This is a message to the Detroit Red Wings and their fans.
Stop looking backwards, this isn't last year. Doing so is well, backwards.
The Wings current losing streak is at five. Many fans seem to take solace that last year they lost six in a row at one point. "So don't worry about it," they say.
Yet this isn't last season. The time is now. Last season the Wings were in first. Now, they're nine points behind the League-leading Boston Bruins, eight behind Western Conference-leading San Jose Sharks, and catching up to the Wings are the New Jersey Devils who are just two points shy of the Wings pace.
One of the Detroit papers published an article at the break or half-way point that the Wings were at the same pace last year.
This isn't last year; this is this year!
Things aren't dire, and the Wings are missing players. Got it. Yet their defense is still lax, and that must change if they're to do well in the post-season.
This isn't last year, and the Wings shouldn't rest on their laurels.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Olympic coach named
The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver are a little more than a year away, and the U.S. women's hockey team named its coach. Mark Johnson.
"He comes to this assignment with some extremely unique credentials, which gave him a bit of an advantage," said USA Hockey executive director Dave Ogrean. "He has played in the games and he knows what the ultimate pressure is about of competing for a gold medal as an athlete."
Probably his best known claim to fame is as a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, aka the Miracle on Ice. In the Soviet game alone he had two game-tying goals as explained and shown in this YouTube clip.
Also read what USAToday's Kevin Allen thinks of his influence on that game and Olympics.
Johnson already has proven he has magic touch at Olympics
Because Mike Eruzione scored the game-winning goal against the Soviets, that American team has always been cast as a rag-tag bunch of college players that was able to slay the bear when the bear seemed invincible. But the truth is history showed that the Americans were a very talented team, and Johnson, then 22, was the American's leading scorer against the Soviets and in the tournament.
If that wasn't enough, he also won an NCAA championship in 1977 at the University of Wisconsin, and that team was coached by his father, Bob Johnson. In 1991 he led the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup Championship.
"If there is any competition for who the first family in hockey is in the United States the last name is either Johnson or Granato," Ogrean said. "And they both have a big Badger connection."
Following in his father's coaching skates, Johnson has coached the University of Wisconsin's women's team since 2002. He led the Badgers to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2006 and 2007.
Hopefully Johnson can continue his winning ways in the 2010 Olympics, just 378 days away.
Shameless admission and plug:
My love of hockey starts with the Miracle on Ice. Listening and watching the clip linked above gave my cold chills and brought a tear to my eye.
Anyway, in my opinion all U.S. hockey fans should watch the documentary, Do You Believe in Miracles? and the movie, Miracle. Fans should also read the book, The Boys of Winter.
"It's a great day for hockey." - Bob Johnson.
"He comes to this assignment with some extremely unique credentials, which gave him a bit of an advantage," said USA Hockey executive director Dave Ogrean. "He has played in the games and he knows what the ultimate pressure is about of competing for a gold medal as an athlete."
Probably his best known claim to fame is as a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, aka the Miracle on Ice. In the Soviet game alone he had two game-tying goals as explained and shown in this YouTube clip.
Also read what USAToday's Kevin Allen thinks of his influence on that game and Olympics.
Johnson already has proven he has magic touch at Olympics
Because Mike Eruzione scored the game-winning goal against the Soviets, that American team has always been cast as a rag-tag bunch of college players that was able to slay the bear when the bear seemed invincible. But the truth is history showed that the Americans were a very talented team, and Johnson, then 22, was the American's leading scorer against the Soviets and in the tournament.
If that wasn't enough, he also won an NCAA championship in 1977 at the University of Wisconsin, and that team was coached by his father, Bob Johnson. In 1991 he led the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup Championship.
"If there is any competition for who the first family in hockey is in the United States the last name is either Johnson or Granato," Ogrean said. "And they both have a big Badger connection."
Following in his father's coaching skates, Johnson has coached the University of Wisconsin's women's team since 2002. He led the Badgers to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2006 and 2007.
Hopefully Johnson can continue his winning ways in the 2010 Olympics, just 378 days away.
Shameless admission and plug:
My love of hockey starts with the Miracle on Ice. Listening and watching the clip linked above gave my cold chills and brought a tear to my eye.
Anyway, in my opinion all U.S. hockey fans should watch the documentary, Do You Believe in Miracles? and the movie, Miracle. Fans should also read the book, The Boys of Winter.
"It's a great day for hockey." - Bob Johnson.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Fighting in the NHL
Well according to stories written recently Canadians are now against fighting in the NHL. This is absolutely shocking to me.
Fighting not sacred in NHLPA ranks
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jim_kelley/01/29/players.fighting/
The latest report from a public opinion poll in Canada, the guardian state of hockey, is that by the slimmest of margins the public would prefer its hockey without fighting.
Public wants NHL to knock out fighting
http://www.thestar.com/article/578326
A new public opinion poll by Harris-Decima finds that while the vast majority of hockey fans – 68 per cent – still want fighting in the game, Canadians, overall, do not.
A survey of more than 1,000 people across the country conducted during the NHL all-star weekend in Montreal found 54 per cent want fighting tossed from the league. That's up slightly from 2007.
Only 40 per cent want to keep it. The remaining 6 per cent either didn't answer or had no opinion.
Why this change? Is it because the the other day NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, much derided by many hockey fans and some hockey journalists, said he nor the League is willing to ban fighting?
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman: No appetite to abolish fighting
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?p=4271275
"We're not going to have any immediate knee-jerk reactions," he said. "We're going to have to study things before we make changes, if we decide to make changes. I don't think that there's any appetite to abolish fighting from the game, and there are lots of reasons for that, including the fact that it's been a part of the game."
Many NHL fans seem to line-up against Bettman, just to do so. Maybe the ones stating they're against fighting are just being contrary?
Admittedly I came late to liking NHL hockey, about 15 years after the Miracle on Ice. I shunned NHL hockey because of my anti-fighting stance in the sport. I thought fighting stupid. There are various reasons why I changed my mind.
Still, fighting doesn't interest me much, even though I understand it's part of the game. Many fans rhetorically ask, "How many people leave when there's a fight?" I'm like, "Me! I do." It's a chance to get another beer without missing the real action. I'd rather watch tape-to-tape passes, odd-man rushes, board crashing or open-ice checks, and beautiful goals. I can't persuade others to accept fighting, but I can deal with it, and I agree with Jarome Iginla.
Hockey fighting is back in the ring
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=510651
MONTREAL (AP) -- Jarome Iginla didn't pull any punches when the topic of fighting came up. The Calgary Flames captain said the one-on-one on-ice combat is a necessary part of hockey, and eliminating it would cause more dangerous situations.
"It's a very physical and a very intense game. There would be more stickwork, absolutely," Iginla said Saturday after an All-Star practice. "I think it does help police (the game). You're a lot more responsible for what you're doing out there as far as dirty hits and stickwork and stuff.
"If you know that fighting is there, that there is that threat of it, you have to back up what you're doing."
Fighting not sacred in NHLPA ranks
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jim_kelley/01/29/players.fighting/
The latest report from a public opinion poll in Canada, the guardian state of hockey, is that by the slimmest of margins the public would prefer its hockey without fighting.
Public wants NHL to knock out fighting
http://www.thestar.com/article/578326
A new public opinion poll by Harris-Decima finds that while the vast majority of hockey fans – 68 per cent – still want fighting in the game, Canadians, overall, do not.
A survey of more than 1,000 people across the country conducted during the NHL all-star weekend in Montreal found 54 per cent want fighting tossed from the league. That's up slightly from 2007.
Only 40 per cent want to keep it. The remaining 6 per cent either didn't answer or had no opinion.
Why this change? Is it because the the other day NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, much derided by many hockey fans and some hockey journalists, said he nor the League is willing to ban fighting?
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman: No appetite to abolish fighting
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?p=4271275
"We're not going to have any immediate knee-jerk reactions," he said. "We're going to have to study things before we make changes, if we decide to make changes. I don't think that there's any appetite to abolish fighting from the game, and there are lots of reasons for that, including the fact that it's been a part of the game."
Many NHL fans seem to line-up against Bettman, just to do so. Maybe the ones stating they're against fighting are just being contrary?
Admittedly I came late to liking NHL hockey, about 15 years after the Miracle on Ice. I shunned NHL hockey because of my anti-fighting stance in the sport. I thought fighting stupid. There are various reasons why I changed my mind.
Still, fighting doesn't interest me much, even though I understand it's part of the game. Many fans rhetorically ask, "How many people leave when there's a fight?" I'm like, "Me! I do." It's a chance to get another beer without missing the real action. I'd rather watch tape-to-tape passes, odd-man rushes, board crashing or open-ice checks, and beautiful goals. I can't persuade others to accept fighting, but I can deal with it, and I agree with Jarome Iginla.
Hockey fighting is back in the ring
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=510651
MONTREAL (AP) -- Jarome Iginla didn't pull any punches when the topic of fighting came up. The Calgary Flames captain said the one-on-one on-ice combat is a necessary part of hockey, and eliminating it would cause more dangerous situations.
"It's a very physical and a very intense game. There would be more stickwork, absolutely," Iginla said Saturday after an All-Star practice. "I think it does help police (the game). You're a lot more responsible for what you're doing out there as far as dirty hits and stickwork and stuff.
"If you know that fighting is there, that there is that threat of it, you have to back up what you're doing."
Sunday, January 25, 2009
No All-Star show, non-issue
Well the suspension of Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk for one game, to be served against the Columbus Blue Jackets Tuesday, because they failed to appear at the All-Star festivities is a non-issue.
At least it is in my opinion.
Opinions of the suspension seem mostly divided. Detroit area writers and Red Wings fans are against it. The anti- Gary Bettman people are also against it, but to me that's just to disagree with the commissioner. All the others seem to agree with the suspension. Though they are probably in the minority. As a Red Wings fan who agrees with the suspension I'm probably a minority of one.
Two Detroit area writers who disagree with the suspension are George James Malik and Drew Sharp.
One national writer who also disagrees with the suspension is Michael Farber of Sports Illustrated, Bettman makes bad call with Wings.
If anyone deserved a pass, it is Lidstrom, the six-time Norris Trophy winner who is a wonderful ambassador for hockey. While the All-Star Game should be part of his responsibility, he truly has served his time.
Datsyuk didn't play for most of the third period of the Coyotes game; so his injury must be pretty serious. Couldn't he just take off the first two periods of the upcoming game? That would then be a whole game.
One who agrees with the suspension is the New York Post's Larry Brooks, Showing up here's least they could do.
MONTREAL - You can't have it both ways. You can't ridicule the NHL All-Star Game for featuring rosters that include players of modest renown and then turn around and ridicule Gary Bettman for insisting that those stars chosen to play in the game actually, you know, show up.
The commissioner couldn't be on firmer ground here in enforcing the policy he enunciated at last February's GM meetings that any selected player choosing to skip out on the event would be required to miss either the league game immediately prior or following All-Star weekend in order to verify claims of injury.
