Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Kerry, In the closing minutes of the second period of Game 4 between Pittsburgh and Columbus there were the remnants of two broken sticks behind the Pittsburgh net. The official in that zone didnt pick up any of the pieces even when the play went deep in the Columbus end. I know he has other responsibilities, but it would only take a couple seconds to gather the sticks up and remove them from play. Ive seen other times where a ref does pick up a broken stick while the game is still in play and dumps it to the nearest players bench. So why do broken sticks sometimes get picked up but not other times? Personal choice or something else going on? Louis Frlan III Louis:You are correct in your assertion that the ref has other (more important) responsibilities with play in progress; particularly to watch for the presence of a penalty infraction; which by the way I would like to see called more consistently! If any debris (broken stick) or lost equipment (glove, helmet) can be easily accessed, most refs will pick up the obstacle(s) and discard them or return them to the players bench or penalty box as they pass by in the normal flow of action. I did this whenever I was able to do it "safely". An objective of every referee is to sustain game flow. In picking up debris I applied referee rule No. 1 - common sense and foresight! From a safety issue there is potential (no matter how slight) for a player to step on a broken stick and crash into the boards or fall awkwardly thereby sustaining a needless injury. With an eye toward the potential for bad things to happen, I was always concerned that a player would shoot a broken stick in the direction of the puck or puck carrier which could result in an interference infraction or the assessment of a penalty shot. I could prevent any opportunity for these things to occur by picking up the debris with a quick swoop whenever the play dictated. The refs are cautioned about being distracted through picking up broken sticks that could result in missing something elsewhere. For this reason some refs just arent comfortable veering their focus away from the play. I can appreciate that fact and it is their personal choice, Louis. The debris behind and around the Penguins net on this play however was an accident waiting to happen. Play continued for one minute and 30 seconds after Brooks Orpiks stick was slashed hard by RJ Umberger and broken in half below the goal line at the side of the net which allowed Columbus to gain puck possession (no penalty call but deserved). On the other side of the net the remnants of Sidney Crosbys broken stick eventually provided additional obstacles for players to maneuver around. The Blue Jackets applied puck pressure for 10 seconds before the Pens safely dumped the puck into the Columbus end zone. This would have been a prime opportunity for the referee on the Pittsburgh goal line to safely swoop in and collect the trash. Until the play was finally stopped when the same referee called a tripping penalty to Matt Niskanen, the Penguins had sustained puck possession throughout the neutral zone and into the Blue Jackets end for extended periods. Another primary missed opportunity for the ref to play pick up the sticks took place when a Blue Jackets dump-in was retrieved by Niskanen. Matt set up behind the Pens goal and led an uncontested breakout after contacting one broken shaft with his skate and avoiding the others as he carried the puck out of Jackets end zone. The ref could have easily followed behind Niskanen, bent down while looking at the play with his head up and quickly gathered the sticks but obviously wasnt comfortable in doing so. Twenty seconds later the Blue Jackets attacked and play forced the referee to skate backwards behind the Penguins net. The ref maneuvered through the obstacle field bumping into and stepping over portions of broken sticks, as did the players, until Niskanen tripped Brandon Dubinsky to stop play. 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Bortles stymied Baylor with his arm and legs while accounting for four touchdowns, Storm Johnson ran for three more scores and No. 15 Central Florida turned the highest-scoring Fiesta Bowl into a big-play party by outlasting the sixth-ranked Bears 52-42 on Wednesday night. "Theres not many outside of us who believe we had a chance, but we did and I think we showed what UCF football is all about," Bortles said. Central Florida (12-1) wasnt given much of a chance at all, entering the game as a 17-point underdog. The Knights didnt care about the spread and certainly didnt back down from the big, bad Bears, racing past Baylor with an array of big plays. They took an early 14-point lead and kept rolling, piling up 556 total yards in the second-highest scoring BCS bowl ever. Bortles, the junior who could be weighing a jump to the NFL, was the catalyst, throwing for three touchdowns on 20-of-31 passing and running for 93 yards and another score. Rannell Hall accounted for some of the biggest plays, catching four passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson kept Baylor from ganging up on UCFs passing game, grinding out 124 yards on 20 carries. So much about having no shot. "Its a great win, a great feeling for everyone whos been through the program," UCF coach George OLeary said. Known for its offence prowess, Baylor (11-2) had a hard time keeping up with the Knights. The Big 12 champions finished with 550 total yards, but were uncharacteristically undisciplined, getting 17 penalties for 135 yards. Bryce Petty tried to keep the Bears in it, running for three touchdowns while throwing for 356 yards and two more scores. Lache Seastrunk had some big runs in the first half and finished with 117 yards. None of it was enough the way UCF ran through Baylors defence. "We caught a football team that was hot," Baylor coach Art Briles said. "They played extremely well early, got into us. We tried to play catch up the whole game, never could turn it around when it needed turning." The Fiesta Bowl was the BCS coming-out party for Baylor and Central Florida before college footballls switch to a playoff system next season.dddddddddddd The Bears had been building toward this since Briles became coach in 2009, winding up his high-octane offence to lead the nation in scoring and churn out the second-most yards in FBS history. Central Florida had a slower rise under OLeary. The coach who was fired by Notre Dame five days after being hired for lying on his resume has built his reputation back up in Orlando, taking a program that went winless in 2004 to the inaugural American Athletic Conference title and automatic BCS berth this year. The matchup was projected to be like the 2011 Fiesta Bowl, when mighty Oklahoma rolled over Connecticut 48-20. The Knights werent listening. They opened with a 76-yard scoring drive capped by Johnsons tackle-breaking 11-yard touchdown run. Johnson scored again on UCFs next possession, this one on a 2-yard run. The early 14-0 lead was expected. The team leading wasnt. Baylor finally revved up its offence late in the first quarter, scoring on a 1-yard TD sneak by Petty and Central Florida looked as if it was ready to fall apart with turnovers on three consecutive plays. Baylor only turned one of those into points: a 30-yard pass from Petty to Levi Norwood. Petty followed Johnsons fumble with an interception in the end zone, just his third of the season. "Unfortunately, that was the turning point in the game," Petty said. "We needed that to save momentum up for us, especially after a turnover. Turnovers in the red zone kill an offence." Then came the spectacular plays, seemingly one after another. Hall darted and dashed through Baylors defence for a 50-yard touchdown on a screen pass, with help from Josh Reeses downfield block. Petty hurtled himself into the end zone, flipping over UCFs Brandon Alexander to cap a 13-yard run. That gave Baylor 659 points, breaking the NCAA record for a 13-game season set by Texas (652) in 2005. The momentum was gone shortly after, when Hall turned a swing pass into a 34-yard touchdown -- assisted again by Reese -- to put the Knights up 28-20 at halftime. Petty scored his third touchdown on 1-yard run in the third quarter and dashed in for the 2-point conversion to tie the game, but Central Florida still wouldnt back down. Bortles hit Breshad Perriman on a 10-yard touchdown pass and opened the fourth quarter by scoring on a 15-yard run to put the Knights up 42-28. Even after Baylor moved quickly for a 9-yard touchdown run by Glasco Martin, UCF had an answer, going up 49-35 on Johnsons 40-yard run through the heart of the Bears defence. 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