Oh, to be a top-flight hockey referee.  To keep pace with players 25 years your juniors; to feel the wind in your helmet/helmet-like hair as you fly down the ice.  To have crowds cheer you…when you slip and fall.  To bring TV viewers off their couches and to their feet…as they scream obscenities at your image on the screen.  To live your life knowing that at any given moment, there is probably at least one psychotic fan who wishes you dead.

How glorious.

Of course, in the last few days, referees have had a hard time.  First, Rangers coach John Tortorella accused zebras Ian Walsh and Dennis LaRue of fixing the Winter Classic at the behest of broadcasters who might want to turn it “into an overtime game.”  (He has since been fined $30,000 by the NHL.)

The next night, at the World Juniors, referees combined to make some absolutely ludicrous calls (including assessing a 10-minute misconduct to Jonathan Huberdeau for slapping the boards with his stick after one such call), having a huge impact on the flow of the game.  Now, certainly no one can say that Canada would have won a better-refereed game - Russia absolutely dominated them through 50 minutes - but this was a perfect example of two refs who insert themselves into the matchup.  Do you let penalties go unnoticed?  No, but you don’t invent them, either.  (TSN announcer Gord Miller helpfully mentioned several times that those refs hailed from Finland and the US.)

I make no apologies for brutal refs.  In fact, I’ve blogged before about the aforementioned Dennis LaRue, and having seen the World Junior semifinal, I agree that the reffing was a bit of a sham.  (Watch the play that got Huberdeau his misconduct, if you can find it.  He was reacting to a penalty assessed to him after delivering a “slash” that would qualify more as a love-tap…the sort you see in friendly rec hockey games.)  These guys can suck all the fun out of a hockey game and make it absolutely maddening for fans of both teams involved.  Remember Mick McGeough?  “Extroverted” would have been an understatement; the guy was practically this flamboyant in his nightly bid to be on TV whenever possible.  Some guys just want to make their mark on the sport - and if they have to do it as an official, then so be it.

Being a referee in any sport is always one of the toughest jobs in the game.  One has to deal with derision, aggression, and the constant threat of bodily harm.  There’s also the issue of players, coaches and fans who are soured on referees because of other, less-competent ones.  It’s one of those jobs where you’re only doing your job right if no one notices you - and right there, it’s a losing formula.  You can’t please everyone all of the time.  Just ask Brendan Shanahan.  And ask Ian Walsh, Dennis LaRue, and their brethren at the World Juniors.

All a ref can do is try not to suck.  And really, isn’t that all we’re asking of them?