Celebration, parade, flood

Celebration!
Congratulations to the 2007 -2008 Detroit Red Wings, this year's Stanley Cup champions. They went wire-to-wire as the best team in hockey. Truly impressive.

Parade!
My brother and I drove to Detroit and took part in the revelry. We had a blast! As a city Detroit receives a lot of criticism; it's not fair in my opinion. The people are hospitable, and every time I've visited I've had a lot of fun.





Flood!
So, the southern Indiana floods are the reason why this blog entry is at least a week late. I was involved with that for eight days the week before last. The damage was wide-ranging, but it seems Iowa and Wisconsin received the brunt of it. I really feel for the people in those states and Hoosiers who were affected.

So anyway, now, I can finally relax. My anxiousness rises when my team gets closer to their goal. And while I wasn't superstitious about posting during the Wings' Cup run, as evidenced early in the playoffs, by the time of final I couldn't handle absorbing all the information, processing it and writing about it in a coherent matter without crazy with nervousness. I needed time to detach myself from the process.
As an example: Game Four I went to my brother's house to watch the game. As soon as it came on he was all about Pittsburgh and Crosby. He wanted to see a close series. As a fan I understand that, but the Wings are MY team. I felt he was goading me, which I'm sure he probably was a bit. I had no stomach for it at all. Penguins score the first goal, my brother is whooping and hollering.
"You don't even care about hockey," I said. I expected him to support me and MY team. "If you're acting like that I'm leaving." And I did. Couldn't handle it.
See, with hockey, the best team doesn't always win. A flukey puck bounce, a ticky-tack penalty penalty call, a non-call or an injury can all lead to a momentum swing or even a whole game.
Anyway I'm not really happy unless my team is winning, by a lot. Especially in the final series. I can't be calm. That's at least one reason why I drink beer when watching a hockey game. It dulls the senses. Even then it's not a guarantee.
Seeing the Wings skating around with Cup, I thought of Bobby Knight's quote after his Indiana Hoosiers won it all 1976. "That should've been two."
It sounds presumptuous, but Hockeytown's brain trust thought they should've won last year too.


Anyway it's all Stanley Cup goodness now.
Congratulations to the Detroit Red Wings.

Nearing the two-month mark

Well it's the beginning of May, and I'm nearing my two-month anniversary of my boycott against ESPN broadcast products. It's hard to avert my eyes when I'm at sports bars, still it must be done. I think I'm better for it, and I am also happier.

The other day I was talking with members of an Indy Racing League team. They told me Fox Sports produced a Sports Science show, not just a spot, about IndyCars. Fox needed race footage from ESPN. Fox asked for it, and the four-letter network charged an exorbitant price because it's "in a pissing match" with Fox. Naturally, Fox balked at the larger-than-normal price. This featured Sports Science show would be a win-win scenario for the IRL and ESPN, but those in charge at the four-letter obviously don't see it that way.

Last month I posted that Robin Miller complained about the lack of IRL coverage on ESPN. I took his word for it and said there should be a symbiotic relationship between the two. The above example confirms my suspicion that there isn't.

It's logical to expand this thinking. If the four-letter did this to one league, it's bound to happen to others - like the NHL.

Links:
Boycott start post - http://auxlepli.blogspot.com/2008/03/espn-boycott-day-1.html
Indy Racing League - http://www.indycar.com/
Sports Science - http://msn.foxsports.com/sportscience
Robin Miller - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Miller_(journalist)
ESPN rant post - http://auxlepli.blogspot.com/2008/04/wealth-of-nhl-outlets-espn-rant.html

So why the change?

In an older blog entry, dated April 19, about Al Sobotka's banning, Tony Hagen questions why the changes from the NHL's stance from last year.

My question still remains, who complained? Why now? What prompted this rule to be issued? Is $ 10,000 really necessary?

Those are very good questions that need to be answered honestly and without Gary Bettman spin.
I posed a similar question too in my first blog about this octopi-matter.
The change seems rather arbitrary to me. There was probably little or no research done either.

More octopus matter

More and more comments about the octopus matter are appearing online.

Yesterday, George James Malik at mlive.com posted several story highlights.

