Minimum wage bums paying a $10,000 fine for a millionaire...

In response to NHL referee Mick McGeough's^† embarassing performance during the Edmonton-Dallas game last Saturday, Oilers coach Craig MacTavish was fined $10,000 for his dispariging remarks. In retalliation, the Battle of Alberta weblog has started a campaign to allow Oiler fans to donate to Mac T's fine themselves. The effort, which continues until Wednesday morning, can only be described as "pretty successful" to date, with over $300 in the kitty as of this afternoon. (100.3 The Bear is also doing a similar fund, but with one nagging difference). Understanding that Coach Craig may not like the optics of receiving cash from the fans to pay for his own actions (ie. the fine is supposed to be paid by him: I believe the NHL bylaws prohibit third parties such as but not limited to the hockey club from paying it for him), the BoA boys came up with a backup plan: donate to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.

Those who read this before November 8th 2006 at 3pm Mountain Standard Time are invited to chip in and help prevent blind refs from interfering in hockey games.

^† For those upset that I didn't link to the real Wikipedia article on McGeough, the joke's on you: the page is currently deleted!