Regardless of why the rule is there, regardless of how much time a player has given to the League, the player should still follow the rules.
Lidstrom and Datsyuk are stand-up guys in my opinion. They probably won't complain because they are forthright and magnanimous players. I'd give them the pass, but the commissioner and the League aren't. That's fine with me; I can live with that.
It's better than the alternative - the game meaning something ala Major League Baseball. For that matter the suspension is better than any alternative proposed in Craig Custance's article, Ideas for saving the NHL All-Star Game.
There's already rumblings that the game is a farce, more from Farber in a different article, The All-Star thrill is gone.
But the ambivalence shown by some Detroit players, if not the organization, merely reinforces the idea that the All-Star Game is a played-out notion.
There are annual suggestions of how to make the game better -- "It's Groundhog Day again," Toronto GM Brian Burke said -- but all the gimcracks that have been promised for the skills competition on Saturday just skim the surface. Despite a weekend that will be an overwhelming success simply because it is taking place in a hockey-obsessed host city -- the fans here know that the All-Star Game isn't a game but a swell party -- there is an All-Star fatigue that permeates not merely hockey but every sport.
The core of the problem: the very premise for all of these games has been subverted in recent years. The stars of the sport might not all convene at the same place on the same day during the season, but they can be juxtaposed, compared and contrasted on innumerable highlight shows and Internet clips. Because there is inter-conference play in all sports, these one-off exhibitions cannot even be regarded as some sort of measuring stick.
As the competitive value fades, leagues have turned these games into corporate festivals, splashy ways to sell the brand. The NHL announced $10 million in sponsorships for the 2009 Game. Unlike the attendance figures at the bottom of the stats sheets, the number appears to be legitimate.
The various leagues have begun to address All-Star fatigue, tweaking as they go. The NFL has addressed it by moving the Pro Bowl, its annual no-hitter, to the week prior to the Super Bowl, starting in 2010. Major League Baseball's All-Star Game has added the ridiculous idea of home-field advantage for the World Series for the winning league -- if you want to give a tangible benefit to the winner, the game shouldn't be played like an exhibition -- in order to make the event more relevant. The NBA game might as well be held in a playground, but then that league seems to like it that way.
Of course, the NHL can't emulate basketball because hockey, like football, can turn farcical without intensity. So, Groundhog Day starts again.
So trying to make the All-Star Game relevant again, Bettman and the League are imposing these rules.
Again that's fine with me. It's better than any alternative I've read.
At least it is in my opinion.
Opinions of the suspension seem mostly divided. Detroit area writers and Red Wings fans are against it. The anti- Gary Bettman people are also against it, but to me that's just to disagree with the commissioner. All the others seem to agree with the suspension. Though they are probably in the minority. As a Red Wings fan who agrees with the suspension I'm probably a minority of one.
Two Detroit area writers who disagree with the suspension are George James Malik and Drew Sharp.
One national writer who also disagrees with the suspension is Michael Farber of Sports Illustrated, Bettman makes bad call with Wings.
If anyone deserved a pass, it is Lidstrom, the six-time Norris Trophy winner who is a wonderful ambassador for hockey. While the All-Star Game should be part of his responsibility, he truly has served his time.
Datsyuk didn't play for most of the third period of the Coyotes game; so his injury must be pretty serious. Couldn't he just take off the first two periods of the upcoming game? That would then be a whole game.
One who agrees with the suspension is the New York Post's Larry Brooks, Showing up here's least they could do.
MONTREAL - You can't have it both ways. You can't ridicule the NHL All-Star Game for featuring rosters that include players of modest renown and then turn around and ridicule Gary Bettman for insisting that those stars chosen to play in the game actually, you know, show up.
The commissioner couldn't be on firmer ground here in enforcing the policy he enunciated at last February's GM meetings that any selected player choosing to skip out on the event would be required to miss either the league game immediately prior or following All-Star weekend in order to verify claims of injury.
Regardless of why the rule is there, regardless of how much time a player has given to the League, the player should still follow the rules.
Lidstrom and Datsyuk are stand-up guys in my opinion. They probably won't complain because they are forthright and magnanimous players. I'd give them the pass, but the commissioner and the League aren't. That's fine with me; I can live with that.
It's better than the alternative - the game meaning something ala Major League Baseball. For that matter the suspension is better than any alternative proposed in Craig Custance's article, Ideas for saving the NHL All-Star Game.
There's already rumblings that the game is a farce, more from Farber in a different article, The All-Star thrill is gone.
But the ambivalence shown by some Detroit players, if not the organization, merely reinforces the idea that the All-Star Game is a played-out notion.
There are annual suggestions of how to make the game better -- "It's Groundhog Day again," Toronto GM Brian Burke said -- but all the gimcracks that have been promised for the skills competition on Saturday just skim the surface. Despite a weekend that will be an overwhelming success simply because it is taking place in a hockey-obsessed host city -- the fans here know that the All-Star Game isn't a game but a swell party -- there is an All-Star fatigue that permeates not merely hockey but every sport.
The core of the problem: the very premise for all of these games has been subverted in recent years. The stars of the sport might not all convene at the same place on the same day during the season, but they can be juxtaposed, compared and contrasted on innumerable highlight shows and Internet clips. Because there is inter-conference play in all sports, these one-off exhibitions cannot even be regarded as some sort of measuring stick.
As the competitive value fades, leagues have turned these games into corporate festivals, splashy ways to sell the brand. The NHL announced $10 million in sponsorships for the 2009 Game. Unlike the attendance figures at the bottom of the stats sheets, the number appears to be legitimate.
The various leagues have begun to address All-Star fatigue, tweaking as they go. The NFL has addressed it by moving the Pro Bowl, its annual no-hitter, to the week prior to the Super Bowl, starting in 2010. Major League Baseball's All-Star Game has added the ridiculous idea of home-field advantage for the World Series for the winning league -- if you want to give a tangible benefit to the winner, the game shouldn't be played like an exhibition -- in order to make the event more relevant. The NBA game might as well be held in a playground, but then that league seems to like it that way.
Of course, the NHL can't emulate basketball because hockey, like football, can turn farcical without intensity. So, Groundhog Day starts again.
So trying to make the All-Star Game relevant again, Bettman and the League are imposing these rules.
Again that's fine with me. It's better than any alternative I've read.
In defense of relocated, expansion teams
Much has been written about the economic troubles the Phoenix Coyotes are having. The best article in my opinion is Stu Hackel's of the New York Times.
The Morning Skate: How Did the Coyotes Mess Happen?
Many Canadian journalists and fans seem to abhor expansion and relocated NHL teams. The media and fans denigrate those teams at every turn, and they want those teams moved or contracted. It's refreshing to see the opposite opinion in Hackel's article.
After wonderfully encapsulating, decorating and amplifying (David) Shoats’s findings, (Stephen) Brunt writes that the Coyotes are merely “the first domino.” In Brunt’s view — and the view of many who bemoan the N.H.L.’s ambitious move to the Sun Belt of the last two decades — the missionary work that bum-rushed hockey out of traditional markets and into the American South in order to save it, has in fact, torpedoed the league.
“Historically, the Coyotes are a symptom, not the disease,” Brunt writes. “They exist in their current straits because of the N.H.L.’s rose-coloured aspirations to conquer America, aspirations that had been kicked around for decades but really took flight after Gretzky was sold to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988 and set off hockey mania in Southern California. The Phoenix franchise shifted from Winnipeg because the league had in theory outgrown that city and the market. The question of solid, grassroots hockey interest was beside the point; the sport packaged properly, the conceit was that the league could sell it to anyone.”
Well said. Except that’s not exactly the way it happened when it came to N.H.L. franchise relocation.
The Winnipeg Jets, like the Quebec Nordiques and the Hartford Whalers — and nearly the Pittsburgh Penguins — all relocated in the mid-’90s, but not entirely because of the league’s desire to expand its footprint in the warmer climes of the U.S. (although that was certainly a main plank of the early Bettman regime). These teams, well rooted as they were, didn’t outgrow their cities “in theory,” but in fact.
One fact forgotten by Brunt and others is that the business of hockey changed drastically when Alan Eagleson (whom Brunt skewers in his excellent book, “Searching for Bobby Orr”) was ousted as head of the N.H.L. Players Association — a move few of those who now rail against Sun Belt teams would condemn. But his ouster set off a Rube Goldberg-esque chain of events that changed the course of the league and set it southward.
When the Eagle was replaced by Bob Goodenow, the union’s accommodations to ownership were gone too. One brief strike later (in 1992), and salaries began to skyrocket. That was followed by one half-season lockout (in 1994), and the rocket’s booster kicked in. The N.H.L.’s trajectory completely changed.
To cover those escalating salaries, owners needed new revenue. Since hockey was an arena-based gate-receipts business — as it always has been and continues to be — the owners found that they needed more seats, more amenities, more luxury boxes and, yes, even better parking revenue. Many owners got those things. Not all did.
When owners didn't that's when the teams moved. Hackel goes on to explain the Winnipeg Jets owner and Winnipeg city government couldn't get a deal done. He cites Thin Ice written by Jim Silver.
“There were more pressing needs in Winnipeg to which public funds could be applied than building a new arena that differed from the old one primarily in having luxury suites which would be the exclusive and tax-deductible preserve of the corporate elite.”
Hackel also puts forth that each franchise is a unique case.
The real story of the current N.H.L. map and how it came to be, as we have seen, is not quite as simple as an American commissioner with little feel for the game’s roots manifesting his desires by forcibly transplanting teams to where he sees fit to grow U.S. TV ratings.
What I also found interesting were the readers replies, and Hackel's rebuttals to people who disagreed with him.
Puckster: Contraction is a disaster politically and economically for the league, the owners, and the players who will lose their NHL jobs. The only people who can potentially benefit by contraction are the fans in the remaining cities who will, at least in theory, see better hockey.
Rick: Relocation I can see as a solution but contraction would be damaging to all owners as it would surely lower the hypothetical “market value” of all franchises.
Hackel: I certainly can’t disagree that the NHL sought a larger Sunbelt presence after what appeared to be the Kings success during their Gretzky era. But first, Bettman really can’t take credit / be blamed for all those Sunbelt expansion teams. The Lightning, Ducks and Panthers all pre-date Bettman. Atlanta and Nashville both joined during his tenure, but the long range plans for expansion were set out by NHL ownership in the late 1980s. Markets were not specifically identified, as I recall, but certainly the desire to move into new areas existed prior to Bettman becoming commissioner in 1993. So to hang Sunbelt expansion on him is just historically inaccurate.