From John Niyo at the Detroit News
The NHL's ban on Al Sobotka's pregame octopus swinging continues to get even more cumbersome. For Saturday's Game 2 against Colorado, standby referee Don Van Massenhoven was stationed at the zamboni entrance to handle the octopus(es) brought off the ice by the linesmen.
He describes the Cody McLeod incident and two more that were thrown from Saturday's game, and concludes ...
At some point, you'd think the NHL brass would come to their senses. But maybe that's just wishful thinking.
Photo from the article

Referee Don Van Massenhoven did the NHL's dirty work Saturday, leaving building manager Al Sobotka little to do but close the door on one of the fans' favorite traditions. Photo by Daniel Mears/The Detroit News

Malik highlighted the Denver Post's Adrian Dater's story, and also Helene St. James' story from the Detroit Free Press.
I posted James' story Sunday. Kudos to Malik for spotlighting Niyo's and especially Dater's. I forgot to check Denver papers, and Niyo's flew under my radar.

Most members of LetsGoWings.com are pretty perturbed about the banning and the McLeod incident.
One asked if McLeod should be fined for throwing an octopus, and another posted that if Red Wings fans are mad about the banning they should write the NHL. The address and phone number to League offices are listed in the thread.

At the CBS Sports online community a member started a thread titled, Fighting the Octopus Ban.

At YouTube.com I posted the McLeod lowlight from NBC's broacast.


The comments from the writers and fans in the articles and threads are well worth reading in my opinion.

Detroit, we have matter ...

Detroit Free Press cartoonist Mike Thompson ran another octopus twirling related blog with photos. This time he achieved Gary Bettman's worst fear - flying octopi-matter! Albeit it didn't cause any injuries and Thompson had to twirl it vigorously for several minutes before matter flew.
A Free Press writer calls the whole affair CSI: Hockeytown.

More comments about Saturday's octopus - McLeod incident

In the Free Press:
It was Cody McLeod who decided to shake a fist at Detroit's octopus tradition. While the NHL has forbidden the Wings from letting Zamboni driver Al Sobotka twirl any octopi on ice, the slimy creatures continue to land at the Joe. Several did Saturday, including the usual one timed to hit just as the national anthem ends. An earlier one had been cleared by a linesman; this one, McLeod decided to take care of. He skated over, picked it up, shook it toward the Wings bench while holding it clenched in his fist, then hurled it down the tunnel by the Avs' bench, forcing the usher to duck.

On the Sporting News comments section for the Red Wings - Avalanche game two I wrote this:
Cody McLeod should have been penalized, and since he wasn't, he should definitely be fined for his pre-game antics of retrieving, taunting with an octopus, and then throwing it into the stands. Al Sobotka, the Joe Louis Arena building operations manager, would have been fined $10,000 if he had done the same.
Currently I have a 73 percent approval rating from 11 votes.

Later another poster, mjdlynch, wrote this:
The NHL has to fine Cody McLeod $10k for shaking an octopus and throwing it into the Colorado bench.
If the rule is universal, then it must be applied to everyone. Al Sobotka most certainly would have been fined if he picked up an octopus, shook it in anyone's direction and threw it into the Avs's bench.
The NHL must step up and admit the rule is for everyone and not just against the most successful team in the league for the last twenty years.
Bettman has to fine McLeod or admit this rule is just against the Red Wings.
mjdlynch currently has an 89 percent approval rating from nine votes.

Fine McLeod now!

After the Red Wings - Avalanche game today Cody McLeod should receive the same fine that the NHL would level against Al Sobotka, the Joe Louis Arena building manger, if he retrieved and twirled an octopus. While McLeod didn't twirl the octopus, he did retrieve it and shook it at a Red Wings player. He didn't get the fine, but he should, and he should definitely have received a penalty for his antics. It was very unsportsmanlike.
The AP has the story, check the notes at the end of the story.

After an octopus was thrown on the ice before the game, Colorado's Cody McLeod picked it up, shook it in the direction of Detroit's Dallas Drake and threw it off the ice toward the Avs' dressing room. Why? "Just to let them know they were going to be in a battle," McLeod said. The NHL has threatened to fine the Red Wings if Zamboni driver Al Sobotka picks up octopi on the ice and twirls them, following a tradition in Detroit.

Wattsa octopus matter?

Mike Thompson, a Detroit Free Press cartoonist, posted a blog entry proving octopus matter doesn't fly off the handle, unlike the way Gary Bettman's NHL decisions do.

As the photos in the blog entry or below show, whether twirled fast or slow no matter flies from the octopus. The last photo clearly shows a plain, white shower curtain.











