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As I was saying about Leon Stickle.

Seriously people. The officials in the CHL are no more flawed than the coaches and the players. This is a low level of pro hockey -- where are these imaginary superior refs supposed to come from?

As it is, such fan favorites as Dan Boyd and Gord Dwyer get called up to the AHL more than the players -- but I'm sure the people who run that league don't know what they're doing either.

The point is, refs are refs. People have the same gripes about biases, blown calls and inconsistencies whether it's high school hockey or the Stanley friggin' Cup.

Come to think of it, wasn't Don Parsons' hit on Pat Brownlee the CHL equivalent of the Scott Stevens/Paul Kariya bell-ring? Penalty? Depends who you ask. New Jersey had a 100% inarguably good goal go uncounted against Ottawa, that's way worse than any break Laredo didn't get against the Bats. Shoot, even Fred L'Ecuyer's controversial Austin-New Mexico game was no more or less consistent than the NHL's definition of goalie interference.

Ok, I'm gonna say Ducks over Avs in the Western Conference semi-finals, though I reserve the right to change my pick after Lacroix deals for a goalie.

A little note on Jamie Thompson, the former El Paso Buzzards star and San Angelo Saints bust (if only due to health problems). Good luck to him. Who knows, maybe he'll play for an Eigner-coached El Paso team next season.

# posted by JC @ 4:13 PM