When it comes to franchise relocation, the Hartford situation was, like the Winnipeg situation, one where the club did not have the kind of revenue generating building at the Civic Center necessary to compete in the new era NHL. Hartford was the smallest market in the league at that time as well, so the chances of generating sufficient revenue even with a more modern building were questionable. If Mr. Bettman played a role in their departure to Carolina (they did not go to Raleigh immediately because the building was not completed; they played two seasons in Greensboro in front of many empty seats) it was only after efforts were made to keep the team in CT. and have them relocated in a new arena, which never came to fruition. Mr. Karmanos, who still owns the team, promised he’d stay in Hartford for four years after he bought the club, but only stayed for three. My recollection was there was a target number of season tickets that needed to be sold that was not reached, but there were no partial plans or any creative efforts made to meet the goal; it seemed half-hearted and Mr. Karmanos wanted to relocate to a more lucrative market. If Mr. Bettman did nothing to stop him, well that is part of his job as commissioner, to help owners maximize their franchise value. Tthe owners are his bosses, after all. He wasn’t going to ask one of his owners to continue to lose money.
Yes, Mr. Bettman intervened in the Predators to Hamilton fiasco, but I’m quite certain that was done at the behest of owners as well, especially Toronto and Buffalo who had the most to lose.
As for whether the former WPG and HFD are better able to support and NHL team today than Nashville, Southeast Florida or Phoenix, I don’t know that there is any compelling evidence to prove that. Give any of these cities a winning, contending hockey club and they might be OK. But that’s not the point. As a business, any team has to be in a market that can generate sufficient revenue to succeed and neither WPG or HFD have that arena at the moment.
Hackel: I certainly agree with you (puckster) on the downside of contraction. I don’t favor it as a solution for the league’s problems, but it doesn’t matter what I think. Regardless, losing a franchise is a very damaging thing for the game, as you point out. But each of the league’s troubled teams are highly complex and unique entities and I believe it’s really impossible to predict how any of them will be effected by the current economic problems going forward. Anyone talking contraction at this moment is speaking somewhat recklessly.
The siv: For the NHL to be successful, it needs millions of knowledgable fans that can appreciate the game. It also needs a TV deal, which cannot happen without the support of those fans. Moving the league back to hinterland cities will only exacerbate the problem. And yes, I count the likes of Kansas City and Portland in the same boat as Hamilton and Winnipeg.
Donny: I’m sick of people who blame all the league’s woes on 1) the sunbelt expansion, or 2) Gary Bettman. I may never regard Gary as highly as Paul Tagliabue, but as the article says, the success of an NHL team isn’t necessarily guaranteed in places with “strong roots”, and as business ventures I’ve never believed that NHL teams had some natural advantage by simply being in a Canadian market. It’s not all about winning, because it also requires solid ownership, marketing, television, and favorable economics.
The point is that deep roots don’t mean much without deep pockets, as much as many would like to wistfully believe otherwise.
And my retort to fans who agree with the anti-Sunbelt types.
Why is it fans in the cold weather climates get a pass when they don't support their teams? It's supposedly that they're smart fans who know better than to support a weak team or it's the economy as in Detroit's case. Yet when Sunbelt fans don't show up for maybe the same reasons it's immediately an incrimination that they don't support hockey. The double standard infuriates me.
Mike Illitch had to give away cars for Hockeytown fans to show up in the early 80s. Also, not many fans are showing up this year for Islanders games.
Just last year, http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/attendance?sort=home_pct&year=2008, Chicago and New Jersey were at an 82 percent clip. Above them last year, Phoenix and Atlanta, at about 85 percent.
Fan attendance goes in waves. Put a winning a team on the ice, fans will show up it's that simple. See Tampa Bay, Carolina and Anaheim.
Realistically contraction talk is a non-starter. People need jobs, it's not a time to get rid of them, and especially if ratings and attendance are up.
The League doesn't favor contraction, and the PA won't favor it either. Players won't vote to put themselves out of job. Then there's the management, support staff, etc. All those jobs lost. Contraction is unrealistic.
As for the moving southward and westward in the first place, the NHL followed the migration patterns. That's what The Falconer posted in his blog entry, Hockey Fans, Like Population, Move Southward.
One point that I think people often forget when discussing the history of NHL expansion into the south is that the US population has made a rather dramatic shift southward since World War II.
Some other salient points as he follows expansion and relocation.
By 1980 the NHL had effectively covered almost every frost belt metro area. Cleveland was the biggest exception and even that city had the failed Barons franchise for a few years.
The 2nd expansion of the NHL took place in the 1990s as the league expanded from 21 to 30 franchises most of which were located in non-traditional sunbelt markets. Several franchises were also relocated from the smaller Canadian metro areas to the US during this same time period. This resulted in a NHL covering the booming sunbelt cities where millions of Americans were moving to over time. By 2000 the NHL had covered every top 10 US market with the exception of Houston.
Conclusion: The United States population is in one of the great long term migrations (the other two being the westward frontier and the Great Migration of black people out of the south between 1870-1950.) This long running shift from the north to the southern part of the nation is unlikely to end and the NHL is adjusted to these population trends.
Many fans complain about the lack of NHL coverage. Had the League not followed the population trend, there would even be less coverage because it'd be missing a large portion of the U.S. population. The NHL needs those markets if it's to grow and flourish. Without them it's regional and a niche sport as many NHL critics espouse.
The Morning Skate: How Did the Coyotes Mess Happen?
Many Canadian journalists and fans seem to abhor expansion and relocated NHL teams. The media and fans denigrate those teams at every turn, and they want those teams moved or contracted. It's refreshing to see the opposite opinion in Hackel's article.
After wonderfully encapsulating, decorating and amplifying (David) Shoats’s findings, (Stephen) Brunt writes that the Coyotes are merely “the first domino.” In Brunt’s view — and the view of many who bemoan the N.H.L.’s ambitious move to the Sun Belt of the last two decades — the missionary work that bum-rushed hockey out of traditional markets and into the American South in order to save it, has in fact, torpedoed the league.
“Historically, the Coyotes are a symptom, not the disease,” Brunt writes. “They exist in their current straits because of the N.H.L.’s rose-coloured aspirations to conquer America, aspirations that had been kicked around for decades but really took flight after Gretzky was sold to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988 and set off hockey mania in Southern California. The Phoenix franchise shifted from Winnipeg because the league had in theory outgrown that city and the market. The question of solid, grassroots hockey interest was beside the point; the sport packaged properly, the conceit was that the league could sell it to anyone.”
Well said. Except that’s not exactly the way it happened when it came to N.H.L. franchise relocation.
The Winnipeg Jets, like the Quebec Nordiques and the Hartford Whalers — and nearly the Pittsburgh Penguins — all relocated in the mid-’90s, but not entirely because of the league’s desire to expand its footprint in the warmer climes of the U.S. (although that was certainly a main plank of the early Bettman regime). These teams, well rooted as they were, didn’t outgrow their cities “in theory,” but in fact.
One fact forgotten by Brunt and others is that the business of hockey changed drastically when Alan Eagleson (whom Brunt skewers in his excellent book, “Searching for Bobby Orr”) was ousted as head of the N.H.L. Players Association — a move few of those who now rail against Sun Belt teams would condemn. But his ouster set off a Rube Goldberg-esque chain of events that changed the course of the league and set it southward.
When the Eagle was replaced by Bob Goodenow, the union’s accommodations to ownership were gone too. One brief strike later (in 1992), and salaries began to skyrocket. That was followed by one half-season lockout (in 1994), and the rocket’s booster kicked in. The N.H.L.’s trajectory completely changed.
To cover those escalating salaries, owners needed new revenue. Since hockey was an arena-based gate-receipts business — as it always has been and continues to be — the owners found that they needed more seats, more amenities, more luxury boxes and, yes, even better parking revenue. Many owners got those things. Not all did.
When owners didn't that's when the teams moved. Hackel goes on to explain the Winnipeg Jets owner and Winnipeg city government couldn't get a deal done. He cites Thin Ice written by Jim Silver.
“There were more pressing needs in Winnipeg to which public funds could be applied than building a new arena that differed from the old one primarily in having luxury suites which would be the exclusive and tax-deductible preserve of the corporate elite.”
Hackel also puts forth that each franchise is a unique case.
The real story of the current N.H.L. map and how it came to be, as we have seen, is not quite as simple as an American commissioner with little feel for the game’s roots manifesting his desires by forcibly transplanting teams to where he sees fit to grow U.S. TV ratings.
What I also found interesting were the readers replies, and Hackel's rebuttals to people who disagreed with him.
Puckster: Contraction is a disaster politically and economically for the league, the owners, and the players who will lose their NHL jobs. The only people who can potentially benefit by contraction are the fans in the remaining cities who will, at least in theory, see better hockey.
Rick: Relocation I can see as a solution but contraction would be damaging to all owners as it would surely lower the hypothetical “market value” of all franchises.
Hackel: I certainly can’t disagree that the NHL sought a larger Sunbelt presence after what appeared to be the Kings success during their Gretzky era. But first, Bettman really can’t take credit / be blamed for all those Sunbelt expansion teams. The Lightning, Ducks and Panthers all pre-date Bettman. Atlanta and Nashville both joined during his tenure, but the long range plans for expansion were set out by NHL ownership in the late 1980s. Markets were not specifically identified, as I recall, but certainly the desire to move into new areas existed prior to Bettman becoming commissioner in 1993. So to hang Sunbelt expansion on him is just historically inaccurate.
When it comes to franchise relocation, the Hartford situation was, like the Winnipeg situation, one where the club did not have the kind of revenue generating building at the Civic Center necessary to compete in the new era NHL. Hartford was the smallest market in the league at that time as well, so the chances of generating sufficient revenue even with a more modern building were questionable. If Mr. Bettman played a role in their departure to Carolina (they did not go to Raleigh immediately because the building was not completed; they played two seasons in Greensboro in front of many empty seats) it was only after efforts were made to keep the team in CT. and have them relocated in a new arena, which never came to fruition. Mr. Karmanos, who still owns the team, promised he’d stay in Hartford for four years after he bought the club, but only stayed for three. My recollection was there was a target number of season tickets that needed to be sold that was not reached, but there were no partial plans or any creative efforts made to meet the goal; it seemed half-hearted and Mr. Karmanos wanted to relocate to a more lucrative market. If Mr. Bettman did nothing to stop him, well that is part of his job as commissioner, to help owners maximize their franchise value. Tthe owners are his bosses, after all. He wasn’t going to ask one of his owners to continue to lose money.
Yes, Mr. Bettman intervened in the Predators to Hamilton fiasco, but I’m quite certain that was done at the behest of owners as well, especially Toronto and Buffalo who had the most to lose.
As for whether the former WPG and HFD are better able to support and NHL team today than Nashville, Southeast Florida or Phoenix, I don’t know that there is any compelling evidence to prove that. Give any of these cities a winning, contending hockey club and they might be OK. But that’s not the point. As a business, any team has to be in a market that can generate sufficient revenue to succeed and neither WPG or HFD have that arena at the moment.