Mitch Albom, a Detroit Free Press journalist who is unbelievable writing NHL articles again, chimed in about the octopus matter in the first Red Wings - Avalanche game in round two.

... the other when they showed Al Sobotka taking the octopus he'd been told not to swing on the ice and swinging it in the tunnel instead.

Good for Al. He turned a stupid NHL edict into instant nostalgia.

And in yet another Free Press article, the writer references the matter as Octopus-gate.

The game marked the Wings' second at the Joe since being slapped with a octopus-twirling ban by the NHL late in round one.

But the saga of Octopus-Gate came up when a giant specimen landed on the ice in the usual spot; with Al Sobotka denied his right to twirl, it was up to linesman Jean Morin to shovel away the creature.

Here's to hoping Bettman's NHL will reverse the ludicrous decision.

More Sobotka, octopi support

Al Sobotka, Joe Louis Arena building manger, received more support from writers, bloggers and fans who think the Sobotka ban is outrageously ridiculous.

The Detroit Free Press ran a photo essay of Al Sobotka. Photos and captions below are courtesy of the Detroit Free Press and show Sobotka with octopi.


Joe Louis Arena building manager Al Sobotka twirls an octopus that was thrown on this ice during the singing of the national anthem before the Red Wings-Blackhawks game in Detroit on April 7. The Wings went on to a 7-2 victory.


Joe Louis Arena building manager Al Sobotka was busy picking up hats after the third Henrik Zetterberg goal in the third period of the Blue Jackets game on March 19, 2008.


Joe Louis Arena building manager Al Sobotka swings the second of two octopi that were thrown onto the ice during the Red Wings win over the Blackhawks on Jan. 20, 1995 in Detroit.


Al the octopus and his namesake, Al Sobotka, at Joe Louis Arena before the start of Game 2 of the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals between the Wings and Capitals.


Al Sobotka picks up and swings a octopus that was thrown on the ice of Joe Louis Arena in the third period of the Wings-Blues playoff game on May 3, 2002.


Red Wings Zamboni driver Al Sobotka picks up a octopus and swings it in the air prior to the start of first period between the Red Wings and the Blues in Game 5 of the second round of the NHL playoffs on May 12, 2002 at Joe Louis Arena.

Greg Wyshynski with Yahoo! sports wrote an article with two pro-octopi twirling videos on YouTube.com and another petition to sign for those who disagree with the ban.

Even Mitch Albom is back writing hockey articles again, at least for the playoffs. Imagine that. In yesterday's column he calls the new octopus rule "dumb."

Never mind that, for years, Al has gone onto the ice after an octopus is thrown during the national anthem or after a goal. And for years, he has had to pick the octopus up. And for years, he has walked off the ice, octopus in hand, and before disappearing, he has swung the thing over his head as fans cheered. Hey, it’s a greasy job.

He later compares the NHL to the No Fun League, the NFL. As I read some place else the NHL is now the No Humour League.

Today Red Wings TV posted videos of Sobotka swinging an octopus in front of the Fox Theater and Belle Tire
I'm sure the Wings will show them during the game tonight.

Octopus's garden no longer

The Joe Louis Arena is no longer an Octopus's garden. I think I'm gonna be sad.

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog entry the NHL banned Al Sobotka, JLA's building operations manager, from retrieving and twirling an octopus when a fan throws one on the ice.
James Mirtle is tracking this too. Today, he posted Frank Brown's comment from last year about thrown octopi.

Frank Brown, the league’s vice president for media relations, said: “Every so often, an octopus slips out of someone’s hands, and Al is right there to take care of the matter. And he cannot be blamed if, as it tries to break free from Al’s grasp, the octopus lifts Al’s arm and twirls itself in the air.”
— The New York Times, May 2007

What changed in nearly a year? Pressure from Brian Burke?
The banning is a shame, and it does make me sad.
Sobotka has a lot of history with the Wings, and the Wings have a lot of history with octopi. Versus calls it a cult following.
A LetsGoWings.com member started a petition pleading the NHL not to fine Sobotka.
Hopefully the NHL will reverse this recent decision.

More Bettman-regime fascism

Fascism = extreme right-wing, authoritarian, or intolerant views or practice.
The NHL's latest decision - banning Al Sobotka from retrieving and twirling a thrown octopus from the Joe Louis Arena ice - certainly seems intolerant and authoritarian to me. From the linked Detroit Free Press article:

In an e-mail to the Free Press, NHL spokesman Frank Brown gave this explanation: "Because matter flies off the octopus and gets on the ice when he does it." The Wings wouldn't comment.

