeying for position in the standings and a favourable playoff matchup, Tummy Hurts finds himself surrounded in his net. The blue ice is being filled, not only by Tummy's defensemen but by opposing Timber forwards, and Tummy finds himself in a difficult spot. A stick comes up and smacks his helmet - was it on purpose? Was it even a Timber forward? Perhaps it was the stick of Rasmus Bergling. Tummy is faced with a conundrum - one perhaps even more difficult than the mental battle he fights every day: what to eat for dinner. Should Tummy take the fall, throwing his mask to the ice in a display of theatrics rivalling Jacob Markstrom at those one World Juniors? Yeah - obviously. If you're not cheating, you're not trying.

dustywilson22 · 02-06-2023, 10:21 PM

We're in the run up to the playoffs and earning points in the standings is crucial. You're in a tie game with a divisional rival, third period, and you're battling for a puck in the corner (or if you're a goalie-- a scrum in front of the net). You feel an opponents stick come up and graze your chin. It doesn't hurt, in fact it barely touches you, but you have the opportunity to try and draw a penalty.

Do you do it? Would your player embellish the high stick? Take the dive? Try to get a call where there isn't one? Keep in mind a powerplay could win you the game here! These are important points in a playoff race! Would you take the opportunity, or is your player too hard-nosed for that? Are you a stick to the rules kind of player, or a take any chance you can get to win kind of player? (150+ words)

You see the scuffle happening With The Knights and Timber as It's a close game. Fans are screaming as It's already a hostile environment. The Knights are being booed left and right. As Dusty takes the High stick he flops a bit as he covers his face even selling it by skating off the ice and to the back. In the back Dusty asks a team manager to hit him with a stick, at the first the manager doesn't agree but Dusty insists and he hits Dusty with the stick causing some bleeding. as the call is finally blowed, fans watch as the replay is played and boo more as they don't believe he's really that hurt. Dusty can be seen bleeding though so most join his side and even Knights fans defend him by clapping for this call. The Ref checks up on Dusty making sure he's okay just as the coach does. As Dusty leaves the game a goal horn can be heard along with booing minutes later. the Knights had won. Was Dusty doing what was right? maybe not, but his team won and that's what It takes here in the leagues

To show my answer, Yes I would do anything as would it be in the back of my mind, of course. My thing Is definitely don't high stick If you aren't expecting a call as It's already dirty as It Is in my mind. now I know accidents happen, but when they do usually someone benefits and why not be us. That's how i feel!

*Ferda* · 02-06-2023, 10:24 PM

Quote:PLAYER PROMPT - We're in the run up to the playoffs and earning points in the standings is crucial. You're in a tie game with a divisional rival, third period, and you're battling for a puck in the corner (or if you're a goalie-- a scrum in front of the net). You feel an opponents stick come up and graze your chin. It doesn't hurt, in fact it barely touches you, but you have the opportunity to try and draw a penalty.

Written Task: Do you do it? Would your player embellish the high stick? Take the dive? Try to get a call where there isn't one? Keep in mind a powerplay could win you the game here! These are important points in a playoff race! Would you take the opportunity, or is your player too hard-nosed for that? Are you a stick to the rules kind of player, or a take any chance you can get to win kind of player? (150+ words)

Billy, a player for the Detroit Falcons, was in the middle of a close game against their division rivals. The playoffs were around the corner and every point counted. In a battle for the puck in the corner, an opponent's stick grazed Billy's chin, but he wasn't about to make a big deal out of it. He just brushed it off and kept playing, slipping past the guy who hit him and grabbing control of the puck. The opposing goalie made a sick save, but Billy wasn't gonna let that stop him. He used his speed and hustle to fight for the puck, never backing down from a challenge. And it paid off. Billy scored the game-winning goal, giving the Falcons a crucial two points and earning him even more love from the crowd and respect from his teammates. For Billy, it was just another day at the rink, doing what he loved and playing tough.

*WithTheMoose* · 02-06-2023, 11:19 PM

Hockey Prompt

I think embellishment calls across all professional sporting leagues are one of the most pathetic attempts you can take to get an advantage. I think it has no place in sports because referees have a hard enough job as it is trying to call the game fairly. When you get barely touched and act like the world is coming to the end it distracts refs from doing their job and really dirties the sport as a whole. You were awarded a penalty that was mostly undeserved and the opponent is hurt by something that wouldn't be called 90% of the time otherwise. On one hand I think a player who doesn't take every advantage they can get isn't trying hard enough, so I'm not even sure its the fault of the players. if you can get your team an advantage you should absolutely take the chance. Which means I think it should be on the leagues to penalize this behavior. if you take a flop or embellish a call, you pay for it out of your pocketbook. its the only way to stop players from playing the refs and will bring the focus back on the sport rather than terrible acting. That said I don't think hockey is the worst about this and maybe its fitting here, but I've seen too many flags thrown in the NFL because a player decided they got tickled too hard.

***MikeLiut*** · 02-06-2023, 11:43 PM

That’s a nice one. I think we underestimate the NHL referee community here. They watch all the games, they already know who fakes it, and who does not. Maybe they made a bad call on the play, but they hate being fooled. And you do not want to be on their blacklist. Is there too much diving? One is always too much, but I do not think we have a cultural problem here. I do not think we lost it completely about how contacts are managed like during a soccer match, which is often by definition a complete disaster for the leagues, the players and the game. Faking in soccer is part of the culture of the game. Faking can lead to winning, and there is not enough on the field and outside the field to punish those who are using that strategy. In hockey, I think we put enough measures in place to prevent it to become part of the game. Do some players embellish certain situations? Of course. But maybe I’m naive, but I do not see a real problem here.

***Aleris*** · 02-06-2023, 11:47 PM

Hockey Prompt -

I'll be real. If you're diving on a frozen pond then you deserve to go to the box for two minutes. You could break your neck. I think the league should take it one step further. There needs to be "DANGER FROZEN WATER: DO NOT DIVE" posted around the boards, forget the advertisements on the boards! We are talking about player safety here this is serious!! I'm talking a minimum one game suspension for diving and at least a mandatory 2 week course on why it is dangerous to dive on a frozen pond.

For real though, I'm tired of the BS in the NHL. There are players, that go out there every night with intent to hurt. With zero repercussion. Refs break up everything right before it starts and these guys get a slap on the wrist for bullshit slashes on backs of legs and dirty boarding hits. So yes, embellish away and it shouldn't be punished.

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