Hackel: I certainly agree with you (puckster) on the downside of contraction. I don’t favor it as a solution for the league’s problems, but it doesn’t matter what I think. Regardless, losing a franchise is a very damaging thing for the game, as you point out. But each of the league’s troubled teams are highly complex and unique entities and I believe it’s really impossible to predict how any of them will be effected by the current economic problems going forward. Anyone talking contraction at this moment is speaking somewhat recklessly.
The siv: For the NHL to be successful, it needs millions of knowledgable fans that can appreciate the game. It also needs a TV deal, which cannot happen without the support of those fans. Moving the league back to hinterland cities will only exacerbate the problem. And yes, I count the likes of Kansas City and Portland in the same boat as Hamilton and Winnipeg.
Donny: I’m sick of people who blame all the league’s woes on 1) the sunbelt expansion, or 2) Gary Bettman. I may never regard Gary as highly as Paul Tagliabue, but as the article says, the success of an NHL team isn’t necessarily guaranteed in places with “strong roots”, and as business ventures I’ve never believed that NHL teams had some natural advantage by simply being in a Canadian market. It’s not all about winning, because it also requires solid ownership, marketing, television, and favorable economics.
The point is that deep roots don’t mean much without deep pockets, as much as many would like to wistfully believe otherwise.
And my retort to fans who agree with the anti-Sunbelt types.
Why is it fans in the cold weather climates get a pass when they don't support their teams? It's supposedly that they're smart fans who know better than to support a weak team or it's the economy as in Detroit's case. Yet when Sunbelt fans don't show up for maybe the same reasons it's immediately an incrimination that they don't support hockey. The double standard infuriates me.
Mike Illitch had to give away cars for Hockeytown fans to show up in the early 80s. Also, not many fans are showing up this year for Islanders games.
Just last year, http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/attendance?sort=home_pct&year=2008, Chicago and New Jersey were at an 82 percent clip. Above them last year, Phoenix and Atlanta, at about 85 percent.
Fan attendance goes in waves. Put a winning a team on the ice, fans will show up it's that simple. See Tampa Bay, Carolina and Anaheim.
Realistically contraction talk is a non-starter. People need jobs, it's not a time to get rid of them, and especially if ratings and attendance are up.
The League doesn't favor contraction, and the PA won't favor it either. Players won't vote to put themselves out of job. Then there's the management, support staff, etc. All those jobs lost. Contraction is unrealistic.
As for the moving southward and westward in the first place, the NHL followed the migration patterns. That's what The Falconer posted in his blog entry, Hockey Fans, Like Population, Move Southward.
One point that I think people often forget when discussing the history of NHL expansion into the south is that the US population has made a rather dramatic shift southward since World War II.
Some other salient points as he follows expansion and relocation.
By 1980 the NHL had effectively covered almost every frost belt metro area. Cleveland was the biggest exception and even that city had the failed Barons franchise for a few years.
The 2nd expansion of the NHL took place in the 1990s as the league expanded from 21 to 30 franchises most of which were located in non-traditional sunbelt markets. Several franchises were also relocated from the smaller Canadian metro areas to the US during this same time period. This resulted in a NHL covering the booming sunbelt cities where millions of Americans were moving to over time. By 2000 the NHL had covered every top 10 US market with the exception of Houston.
Conclusion: The United States population is in one of the great long term migrations (the other two being the westward frontier and the Great Migration of black people out of the south between 1870-1950.) This long running shift from the north to the southern part of the nation is unlikely to end and the NHL is adjusted to these population trends.
Many fans complain about the lack of NHL coverage. Had the League not followed the population trend, there would even be less coverage because it'd be missing a large portion of the U.S. population. The NHL needs those markets if it's to grow and flourish. Without them it's regional and a niche sport as many NHL critics espouse.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Wings lack focus
In my opinion the Red Wings have lacked focus lately, and especially in the back-to-back losses to San Jose and Phoenix
It's been apparent throughout the season, but it really showed through tonight. When your all-star defensemen and headline-grabbing, offseason signing are making mistakes that I notice then something is definitely wrong.
Nicklas Lidstrom's attempt to clear the puck through the slot on the penalty kill led to one goal for the Coyotes.
Marian Hossa extra stick handling led to a three on one break and a goal for another.
Those are downright horrible mistakes a team with focus shouldn't make.
On the bright side it was the Wings first back-to-back, regulation losses of the season. That's pretty amazing. The All-Star break seems to be coming at the right time for the Wings.
Also did anybody see Dany Heatley's first goal for Ottawa in the Senators - Capitals game last night? I can't believe that goal was allowed as another Sen was in the crease and caused goalie interference. If that would've been Tomas Holmstrom, the goal would've been disallowed.
It's been apparent throughout the season, but it really showed through tonight. When your all-star defensemen and headline-grabbing, offseason signing are making mistakes that I notice then something is definitely wrong.
Nicklas Lidstrom's attempt to clear the puck through the slot on the penalty kill led to one goal for the Coyotes.
Marian Hossa extra stick handling led to a three on one break and a goal for another.
Those are downright horrible mistakes a team with focus shouldn't make.
On the bright side it was the Wings first back-to-back, regulation losses of the season. That's pretty amazing. The All-Star break seems to be coming at the right time for the Wings.
Also did anybody see Dany Heatley's first goal for Ottawa in the Senators - Capitals game last night? I can't believe that goal was allowed as another Sen was in the crease and caused goalie interference. If that would've been Tomas Holmstrom, the goal would've been disallowed.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Roenick speaks his mind
The Hockey News voted San Jose Shark Jeremy Roenick the best interview in the NHL. Kudos to Roenick. Even in the article he speaks his mind and has some funny, spot on quotes.
“There are two ways players can be better interviews,” Roenick said. “No. 1: speak your mind. If you feel passionately about something, then grow a pair, grow a thick skin, and say so. Don’t be afraid that you’re going to say the wrong thing. If it comes from your heart, if you know that you’re right, step up and let people hear what you have to say.
“And No. 2: for christ’s sake – for christ’s sake – show some (expletive) enthusiasm during interviews,” Roenick said. “I see too many interviews where young guys say the same thing night after night after night. It’s (expletive).
“You know what, guys? Don’t just give us the usual clichés. Don’t do interviews where your eyes are just staring off into space when they should be looking into the camera. Say something funny once in a while! And if somebody scores a sick goal, it’s OK to say ‘damn, my teammate scored a sick goal!’ ”
On Sean Avery he's right.
“You can’t get personal in terms of race or gender, those kind of things,” said Roenick. “But there is a way to say the right things while still looking like you give a damn."
On Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.
“Absolutely, it is the reason why he’s (Ovechkin) more popular,” Roenick said. “You know, Sidney reminds me a lot of Wayne Gretzky in the way he deals with the media. It’s like he’s watched tapes of Wayne as a kid and memorized all his lines. Wayne never went out of the ordinary in terms of what he said, and that was fine for him. But as a league you definitely need some of your key guys to step up and be colorful.
“Then you look at Ovechkin – his heart is on his sleeve, he’s out there smiling all the time, he’s talking during games, he’s jumping in the air after he scores, he’s not afraid to say what he wants to say during interviews.
“Every time he’s out there, he’s showing the people what a joy it is to play hockey. We need as many guys like him as we can get.”
Some thoughts about last night's game between the Sharks and Red Wings.
It was great, and I wish I could've seen it. Listening to Ken Kal and Paul Woods was awesome though, and they call a great game.
Yet in my opinion it should've been broadcasted nationally in the states. This game and the Pittsburgh-Washington game should've been available nationwide to all fans, not just those with Center Ice nor just the ones in the respective cities. Two great games that could've enticed new fans went largely unseen.
Also Patrick Marleau was onsides. See below. Many Wings fans are saying otherwise.
Still it would've been nice if Chris Osgood could've stopped either this shot or Milan Michalek's. Not to blame Osgood though. The defense is to blame in my opinion. Osgood didn't steal game, but the defense allowed the Sharks 43 shots at him.
Journalist, blogger George James Malik, mlive.com, is exhaustive in his coverage of last night's game.
What they'll say
http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/01/what_theyll_say.html#preview
Wings-Sharks post-game multimedia
http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/01/wingssharks_postgame_multimedi_3.html
Wings-Sharks post-game wrap-up
http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/01/wingssharks_postgame_wrapup_1.html
“There are two ways players can be better interviews,” Roenick said. “No. 1: speak your mind. If you feel passionately about something, then grow a pair, grow a thick skin, and say so. Don’t be afraid that you’re going to say the wrong thing. If it comes from your heart, if you know that you’re right, step up and let people hear what you have to say.
“And No. 2: for christ’s sake – for christ’s sake – show some (expletive) enthusiasm during interviews,” Roenick said. “I see too many interviews where young guys say the same thing night after night after night. It’s (expletive).
“You know what, guys? Don’t just give us the usual clichés. Don’t do interviews where your eyes are just staring off into space when they should be looking into the camera. Say something funny once in a while! And if somebody scores a sick goal, it’s OK to say ‘damn, my teammate scored a sick goal!’ ”
On Sean Avery he's right.
“You can’t get personal in terms of race or gender, those kind of things,” said Roenick. “But there is a way to say the right things while still looking like you give a damn."
On Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.
“Absolutely, it is the reason why he’s (Ovechkin) more popular,” Roenick said. “You know, Sidney reminds me a lot of Wayne Gretzky in the way he deals with the media. It’s like he’s watched tapes of Wayne as a kid and memorized all his lines. Wayne never went out of the ordinary in terms of what he said, and that was fine for him. But as a league you definitely need some of your key guys to step up and be colorful.
“Then you look at Ovechkin – his heart is on his sleeve, he’s out there smiling all the time, he’s talking during games, he’s jumping in the air after he scores, he’s not afraid to say what he wants to say during interviews.
“Every time he’s out there, he’s showing the people what a joy it is to play hockey. We need as many guys like him as we can get.”
Some thoughts about last night's game between the Sharks and Red Wings.
It was great, and I wish I could've seen it. Listening to Ken Kal and Paul Woods was awesome though, and they call a great game.
Yet in my opinion it should've been broadcasted nationally in the states. This game and the Pittsburgh-Washington game should've been available nationwide to all fans, not just those with Center Ice nor just the ones in the respective cities. Two great games that could've enticed new fans went largely unseen.
Also Patrick Marleau was onsides. See below. Many Wings fans are saying otherwise.
Still it would've been nice if Chris Osgood could've stopped either this shot or Milan Michalek's. Not to blame Osgood though. The defense is to blame in my opinion. Osgood didn't steal game, but the defense allowed the Sharks 43 shots at him.
Journalist, blogger George James Malik, mlive.com, is exhaustive in his coverage of last night's game.
What they'll say
http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/01/what_theyll_say.html#preview
Wings-Sharks post-game multimedia
http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/01/wingssharks_postgame_multimedi_3.html
Wings-Sharks post-game wrap-up
http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/01/wingssharks_postgame_wrapup_1.html
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Big game in San Jose
Less than 30 minutes away from the big game, Red Wings - Sharks game tonight.
