Hockey Night In DSP

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 4:01 pm

well...

good points.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 4:06 pm

Speaking of good points, Mark Cuban makes a few regarding the NHL:

http://www.thestar.com/article/171418

Cuban is a sports oxymoron: A common-sense franchise owner.

Take care,
PK

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:18 pm

Sudz wrote:
Feanor wrote:Great argument.
i'm a purist...what else do i need for an argument?

As the article (did you read it?) says, if you really were a purist like Ken Dryden, you would want to restore the balance between shooter and goalie that has been so distorted in the last 20 years by the enormous inflation in goalie equipment.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:20 pm

A very interesting read regarding the NHL's lack of identity these days:

http://www.insidehockey.com/columns/338

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:25 pm

As someone who works in and loves open-wheel racing, the parallels between the troubles with the NHL and the troubles in American open-wheel racing are more common than one might think:

Both hurt by politics
NHL: Labor strife and lockout
OW: Rival leagues in North America

Both have regional pockets of popularity
NHL: Canada, upper Midwest of U.S.
OW: Midwest of U.S.

Both receiving scorn from media

Both have leaders who are lightning rods for criticism, regardless of what they do
NHL: Gary Bettman
OW: Tony George

Both are more exciting products than their more popular seasonal brethren
NHL: NBA
OW: NASCAR

Both sports' showpieces are iconic, longtime worldwide sporting competitions
NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs
OW: Indianapolis 500

Both are losing fans. Both have organizations filled with dedicated people trying like hell to get the fans back.

Sad, but true.

Take care,
PK

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:29 pm

pk500 wrote:Speaking of good points, Mark Cuban makes a few regarding the NHL:

http://www.thestar.com/article/171418

Cuban is a sports oxymoron: A common-sense franchise owner.

Take care,
PK

He makes a very good point... the NHL really should tout their TV numbers for both countries, and say how large their "North American TV auidence" is rather than get hammered all the time for the low numbers on Versus.

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 6:49 pm

How about that beating the Blues put on the Ducks last night! They are slowly but surely ruining their top 10 2007 draft pick status....

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 11:55 am

http://lowetide.blogspot.com/2007/01/news-it-out.html

I was just thinking the same thing Tuesday night watching the Oil play Minnesota. The Oil has no one who will punish people who take runs at Hemsky, especially with Staios and Moreau out of the lineup.

The Oil misses my boy Laraque more than ever, especially since he's actually scoring in Phoenix.

Take care,
PK

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 12:37 pm

Feanor wrote:
Sudz wrote:
Feanor wrote:Great argument.
i'm a purist...what else do i need for an argument?
As the article (did you read it?) says, if you really were a purist like Ken Dryden, you would want to restore the balance between shooter and goalie that has been so distorted in the last 20 years by the enormous inflation in goalie equipment.

all the equipment has advanced....

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:07 pm

Sudz wrote:all the equipment has advanced....

True, but stick technology has advanced in materials and construction, not size. Modern sticks don't make shots more accurate; they just make them a hell of a lot faster. If anything, graphite and composite sticks make shots less accurate because the sticks have less "feel" in the blade and lower shaft.

I would ban composite sticks and make all-wood sticks mandatory the very first day I became NHL commissioner. They are hurting the game, big time, for a lot of reasons.

One, they break much more easily than wood, and there's no indication of impending destruction. The sticks don't splinter or weaken before breaking. There might be a hairline crack in the composite, and then the stick just explodes when you connect on a one-timer.

How many times do we see that per night with composites compared to wooden sticks? A lot more.

Second, composites add anywhere from 3 to 10 mph to the average shot, studies have shown. Does hockey need faster shots? Hell, no.

One of the reasons goalies claim they need Michelin Man padding is because so many players have 100-mph shots now due to composite sticks. Slow the shots, and the cries for bigger padding can fall on more deaf ears.

Plus the slower shots will give defensemen and crease-living forwards like Ryan Smyth just that much more time to get their heads out of the way of shots, reducing facial and eye injuries.

Third, composites are ruining the breakout passing games of many players. Pucks bounce off one-piece stick blades like super balls off cinder-block walls due to the lack of feel created by excessive stiffness. I can't tell you how many times I've seen breakouts ruined by pucks bouncing off sticks after a hard, cross-ice pass.

Fourth, composites are very expensive, upward of $200 per stick. That's fine for an NHL player, but what about the parent of a bantam who's begging to have composite sticks just like his favorite NHL player or the rich guy's son on the team? That's a financial backbreaker for many families already struggling to shell out four figures for their kid to play every year.

