Open letter to Mike and Mike

Hello,
Due to the show's lack of hockey chat and updates I will no longer listen to Mike and Mike.
I really like you two and admire your work. It's funny and informative.
Alas I'm a hockey fan for better or worse, and while I'm in the minority, it's my passion. It by far exceeds my interest in any other sport.
Frankly I need to more coverage of hockey in the morning. It's sorely lacking throughout the states.
As the self-proclaimed "world-wide leader" in sports I would think ESPN would be leading the charge, yet sadly this is not the case. I would love to hear interviews with hockey players and hockey analysts.
Also the lack of the previous night's scores is extremely galling. I remember one day in particular this past week there were three or four NHL games the previous night, yet only one game's final score was mentioned the following morning.
I'm tired of baseball's steroid scandal. In my opinion Mike and Mike's coverage of it this past week was akin to Entertainment Tonight's coverage of Britney Spears or Paris Hilton. I care more about what happens on the ice, court or field.
That's where the focus should be. It shouldn't be on a courtroom, on the combine, nor on a soap opera.
Thank you for your time.

Ads on Uniforms

The Toronto Star is reporting advertisements on NHL uniforms might be just around the corner. To add insult to injury it's an idea that's supported by several players including Martin Brodeur and Dominik Hasek.
It's an awful idea in my opinon, and I couldn't disagree more with Dwayne Roloson.
"They have (uniform ads) in Europe and it doesn't take away from the true jersey look," he said.
The Star also reports a few teams are in financial trouble despite the new collective bargaining agreement, and adding ads would help the troubled teams.
"Clubs like the Phoenix Coyotes, Nashville Predators and Atlanta Thrashers are hemorrhaging money – one investment banker who specializes in pro sports says the Coyotes have lost as much as $30 million (U.S.) a year in recent seasons."
Sorry to say, but I'd rather see them move or fold before I and other die-hard fans have to endure the monstrosities like the uniforms in Europe.

Anyway the ads to take away from the uniforms contrary to what Roloson said.
It's also a slippery slope. Soon after the goalies don NASCAR-like unforms, all hockey players will be wearing them.
I guess the NHL didn't get my memo that I won't buy jerseys anymore after the RBK Edge disaster. This proposed move will set my resolve in stone.
Below, Brodeur sports a proposed new ad-ladened sweater.

Still seething

It's been a few days now, and just now I'm starting to calm down. Sunday the Anaheim Ducks visited the Detroit Red Wings for NBC's game of the week. If you didn't watch it, you've probably seen, heard or read about the low lights of the game Particularly Niklas Lidstrom's goal with about 40 seconds to go in the game that was waived off by one of the referees.
The game started OK for the Wings, but they played tentatively until the first goal. After that they played OK, but a couple of miscues led to two more goals for Ducks. The second goal was classic Chris Osgood ineffectiveness, giving up a goal from a shot near the blue line. The third Ducks goal was a total defensive breakdown. The Wings defensemen simply watched Kent Huskins skate by them and score the goal. No checking at all.
So the Wings should have made better plays at those times
Still it's hard to deny just how horrible referee Dan O'Halloran's call, waiving off Lidstrom's goal, was. It's inexcusable!
This season, Red Wings fans are familiar with seeing goals waived off because Tomas Holmstrom is doing his job around the crease, causing havoc for the opposing goalie. The one Sunday was probably about the seventh one I've seen this year. Some were called correctly, some weren't. Clearly, Sunday's waive off was wrong. It's not just Wings fans who upset about this. Prominent national hockey writers Michael Farber and Damian Cox feel the same.

In his article Monday Farber said Sundays refs weren't ready for prime time.

The question, forgetting any motives for NBC's munificence, is: if the network can have the best game, can the NHL have "flex" referees.

Chris Rooney and Dan O'Halloran were entrusted with the Ducks - Red Wings game in Detroit on Sunday, a match that the network homed in on after immediately bailing on Penguins - Flyers as soon as Sidney Crosby sprained his ankle. Good call.

NBC got everything it wanted: a stirring 3-2 Ducks win in a game redolent of the playoffs in front of a full house, finally, at Joe Louis Arena.