Here are some interesting stats.
San Jose is 32-6-5. Detroit is 31-7-6.
Since they met on December 18, Sharks are 7-2-2 and the Wings are 10-1-2.
Thursday night they both played. Sharks lost their first game at home this season to the Flames. The Wings shut out the Kings, 4-0, in Los Angeles.
Detroit has at least one point in a season-high 10 consecutive games, 8-0-2.
Both teams are now chasing the Boston Bruins which lead the League with 70 points. A San Jose win puts them back in the lead. A Detroit win and they will be tied with Bruins.
From the Detroit News:
Still, it's the first time to really assess the head-to-head matchup between the teams.
• The Wings were playing on back-to-back nights the first meeting, not to mention their fifth game in seven days. They had dead legs, and the Sharks took advantage for a 4-2 home victory Oct. 30.
• Meeting No. 2 was a different story. The Red Wings were energized and ready Dec. 18 in Detroit. And this time, it was the Sharks who were in the second half of back-to-back games. The result: a 6-0 Red Wings victory.
The advantage tonight still goes to the Sharks in terms of scheduling. The Wings will be playing the fourth in a five-game, 11-day Western swing. The Sharks have been home for nearly a week. But it still should be the best gauge to date.
But the Red Wings aren't worried about that supposed San Jose advantage.
"Most fair," Detroit's Mikael Samuelsson called tonight's game in comparison to the first meetings.
Said goaltender Chris Osgood: "It's difficult to judge teams' records because of where they came from, the traveling, the amount of games they've played in so few nights. But I think we'll both be on even terms (tonight)."
Still all this is just might be blog fodder, because I agree with the Red Wings head coach.
"People will make a lot out of this because it's something to talk about," Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "But you and I both know that statements are made in May and June, not very often in January."
On the flip side the Sharks will be gunning for the Red Wings.
From the San Jose Mercury News:
Leave it to Jeremy Roenick to speak the unvarnished truth.
Do the Sharks have a psychological problem with the Detroit Red Wings?
"We did last year," the veteran forward said this week. "There was definitely a mental block."
Though other players would try to deny it, the Red Wings clearly have taken up residence in the Sharks' collective noggin. They have been there for years. And they will remain there — comfortable and smirking — until the Sharks figure out a way to evict them.
Tonight's game against Detroit is a chance to begin that process. A necessary step if the Sharks hope to hurdle the second-round barrier and contend for a Stanley Cup.
"You prepare like you would for a playoff game," defenseman Rob Blake said. "These games teach you what playoff games are like."
Baggage. Hurdle. History. Call it what you want, but it is definitely there. And tonight is a chance to start removing it.
"We're ready," Roenick said, "to get over that hump."
It should be a good game either way. This is also a game that should be seen on a national level.
Here are some interesting stats.
San Jose is 32-6-5. Detroit is 31-7-6.
Since they met on December 18, Sharks are 7-2-2 and the Wings are 10-1-2.
Thursday night they both played. Sharks lost their first game at home this season to the Flames. The Wings shut out the Kings, 4-0, in Los Angeles.
Detroit has at least one point in a season-high 10 consecutive games, 8-0-2.
Both teams are now chasing the Boston Bruins which lead the League with 70 points. A San Jose win puts them back in the lead. A Detroit win and they will be tied with Bruins.
From the Detroit News:
Still, it's the first time to really assess the head-to-head matchup between the teams.
• The Wings were playing on back-to-back nights the first meeting, not to mention their fifth game in seven days. They had dead legs, and the Sharks took advantage for a 4-2 home victory Oct. 30.
• Meeting No. 2 was a different story. The Red Wings were energized and ready Dec. 18 in Detroit. And this time, it was the Sharks who were in the second half of back-to-back games. The result: a 6-0 Red Wings victory.
The advantage tonight still goes to the Sharks in terms of scheduling. The Wings will be playing the fourth in a five-game, 11-day Western swing. The Sharks have been home for nearly a week. But it still should be the best gauge to date.
But the Red Wings aren't worried about that supposed San Jose advantage.
"Most fair," Detroit's Mikael Samuelsson called tonight's game in comparison to the first meetings.
Said goaltender Chris Osgood: "It's difficult to judge teams' records because of where they came from, the traveling, the amount of games they've played in so few nights. But I think we'll both be on even terms (tonight)."
Still all this is just might be blog fodder, because I agree with the Red Wings head coach.
"People will make a lot out of this because it's something to talk about," Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "But you and I both know that statements are made in May and June, not very often in January."
On the flip side the Sharks will be gunning for the Red Wings.
From the San Jose Mercury News:
Leave it to Jeremy Roenick to speak the unvarnished truth.
Do the Sharks have a psychological problem with the Detroit Red Wings?
"We did last year," the veteran forward said this week. "There was definitely a mental block."
Though other players would try to deny it, the Red Wings clearly have taken up residence in the Sharks' collective noggin. They have been there for years. And they will remain there — comfortable and smirking — until the Sharks figure out a way to evict them.
Tonight's game against Detroit is a chance to begin that process. A necessary step if the Sharks hope to hurdle the second-round barrier and contend for a Stanley Cup.
"You prepare like you would for a playoff game," defenseman Rob Blake said. "These games teach you what playoff games are like."
Baggage. Hurdle. History. Call it what you want, but it is definitely there. And tonight is a chance to start removing it.
"We're ready," Roenick said, "to get over that hump."
It should be a good game either way. This is also a game that should be seen on a national level.
Friday, January 16, 2009
NHL fans need more Versus coverage
Many hockey fans seem to think Versus' NHL coverage is lacking. That the announcers, cameramen, producers, etc. are sub par. I don't get that thinking.
In my opinion Versus' coverage has improved every season since 2005-2006. It's getting better all the time. I sincerely believe the quality of the telecasts has improved over time.
That doesn't mean Versus is perfect. My biggest criticism of Versus coverage is that games are only on two nights per week. There are games just about everyday. More games on different nights should be broadcast nationwide on Versus.
Wednesday night's game between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins is one such game.
A rivalry is budding between Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, and another between Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. These players are arguably three of the most exciting, young players in the League too.
From the Canadian Press.
PITTSBURGH — Alexander Ovechkin let his play do the talking in what is becoming one of the fiercest interdivisional rivalries in the NHL.
The game reads as if it was pretty chippy too.
It's no secret Ovechkin and fellow Russian Malkin, who went Nos. 1 and 2 in the 2004 draft, have been feuding. In the two team's previous meeting Oct. 16, Ovechkin repeatedly sought out Malkin to deliver a hit to his former roommate.
Also, it appears the relationship between Crosby and Ovechkin - who entered the league together during the post-lockout 2005-06 season and were hailed as league co-saviours - might have soured. The previous two NHL scoring champions jawed at each other while the teams came onto the ice to begin the third period.
The Caps eventually won in a 6-3 shootout.
So there's a high-scoring, feisty NHL game, yet many hockey fans outside of Washington and Pittsburgh probably didn't see it. They should have, and the game should have been on Versus.
In my opinion Versus' coverage has improved every season since 2005-2006. It's getting better all the time. I sincerely believe the quality of the telecasts has improved over time.
That doesn't mean Versus is perfect. My biggest criticism of Versus coverage is that games are only on two nights per week. There are games just about everyday. More games on different nights should be broadcast nationwide on Versus.
Wednesday night's game between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins is one such game.
A rivalry is budding between Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, and another between Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. These players are arguably three of the most exciting, young players in the League too.
From the Canadian Press.
PITTSBURGH — Alexander Ovechkin let his play do the talking in what is becoming one of the fiercest interdivisional rivalries in the NHL.
The game reads as if it was pretty chippy too.
It's no secret Ovechkin and fellow Russian Malkin, who went Nos. 1 and 2 in the 2004 draft, have been feuding. In the two team's previous meeting Oct. 16, Ovechkin repeatedly sought out Malkin to deliver a hit to his former roommate.
Also, it appears the relationship between Crosby and Ovechkin - who entered the league together during the post-lockout 2005-06 season and were hailed as league co-saviours - might have soured. The previous two NHL scoring champions jawed at each other while the teams came onto the ice to begin the third period.
The Caps eventually won in a 6-3 shootout.
So there's a high-scoring, feisty NHL game, yet many hockey fans outside of Washington and Pittsburgh probably didn't see it. They should have, and the game should have been on Versus.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Red Wings' well-traveled fans
Speaking of well-traveled fans, read what George James Malik found today in the Dallas News. It's synchronicity.
Red Wings nation: rabid fans with funny accents?
The Dallas News's Mike Heika answered an intriguing question in his latest mailbag, and an excerpt thereof pertains to "Red Wings nation":
January 15, Dallas News: Question: Why are the Red Wings so well supported in Dallas? When the Lions, Pistons, and Tigers are in town, you see a smattering of fans but nothing like the "sea of red" we see at AAC[.]
Scott S.
Heika: [T]he Wings are like the Red Sox of hockey (Montreal is probably the Yankees). They are just a very well-supported team all around the world. For a span of about five years there in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Detroit played every game (home and road) before a sellout. That's an amazing statistic.
Maple Leafs fans would argue that they're the "Manchester United" of hockey, but Red Wings fans have fewer conditions (not using the word that describes a vacuum's operations) and offer a real and honest chance to see games. The "Detroitdiaspora's" members may or may not employ a unique accent with a "Northern Cities shift."
Listening to the game last night on iTunes on WXYT - which I should go back and thank since the station chose to broadcast the game - when the Wings scored it sounded as if they were playing at The Joe Louis Arena. The only thing missing was the horn.
When I attended a Wings - Kings game last year at Staples Center there might have been more Wings fans there than Kings fans, at least by the show of jersey-wearing fans. It will probably be the same tonight.
Red Wings nation: rabid fans with funny accents?
The Dallas News's Mike Heika answered an intriguing question in his latest mailbag, and an excerpt thereof pertains to "Red Wings nation":
January 15, Dallas News: Question: Why are the Red Wings so well supported in Dallas? When the Lions, Pistons, and Tigers are in town, you see a smattering of fans but nothing like the "sea of red" we see at AAC[.]
Scott S.
Heika: [T]he Wings are like the Red Sox of hockey (Montreal is probably the Yankees). They are just a very well-supported team all around the world. For a span of about five years there in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Detroit played every game (home and road) before a sellout. That's an amazing statistic.
Maple Leafs fans would argue that they're the "Manchester United" of hockey, but Red Wings fans have fewer conditions (not using the word that describes a vacuum's operations) and offer a real and honest chance to see games. The "Detroitdiaspora's" members may or may not employ a unique accent with a "Northern Cities shift."
Listening to the game last night on iTunes on WXYT - which I should go back and thank since the station chose to broadcast the game - when the Wings scored it sounded as if they were playing at The Joe Louis Arena. The only thing missing was the horn.
