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From: rick@ucla-cs.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.sport.hockey
Subject: Billy Smith
Message-ID: <3579@ucla-cs.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 30-Jan-85 21:41:56 EST
Article-I.D.: ucla-cs.3579
Posted: Wed Jan 30 21:41:56 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 2-Feb-85 14:30:19 EST
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
Lines: 27

<-he shoots, he SCORES->

According to the newspaper Billy Smith received a 6 games suspension for
his stick "incident" with Curt Fraser of the Black Hawks. I don't have the
article here with me but apparently the league officials agreed with
Smith that he was "protecting" his area of the crease and did not
deliberately attempt to injure. And then they turned around and gave him
a suspension for stick swinging. What a strange situation. The Black Hawk
management were upset at the length of the suspension thinking that it
should have been longer. The league's decision was based partly on Smith's
defense that Fraser had taken at least 3 runs at him during the game.
I really don't know what to say about any of this since I haven't seen a
replay or anything. I have been an Islander fan for about 13 years so I
have seen my share of Smith's antics - and been forced to defend him too
many times. He is a *good* goalie when he decides to play. Lots of teams
make the mistake of trying to get him riled up by taking runs at him, and
then he stones them the rest of the game. Sort of like in the old days when
people took runs at Frank Mahovelich ("the Big h'Em" as he was known in his
Montreal days) - they would wake up the sleeping giant. Maybe people should
just leave Smith alone ... and he will leave them alone.
-- 

			       Rick Gillespie
				  rick@ucla-cs
				  ...!{cepu|ihnp4|sdcrdcf|ucbvax}!ucla-cs!rick

	"She turned me into a newt! . . . I got better."