These decisions set a difficult standard for the referees to m

MIAMI -- Julio Teherans low ERA rose a smidgen, which was OK because his modest batting average rose a lot. Teheran pitched 7 1-3 innings and had two hits Friday night to help the Atlanta Braves move a game ahead of Miami atop the NL East by beating the Marlins 3-2. The right-hander doubled to lead off the seventh, and the Braves went on to score twice in the inning to take the lead. "I felt I had to start a rally, and just tried to put the ball in play," Teheran said. "I think that was the biggest play of the game." The Braves trailed 2-0 in the sixth inning but rallied to break a four-game losing streak. "I know weve been losing," Teheran (5-3) said. "Its nice to do my job and help the team." Teheran allowed five hits and two runs, which raised his ERA to 1.83. He came into the game 2 for 25 this season and hiked his batting average to .143. The right-hander improved to 4-0 in six career starts against the Marlins with an ERA of 2.50. "Hes a stud," teammate Chris Johnson said. "He earned this one. He had our backs, and we got him just enough." Three relievers combined to complete a five-hitter. Craig Kimbrel, who took the loss Thursday at Boston, pitched a perfect ninth for his 14th save in 16 chances. The Braves won for only the third time in their past 13 road games. They totalled just eight hits but had several lineouts. "We hit the ball harder than any other game this year," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We were hitting rockets right at people all night long. The score wasnt indicative of how well we swung the bat." Giancarlo Stanton hit his NL-leading 16th home run in the first inning to put the Marlins up 2-0, but Tom Koehler (4-5) couldnt hold the lead. He gave up three runs in seven innings and was annoyed to allow four walks. "Its tough to win ballgames when youre giving a team extra opportunities," he said. The Marlins lost for only the second time in their past 13 games against NL East teams. Freddie Freeman went hitless and struck out three times. He is 0 for 28 with 12 strikeouts against Miami this year and is batting .347 against the rest of the majors. With the Braves trailing 2-1 to start the seventh, Gonzalez said it was a no-brainer to let Teheran hit, in part because the teams bullpen was stretched thin. Teheran rewarded the decision with an opposite-field double. Jason Heyward followed with a run-scoring triple, and B.J. Uptons sacrifice fly drove in an unearned run to put the Braves ahead. Johnson singled home Atlantas first run in the sixth. While the Braves liked the way Teheran hit, they were more impressed with the 23-year-olds pitching. "The more he goes out there, the more impressed I get -- his demeanour and how he goes about his business," Gonzalez said. "You watch him grow up in front of your face." Teherans only glaring mistake was a hanging slider to Stanton, whose homer was a typical tape-measure job. It cleared the hedge beyond the 418-foot sign in centre field, ending a streak of 15 consecutive scoreless innings for Teheran. He started a new streak the next inning. "He was throwing four or five different pitches and commanding them all," Miamis Ed Lucas said. "He does a really good job changing speeds, especially for somebody who is as young as he is. Hes got a really good feel for pitching." The Marlins, who began the night with the best home record in baseball, fell to 20-9 at Marlins Park. NOTES: Miami C Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 0 for 3 and is in a 1-for-18 slump. ... RHP Ervin Santana (4-2, 4.06) is scheduled to start Saturday for the Braves against Miami RHP Jacob Turner (1-2, 5.35). Air Max 90 Mens Nz . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form. Womens Air Max 97 Nz . - While a fast-paced offence has become more of a fixture in recent years, the San Antonio Spurs can still grind out games when needed. http://www.airmaxnzwholeale.com/cheap-air-max-98-nz.html . A day after FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said three stadiums would not be ready in time for the Dec. 31 deadline, Brazilian officials said they actually plan to deliver all six remaining venues after that date. They claim only three are delayed, with the other three being handed over after the expected date only because of problems accommodating the schedule of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who wants to be present for the ceremonies. Sean Wotherspoon Air Max 97 Nz . Burkes Flames are one of several teams involved in heavy trade speculation going into next Wednesdays 3pm et deadline, with the most prominent name in play being forward Michael Cammalleri. Nike Air Max NZ Womens . Off-season additions Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley did not train with the club today, prompting Nelsen to declare its too early to tell if either will be ready for Saturday.