When I attended a Wings - Kings game last year at Staples Center there might have been more Wings fans there than Kings fans, at least by the show of jersey-wearing fans. It will probably be the same tonight.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Against Detroit, For Detroit
Attended the Pacers - Pistons game at Canseco Fieldhouse tonight.
Great game, but I'm thinking if the Pistons had not played last night they might have won. On the other hand the Pacers just got back from a 1 and 4 West Coast swing, they had yesterday off, but were probably still tired.
Anyway the Pacers won in overtime, 110 - 106. Yay! That's how I was against Detroit. I'm not going to go against my hometown Indiana Pacers.
It was the first game that I've attended this season that the Pacers won. The other two they lost in overtime. That's how it's been for the Pacers this season. They're really close, but they just can't put away the other teams down the stretch run.
In any case there were a number of Pistons fans tonight, but not as many as I thought there'd be.
Last month I attended the Colts - Lions game. From what I saw Lions fans were very few and very far between.
Neither the Pistons fans nor the Lions fans seem to travel as well as Red Wings fans. Does any other Detroit team? I doubt it.
So the Detroit Red Wings are playing the Ducks in Anaheim tonight, and from what I can hear there seems to be a ton of Wings fans there.
The Red Wings is how I'm for Detroit. So far it seems the Ducks are giving the Wings all they can handle, Ducks lead 3 - 2.
At least WXYT decided to broadcast the game on iTunes tonight.
Great game, but I'm thinking if the Pistons had not played last night they might have won. On the other hand the Pacers just got back from a 1 and 4 West Coast swing, they had yesterday off, but were probably still tired.
Anyway the Pacers won in overtime, 110 - 106. Yay! That's how I was against Detroit. I'm not going to go against my hometown Indiana Pacers.
It was the first game that I've attended this season that the Pacers won. The other two they lost in overtime. That's how it's been for the Pacers this season. They're really close, but they just can't put away the other teams down the stretch run.
In any case there were a number of Pistons fans tonight, but not as many as I thought there'd be.
Last month I attended the Colts - Lions game. From what I saw Lions fans were very few and very far between.
Neither the Pistons fans nor the Lions fans seem to travel as well as Red Wings fans. Does any other Detroit team? I doubt it.
So the Detroit Red Wings are playing the Ducks in Anaheim tonight, and from what I can hear there seems to be a ton of Wings fans there.
The Red Wings is how I'm for Detroit. So far it seems the Ducks are giving the Wings all they can handle, Ducks lead 3 - 2.
At least WXYT decided to broadcast the game on iTunes tonight.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Classic draws record numbers
The second Winter Classic drew record viewers.
Winter Classic draws most American TV viewers for NHL game since 1975
NEW YORK — The Winter Classic drew the biggest American television audience for a regular-season NHL game in nearly 34 years.
The Detroit Red Wings' 6-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field on New Year's Day attracted an average of 4.4 million U.S. viewers on NBC, the network said Monday.
That's the most since a Philadelphia Flyers-New York Rangers game on Feb. 23, 1975, according to Nielsen Media Research.
This is truly awesome. Wow!
Winter Classic draws most American TV viewers for NHL game since 1975
NEW YORK — The Winter Classic drew the biggest American television audience for a regular-season NHL game in nearly 34 years.
The Detroit Red Wings' 6-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field on New Year's Day attracted an average of 4.4 million U.S. viewers on NBC, the network said Monday.
That's the most since a Philadelphia Flyers-New York Rangers game on Feb. 23, 1975, according to Nielsen Media Research.
This is truly awesome. Wow!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Hockey lost on WXYT
Hockey loses to American football, again, on WXYT, the Red Wings flagship radio station.
Saturday night the Red Wings hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Also, four NFL teams played two American football playoff games.
The Wings flagship radio station, WXYT, chose to broadcast the American football games instead of the Red Wings game.
So here are some of my comments I sent via WXYT's instant feedback section on its website.
I wish I could hear the Red Wings game.
It sure wold be nice, if on the Red Wings flagship station, I could hear the Wings game. What a concept, eh?
There are four WXYT streams on iTunes and while I appreciate that they're there, two are silent and the other two are broadcasting an American football game, which is just lame.
Your banner is wrong. It states "Detroit sports talk all day." Yet the only feed I can hear here is a non-Lions American football game. That's hardly representative of Detroit sports.
On the frontpage in the Podcast section there's not one Red Wings download, not one Tigers download, and only one Lions download. Hardly Detroit sports talk. You guys should talk more about the Wings and maybe I'd come back here more.
No videos in that section feature a Detroit team and none are hockey related.
At least 97.1 is hosting a Red Wings viewing party. Too bad it's not tonight game. Oh that's right 97.1 doesn't broadcast a Wings game when American football game is playing.
Oh and kudos, at least two of three top headlines are Detroit related. Still none for Wings, which is just lame.
A link to the Red Wings schedule too. Maybe 97.1 should have checked that. The Wings are playing now, and I can't hear the game on 97.1, the Red Wings flagship radio station.
Hey check out the Coming Up section. The Red Wings are playing - 01/10/2009 06:40 PM ET. That's nearly three hours ago. I guess 97.1 broadcast people didn't get the message.
Some more Red Wings - related happenings.
01/12/2009 07:40 PM ET The Red Wings take on the Dallas Stars
01/13/2009 08:00 PM ET Inside Hockeytown with Ken Kal and Pat Caputo
01/14/2009 09:40 PM ET The Detroit Red Wings at the Mighty Ducks
Please tell the broadcast people.
Saturday night the Red Wings hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Also, four NFL teams played two American football playoff games.
The Wings flagship radio station, WXYT, chose to broadcast the American football games instead of the Red Wings game.
So here are some of my comments I sent via WXYT's instant feedback section on its website.
I wish I could hear the Red Wings game.
It sure wold be nice, if on the Red Wings flagship station, I could hear the Wings game. What a concept, eh?
There are four WXYT streams on iTunes and while I appreciate that they're there, two are silent and the other two are broadcasting an American football game, which is just lame.
Your banner is wrong. It states "Detroit sports talk all day." Yet the only feed I can hear here is a non-Lions American football game. That's hardly representative of Detroit sports.
On the frontpage in the Podcast section there's not one Red Wings download, not one Tigers download, and only one Lions download. Hardly Detroit sports talk. You guys should talk more about the Wings and maybe I'd come back here more.
No videos in that section feature a Detroit team and none are hockey related.
At least 97.1 is hosting a Red Wings viewing party. Too bad it's not tonight game. Oh that's right 97.1 doesn't broadcast a Wings game when American football game is playing.
Oh and kudos, at least two of three top headlines are Detroit related. Still none for Wings, which is just lame.
A link to the Red Wings schedule too. Maybe 97.1 should have checked that. The Wings are playing now, and I can't hear the game on 97.1, the Red Wings flagship radio station.
Hey check out the Coming Up section. The Red Wings are playing - 01/10/2009 06:40 PM ET. That's nearly three hours ago. I guess 97.1 broadcast people didn't get the message.
Some more Red Wings - related happenings.
01/12/2009 07:40 PM ET The Red Wings take on the Dallas Stars
01/13/2009 08:00 PM ET Inside Hockeytown with Ken Kal and Pat Caputo
01/14/2009 09:40 PM ET The Detroit Red Wings at the Mighty Ducks
Please tell the broadcast people.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Power to the people, the fans
Last month THN posted a story about how ineffective NHL fans are.
As much as I hate to admit it, Brian Costello, The Hockey News, is probably right.
Fans fall short in 'People of Power and Influence'
Admittedly, the fans are just as important as the players and the owners. It would be impossible to have a multi-billion dollar industry without unconditional representation from all three sectors. The players provide the entertainment, the owners the infrastructure and ways and means, while the fans foot the bill for the entire project.
The popular misconception is it’s the owners who front the bill for everything. While it’s true the owners assume the risk, provide the initial capital and cover any shortcomings, it’s the fans who provide the bulk of the revenue. How important is that?
But importance should not be confused with power and/or influence. While the fans have plenty of the former, they have none of the latter – at least not in a meaningful, unified way.
If the fans had any significant power or influence, there wouldn’t have been a lockout in 2004-05, ticket prices would be affordable in all 30 markets and strong hockey regions such as southern Ontario would have multiple teams because the demand suggests it.
Even though there are millions of hockey fans out there, they have limited influence because of the lack of a unified voice. That’s not a criticism of fans, that’s just the way it is.
Admittedly, the fans are just as important as the players and the owners. It would be impossible to have a multi-billion dollar industry without unconditional representation from all three sectors. The players provide the entertainment, the owners the infrastructure and ways and means, while the fans foot the bill for the entire project.
The popular misconception is it’s the owners who front the bill for everything. While it’s true the owners assume the risk, provide the initial capital and cover any shortcomings, it’s the fans who provide the bulk of the revenue. How important is that?
But importance should not be confused with power and/or influence. While the fans have plenty of the former, they have none of the latter – at least not in a meaningful, unified way.
If the fans had any significant power or influence, there wouldn’t have been a lockout in 2004-05, ticket prices would be affordable in all 30 markets and strong hockey regions such as southern Ontario would have multiple teams because the demand suggests it.
Even though there are millions of hockey fans out there, they have limited influence because of the lack of a unified voice. That’s not a criticism of fans, that’s just the way it is.
Bold is my emphasis.
Costello suggests joining the NHL Fans' Association, http://www.nhlfa.com/. That's a good idea in my opinion. I've been a member there for about four years.
NHL fans need a unified voice, and this is as close as we can get right now.
Power to the fans, right on!
Costello suggests joining the NHL Fans' Association, http://www.nhlfa.com/. That's a good idea in my opinion. I've been a member there for about four years.
NHL fans need a unified voice, and this is as close as we can get right now.
Power to the fans, right on!
Monday, January 05, 2009
Freep gets it wrong again
Everybody makes mistakes. It's a given that people will, organizations will, and even metropolitan newspapers will.
One recent, glaring mistake in my opinion was made by the Detroit Free Press aka Freep.
When did San Diego start playing in the NHL? That's news to me. What's that team's name?
As of Monday, Jan. 5, 2009 at 7:57 p.m., it's still a valid link, Osgood’s return sparks Red Wings to victory
Anyway I'd normally let this slide. Lately though the Free Press writers have been hacking me off.
A recent example was what Jamie Samuelssen wrote about the Detroit sports story of the year: The Lions pitiful record.
Most in Detroit will remember 2008 for the Lions. Assuming they close things out Sunday, how can we not look back at this year as the worst in the history of Detroit professional sports? Some will look at it as the year of the Wings and their ongoing excellence. But I'll look back on 2008 as the year of what could have been. So much was expected, but so little was achieved -- other than the Wings. Not even counting the Lions, it was a very disappointing year.
George James Malik's retort at mlive.com
Hanging one's hat on the "should'ves" and "could'ves" completely ignores what the Red Wings did do in my opinion...
Malik also responded to my post on that story, where I wrote that Samuelssen hates hockey and slights the Wings on a regular basis.
