This column originally ran in The Standard-Times on Nov. 18, 2005.

By Nick Tavares

The focus of the young NHL season has been on the rule changes. Smaller goalie pads, shootouts, wider offensive zones and the lack of clutching and grabbing have, coincidently or not, gone hand-in-hand with higher scoring.

But, with every rule change in the last 10 years has been a calculated effort to undermine the system and return the game to a slow, sludgy game. In the mid-'90s, it was the New Jersey Devils revolutionizing the game, for better or worse, with the neutral-zone trap. The league announced season after season that it would begin calling more penalties against the holding, but, like clockwork, the referees turned a blind eye after October and the trap continued, stopped only by a lockout that nearly rendered the league irrelevant.

This season, to counter the more favorable rules for team offense, many forwards have tried their hand at diving, i.e, faking penalties. Maybe they look at it as taking one for the team.

The last time the NHL was faced with an attempt to exploit the rules, they created, for better or worse, a new set of rules to counteract them. This time, they're actually enforcing their own rules.

According to the Associated Press, the league has mailed letters to 30 to 40 players warning them that specific dives they have taken will not be tolerated and, should they be caught again, would face a fine of $1,000. A third offense would lead to $2,000, and a fourth a one-game suspension.

Sean Avery, a forward with the Los Angeles Kings, was the recipient of the league's first monetary shot for diving.

Avery, a charming fellow who earlier this year shared some obviously enlightened thoughts on hits by French Canadian players in the NHL -- "I think it was typical of most French guys in our league with a visor on, running around and playing tough and not back anything up" -- lashed out, saying he was a victim of targeting by the league.

"No question that this is a way to do something to me," Avery told the Los Angeles Times. He later went on to tell the league's director of hockey operations Colin Campbell, a former player and coach, that he didn't know what a dive was and shouldn't call players on them, and that his own union and competition committee didn't know what they were doing.

The league answered back, fining him another $1,000.

"Mr. Avery's comments showed a complete lack of respect for all those associated with our game, most importantly his fellow players," Campbell told the Associated Press.

Now, the NHL isn't totally all on the same page yet. The dive that Avery was fined for wasn't called during the game. But, still, it's a step in the right direction.

Worse than clutching, worse than firing the puck in the stands, worse than unnecessary icing, diving could kill a sport. In soccer, the most maddening part of an otherwise great sport is the choreographed slips and falls and face-grabbing, all in an attempt to get a free kick. Brazil's Rivaldo should have received the Oscar for his performance in a 2002 World Cup match against Turkey. Hit in the leg by a ball in the corner, he fell to the ground, grabbed his face, and began kicking and flailing.

Turkey's Hakan Unsal was given a red card, and Brazil went on to win the game. Rivaldo was later fined by FIFA, but the end result was an altered outcome.Would Brazil have won the game otherwise? Maybe, but fake injuries and diving don't belong in any sport.

Hockey still has its problems, but this seems to be one area where they're getting things right. As nice as it would be, the league can't just banish Avery and players like him, but they can take away the cowardly parts of their game.

Which might just tidy up the game once and for all.

Nick Tavares is a columnist for The Standard-Times. E-mail him at ntavares@s-t.com

This story appeared on Page C5 of The Standard-Times on November 18, 2005.