TRAGICALLY HIP

Ott with a hip check on Taylor Pyatt in March

What’s up with all the belly-bitching about hip checking?

First it was Steve Ott’s hippy hit on Colaiacovo Saturday night, the one that prompted a six-player ambush from the Blues bench. Then last night Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi sent ice-gazelle Jason Chimera hooves over head with a text book edition of the lost art.

MASS E-MAIL: the hip-check is a legal hit. When a player drops to a near-crouching stance and swings his hips toward an opposing player, sending the opponent off balance, often falling to the ice, this is referred to as a hip check.

FYI, a hit delivered below the knees is considered "clipping" and that is an infraction in the NHL.

They’re different.

Somewhere Craig Ludwig is vomiting.