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February 8th, 2004
12:12 pm - Comments
Hope everybody had a nice weekend. I am going to tackle a few comments in this one. It may get a little long but stick with me here. There is some good stuff up there that I am a little dissapointed did'nt spark more reaction but oh well.
Kinger- Oh my god man, get off your knees. R.J. is not the second coming man. You do not have to shill for him just because he is a Pittsburgh guy. The reality of it is you are supposed to play where you get drafted. The guy is pulling an Eric Lindros here. So if you defend R.J, you are defending Eric here too. Is there any doubt that Eric was a punk when he refused to play in the great white north. Why should we feel any diffrently about R.J. That being said, I thought I was pretty fair in the article I wrote bashing both the Nucks and R.J. I guess you did not think so. Burke is a toolbag. He is alot like Billy Beane of the Oakland Atheletics. He let the success he enjoyed in a small market get to his head. He thinks he can run his mouth off about any subject now that he has a winner in the Nucks. As far as playing in the AHL is concerned, I really do not think thats the best idea for him. There are tons of guys in the AHL on NHL only contracts. That means to play in the AHL they would have to cross the pickit lines. In the past some have done that, most notably Torey's favorite Pirate Keith Osik. But for the most part it will not happen which means the AHL will be severly watered down. All the Junior prospects will stay with thier Junior teams meaning he will be playing against retreads and midlevel prospects. It might be good just to get back on the ice but the talent level will be so skewed who knows what kind of development will be going on. I saw somewhere he was done with the U.S. National Team but I guess you have the inside info here. When do you hear people say that quotes were taken out of context???? When people say really stupid stuff just like the Kessler quote. There is no defendind that. It was just a really dumb thing to say.
Torey-Goff- I think the owners do know that the NFL CBA is the best one in sports. Its just impossible to get a players union to pass something like that after everybody has seen what it has done to the NFL. The best we can hope for is the NBA CBA which is bassicly the same except contracts are guranteed.
As far as expansion goes Bettman really had good intentions here. The franchise start up cost was redistributed directly to the owners which helped bail out teams like Ottawa, Buffalo, Calgary and the Pens. At first he was trying to expand in areas that love sports teams. That and areas that do not have pro sports teams that capture the public eye (ie: The Wild, Bluejackets and Preadators) When he expanded to the sunbelt Bettmen was going for the TV contract. He put franchises in huge markets like Pheonix, Miami, San Jose, Dallas the Carolinas. He wanted to be able to go to ESPN and say "Look were in all the major markets." The problem is ESPN did not care. That 120 million TV deal is the main reason hockey finnances are so bad. The NFL has a 2.2 billion dollar deal. When that funnels down to the teams they get 77 million dollars which is enough to cover payroll. When the NHL funnels down they get 6 million a team which basically means they cannot even pay their star player. The TV deal just kills the NHL. Expansion has diluted the talent level but not as much as you would think. Right now you are seeing the Mario-Wayne affect where a bunch a kids who grew up watching them are ending up in the NHL. There are tons of great players 18-25 in the NHL right now. (ie:Kovalchuck, Heatley, Nash and Spezza)
You hit it right on the head Torey. Hockey needs to change a few things to make it TV friendly and more high scoring. When the NFL was a running league the rules were changed to favor the pass. When runs were down in baseball they put in the DH. When points were down in the NBA they put in the three point line. Hockey has got to adapt. Purists say that will skew the game and maybe it will. You cannot compare Babe Ruth and ARod because of the juiced ball theory. But who cares if it is going to save the game.