I don't know if Samuelssen hates hockey, per se, but he sure as hell doesn't believe that games played before April matter, and even when they do, he doesn't believe that a Stanley Cup is worth as much as a NBA,MLB, or NFL championship.
It's disappointing that some sports fans listen to Samuelssen and his ilk instead of forming their own opinions.
Kudos to Malik.
Yeah I get Samuelssen's previous argument in September that Detroit is an American football town. Got it. Yet it's because of this thinking and his writing to support that, that I'm becoming disgruntled with the Free Press. Then there's the mistake I mention above - from a Detroit newspaper. I have a little more leniency for a national, general sports site, but this is Detroit!
If it was just Samuelssen and the mistake, fine. Yet many writers there seem of the same mentality, if not a hatred of hockey, then a slighting of hockey.
There's already ESPN. Frankly I don't need another media outlet, especially one from Detroit, to write and publish the same way.
Therefore, I have little reason to read the Free Press anymore.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Sports-filled Saturday
My thoughts on yesterdays games with my teams Detroit Red Wings, Indiana Hoosiers, Indiana Pacers and Indianapolis Colts are below.
Two of my teams won, and two lost. I guess going .500 wasn't too bad.
The Red Wings and Colts games overlapped and I kept what CBS Sports calls a GLOG, a game log, for myself. Bypass that if you want, it won't bother me.
NHL fans, have any of you tried the NHL Gamecenter, where fans can watch games online? The NHL showed all games for there free yesterday. Did anybody try it? Or maybe you bought the package? What's you thoughts of it if you have?
I tried it at all three different sizes, and all were choppy. Maybe by computer needs more RAM, which only has 768MB.
Anyway I'd be curious if anybody has. Please share your thoughts.
Hoosiers lost to Iowa but put up a valiant effort. It was a pretty good outing, Big Ten opening for head coach Tom Crean considering where he's at with players and the program.
Following the Pacers game online, it looked as if they were trailing most of the game. They came back and beat the Sacramento Kings, 122-117. I was planning to go, but the Red Wings played last night too. I try not to miss any Wings games.
Anyway after the first, Wings 1, Minnesota Wild 0. Meanwhile watching the Colts game, and there's about a minute to play in the first quarter. Colts up 7-0 over the Chargers.
Interesting - NHL game can play 20 minutes in the same time the NFL can get 15 in.
Second starting and there's about 10 minutes left in the second quarter of the Colts game, which is now tied 7-7.
10-7 Colts. Nearly 7 minutes left in the quarter and about 14 minutes left in the second period of the Wings - Wild game.
Second period over, Wings still leading 1-0. About 30 seconds left in the Colts game, which the Chargers are now leading 14-10. Colts get a break with the non-fumble call.
About two 20-minute periods in the NHL = about two 15-minute quarters in the NFL.
Halftime in the Colts game. Chargers still leading. In the hockey game Wild took charge in the second and lead in SOG, 24-19. Wing are giving up a lot more shots this year. They will be down two men win the third starts. No penalties have called against the Wild.
Third starting. Wings game tied 1-1. Not surprising when there's a 5-3, but I think technically it was a 5 on 4 powerplay. Wild up, 2-1. Dangit. Chargers kick off to start the third quarter.
The momentum seems to have shifted, and it's against both my teams. Looking back on it was in the second period and second quarter that it seems to have shifted.
And another PP for Minnesota.
Holy cow! What's this?! A PP for the Wings! Incredible!
Maybe it's shifted back for both now. Colts up 17-14, with about 8 minutes left in the third quarter, and about 7 minutes left in the hockey game.
PP over for the Wings. Oh wait, now back on.
Paul Woods is saying the goal by Johan Franzen should count. Will it?
Meanwhile Chargers are shredding the Colts defense. Colts need a fumble recovery or interception.
Yes! A good goal. "Good call, Mr. Woods," said Ken Kal. He and Woods rock. They are the consumate hockey announcers. I like them as much as Gary Thorne and Bill Clement. Probably more because they represent the Wings.
So 2-2 at the hockey game.
Holy cow! I typed it then it happened, the fumble I mean. Sorry I have the volume low on the Colts game.
Too bad the Colts offense is sputtering.
Heading to OT in the hockey game.
So ... an NHL game lasts roughly the same amount of time as an NFL game takes to play three quarters.
Interception! The big plays are saving the Colts. The Chargers seem to be able to move at will.
Still tied in OT
Going ot a SO in the hockey game.
Osgood saves first shot.
Datsyuk scores!
Burns flubs it.
Harding poke checks puck away from Zetterberg
Osgood makes save.
3-2, Wings win! 1-0 in the SO, Wings even had more SOG, 37-35.
Now for the Colts to seal the deal. Colts really need another touchdown. OMG 3 and 21! Chargers hold. Not good. Two big plays have saved the Colts already asking for a third is too much.
Almost an interception for the Colts, still they can't stop the Chargers.
Colts defense is porous.
A tie game here now too.
Wow, that coin flip is bad for the Colts. I don't see the defense stopping the Chargers.
Yeah this is not looking good at all!
Wow, the refs are just giving this game to the Chargers.
Season over for the Colts. Damn that's depressing.
Two of my teams won, and two lost. I guess going .500 wasn't too bad.
The Red Wings and Colts games overlapped and I kept what CBS Sports calls a GLOG, a game log, for myself. Bypass that if you want, it won't bother me.
NHL fans, have any of you tried the NHL Gamecenter, where fans can watch games online? The NHL showed all games for there free yesterday. Did anybody try it? Or maybe you bought the package? What's you thoughts of it if you have?
I tried it at all three different sizes, and all were choppy. Maybe by computer needs more RAM, which only has 768MB.
Anyway I'd be curious if anybody has. Please share your thoughts.
Hoosiers lost to Iowa but put up a valiant effort. It was a pretty good outing, Big Ten opening for head coach Tom Crean considering where he's at with players and the program.
Following the Pacers game online, it looked as if they were trailing most of the game. They came back and beat the Sacramento Kings, 122-117. I was planning to go, but the Red Wings played last night too. I try not to miss any Wings games.
Anyway after the first, Wings 1, Minnesota Wild 0. Meanwhile watching the Colts game, and there's about a minute to play in the first quarter. Colts up 7-0 over the Chargers.
Interesting - NHL game can play 20 minutes in the same time the NFL can get 15 in.
Second starting and there's about 10 minutes left in the second quarter of the Colts game, which is now tied 7-7.
10-7 Colts. Nearly 7 minutes left in the quarter and about 14 minutes left in the second period of the Wings - Wild game.
Second period over, Wings still leading 1-0. About 30 seconds left in the Colts game, which the Chargers are now leading 14-10. Colts get a break with the non-fumble call.
About two 20-minute periods in the NHL = about two 15-minute quarters in the NFL.
Halftime in the Colts game. Chargers still leading. In the hockey game Wild took charge in the second and lead in SOG, 24-19. Wing are giving up a lot more shots this year. They will be down two men win the third starts. No penalties have called against the Wild.
Third starting. Wings game tied 1-1. Not surprising when there's a 5-3, but I think technically it was a 5 on 4 powerplay. Wild up, 2-1. Dangit. Chargers kick off to start the third quarter.
The momentum seems to have shifted, and it's against both my teams. Looking back on it was in the second period and second quarter that it seems to have shifted.
And another PP for Minnesota.
Holy cow! What's this?! A PP for the Wings! Incredible!
Maybe it's shifted back for both now. Colts up 17-14, with about 8 minutes left in the third quarter, and about 7 minutes left in the hockey game.
PP over for the Wings. Oh wait, now back on.
Paul Woods is saying the goal by Johan Franzen should count. Will it?
Meanwhile Chargers are shredding the Colts defense. Colts need a fumble recovery or interception.
Yes! A good goal. "Good call, Mr. Woods," said Ken Kal. He and Woods rock. They are the consumate hockey announcers. I like them as much as Gary Thorne and Bill Clement. Probably more because they represent the Wings.
So 2-2 at the hockey game.
Holy cow! I typed it then it happened, the fumble I mean. Sorry I have the volume low on the Colts game.
Too bad the Colts offense is sputtering.
Heading to OT in the hockey game.
So ... an NHL game lasts roughly the same amount of time as an NFL game takes to play three quarters.
Interception! The big plays are saving the Colts. The Chargers seem to be able to move at will.
Still tied in OT
Going ot a SO in the hockey game.
Osgood saves first shot.
Datsyuk scores!
Burns flubs it.
Harding poke checks puck away from Zetterberg
Osgood makes save.
3-2, Wings win! 1-0 in the SO, Wings even had more SOG, 37-35.
Now for the Colts to seal the deal. Colts really need another touchdown. OMG 3 and 21! Chargers hold. Not good. Two big plays have saved the Colts already asking for a third is too much.
Almost an interception for the Colts, still they can't stop the Chargers.
Colts defense is porous.
A tie game here now too.
Wow, that coin flip is bad for the Colts. I don't see the defense stopping the Chargers.
Yeah this is not looking good at all!
Wow, the refs are just giving this game to the Chargers.
Season over for the Colts. Damn that's depressing.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Classic sweaters, apparel, ratings
OK, maybe this will be my last Winter Classic related blog entry.
The Red Wings and Blackhawks throwback jerseys were great in my opinion. Seeing them on the ice bumped up my initial thoughts about them. Last year's sweaters were too, but I'm not a big fan of the Penguins baby blue ones. They just have so much winning history with the black and gold ones.
One blogger wrote Detroit should keep the D sweater. I disagree; I'm in favor of keeping them for special events. The D jerseys will probably be a third jersey for Detroit next year.
Anyway while I'm a big fan of the looks of the Winter Classic jerseys, I'm not a big fan of the new-style sweaters. The authentics are expensive, and the replicas look horrible and feel cheap. So I don't know if I'll ever buy another NHL jersey, which is a shame.
That said there was other apparel I saw on TV or in pictures that I loved.
The jackets the coaches wore, the coats the players wore, the toques the players wore, and a hoodie I saw a fan wearing. See below.
I can't find the hoodie, but it's red with the D on it. It's available in black, but not red. The Wings don't wear black. Anyway good luck finding any of those things on the NHL website. I can't, but I'd buy every single one of those items. Disappointing.
As I mentioned yesterday, the ratings were up by 12 percent. Disappointingly, Detroit finished second behind Chicago. Also, more people in Detroit watched the Michigan State Spartans lose in a bowl game than watched the Red Wings win the Winter Classic.
More Detroit television viewers go Green than Red
Looks like Hockeytown was really Spartytown on New Year's Day.
The Winter Classic hockey game, shown locally on WDIV Channel 4, between the Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks had a 10.5 rating and a 20% share in Detroit. That translates to 203,000 households.
During pretty much the same time slot, the Capital One Bowl between MSU and Georgia aired on WXYT Channel 7. It beat out the Wings, drawing a 15.2 rating and a 28.3% share. That's roughly 293,000 households.
