Mind Your Ps and Qs

Do you remember the Simpsons episode in which Kent Brockman vilified a wooden dummy named Gabbo for saying taboo things on air, only to forget that his mic was still on while he said the same taboo words on air? In last night's game between Detroit and Nashville, referee Tim Peel had a Kent Brockman moment. 

The call in question was a tripping by Viktor Arvidsson in which replays confirmed an embellishment by Jon Merrill. As mentioned by Reuters,

"It wasn't much, but I wanted to get a (expletive) penalty against Nashville early," Peel said a few minutes later before the TV broadcast went to commercial.

The 54-year-old Peel, who was scheduled to referee his final game in late April, has worked over 1,300 NHL regular season games and 90 playoff games.

 The NHL did not take too kindly to Peel revealing the secrets, and have sent Peel on his way a month before he was to retire. The statement by the NHL:

National Hockey League Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell announced today that Referee Tim Peel, following his comments during the game last night between the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators, no longer will be working NHL games now or in the future.

“Nothing is more important than ensuring the integrity of our game,” Campbell said. “Tim Peel’s conduct is in direct contradiction to the adherence to that cornerstone principle that we demand of our officials and that our fans, players, coaches and all those associated with our game expect and deserve. There is no justification for his comments, no matter the context or his intention, and the National Hockey League will take any and all steps necessary to protect the integrity our game.”

 In all sports, there is always going to some level of favoritism by referees, and some even choose to not hide that fact. The thing you shouldn't do, no matter what, is say it while the game is actually going on. This kind of thing isn't going away anytime soon, but if there's anything to learn from this, it is to be aware of both your mic and any cameras on you, or else, you end up like Kent Brockman.