Winter Classic - Sabres vs. Penguins

[Ran]

I don't know. Bob McKenzie was on the radio and I missed part of what he was saying. He didn't say how much time is left on the lease. Supposedly the Coyotes laid off 18 people from their office staff and might be trading some of their more expensive players.

They might lose $45M.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/story/?id=2 ... hl-coyotes

If they declare bankruptcy, I imagine the league would take them over like they did for Buffalo, Ottawa, and Pittsburgh.

[Diabolical]

Now this is some bullshit: Datsyuk and Lidstrom have been suspended for 1 game as punishment for skipping all-star weekend.

MONTREAL -- Detroit Red Wings veterans Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk will have to sit out a game next week as punishment for skipping all-star weekend, NHL vice president Colin Campbell said Friday.

But Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby will be allowed to play his team's next game because he has decided to attend all-star festivities even though a knee injury will keep him out of the game. Crosby was expected to arrive in Montreal late Friday afternoon.

Campbell said the league's general managers agreed last February that a player who misses the all-star game must sit out the regular season game just before or just after it to demonstrate that he is really injured.

He said commissioner Gary Bettman pushed for the rule because too many players were skipping the all-star game without good reason in recent years.

"We've all got obligations to the fans, the rights holders -- this game is being televised around the world," said Campbell. "I feel bad for Nicklas Lidstrom.

"He's been here how many years now? It's unfair that he gets caught in this web."

Detroit's next game is Tuesday night in Columbus.

The rule does not apply to players in Saturday's YoungStars game. Four of them have pulled out with injuries -- Steve Mason, Milan Lucic, Nicklas Backstrom and Erik Ersberg.

NHL Players Association executive Glenn Healy said the rule is "not good for the hockey and it's not good for the fans."

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Sheldon Souray said he strongly disagrees with the rule.

"From my own experience this year, I'm honoured and happy to be here, but if things hadn't worked out so I could have my family here to enjoy it with me, that would be reason enough for me not to come here," he said. "There are things more important than coming here and sacrificing family stuff, which you do all year anyway, every season."

[Ran]

It was in their contract that they had to show up. They did it to Brodeur in the past.

By the way, Detroit will not be represented in the game.

[Slicker]

But Montreal will be represented in every position.

The NHL All-Star game is BS anymore anyways. It's so diluted with the stupid skills competition that the game is not even important. I read an article somewhere that the guy predicted that with the success of the outdoor games the NHL will drop the All-Star game within 5 years since a regular season game will out rate it. I personally could care less. They put too much emphasis on the skills thing anyways.

[Ran]

I've been listening to XM's hockey channel a lot this week. It seems like people care more about the skills competition more than the actual game.

It also sounds like they are going to change the fan voting next year. You'd figure they would have changed it after Rory Fitzpatrick almost was voted in as starter. Anyway, they might make fan voting part of the starter selection and give players, coaches, and GMs some say in the matter.

There won't be an All Star game next year because of the Olympics, which is in Vancouver. I'm glad it is in North America because I hate the tape delay from when it was in Italy and Japan. This might be the last time NHL players are in the Olympics. To compensate, they might bring back the World Cup and play the tournament either before or after the season.

In case you didn't hear, they trick shot competition is back this year, except rather than having NHL goalies net, they are getting some kids from a Junior league. I think they should use the goalie cut out so the player has to hit the corners or the 5-hole.

Oh, the Islanders are planning a pre-season game in Kansas City (in that nice new arena that doesn't have an NHL team in it). The Islanders' owner has been trying for a while to get Long Island to fix their arena because it is the shittiest in the NHL. It's pretty much unchanged from the last time they won the Cup. Anyway, because of this pre-season game, the New York media finally started paying attention to the Islanders.

And more fun...they might have up to 8 teams start the season in Europe next year.

[Slicker]

I've been listening to XM's hockey channel a lot this week. It seems like people care more about the skills competition more than the actual game.

Really? I was never a big fan of the skills competition in the NHL although the trick shot sounds interesting and could be really neat.

It also sounds like they are going to change the fan voting next year. You'd figure they would have changed it after Rory Fitzpatrick almost was voted in as starter. Anyway, they might make fan voting part of the starter selection and give players, coaches, and GMs some say in the matter.

Good. That voting as many times as you want is the dumbest thing ever. They most likely did it for the same reason Steve is making that "new contest" thread: to drum up interest by big numbers. If you didn't know about the voting thing and saw how many votes were cast you'd probably think that there was a lot of interest in hockey.

There won't be an All Star game next year because of the Olympics, which is in Vancouver. I'm glad it is in North America because I hate the tape delay from when it was in Italy and Japan. This might be the last time NHL players are in the Olympics. To compensate, they might bring back the World Cup and play the tournament either before or after the season.