Unfortunately, Rooney and O'Halloran didn't seem up to the challenge. O'Halloran waved off Nick Lidstrom's apparent tying goal with 41 seconds left because teammate Tomas Holmstrom supposedly interfered with Ducks goalie J-S Giguère. Now, Holmstrom was born with a GPS in his cerebellum. He almost never puts his skates in the blue paint of the crease. Nor did he do it this time. According to replays, he didn't jostle the goalie, either.

O'Halloran blew the whistle and made one of those "incidental contact" decisions, the single most vexing option in the rulebook. (Note to NHL: If there is truly goalie interference, call the two-minute minor and disallow the goal. If it isn't, then let them play. The "incidental contact" rule is absurd.)

In a league that is contemplating all kinds of out-of-the-box changes to increase goal scoring, a ref took away what appeared to be a perfectly legitimate goal -- two, in fact, counting the one that would have been scored in overtime or awarded for the penalty shootout.

There were less egregious examples of misjudgment -- Anaheim's Chris Kunitz escaped punishment for punching Mikael Samuelsson -- but NBC analysts Ed Olczyk and Pierre McGuire, neither of whom are known as ref bashers, were tough on the striped shirts. In a post-game email to On the Fly, Stephen Walkom, director of officiating, wrote that both O'Halloran and Rooney "have worked well" this season and that the call on Lidstrom's disallowed goal "made in real time demonstrated real focus and was truly an exceptional call."

Everyone should have a boss as loyal as Walkom.

Anyway, while Rooney and O'Halloran might be top tier officials this season, the NHL should settle for nothing less than its top two referees for the game of the week. That, of course, doesn't preclude an officiating misstep -- or "an exceptional call" if you believe the NHL gospel -- but it gives NBC and the league their best chance of the refs not becoming part of the national story.

Cox said O'Halloran was dead wrong.

The NHL is very good at disciplining and suspending its players.

Someday, it would be nice to see them apply some performance standards to their on-ice officials outside of firing the ones they don't like at the end of the season.

Yesterday afternoon, the Red Wings and Ducks went at it in an humdinger of a hockey game, won 3-2 by Anaheim. The crime, however, was that the Wings clearly scored in the final minute of play on a Nicklas Lidstrom shot from the point that beat J.S. Giguere but had it incorrectly waved off by veteran official Dan O'Halloran.

O'Halloran thought he saw Tomas Holmstrom interfering with Giguere, and whistled incidental contact, with no penalty. Holmstrom, however, was clearly outside the blue paint with his back to the Anaheim goalie, setting up a perfect screen, and Giguere moved out and bumped the Detroit player as the puck went by him.

It was particularly strange given that Anaheim, not Detroit, is one of the most notorious crease-crashing teams in the NHL, and that there was an extraordinary amount of obvious interference by defencemen on forecheckers let go in the game, the same kind of interfererence that the league is permitting to increase in virtually every game these days.

If O'Halloran had wanted to call interference, he had a dozen incidents during the contest for which he could have raised his arm rather than on a play on which interference actually didn't occur.

Detroit made a great play to set up the game-tying shot, and Holmstrom did a great job NOT to interfere with Giguere.

But O'Halloran took it away. Totally blew the call.

The NBA has allowed several games to be replayed, including one this year.

Wouldn't you love to see the NHL, in this case, rule the goal should have stood and force the two teams to finish the game at a later date? Or to suspend O'Halloran for making such a grievous error?

Don't bet on either scenario unfolding, and no one's going to lose sleep because the mighty Red Wings didn't get a point yesterday.

But make no mistake about it - they got screwed.

If you don't believe them, see for yourself.

Not in the crease.


Not in the crease.


Not in the crease.


In the crease, but before the shot.


Not in the crease.


Not in the crease, puck in the net.


Not in the crease, puck in the net.


Definitely a horrible call. Worst I've seen in years.
Two more points J.S. Giguere ran into Holmstrom, and because he did he was out of position to make the save.

