The Ides of March have come early for the sports world, as three different players felt the wrath of ""cheap shots"" this past weekend.
Kaberle concussed
Toronto's star defenseman Tomas Kaberle suffered a concussion in the second period of Friday's game after being crushed into the boards by New Jersey forward Cam Janssen. Kaberle passed the puck and was looking up the ice when Janssen left his feet and elbowed him a couple seconds after the pass was completed. No penalty was called on the play, but Janssen was suspended for three games Saturday and was called a naughty, naughty player by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
Hansbrough bloodied
The most debated topic over the weekend was whether the elbow to the face from Duke's Gerald Williams that left UNC's Tyler Hansbrough bloodied and hopping mad was intentional. The ACC obviously felt there was some malice involved, as they have suspended Williams for Duke's first conference tournament game. As for Hansbrough, he has a broken nose and may wear a mask for North Carolina's first ACC Tournament game Friday. Rip Hamilton's mask-maker could not be reached for comment.
Et tu Juan Pablo?
Juan Pablo Montoya won Sunday's Busch Series race in Mexico, but not before spinning out teammate Scott Pruett. With only six laps left, both Pruett and Montoya were neck-and-neck. Pruett took a turn a little too wide and tried to veer into the inside, where Montoya was, and ended up getting hit by Montoya and spinning out. Montoya ended up winning the race while Pruett finished fifth. The jury is still out as to whether the spin-out was intentional, but perhaps Pruett was confused because he had to make a slight right turn instead of 300 left ones.