Ducks general manager Brian Burke complained about Sobotka's swinging last year. Before Friday's game, an octopus landed on the ice, as usual, and Nashville defenseman Greg Zanon whacked it aside with his stick.

The NHL's favoritism toward Brian Burke rankles me to the core. I'll save that for another blog entry.
The Free Press has more today.

UPDATED: Dr. Steve O'Shea director of the Earth & Oceanic Sciences Research Institute at the Auckland University of Technology told me in an e-mail, "There's no 'matter' that could fly off and cause a hazard to players, but should a twirled octopus rupture and send its guts over the face or clothes of a player I can imagine there'd be an element of yuckiness." True, but I imagine avoiding yuckiness isn't the primary concern of hockey players as they dodge hip checks and flying pucks.

Other fascistic examples just this past season - the heavy-handed institution of the RBK Edge jerseys and dismissing an 84-game schedule option.
Many fans, and more importantly the players, have raised concerns over the new sweaters.
Yet in Gary Bettman's reign, the NHL stood by the new easy-to-tear jerseys. Bettman claimed just one player liked them. Many players complained about them. The Washington Capitals players received all new configurations of the new sweaters. Check toward the bottom of this link, it's titled Autumn Sweaters. More complaints are about them here, but now all links aren't available.
Bettman also frowned upon the Red Wing organization's suggestion of an 84-game schedule for next season. This would have allowed every team to visit every other team's arena at least once in a season, while extending the season two games and trimming the pre-season by the same number.
Sometimes its not even the choices Bettman's NHL makes, it's Bettman's know-it-all attitude and the way he forces his choices unilaterally that perturbs fans, players and many others in my opinion. The decisions and in some cases the lies, spins and cover-ups to make them palatable, certainly seem fascistic to me. Hardly fantastic.

Wealth of NHL outlets, ESPN rant

Fans of the NHL have it pretty good in my opinion, despite ESPN's hatred of the League.
I was in the Philadelphia area the other morning and watched SportsRise again.
Another NHL player bump, and the show started out with about 10 minuets of a recent Flyers - Capitals playoff game. Outstanding. This is what I'd like to see for every game, especially during the playoffs. Versus should have this amount of in-depth coverage. Every sports network should, especially one that bills itself as the world wide leader.
Anyway, about the same time last week when I was raving about the improvements to NHL.com, Eric McErlain wrote an article that the NHL has a wealth of outlets. I had meant to comment on all he did, but instead focused on NHL.com. He has some really good points, and I agree with him.
By the way, the NHL.tv improvements there are pretty impressive. That's where the NHL made the upgrades as far as I can tell. Seven channels of NHL goodness. I have two complaints, and they're pretty minor - commercials and the look and feel. If the advertisements were of a beer I liked, they'd be easier to swallow. Also if the look and feel were more Mac-like, then I wouldn't complain about that at all.
Anyway there are many outlets for the NHL besides online - Fox regional networks, Versus, and NBC in the states. Also there's CenterIce and the NHL Network. I'm sure there is a wealth of coverage in Canada already. In any case, I'm tired of many fans who say the NHL should be back on ESPN. With the wealth of other outlets the League doesn't need the four-letter network.
Excuse my while I rant, but the League went with two other American networks post-lockout - NBC and Versus. Versus caters more to the League's liking. Versus, then OLN, offered more money than ESPN, if it even did. I can't remember now and would have to do some research. Research I've done numerous times, each time I read fans advocating the League go back to the four-letter network. By the way, three ESPN employees - Colin Cowherd, Mike Greenberg and president George Bodenheimer, routinely ridicule the NHL. Many more of its employees do too. This obviously starts from the top and continues all the way down. The company's employees make it a very harsh environment for the NHL. Given that, it doesn't make sense to me why the League would want ESPN to broadcast it's games. Sure it's in more homes, but that isn't good enough. It has to be willing to show games and showcase the League in other ways, which it didn't. A classic example of this but in another sport is the IRL on ESPN. That should be a symbiotic relationship, but I bet it isn't in IRL's view. I know it isn't to IRL fan and writer Robin Miller. I heard him the other day with JMV on WNDE that during a recent SportsCenter the talking heads spent all of 44 seconds mentioning Graham Rahal's win. The talking heads then went back to NFL coverage. IRL is in season now, the NFL is not. This is a classic example and there are many others of how the four-letter network treats leagues it doesn't like or favor. This is the same way the it treats the NHL now and when it broadcasted NHL games. The network ditched NHL2Night in 2003 - pre-lockout and when it broadcasted NHL games. Add to all this ESPN would rather showcase its own talking heads and make them celebrities, than cover sports in a meaningful way, there is absolutely NO reason for the NHL to go back to ESPN. Pardon me; rant completed.
Anyway, it's been more than a month since I started my ESPN boycott. Aside from occasionally seeing it when I channel surf, or when I am at a sports bar, I'm doing pretty well. I am missing some baseball games and IRL races, so that hurts. Still, hockey takes precedence, and I will continue with my boycott. I'd be more upset if I watched it than if I don't.

