2004/2005 NHL Offseason

[Jesse James]

That's what I mean...  The players AND the league are what are making things unlucrative, and unfair, and generally uninteresting.  They both are to blame IMO.

I wish they'd open it up to kids who WANT to play.  I'd be amazed.

[Holographic Elvis]

It's all just showing off...  The peacocks are strutting.

The league's doing its thing, the players are doing theirs.  And in the end, both of them are the downfall of the NHL as a lucrative, fair, and entertaining entity.

Just one problem with that JJ, the league is not lucrative nor fair. Most of these teams are losing money due to the high salaries, I believe 75% of all revenue goes into salaries. Don't be surprised if a deal is not reached, that the owners will just say "screw it! we're opening the league up for the 2005-06 without the NHLPA. anyone who wants to play can do so on our terms, otherwise we'll be utilizing AHL and European players"

The league claims that they've lost so much money, but they haven't made those numbers nor their books public other than to have a person they hired (for over a quarter of a million dollars no less) crunch the numbers and shout them out to the world.  Let the PA see the books.  Forbes did a study and found the NHL lost far less.  So who's right and who's wrong?  The simple fact remains.  Gary Bettman has lead the NHL down a path of destruction with his misguided calculations and clouded visions.  The league overexpanded.  The on-ice product has gone to s--t.  Bettman simply wants a cap to save his job and to save the owners from themselves. 

[Morgbug]

OK, it ain't NHL, but the World Junior Championship final is on the tube right now.  Well, in Canada it is and I'd bet half the damn country is watching it, either at home or in a bar.  Is it on a US station?  Anyone know who won the bronze medal match?  Or who was even in the bronze medal match? 

The point being Bettman and the rest can try as hard as they like to make hockey important to the US, but it's not.  It is not baseball, it is not football and it is not basketball. 

Y'all don't grow up playing it.  Y'all don't have double header games on the tube on Saturday night.  You wouldn't have 50, 000+ people show up to an outdoor game in the ******* freezing weather. 

Y'all don't base your commercials on the tragedy that is the lockout

Don't get me wrong, those of you that love the game are more than welcome into the fold of hockey fans.  Just don't tell me there are cities in the US south that deserve hockey more than some half assed, hick town with a population of less than a million.  It's our game. 

I've been waiting to see if anyone posted on this all week, nada.  The US even made the semis.  Nothing. 

End of the second intermission:  Canada 6 Russia 1

[Scott]

It actually has gotten some decent press here locally but to be honest I have paid any attention.  I do catch the Golden Gophers and try and keep track of how the old High School does and that's about it right now.

Go Canada

[JesseVader08]

End of the second intermission:  Canada 6 Russia 1

Frick.  I wanted to watch this so bad and was too busy surfing here.  Thanks for the reminder Brent.  And I call myself a Canadian?   

Looks like we won!  Woo hoo!      That ought to shut those cocky Russians up for a year.

[Morgbug]

17" computer monitor beside a 13" TV.  Split the cable myself and ran it from the junction to this room.  Damn right I watched the game

Oh Canada!

[Jesse James]

I'm with Scott...  It's here, as in it is in the paper...  It's getting coverage, but I have all of 3 sports channels I think (ESPN 1, 2, and Fox Sports Pittsburgh).

If I've learned anything about ESPN, it's terrible for sports... 

And Fox Sports Pittsburgh plays our local High School games, a few US College games, and of course the Pen's games and some Baby Pens games.

I will say that I doubt any city in the south even mentions hockey at the moment though.  Nashville probably doesn't even have 2 pages for a sports section I'd think.

[Darth Paul]

I think that sums up hockey in the US.  Not enough people care.
They have World Cup games in Minnesota, the hockey hotbed of the US (and honourary 11th province).  The games, featuring Team USA, DON'T EVEN SELL OUT.   No idea if it was on TV, but I doubt it.
Ditto for the World Juniors.  The best-attended games are Canada's, with the arena full of fans who travelled south.  No TV.
2 awesome tournaments, one with the best pros and one with the best prospects.   Zero interest or coverage.
I'll never understand how owners figure they can make more money in Arizona with an empty arena and no TV than they could in Winnipeg with a  packed building and TV coverage that I can guarantee would have more viewers on a local station than a nationally televised game on ESPN...

[CorranHorn]

the US games were aired on ESPN2, which was great. some pretty good games especially against the Russians. congrats to Canada for beating those bums!

[Jesse James]

I remember Fox Sports Pittsburgh (I think?) aired World Cup because I watched it.   It was on at every bar I went to also because my girlfriend kept asking why Hockey was on...

[Darth Paul]

Well I'm glad to hear there is SOME TV coverage of the greatest game in the world down south.  I stand corrected on that point.

[Jesse James]

The other night FSP was airing old Stanley Cup games...  I loved watching those.  Finals with Minne in '91.  Great games.  They aired the last one on the night before NYE when I went out...  That was a wonderous game.

[DSJ™]

Sweet!   

 

[Scott]

The other night FSP was airing old Stanley Cup games...  I loved watching those.  Finals with Minne in '91.  Great games.  They aired the last one on the night before NYE when I went out...  That was a wonderous game.

That 91 Cup was awesome.  The North Stars finished with a losing record in the regular season and then beat the Blackhawks, Blues and Oilers.  It was a magical run only to get crushed by the Pens in the finals. 

1991-1992 was a great year for MN sports in general...Stanley Cup, World Series, Hosted the Super Bowl, US Open

[Morgbug]

91 was about the time I was going to Minne regularly.  We saw a bunch of Twins games and some regular season North Star games as well.  Had a nice sweatshirt from that year, wonder where it went?

Trivia tidbit from the World Junior Championships (not sure how true it is ) - there was more beer sold during the Canada games (not including any games in which Canada did not play) than there is during an entire season of NDSU hockey.  Pretty cool.  Eh?