Wayne Fleming Fired (NOT QUITE)!!!!!!!

Update: Fleming was benched folks....thanks to Sean Leahy and company for the find

How often do you see this? I was watching this game on a live stream yesterday when I was stunned to not see Wayne Fleming on the bench to start the third period. The folks at EuroSport had no idea what happened for awhile as well. Of course, when everyone found out that Fleming had been fired...people were stunned and rightfully so!!!

The weird thing is assistant coach Igor Nikitin took over for Avangard Omsk in the third period and the team ralled to beat Vityaz Podolsk 2-1 in KHL action. Fleming may not be the greatest coach in the world. I have heard several comments from people that live in Canada to the effect of who cares, and that sort of quip. The bottom line is a respect issue!! You would think even a KHL team would at least let the guy finish out the game before giving him the old tuna canner out the door.

However, in another move that I am sure will create a considerable amount of negative press for the KHL...this story blew up all over the place this morning. Could you imagine if mighty ESPN got a hold of a story like this if it happened in the NHL? Wow, they would paint that broad black paint brush on hockey like it does anytime something negative happens. I guess NHL fans should be thankful that this happened in the KHL. It is definitely a bush league move but then again folks, over in Europe, this happens a lot more often than people think. It is much more prevalent in soccer. I remember a coach in an English Premier League years ago literally escorted off the field during the game. People thought it was an emergency of a family nature. Nope, it was to let the guy know he had been fired.

Wayne Fleming is headed back to Canada and probably in retrospect, this is the best move for him. Why suffer in a KHL that clearly has no respect for what little it has. This makes you wonder about the bigger question folks and that is the following.....how long will the KHL actually last? Thoughts? Comments?