Back to goalie equipment. Goalie gear is more protective these days, but it's also MUCH bigger. It amazes me that in this era of Kevlar and other impact-absorbing technologies that goalie padding can't be as small or smaller than it was during the days of horse-hair stuffed leather goalie pads in the 60s.

If goalie equipment can nearly double in size, can we also halve the size of the puck to keep the balance between shooters and goalies equal?

Take care,
PK

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:21 pm

this is making my brain hurt...

and

do you think Garth Snow wears an oversized suit?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:40 pm

Sudz wrote:do you think Garth Snow wears an oversized suit?

He better. Charlie Wang is his boss.

Take care,
PK

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:56 pm

HA!

awesome..

and i recently went back to using a wood stick....

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:35 pm

Sudz wrote:HA!

awesome..

and i recently went back to using a wood stick....

I've always used wood. I hung up the ax competitively about six years ago, before composites became vogue. But even when aluminum shafts and wooden blades were all the rage in the 90s, I resisted -- more for price reasons, than anything.

Shocker!

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 10:06 pm

Well, from what I have been reading maybe the new uniforms are not as bad as I feared. RBK has been a great job apparently in listening to players and coaches. It's not as tight fitting as the Nike ones that were used back for the Olympics, so we'll find out next week.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 11:54 pm

An interesting look at the always ultra competitive NW division:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/s ... id=2735085

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 10:26 am

ok...

i went to the CRL/WAS game last night...

I think it is less about goalie pad size and more about the size of the actual players...they just clog the slot so much that there are never any real clear shots. the hurricanes had a ton of shots, but they were either deflected, or from s*** angles because the D was right in the slot.

anyone see TANABE score on his own team?

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 10:32 am

10spro wrote:Well, from what I have been reading maybe the new uniforms are not as bad as I feared. RBK has been a great job apparently in listening to players and coaches. It's not as tight fitting as the Nike ones that were used back for the Olympics, so we'll find out next week.

i can't believe they haven't been leaked yet!

interweb is letting me down!

lexbur · Post by **lexbur** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 10:52 am

Poor BlueJackets. Second time this season they had to play the Predators three times in one week. It's getting to be like baseball's schedule. Next thing the NHL will probably do is figure why bother travelling back and forth between cities, just have a team come to town, play three games, then leave.

Probably wouldn't bother as much if they weren't 0-6 in those games against Nashville.

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 2:17 pm

interesting read on the new unis

http://thestar.blogs.com/thespin/2007/0 ... reens.html

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 2:19 am

Images of the new unis?

http://online.2ksports.com/league/board ... 7&th=11321

I'll reserve judgment until these are confirmed and I can see them actually on people. At first glance they don't look too bad though.

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 10:29 am

Naples39 wrote:Images of the new unis?

http://online.2ksports.com/league/board ... 7&th=11321

I'll reserve judgment until these are confirmed and I can see them actually on people. At first glance they don't look too bad though.

Just remember there are no alternate uni's for next year. Those pics are rumored to be fakes but who really knows. I like some of them. I love those Capital jerseys and I really hope they return to the red, white, and Blue.

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 10:33 am

The Blues win again last night as they head into the All Star break as the hottest team in the league. Since Andy Murray took over the Blues have the 2nd most points in the western conference.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:43 pm

Those new unis -- the color patterns -- are absolute HERESY. You simply don't f*ck with the traditional patterns of the Habs, Bruins and Wings. That's just plain wrong, as if color patches were added to the Yankee pinstripes.

I'm with Don Cherry and Kelly Hrudey -- how anyone can say Mikka Kiprusoff isn't as sharp as last season is beyond me. The guy was flawless last night in f*cking Calgary's 4-0 victory over the Oil. And Kipper still is the best goalie in the NHL, better than Brodeur. Jersey plays the trap all the time and has better defensive forwards than Calgary, which makes Brodeur's job easier.

The only Oiler who impressed me last night was Zach Stortini in his first NHL game. Skated with passion, made some big hits and added grit to the team that's been sorely lacking lately. Stortini challenged both Godard and Phaneuf, who is succeeding Chelios as my most hated player in the NHL, to fight, and both of those candy-ass Flame weasels backed down.

Take care,
PK

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 3:50 pm

Ya, I watch the Oil too last night. In one way, I can't blame Dion, knowing Sortini is out just to "make a name".....

I just want to know where all this vaunted "scoring" we were supposed to have has gone? Granted, I've only seen the last two Saturday night games, but from seeing highlights of the others, something is missing.....