Commentary
Calgary goalie's actions have no place in professional sports
JASON NADOLINSKI Sports Reporter
It's been said time and time again, but when it comes to professional sports and sportsmanship, the National Hockey League has everyone else beaten hands down.

Where else do you see every player on one team congratulate every single player and coach on the opposing squad at the conclusion of a playoff series? The show of respect everyone gives is something you don't find anywhere else, and it's even more satisfying knowing that everyone gave heart, soul and body - whether it was to block shots, punish skaters with checks into the wall, or just ramping up time on the ice because it was in the best interest of the team.

Honestly, can you envision the players of the National Basketball Association, who are worried more about their "street cred" or where their next endorsement deal is coming from, lining up to celebrate the accomplishments of their peers? And how out of place would it be to see the other 42 NASCAR drivers lining Victory Lane to wish the winner well for beating them? (Actually, in all fairness, it might not be all 42 other drivers, but there does seem to be a little more respect for their peers among NASCAR drivers than in most other sports - as long as tempers don't flare when on-track road rage incidents lead to post-race "discussions" with league officials.)

But still, it's hard to envision any other professional sport putting on the display of sportsmanship that the teams competing for the Stanley Cup do. That tradition is one of the things that makes the chase for the Cup one of the most exciting in all of professional sports. It's also what makes the actions of Calgary Flames backup goalie Jamie McLennan this past Saturday so despicable.

The eighth-seeded Flames, battling the Western Conference's top-seeded Detroit Red Wings for the chance to advance to the semifinals, were pretty much done, trailing 5-1 with less than five minutes to play in the third period when McLennan came into the game and promptly lasted all of 18 seconds before being ejected and ultimately suspended for five games for slashing Detroit's Johan Franzen in the stomach.

It doesn't matter what the score, it doesn't matter what the situation - there is no place in hockey for McLennan's actions. What he did was inexcusable, regardless of whether or not Franzen was hurt by his actions. Can you imagine Ty Conklin coming into the game to relieve Ryan Miller, then turning around and trying to hack the Islanders' Jason Blake, Miro Satan, or anyone on any team for that matter? Yeah, me neither.

I know goalies are under tremendous pressure because of the nature of their jobs, but guess what. They're professional athletes for a reason. It's a shame guys like McLennan and the Islanders' Chris Simon don't seem to understand that there's more to being a professional athlete than having skills that 99 percent of the world's population would love to have. (Simon was not on the ice during the Sabres' 4-1 series victory over the Islanders because he was serving part of his 25-game suspension for slashing the N.Y. Rangers' Ryan Hollweg across the chin.) A five-game suspension isn't going to send the message that plays like McLennan's slash, plays with clear intent to injure, aren't going to be tolerated. One thing's for sure: plays like that aren't exactly putting the NHL's penchant for sportsmanship on display. It just makes guys like McLennan look like clear-cut candidates for anger management courses.