I did it again

Last night I visited a different Buffalo Wild Wings than the one I usually visit. I called the south-side one, and they said they don't get theFSN Detroit feed. So I'm guessing they just have the baseball package.
So at this B-dubs amazingly hockey, the Frozen Four, was on at least two of the TVs. I got there early before the Red Wings game started. I picked my place at the bar, and said that TV needs to be changed to the Red Wings - Predators game. It was on the Masters, which was also on the big projection screen in the center of the bar. So it's not like somebody would miss out on that TV being changed.
Anyway the bartender a bit later informs me it's programed to change to Versus at seven. Sweet. They knew of Versus. At seven it didn't automatically switch. I didn't think it would, but you never know.
So I order my Canadian and am ready for Detroit Red Wings hockey!
In the first, at least until Johan Franzen's goal, I was worried a bit. The Wings looked extremely flat. The Predators came out strong and took it to the Wings with most of the play occurring in Detroit's defensive zone. Finally in the third things turned around with a lucky bounce or a bad non-call depending on your point of view.
Game 2 will probably be tougher for the Wings.
Anyway by the end of the game, at least three TVs, including a large projection one, were showing the Wings - Predators game. Johnny Hockeyseed strikes again!
.

I did that

To be honest central Indiana, CenIn, isn't much better than southern Indiana, SoIn, when it comes to hockey viewing.
Indianapolis has the Ice, but that's probably a very small fraction of the populous here in basketball-land.
Tonight, the start of the 2008 NHL playoff I visited the southside Buffalo Wild Wings. I love that place. One, they serve Molson Canadian, on tap!. Two, they change the station to hockey games for me.
Previously when I've been there I watched games on NBC. Tonight I went there for the reasons stated above. Walking in I was surprised to see hockey on two different screens. I didn't get much play at one end of the bar, close to a hockey screen, but far from ideal. So I moved to the other end. I watched for a bit and realized it was the NHL Network and not Versus.
"Can you change this screen to Versus?" I asked pointing to one of the TVs near me.
"What's that?" asked the bartender.
"What are looking for?" asked the manager.
"I'm looking for the Penguins - Ottawa game," I said.
OK, this is B-dubs. They should know what Versus is. It's freaking Indianapolis! Sheesh!!
Anyway, after trying the FSN Pittsburgh feed, which they don't get, the manager finds the Versus feed for me.
I'm happy!
Previously, only the NHL Network was on and most there were watching either the Cubs game or the Tigers game. When I left at the end of the second period, the Versus game was on at least three different screens, one that was a huge projection screen. I did that. I was a result of that change. Just call me Johnny Hockeyseed.

So yeah, the Tigers - Red Sox game was on at B-dubs, and it was the FSN Detroit feed. So tomorrow that might be the place to watch the Red Wings - Predators game. Will Indy receive the FSN Detroit feed when the Wings are playing? I hope so.
By the way, the Senators seem lifeless. This could be a sweep unless the Sens find something that will motivate them.