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. I am sitting here watching the remainder of the Bruins and Habs game. You have said on numerous occasions that referees do not decide games or in this case, series. Was that the case with Game 7? I have many calls that we could discuss but I only want to ask about the one called against Boston with 4:31 left in the game. Did that call not decide the series? That was an interference call, however to be fair, lets sit and review the game. Can you tell me that throughout the game(s) it was fair and the calls were fair? They let so much go and then make calls like snow on the goalies shoulder! When was the last time that was called? Definitely not in a Game 7! Brian Gamley Brian: First, the Montreal Canadiens were the better team on this night and deserved the win and the series. The Bruins were tight and out of sync throughout most of Game 7. If you look at the penalty called by referee Dave Jackson on Johnny Boychuk with 4:31 remaining in regulation time it is fair to determine that by the letter of the law interference was committed once Boychuk built a bridge with his stick and shoved Bournival to the ice shortly after the puck was chipped through the neutral zone. There is also some argument to make that since Bournival did not alter his path to get outside Boychuk, but instead skated a stride or two directly into the Bruins defender that contact was inevitable and no harm, no foul - resulted 130 feet from the Bruins net. Whatever you believe to be most accurate is your prerogative. I want to focus my attention on how this specific call, with the score 2-1 and 4:31 remaining in Game 7, fit into the overall standard that the refs employed throughout the game. When I do that, it is only reasonable to conclude there were too many inconsistencies to deem this a penalty at that particular time in the game. Before I explain why I believe this to be true I want to provide some background on how the officials prepare for a game of this nature and the assignment process. When approaching any playoff game, especially a deciding game or Game 7, it is vital that the officiating crew be well prepared mentally and physically. In this case, that process would actually begin at least a day before the game when the officials left home and travelled to Boston (they might have also anticipated or even been assigned to Game 7 prior to Game 6 being played in Montreal. In any event they would have likely watched that game closely on television). While the officials are responsible for their personal preparation and readiness, the series supervisor (in this case, Kris King) also has some responsibility to get the crew mentally prepared in a meeting he conducts at noon on the day of the game. He, of course, cant work the game for them so his job is more like that of a coach and motivator. Selecting the officials assigned to the game is the direct responsibiliity of Stephen Walkom, V.ddddddddddddP. of Officiating based on his evaluation process and that of his supervisors and Hockey Operations. Referee Dan ORourke has been selected to work the Stanley Cup Final on a couple of occasions. Dave Jackson returned to playoff assignments this season under Stephen Walkom after not participating in the playoffs from 2010-13 under boss Terry Gregson. The first period was crucial for the referees to set an acceptable standard and tone that hopefully the players would respond to and could be consistently applied throughout the game. From almost the opening puck drop key decisions were made on calls and non-calls that made this objective almost impossible to be maintained and achieve success. On the very first shift, Brad Marchand caught Michael Bournival with a high-stick to the head just inside the Montreal blue line that went un-penalized. Marchand then received the first penalty at 6:18 of the game for goalie interference assessed by referee Jackson. On this play, it was Andrei Markov of the Canadiens that cross-checked Marchand in the neck and caused the Bruins player to fall through the crease and contact Carey Price. The first penalty call is often crucial to set the standard and this one clearly sent the wrong message. At approximately 9:48 of the first period, Reilly Smith was given a rough ride with an obvious leg/stick trip takedown in front of the Habs net by Josh Gorges as Price caught on incoming puck. The same referee was once again in good position to see the play but chose not to call this tripping/interference infraction. At the other end of the ice, Zdeno Chara received a holding penalty following a puck battle with Rene Bourque against the boards where some detainment was exerted by Chara and a quick call resulted from Dan ORourke. These decisions set a difficult standard for the referees to maintain as it appeared the game was being worked differently from end of the ice to the other. It only took seven seconds into the second period when Brad Marchand was whistled for stopping hard at the crease and penalized for a snow-shower on Habs goalie Price. These calls are typically something that needs to be addressed early in a series and not in game seven. It would be at this juncture that some "game management" as I described in yesterdays column could be used to the refs advantage. Then at 17:06, David Krejci had his lower glove hand slashed by Lars Eller on the back-check as Krejci was attempting to redirect a centering pass from Torey Krug. Krejci had words with referee Jackson when no call was made. So now we move to the Johnny Boychuk interference penalty that was called with 4:31 remaining in regulation time of Game 7. Given all of the above events, plus the fact that Bournival did not attempt to skate around Boychuk in addition to some embellishment on the play, it would have been the appropriate time for the referee to keep his arm down and allow the play to continue. ' ' '