The Olympics are better anyways. You get to see all of the countries of the world instead of just Russia, Canada, and the US.

In case you didn't hear, they trick shot competition is back this year, except rather than having NHL goalies net, they are getting some kids from a Junior league. I think they should use the goalie cut out so the player has to hit the corners or the 5-hole.

Like I said above, I've never see the trick shot but it could be interesting.

Oh, the Islanders are planning a pre-season game in Kansas City (in that nice new arena that doesn't have an NHL team in it). The Islanders' owner has been trying for a while to get Long Island to fix their arena because it is the shittiest in the NHL. It's pretty much unchanged from the last time they won the Cup. Anyway, because of this pre-season game, the New York media finally started paying attention to the Islanders.

So New York will spend almost $1 billion on a stadium for the Mets but won't spend at most $300 million on a new arena for the Isles? (and I even highly doubt it'd cost that much). The Isles are by far the more championed team (albeit they haven't won one since, what? The early 80's or something?).

[Ran]

The mix of French and English for the All Stars Skills Completion introductions makes me think that The Grip is the announcer.

[Slicker]

Well, it would appear that them suspending Datysuk and Lidstrom cost them the game the other day. That suspension was sheer bullshit. Why not suspend Crosby? He was injured just like the 2 Wings but he isn't gonna be suspended.

[Ran]

Well, it would appear that them suspending Datysuk and Lidstrom cost them the game the other day. That suspension was sheer bullshit. Why not suspend Crosby? He was injured just like the 2 Wings but he isn't gonna be suspended.

Because Cindy showed up to Montreal for the festivities. All Datysuk and Lisdtrom had to do was go to Montreal for the fan celebration thing.

And don't worry, the Wings still got a point for losing in overtime.

[Ran]

• Breaking News: Calgary Flames fans like to piss on the Edmonton Oilers when they're down. So after the Oil were steamrolled by the Buffalo Sabres earlier this week, 10-2, The FAN 960 in Calgary released this wicked song parody of "Lola" by The Kinks called "Goal-a":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwkgW1PM4XE

[Ran]

Looks like someone needs a new avatar. Let me help you out.

[Ran]

Sporting News Conversation: Gary Bettman

http://news.yahoo.com/s/sn/20090512/sp_ ... arybettman

Tue May 12, 10:56 am ET
By Craig Custance -


Wasn't it just a couple of short weeks ago that everything was going great in hockey? There wasn't a bankruptcy crisis in Phoenix. Alex Ovechkin wasn't getting death threats. The focus was squarely on the playoffs.

About that time, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman spent some time with Sporting News' Craig Custance to talk about the state of the game and his place in it.

The Q&A became the Conversation in the Sporting News Magazine currently on newsstands. Here are some outtakes:

SN: Where is hockey in terms of popularity among the four major sports?
Bettman: It depends on how you look at the question. If you look at it on the basis of national television ratings, you get one answer. If you look at it on the basis of attendance, you get another answer. If you look at it on the basis of particular teams in particular markets, you get a third answer. There are some markets where the hockey team is the No. 1 team. If you're asking what is the conventional wisdom, people would say we're the No. 4. I think that's an oversimplification of the question.

SN: What's the biggest challenge in breaking through that?
Bettman: The biggest challenge we've had historically is with traditional national media. Attendance is not an issue for us; this year we played at over 94 percent capacity. Revenue growth hasn't been an issue. We've continued to grow even in a down economy. For a variety of reasons, we were later to the game, we took a year off and we've had fits and starts in terms of how our national exposure is. Our willingness to do things differently with NBC or particularly now with Versus, in some respects, it makes us a trailblazer. In other respects, it gives people an opportunity to say 'you're not this or you're not that.' We don't pay a whole lot of attention to that. We compare ourselves to ourselves.

SN: So compare yourself to yourself. How is hockey doing?
Bettman: Four years in a row from the work stoppage (we've had) record attendance. Four years in a row since the work stoppage (we've had) record revenues. There's never been a business in any industry in the history of business that I'm aware of -- and I've said this to enough business writers where if somebody could have contradicted me, they would have -- there's never been a business that's come back from shutting down for a year for any reason to as strong a result as we have.

SN: Would you say hockey is fully recovered from the lockout?
Bettman: I think we were fully recovered the day we opened our doors.

SN: From a national audience perspective?
Bettman: Absolutely. We came back at least as strong, if not stronger. I think we came back stronger than when we left. That's a testament to our game and our fans and the strength of the bond between the two.

SN: When the league is helping out a struggling franchise, how do you balance overreaching your bounds but at the same time doing what it takes to stabilize a bad situation?
Bettman: You fix what is fixable. ... We've dealt with tough situations, putting aside a year off in a work stoppage, putting aside a number of years we were struggling because of a bad economy, putting aside Ottawa, Buffalo and Pittsburgh bankruptcies. We've always dealt in a very forthright way with whatever the issues are.