Hockey in SoIn

Last night, I wanted to watch the Red Wings - Kings game. Since it wasn't on Versus, I called around to sports bars, and none of them had Center Ice. From the sound of things I doubt the people knew. They just guesstimated to get off the phone.
Then I have my sister call around, and since I wasn't getting anywhere with Center Ice, I tell her to ask if they have the Fox Sports regional networks.
One was willing to order Fox Sports Detroit for us. Success! Or at least I think.
Drove there and I explain to the waitress my situation that the manager ordered the game, etc.
"So if you could have one of the TV turned to the game I'd appreciate it."
Waitress comes back and says it's already on one TV in back. Cool.
So we move and there's Larry Murphy with some pre-game chatter. Couldn't hear it though, but that's OK. I'm at a bar and ready to watch the game. Order Guinness and food, 7:30 rolls around, and bam! The picture is gone! Black screen with some instructions on how to order the station.
Needless to say I'm disappointed, but the assistant manager looks for it on other stations and ... nothing.
We finish our beer and food and leave.

All I got to say is it's tough being an NHL fan in Indiana. I'm working on moving farther north.

A few months ago I was out and about and looking for the Red Wings - Blues game on Versus. This is what happened.

Visited a local sports bar tonight and I asked, "Do you have Versus?"
The bartender was like "What!?"
"You know Versus, formerly known as OLN - Outdoor Life Network. I want to watch the hockey game tonight."
"I don't know. I'll ask the manager."
At this point I was flabbergasted. Granted I'm in southern Indiana, but I still expected a sports bar to know about Versus. I ordered a Guinness, surprised the bar had that.
After about five minutes two bartenders and a manager still couldn't find it. The DirectTV menu they had said Versus was on 608. They turned it to 608 and nothing! That was a major disappointment on my part. So even with my Guinness just three quarters finished I settle up and leave.
I drive to another recommended sports bar. It was so shady looking, I just kept on driving. While driving though I was able to find the St. Louis broadcast on KMOX; that was a plus.
So I head to a pizza place. At the bar everybody's watching a basketball game, like at the first bar.
Anyway I ask if the bartender could turn one of the TVs to Versus.
"What's Versus?!"
I was slack jawed!
Again I explain what Versus is, it's former name, and probable number, 608.
The bartender plugs in 608 again, and again, nothing! She searches and finds Versus on 603! Must've been a typo.

So while I loathe ESPN, and its coverage and treatment of the NHL, I'm ready to concede, at least some NHL games should be on the four-letter network. It would be far easier for die-hard fans and casual fans to find it. Still I want games on Versus too, since it only shows games two nights per week.

Ice Girls

Several NHL clubs have Ice Girls, women who during timeouts clean the ice around the nets and boards among other things. Teams I know have them are listed below. There might be more teams that have them, but those are the ones I know for sure. I did a quick check but didn't find any for the other teams. Anyway, since they represent hockey teams, in my opinion, they should be required to wear hockey skates instead of figure skates. Seems like most wear figure skates from what I can tell. So that's my opinion of them. What's yours?

Anaheim Ducks Power Players
Atlanta Thrashers Blue Crew
Boston Bruins Ice Girls
Calgary Flames Ice Crew
Carolina Hurricanes Storm Squad
Chicago Blackhawks Ice Crew
Columbus Blue Jackets Power Patrol and Ice Crew
Dallas Stars Ice Girls and their MySpace page
Florida Panthers Ice Dancers
Nashville Predators Goal Girls and Dancers
New York Islanders Ice Girls
Ottawa Senators Power Patrol
Philadelphia Flyers Ice Team
Phoenix Coyotes The Pack
Pitsburgh Penguins Pens Patrol
Tampa Bay Lightning Girls
Vancouver Canucks Ice Team

It should be noted not all listed above are strictly Ice Girls, some of these crews, squads, etc. have male participants too.

Brodeur speaks out

This is about a month old now, but now Martin Brodeur is saying the goalie pads should be reduced in this Sports Illustrated article.

I read somewhere that it's not the pad size, but the pad thickness that matters most. That's a great point. Pads should cover a goalie's body, but what's more important is thickness. Another point is the chest protectors, they're massively huge now. Something is definitely wrong when goalies who are 5'11" and 150 pounds look like hulks. Undercover police officers who wear bullet proof vests don't look like that. They don't look like big. Again the technology is there to make the gear smaller. So instead of making goals bigger, make goalie gear smaller. Sometimes less is more.

When players of Brodeur's, Patrick Roy's, and Phil Esposito's stature complain about goalie gear, that it should be reduced in size, the League has an obligation to listen to them. It better too, because if not the NHL says bigger nets are on the way.