NHL.com getting better

The NHL the coolest game on earth. It also has the coolest website of any other sport, and it's getting better.
In an AP story, Ira Podell writes of the improvements coming to NHL.com
"Come Wednesday, hockey fans will have an online place to go for everything NHL and it won't just be a one-stop shop. This innovative digital creation will feature seven "channels" of options and it'll all be free."
It's easy to be a cynic, and NHL ratings are down. The TV ratings yes, I wonder what the Internet ratings are though? In this year's college basketball tournament the ratings are down too. Many say it's because the games are available online.
Hockey ratings might have shifted too; Center Ice is available online.
Now Podell reports this.
"We know from market research that our fans are the most Web-savvy of all the sports leagues," said Andre Mika, the NHL vice president of broadband and new media production. "We also know, compared to an ESPN fan, that our fans are worth a 40 percent premium over some of the regular sports fans because of their ability to use technology."
I listen to Red Wings games frequently. In the past, since 1999, I listened to games on NHL.com, but earlier this season I found WXYT, which carries Wings games in Detroit, on iTunes radio.
If I wanted to listen to Detroit Tigers games online, MLB.com would charge me.
NHL.com is a great website - I can listen to games for free, after the game I can see highlights, I can see pre- and post- game interviews, download audio interviews, keep up with stats, compare stats, read feature stories, read news stories, and many more things there. I can even connect with other hockey fans, like on other social networking sites.
In a word it's great! Wednesday it reads as if it will be even better. I can't wait.

Surprise, Vindication

Well the surprise is Anaheim Ducks GM disagreed with Adam Proteau's term limit idea for the NHL's czar disciplinarian.
Yes I'm using surprise facetiously. Burke is shady, especially when it comes to his relationship with the League office. The shadiness seems to work both ways too.

Patrick Kane, Nicklas Lidstrom and some sports writers vindicated my theory about yesterday's game.
Chelios' penalty gave Hawks lead, momentum, but he claims Kane dove

Now all I need is somebody to agree with me about Sidney Crosby's uncalled cross-checks against Martin Straka.
Maybe the cross-check threshold is four before the referees call a penalty.

Inconsistencies

Anybody watching or listening to the Red Wings - Blackhawks game tonight?
I ask because this game represents a classic example of referee inconsistencies.
In the first period Patrick Sharp hit Brian Rafalski. I thought it was a clean hit, but Rafalski took exception to it. So off goes the Detroit defenseman.
About 15 seconds later, Chris Chelios repeatedly cross checked Patrick Kane. Repeatedly. I'm no expert, but I would've called a penalty too. Chelios, needless to say, didn't think it should have been a penalty.
So I mention this because on Sunday Sidney Crosby repeatedly, REPEATEDLY, cross-checked Martin Straka. The refs didn't call a penalty, even though they were in viewing distance.
Double standard!
I hate it.
Hawks up 5-2. I'm not liking that either.

Props to Sporting News Radio

Besides Fox Sports Radio, Sporting News Radio is another viable alternative to the four-letter network.
Sporting News Radio gives complete NHL scores too, and the talking heads don't seem to shy away from hockey chatter.
An example: On Todd Wright's show last night he talked about the Buffalo Sabres. As my brother and I were driving home from a family dinner, I turned up the radio because I was excited about hearing hockey talk on the radio.
"Oh wait hold on," I said and turned up the volume. I was excited about hearing hockey talk on the radio, and mentioned to my brother I don't hear much on it.
We talked some more and eventually he's like, "I bet you like Mike & Mike."
"I love them," I said. "But now I'm boycotting them, ESPN radio and all ESPN channels."
He gave me some grief, but I explained my reasoning which I've mentioned in earlier blog posts.
"What about when they show Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri at number three on their Dynamic Duo list?" he asked.
I thought about it a moment, and something didn't jive.
"That's Fox Sports Net," I said. " I saw their Batman and Robin promos when I was watching the Pacers game on FSN Indiana up in Indy."
"Oh yeah, that's right," he said. "ESPN use to broadcast NHL games right?"
"Yeah."
"They (NHL) use to be on Fox."
"Yeah, they're still on Fox's regional networks," I said. "But at least they don't have the glowing puck anymore. I hated that."
So anyway another good show I listen during my commute is David Stein's. He talks about the postives in sports and how sports influences a person's life in a postive way. I like that show quite a bit.
One Sporting News Radio personality I really miss is Papa Joe Chevalier.
I listened to him in the mid-90s, when SNR was known as One on One Sports. I remember Papa Joe talking a lot about hockey. He'd compare the Red Wings to the Soviet teams. This was when the Wings skated the Russian Five on a regular basis, and I was just a budding NHL fan then. I gravitated to this comparison because in my mind it harkened back to the Miracle on Ice. There was a tangible connection, but I didn't know it then. Slava Fetisov played on the Wings and was a member of the 1980 Soviet team. I was pulling for the Red Wings in the 1995 Stanley Cup Final, but the Russian Five probably cemented my hockey love for the Wings.
After an Internet search, I found Chevalier is on the air in Las Vegas, but I don't think his show is syndicated now. If it is I still haven't heard him in ages. I mean who couldn't love Bite Me Wednesdays?