Frequently people, in your line of work -- not to pick on the media -- will say, 'That's bad, write it off.' If you go back and look at the commentary of the late '90s, early turn of the century, all the articles said there would only be one team left in Canada. That was never going to be the case. You know the support for the game, the love of the game was too intense. We had things we had to fix and we went about fixing them. Canadian franchises have never been healthier. We fix what we think is broken.

Sometimes it's not like a 60-minute game. There are things which -- it's not always appropriate or accurate or realistic to judge works in progress. Particularly when you're dealing with these situations. A lot of what is going on isn't public and there's sometimes speculation, which isn't always constructive. We try to ... understand the source of the problem and we try to fix it.

SN: Do you see a future television deal with ESPN?
Bettman: It's not something we're focused on. We like our relationship with NBC and Versus. Versus' numbers are increasing dramatically. The build that we bought into is actually happening as we predicted. It's great to see.

Versus is doing a terrific job covering us; they're getting more programming. They're in more homes than ever before. People are getting used to looking for them. That's why you're seeing large, double-digit ratings increases last season and this season, and our audiences are bigger than what we were getting on ESPN.

SN: But the fact remains that when I was in Chicago, I couldn't get a playoff game in my hotel because it didn't get Versus.
Bettman: That's changing. That's part of the evolution. They're now in over one million hotel rooms. What you need to do in the future, when you make your reservation, call and say, 'Do you get Versus?' If they say no, then you should say, 'You should get Versus or I'm not coming,' and go to a different hotel.

SN: We're in the middle of the playoffs. Is there one playoff moment during your tenure as commissioner that stands out to you?
Bettman: Every time you give the Cup, it's a special moment. I get the privilege of doing that, but the moment has nothing to do with me. I'm just the custodian of the moment to hand it off. I love watching, because I get a real up-close view of this, the emotion of the players, the emotion of the coach, the manager, the owner. It's a special moment because of what it represents to those people. I always consider it a privilege to be that close to see it.

SN: Take me back to last year when you're handing the Cup to Nicklas Lidstrom. What were you seeing?
Bettman: I congratulated him. Detroit has been a team that has excelled for as long as I've been commissioner. It was nice to see this team adjust post-work stoppage. They had traditionally been one of the high-payroll teams and they were able to make the transition.

I was thinking of the Illitches, who have been spectacular owners, who have been devoted not just to the Red Wings, the game of hockey, but to the city of Detroit and how nice it was for them because they're terrific owners.

It's always a little easier and a little more emotional for the celebration when you present it in the home arena. We were on the road, but the crowd was great, as they always are. That, to me, always amazes me. It's a little different, to see everybody stay there in Pittsburgh out of respect for the moment and cheer appropriately.

SN: You hear about teams losing money. What's the benefit to being an NHL owner right now if these teams are losing money?
Bettman: First of all, in all sports, you own a team because you have a passion for owning a team. There are -- other than the last few months -- there are probably better uses for your money if your return on investment, cash on cash, is your most important goal. People have lots of reasons for owning teams. I've had a lot of successful people tell me that of all the things they've done, all the businesses they've run, this is the one thing that has meant the most to them and their families. It's special, it's unique, not just hockey, all sports. ... By the way, in these crazy economic times, they seem to have held their value a whole lot better than other investments.

SN: Is there an owner, when he calls your cell, you roll your eyes and say, 'I don't want to deal with this guy?'
Bettman: I love all my owners. They're all great. They're all supportive. They're all terrific. ... Which one of your children do you love the most?

SN: Oh, I don't know, probably my son. My daughter, she can't even talk yet.
Bettman: Thank you very much. Right, OK. By the way, put that in the article and let her read it in 10 years. See if you traumatize her, Dad.

This story first appeared in the May 11 edition of Sporting News magazine. If you are not receiving the magazine, subscribe today, or pick up a copy, available at most Barnes & Noble, Borders and Hudson Retail outlets.

Gary Bettman gets a lot of abuse. Here is an article that kind of shoots down some of the criticism. Turns out not everything is his fault.
http://www.spectorshockey.net/index.php ... &Itemid=57

[Ran]

For your viewing pleasure, Tie Domi fighting a fan.

[jjreason]

Truly classic.

Not to suggest anything CAN'T happen, but apparently out of the 33 (or was it 34, 35?) teams that have gone up 2-0 in Stanley Cup history, only one of them failed to win.

Yes, that one WAS the Red Wings, but we're not talking about that.

[Ran]

Tomorrow is free agency day in the NHL. Funny how it coincides with a Canadian holiday. I don't expect the Sabres to do anything other than to let Afinogenov walk. I can't imagine Detroit doing much either unless they blow that money they were going to spend on Hossa.