Am I Alone in Feeling...

[buzzguy]

I agree with what bcgudely said about hockey in HD. It really is awesome. You can see so much more of the ice, and it really makes a difference. Everything seems more "open" and less confined and confusing, especially during the tight shots. I freakin love it, and wish there was more of it on. They need more teams in the HD broadcasts, as well. Most of the games on CBC HD involve either the Leafs or Canucks.
On a related note, anyone try out Gamecenter Live, yet?

[truckie16]

"Other negatives are that the season is too long - playoffs in june!?!? "



I couldn't agree more with this statement. When I was growing up watching the B's in the playoffs the finals were over at the end of May, not starting in early June. I'm not really sure what the solution is, maybe starting the season earlier.

[DrJones]

Quote: Originally Posted by SPTO

This is why fan voting in any sport is stupid.

Amen, brother.

[DrJones]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

In hockey, while you have some great characters like OA, they're clean. You won't read stories about him snorting coke off a hookers @$$.

Rick Tocchet, Dany Heatley, Kevin Stevens, Bob Probert, John Kordic, Al Iafrate and Gary Leeman (remember their wife swap?), Theo Fleury, Eddie Belfour, Grant Fuhr and Craig MacTavish say hi.

[slickdtc]

Quote: Originally Posted by DrJones

Rick Tocchet, Dany Heatley, Kevin Stevens, Bob Probert, John Kordic, Al Iafrate and Gary Leeman (remember their wife swap?), Theo Fleury, Eddie Belfour, Grant Fuhr and Craig MacTavish say hi.

Yeah, but what casual fan knows any of those guys? Though they are definitely characters if you know who they are, those names would just not ring a bell with any normal person.

I don't know how much I care that there aren't more hockey fans out there. I guess if I was from a smaller market, it would suck. But being 30 minutes from Philly, I get a lot of hockey exposure because the Flyers, though maybe not as big as the Eagles or Phillies, get tons of play too. And we're usually a good team, which has definitely helped. Though I did like that year we sucked because we saw a lot of new players and changes happened (though making the Conference Finals last year was wayyy better ).

As long as the sport doesn't fall off where you can't even see games on TV, I'm fine with its popularity. Most of the fans are real fans, people who know the game.

[Scottdau]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

I agree with the other members here who said the Hockey board isn't as thriving because there's very little infighting. Also, if you read a lot of the threads in there, there's more to talk about. There's more 'characters' in the other sports. Baseball has Man-Ram who doesn't seem to care about anything but himself, basketball has more drama like Kobe-Shaq and football has so much off field shenanigans it's a 12-month sport. In hockey, while you have some great characters like OA, they're clean. You won't read stories about him snorting coke off a hookers @$$. Crosby would never trash anyone and tries to do his talking on the ice. Zetterberg, perhaps the best all around forward, wouldn't say 'poop' if he had a mouth full of it. Another thing that kind of hurts hockey (and basketball too) is that the regular season means a LOT less than the NFL and MLB. While only 14 of the 30 teams don't make the postseason, you can probably pencil in 6 of those 14 before the season even starts. So in that respect, there's less drama as well. I have other theories as to why it's not as popular: - translates poorly on TV - too many Europeans - lack of variety in goals But that's a subject for another day.

Bingo, they are good guys off the ice. Not much of a story for the trash press!

[Scottdau]

Quote: Originally Posted by DrJones

Rick Tocchet, Dany Heatley, Kevin Stevens, Bob Probert, John Kordic, Al Iafrate and Gary Leeman (remember their wife swap?), Theo Fleury, Eddie Belfour, Grant Fuhr and Craig MacTavish say hi.

But you don't hear about them that much.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by DrJones

Rick Tocchet, Dany Heatley, Kevin Stevens, Bob Probert, John Kordic, Al Iafrate and Gary Leeman (remember their wife swap?), Theo Fleury, Eddie Belfour, Grant Fuhr and Craig MacTavish say hi.

Wow! You named 11 players from over 25 years of hockey.
I can name 11 players in the NFL from THIS SEASON.
Hell, half of the Bengals are on parole as we speak.

The fact is you could round up 700 people off the street and chances are you'd find more criminal records from that group than from the 700 NHLers in the league right now.

bcgudely, I hear what you're saying.
But that's the problem with ESPN. It's not longer a station that broadcasts or updates on sports. It only shows interest in sports IT owns or broadcasts.

It didn't give two craps and a piss about pro soccer or Arena Football until they acquired their broadcasting rights. Now you'll see highlights from both the MLS and AFL.

[bad_philanthropy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

Wow! You named 11 players from over 25 years of hockey. I can name 11 players in the NFL from THIS SEASON. Hell, half of the Bengals are on parole as we speak. The fact is you could round up 700 people off the street and chances are you'd find more criminal records from that group than from the 700 NHLers in the league right now. bcgudely, I hear what you're saying. But that's the problem with ESPN. It's not longer a station that broadcasts or updates on sports. It only shows interest in sports IT owns or broadcasts. It didn't give two craps and a piss about pro soccer or Arena Football until they acquired their broadcasting rights. Now you'll see highlights from both the MLS and AFL.

The NHL's popularity and the way it's covered in the media also seems to be a different approach. When an issue comes up it is sensationalized to a ridiculous end.

In the NHL for example, when Theo Fleury was having substance abuse issues, it was handled fairly quietly and never made into a big event by the media. Same with Joe Thornton's bar fight, Staal's DUI, even Mark Bell running over someone while drunk. If those things happened in the NFL they would be all over the news and all the pundits would be talking.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by bad_philanthropy

The NHL's popularity and the way it's covered in the media also seems to be a different approach. When an issue comes up it is sensationalized to a ridiculous end. In the NHL for example, when Theo Fleury was having substance abuse issues, it was handled fairly quietly and never made into a big event by the media. Same with Joe Thornton's bar fight, Staal's DUI, even Mark Bell running over someone while drunk. If those things happened in the NFL they would be all over the news and all the pundits would be talking.

Very true. But that's also the worst extent of what a hockey player will do.
In the NFL and NBA you get stories like Michael Vick murdering hundreds of dogs in sick fashion. Or guys like Pacman Jones who get people murdered from 'making it rain'.
Or how about the former Dolphins RB, Cecil Collins, who used to break into peoples homes to spy on woman or attempt to rape them.

Yes the NFL and NBA are under far bigger microscopes.
But the crimes that are committed in both sports are also far greater.

There have been a lot of cases of NFL, NBA and MLB players getting pulled over for DUI's or bar fights that hardly get any print as well.
Usually, those 'minor' infractions only get front page news if the player committing them has a long history of greater violence or felonies.

EDIT: The only NHL player with any kind of 'sensationalistic' charge is Mike Danton. And that case got plenty of publicity. Especially in Canada.