Links:
Russian Five; http://youtube.com/watch?v=wzG1M05nUps
Papa Joe Chevalier; http://www.papajoetalk.com/
Todd Wright; http://radio.sportingnews.com/shows/todd_wright/index.html
David Stein; http://radio.sportingnews.com/shows/david_stein/index.html
Sporting News Radio; http://radio.sportingnews.com/
Miracle on Ice; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_on_Ice

Philly sports coverage

In the Philadelphia area, Comcast Sports Net is rockin'!
I watched the highlight show, SportsRise, there this morning.
Anyway the show covers the local teams really well. They spent about six minutes reviewing and showing highlights of the Sixers - Celtics game from the night before.
They then showed Phillies highlights of spring training games.
After that, they spent about three minutes previewing tonight's Flyers - Rangers game. That's previewing, not reviewing, and that was amazing to me.
In those three minutes they showed highlights of previous Flyers games and interviews with two players about the upcoming game. The show's camera person interviewed the players at the train station yesterday before they boarded a train to New York. That was cool, and something different than the average locker room interview.
More hockey coverage included out of town game highlights from New York and Montreal. Highlights, not just the scores.
The show started with a Flyers player bump too.
Overall it was impressive hockey coverage. It's nice to see what a network invested in the NHL can do.

Discipline Czar term limits

Adam Proteau of The Hockey News writes term limits of the job Colin Campbell holds should be limited to three years. Most interestingly to me is this:
"To me, suspensions should be automatic for certain reprehensible acts, regardless of (a) a player’s intent, (b) his history of crossing the line, and (c) any regret he may have for his actions.
If the rules are the rules, there should be absolutely no wiggle room for interpretation."
I completely agree.
Not having such rules in place is part of what led to the Chris Pronger - Chris Simon furor.
Another choice quote.
"The uproar after Pronger’s latest, too-lenient suspension proved beyond all doubt fans and media are truly at the end of their rope when it comes to cutting the league slack over rule enforcement, and are demanding a better setup as soon as possible. "
Proteau is right, it's time for Campbell to go.
However Proteau is wrong when he writes Campbell is bias free. I disagree with Proteau on this point. Pronger's suspension vis-à-vis Simon's is a classic example that Campbell isn't.

ESPN Badness, FSN Goodness

Bad as in not good, not bad as in good.
So I've been pretty quiet about the boycott. All is going well on that front, as I'm now into my second week.
There is one other thing, or should I say person, who I miss. That's Coach Knight. I'd love to hear his analysis on there. I've read he does a great job. Still, it's not enough to change my resolve.
Anyway the other night I was listening to a Red Wings game online as I watched the Pacers game on FSN Indiana. That was a good night. The Wings won after trailing, Henrik Zetterberg scored three unanswered goals and the Pacers won. A rare feat for them these days.
Watching FSN that night reminded me, FSN Final Score is much better than SportsCenter. With FSN's highlight show, the talking heads aren't the story. Also the show makes it a point to show all highlights, not just the ones hockey-haters choose.
More badness from ESPN, and it pains me to write that it's about its website, the one thing I like about ESPN.
Check out this link.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=280315017
Observant people, and I must thank a LetsGoWings.com member for bringing it to my attention, will notice the photo caption is wrong.
It reads, "New Jersey Devils defenseman Sheldon Brookbank, left, congratulates Colorado Avalanche goalie Martin Brodeur ..."


Wow! When did Brodeur start playing for the Avs? I missed that trade.
Could be an honest mistake. Everybody makes them. I do. You do. Nobody is perfect. Most publications have a mistake in them somewhere, especially ones that deal with news and ones on deadlines.
Then again, as I posted on the Lets Go Wings, it's probably the photographer's error. Still I would think somebody at the "world-wide leader" would catch it. The page was posted nearly a week ago, and it's still that way.
On the other hand maybe it's not the photographer's mistake. The photographer who took it an AP photographer, and the AP is very reputable.
I could live with it being ESPN's mistake, I like that. It's easy to understand too since it's ESPN and hockey.
This isn't the first ESPN, hockey mistake that was brought to my attention or that I've noticed on my own. It is ESPN after all, and most people who work there don't seem to give a hoot and holler about hockey. It's been proven again.