How many households in Detroit were watching the CBC feed instead of the NBC feed? That would be nice to know.
Here's the breakdown.
Top 10 Metered Markets:
1. Chicago 11.8/21
2. Detroit 10.5/20
3. Buffalo 10.1/20
4. St. Louis 5.3/10
5. Pittsburgh 4.4/8
6. Denver 4.2/10
7. Providence 3.5/7
8. Indianapolis 3.4/6
9. West Palm Beach 3.3/6
10. Orlando 3.2/5
Indianapolis, my hometown, finished eighth, pretty good for a city without an NHL team. Boston and New York aren't in the top 10. Those towns might be involved in the next Winter Classic. Of course maybe those two cities weren't "metered."
The Red Wings and Blackhawks throwback jerseys were great in my opinion. Seeing them on the ice bumped up my initial thoughts about them. Last year's sweaters were too, but I'm not a big fan of the Penguins baby blue ones. They just have so much winning history with the black and gold ones.
One blogger wrote Detroit should keep the D sweater. I disagree; I'm in favor of keeping them for special events. The D jerseys will probably be a third jersey for Detroit next year.
Anyway while I'm a big fan of the looks of the Winter Classic jerseys, I'm not a big fan of the new-style sweaters. The authentics are expensive, and the replicas look horrible and feel cheap. So I don't know if I'll ever buy another NHL jersey, which is a shame.
That said there was other apparel I saw on TV or in pictures that I loved.
The jackets the coaches wore, the coats the players wore, the toques the players wore, and a hoodie I saw a fan wearing. See below.
I can't find the hoodie, but it's red with the D on it. It's available in black, but not red. The Wings don't wear black. Anyway good luck finding any of those things on the NHL website. I can't, but I'd buy every single one of those items. Disappointing.
As I mentioned yesterday, the ratings were up by 12 percent. Disappointingly, Detroit finished second behind Chicago. Also, more people in Detroit watched the Michigan State Spartans lose in a bowl game than watched the Red Wings win the Winter Classic.
More Detroit television viewers go Green than Red
Looks like Hockeytown was really Spartytown on New Year's Day.
The Winter Classic hockey game, shown locally on WDIV Channel 4, between the Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks had a 10.5 rating and a 20% share in Detroit. That translates to 203,000 households.
During pretty much the same time slot, the Capital One Bowl between MSU and Georgia aired on WXYT Channel 7. It beat out the Wings, drawing a 15.2 rating and a 28.3% share. That's roughly 293,000 households.
How many households in Detroit were watching the CBC feed instead of the NBC feed? That would be nice to know.
Here's the breakdown.
Top 10 Metered Markets:
1. Chicago 11.8/21
2. Detroit 10.5/20
3. Buffalo 10.1/20
4. St. Louis 5.3/10
5. Pittsburgh 4.4/8
6. Denver 4.2/10
7. Providence 3.5/7
8. Indianapolis 3.4/6
9. West Palm Beach 3.3/6
10. Orlando 3.2/5
Indianapolis, my hometown, finished eighth, pretty good for a city without an NHL team. Boston and New York aren't in the top 10. Those towns might be involved in the next Winter Classic. Of course maybe those two cities weren't "metered."
Friday, January 02, 2009
More Winter Classic coverage
Many players, fans, journalists, and bloggers raved about the second Winter Classic. Reviews have been mostly positive, and there are so many from which to chose, but this was one of my favorites.
Adam Proteau of The Hockey News:
By the time the first puck dropped – with an outdoor temperature of 31.9 degrees Fahrenheit – the fans’ pent-up energy was coursing through the stands like a virus everyone intended to contract.
And from there, the Wings and Blackhawks put on a fast-paced, spirited, wholly entertaining on-ice show that was at once markedly physical and yet thankfully not filled with over-the-top goon theatrics.
It was the best the NHL had to offer: two superbly skilled teams swept up by a playoff atmosphere and rivalry steeped in tradition and mutual loathing. It was a back-and-forth affair featuring all kinds of expected talent displays and even some unexpected ones (most notably a wraparound goal that, if only for a millisecond, made Hawks enforcer Ben Eager look like the second coming of Doug Gilmour).
The TV ratings for this year's outdoor contest between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks increased 12 percent over last year's.
Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The Detroit Red Wings’ 6-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks yesterday at Wrigley Field topped last year’s National Hockey League outdoor game by 12 percent in preliminary television ratings.
Ratings points are the percentage of the estimated 111.3 million U.S. households with televisions that watched the broadcast. Preliminary local ratings were 11.8 in Chicago and 10.5 in Detroit, according to Nielsen data.
Also, to clear something up from yesterday's blog entry.
I wholeheartedly disagree with the announcer who said the wind pushed Pavel Datsyuk when he scored the goal.
To say he got a boost from the wind is hard to believe. Datsyuk has had similar goals scored where he's split the defense. It wasn't the wind. It was talent and athleticism.
Anyway I could go on forever about how cool, literally and figuratively, these outdoor games are. There's just gotta be one next year too, and I can't wait.
Oh well, I guess I will. Tomorrow my sports calender is full anyway: Hoosiers at Iowa, Sacramento at Pacers, Colts at San Diego, and Red Wings at Minnesota. Hey now, there's an outdoor match-up, Hockeytown vs. The State of Hockey!
Adam Proteau of The Hockey News:
By the time the first puck dropped – with an outdoor temperature of 31.9 degrees Fahrenheit – the fans’ pent-up energy was coursing through the stands like a virus everyone intended to contract.
And from there, the Wings and Blackhawks put on a fast-paced, spirited, wholly entertaining on-ice show that was at once markedly physical and yet thankfully not filled with over-the-top goon theatrics.
It was the best the NHL had to offer: two superbly skilled teams swept up by a playoff atmosphere and rivalry steeped in tradition and mutual loathing. It was a back-and-forth affair featuring all kinds of expected talent displays and even some unexpected ones (most notably a wraparound goal that, if only for a millisecond, made Hawks enforcer Ben Eager look like the second coming of Doug Gilmour).
The TV ratings for this year's outdoor contest between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks increased 12 percent over last year's.
Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The Detroit Red Wings’ 6-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks yesterday at Wrigley Field topped last year’s National Hockey League outdoor game by 12 percent in preliminary television ratings.
Ratings points are the percentage of the estimated 111.3 million U.S. households with televisions that watched the broadcast. Preliminary local ratings were 11.8 in Chicago and 10.5 in Detroit, according to Nielsen data.
Also, to clear something up from yesterday's blog entry.
I wholeheartedly disagree with the announcer who said the wind pushed Pavel Datsyuk when he scored the goal.
To say he got a boost from the wind is hard to believe. Datsyuk has had similar goals scored where he's split the defense. It wasn't the wind. It was talent and athleticism.
Anyway I could go on forever about how cool, literally and figuratively, these outdoor games are. There's just gotta be one next year too, and I can't wait.
Oh well, I guess I will. Tomorrow my sports calender is full anyway: Hoosiers at Iowa, Sacramento at Pacers, Colts at San Diego, and Red Wings at Minnesota. Hey now, there's an outdoor match-up, Hockeytown vs. The State of Hockey!
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Another Classic
Another classic Winter Classic. Truly amazing. Kudos to the NHL for staging another outstanding outdoor game.
It was truly a great game today. Made all the better by the Red Wings coming back from a 3-1 deficit to win it, 6-4.
I don't know why the Wings got down early. If I had to guess it was because they were visiting team at the Winter Classic and the hometown crowd's enthusiasm carried over to the Blackhawks. Or maybe, as Dan Cleary stated, it was the head wind the the Wings had to battle against. James Mirtle noticed that too.
Very nice goal by Pavel Datsyuk. I don't know about any wind-assistance here, but the majority of the goals were scored with the wind at a team's back.
NBC call:
CBC call:
Pavel Datsyuk's goal was beautiful. It's a shame some hockey writers and bloggers think there's no artistry in hockey.
Reading several articles tonight it seems many think there will be more Winter Classics in the future. Gary Bettman, NHL commissioner, hinted as much.
Wes Goldstein:
In that respect, the NHL got all that it could have hoped in what now seems likely to be an annual event on the league's calendar, shoehorning itself into a day traditionally meant for college football and coming up with an entertaining contest that actually stood on its own merits.
Scott Burnside:
It (the NHL) has hit on a signature event that should continue to draw the casual fan for years to come, regardless of where the game goes.
Bettman predicted that the number of teams interested in hosting an outdoor game would grow and that the insistence with which teams would pursue the event likely will grow, as well.
The league is expected to seize on the successes of the first two Winter Classics to establish a bid process not unlike that which determines hosting the All-Star Game and the entry draft. Teams and cities will have to put together a plan outlining why they deserve to host the game.
The only criticism, and it's very minor, were the announcers who kept saying, "the Cup goes through Detroit." Once is enough. I'm a Red Wings fan, and I got tired of hearing it. I imagine all Blackhawks fans did as well. Other than that, while not great, the broadcast of the game was fine. Some fans have been far more critical of NBC's broadcast than me.
It was truly a great game today. Made all the better by the Red Wings coming back from a 3-1 deficit to win it, 6-4.
I don't know why the Wings got down early. If I had to guess it was because they were visiting team at the Winter Classic and the hometown crowd's enthusiasm carried over to the Blackhawks. Or maybe, as Dan Cleary stated, it was the head wind the the Wings had to battle against. James Mirtle noticed that too.
Very nice goal by Pavel Datsyuk. I don't know about any wind-assistance here, but the majority of the goals were scored with the wind at a team's back.
NBC call:
CBC call:
Pavel Datsyuk's goal was beautiful. It's a shame some hockey writers and bloggers think there's no artistry in hockey.
Reading several articles tonight it seems many think there will be more Winter Classics in the future. Gary Bettman, NHL commissioner, hinted as much.
Wes Goldstein:
In that respect, the NHL got all that it could have hoped in what now seems likely to be an annual event on the league's calendar, shoehorning itself into a day traditionally meant for college football and coming up with an entertaining contest that actually stood on its own merits.
Scott Burnside:
It (the NHL) has hit on a signature event that should continue to draw the casual fan for years to come, regardless of where the game goes.
Bettman predicted that the number of teams interested in hosting an outdoor game would grow and that the insistence with which teams would pursue the event likely will grow, as well.
The league is expected to seize on the successes of the first two Winter Classics to establish a bid process not unlike that which determines hosting the All-Star Game and the entry draft. Teams and cities will have to put together a plan outlining why they deserve to host the game.
The only criticism, and it's very minor, were the announcers who kept saying, "the Cup goes through Detroit." Once is enough. I'm a Red Wings fan, and I got tired of hearing it. I imagine all Blackhawks fans did as well. Other than that, while not great, the broadcast of the game was fine. Some fans have been far more critical of NBC's broadcast than me.
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