The first thing they need to do is change camera angles. The last game I saw was from the Kasslings owners box whixh is practicly on the roof. However, I got to see the paterns on the ice and the dynamics of line changes in the NHL. The NHL is the only pro league where players change on the fly. Embrace that, show the casual fan why thats a big deal and how a bad change can effect the game. Show the team concept behind hockey and how if your not in the right spot your killing your team. The way it is now 1/3 of the screen is the crowd and bench, thats no good. Move the nets back. It creates better shooting angles all over the ice and increases the chance of a rap around goal as the forward can more effectivly use the net as a pick. Officals have to be more consistent. You could probably say that about any league but it is most evident in hockey. In the playoffs and the last 5 minutes of any game you never see penalties called. Either call it that way the whole game or call it down the streatch. You can't have lawlessness at certain times because the officals are affraid to impact the game. Goalie Gear is a joke. There is no where to shoot the puck. If your going to penalize forwards for illegal curves you have to crack down on goalies. In fact cut it down as much as possible to increase scoring. The two line pass is as good as gone so I won't even comment on that.
Lastly the NHL All Star game is the best in sports and gets underplayed. The skills competition should be a major event as it is the only one like it in sports. Yea the NBA has one too but the best players do not take part in it anymore. The best in hockey do. Play it up.
Thats it for now.
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Comments:
| From: (Anonymous) |
Date: February 8th, 2004 - 11:10 pm |
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OK sorry for not being here for all the action, I was at a Volleyball tournament outside Indianapolis the last couple days, anyways. As Im sitting here watching the NHL all star game, I said basically the same thing as Beard. The NHL all start game is pretty sweet, and in my opinion rivals the NBA (just b\c of the total lack of defense and offensive explosion) in entertainment value. Like you said, the equipment and rules need to change to get casual fans like myself involved in hockey. Ill watch the NHL playoffs as much as anyone, but regualr season is about as exciting as watching well I cant think of a good analogy of something boring, but you get my drift.
T-Barr
| From: (Anonymous) |
Date: February 9th, 2004 - 12:46 am |
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Volleyball
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who the fuck from penn hills plays volleyball. i thought you guys walked around and acted like you were black not from upper class california. yo is this guy even from pittsburgh. volleyball??? baffling
dylon
| From: (Anonymous) |
Date: February 9th, 2004 - 03:34 am |
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Beard, I wasn't on my knees over Umberger. I was stating the fact that he will get opportunity after oportunity cause of his first round status. Do I support this? Absolutely not. Morozov and the Pens are just an example. He was a first round who they still think will pan out. I wouldn't hold my breath. RJ is doing exactly what you called it - pulling a Lindros. Again, I do not support this. I was also critical of the Canucks. I didn't think I really went either way, but since I have to make things cut and dry...He should have signed. He is making a bad decision which will follow him around like a black cloud. In addition, I never said the AHL was great competition, I said that play would shake off some rust. Not playing is terrible for your hands and game sense, the A won't fix everything, but it will make up for not playing any games at all. And you're very right, the players in the A during the lockout will be average, maybe at best. Lastly, I never said that Umbergers quote was taken out of context, I'm saying YOU took the quote out of context. I read the article in the paper and then again in Pittsburghlive.com to be sure. It says "The Canucks have since offered Umberger 'Kessler Money,' Umberger said." Not "They offered me Kessler money" like you said he said. If you got that from some place else, I'm sorry, but I was just taking it from what I read. I didn't mean to get into a pissing match with you, but you seem to enjoy getting into it with EVERYTHING I say. Sorry for the delay, I had hockey all weekend again.
Kinger
| From: (Anonymous) |
Date: February 9th, 2004 - 07:48 am |
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yes
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now hockey thats a real sport. none of this volleyball crap
dylon
yea thats right thats all im posting all week. im protesting the west coast hippy penn hill guy that playes volleyball
| From: (Anonymous) |
Date: February 9th, 2004 - 05:18 pm |
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Re: yes
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Alright, initially I just want to reiterate the fact that I am not from Penn Hills, I went to Fox Chapel with the rest of these kids. Second of all I play club volleyball for The Ohio State University. Whatever insults you can give me, Ive heard all of them before, so unless its something ultra-creative you might as well keep it in your head.
T-Barr
| From: (Anonymous) |
Date: February 9th, 2004 - 06:13 pm |
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Re: yes
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Torey,
I love you, The Ohio State University and the sport of volleyball. Don't let the man get you down.
T Frank
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