NHL
National Hockey League
Friday, November 30, 2007
NHL Schedule Will Change
The NHL’s Board of Governors has put a stop to the whining that’s been going post-lockout about the league’s schedule. The schedule has been changed bringing divisional games down to six, from eight, and make sure all teams in the league play each other at least once during the season.
The real downfall to the current schedule was the media pounding the idea home that all teams need to play each other once. The typical argument was something about Original Six rivalries that don’t exist anymore, or Western Canada not seeing Sydney Crosby or Sasha Ovechkin (that’s for you, Mirtle).
Of course, for every Canucks vs Penguins game, you see the Canucks play the Rangers, Islanders, Devils and Flyers. For every Canucks vs Capitals game, you see the Canucks play the Hurricanes, Panghers, Thrashers and Lightning.
Teams like the Rangers, Maple Leafs and Canadiens will always be big away draws. The other teams? Not so much.
The win here is the concept. Fans of the league, and the media that covers the league, became so used to a balanced schedule that it just seemed odd for teams to not play each other. The concept will make people happy.
The loss here will probably be a hit to attendance and ratings. People are fooling themselves if they think there’s more interest in the Canucks hitting the Southeast division more instead of seeing another divisional game. That one game where Ovechkin comes to town may draw interest, but the rest of the division won’t carry nearly the same weight as the games the league is removing. There are exceptions. The biggest win is probably for fans of the Red Wings and Blue Jackets will see more games in their time zone; of course for the same reasons, Eastern Conference teams will see less.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Naked Cell Phone Pics, Hockey, and Jiri
It’s a rare moment when I don’t click through to “see more” when some celeb cell phone pics are sent around, but today is a day where isthishappening.com is reporting naked pics of Jiri Tlusty are being sent around (link
). I’m not just confused about why anyone does this, but how Jiri Tlusty can possibly be considered famous. Good for you Toronto.
I was just thinking I might never get to write “the Vanessa Hudgens of the NHL”, but thankfully today has happened.
Penis Friday?
Sure, why not. We’ll get back to media coverage and stats another time.
The oddest Eric Lindros story to come out this week? Eric Lindros, Penis Inspector
Don’t know about you, but I’m hoping Penis Fridays are less frequent than leap years.
Update 345pm: Jiri Tlusty has lawyers, so isthishappening.com has no more pictures.
Update Nov 14 1000am: Tlusty says sorry for nude pictures on Internet
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Avery and Mary Kate?
So Sean Avery returned to the Rangers’ lineup last night after missing the last 10 games with a separated shoulder.
However Avery’s return is nothing compared to this little tidbit that The National Ledger snuck into a recent article about Lance Armstrong and Ashley Olson:
Sister Mary-Kate’s new squeeze is 27-year-old hockey hottie Sean Avery but that really doesn’t come close to Ashley’s new “old man” (uh - yes he is 36 years old) as he is a true world class athlete.
Avery is with an Olson now? Did anyone else know about this? It’s definitely news to me.
Well I guess this means two things - Sean is over Elisha and he’s going to become friends with Lance pretty soon.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Tocchet to Return in February
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced earlier today a press conference in New York City that Rick Tocchet will be reinstated into the league effective February 7, 2008. The date will mark two years since Tocchet first announced that he was taking a leave of absence from his assistant coach position for the Phoenix Coyotes.
Bettman realizes that many out there believe that Tocchet should never be permitted to be part of league activities again. However he believes that those people need to take a step back and look at the entire picture instead of focusing on the negatives of Tocchet’s actions:
“There are those who suggest that Mr. Tocchet should be prohibited from resuming active status in the league for an extremely long and additional period of time, perhaps forever,” said Bettman. “In my view, those who would make such a suggestion are not familiar with all the facts and are still focused on the original headlines.”
Coyotes Head Coach and Part-Owner Wayne Gretzky formally announced through a press release that the team will allow Tocchet to resume his position as assistant coach:
“We respect the Commissioner’s decision and are relieved that this situation is behind us,” stated Gretzky. “We will welcome Rick Tocchet back on Feb. 7, 2008.”
Personally, I’m glad to hear that Tocchet will be back after all. He was found to never have placed any bets at all on hockey and as long as that holds up, his return is more than fine with me.
Major Stories • Operation Slapshot • NHL
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Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Report: Tocchet to Meet With Bettman
TSN is reporting that Rick Tocchet was set to meet with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman earlier today in New York City according to their sources.
Tocchet apparently made the trip with Phoenix Coyotes GM Don Maloney.
So what would the purpose of the meeting be? Well to let Tocchet know if he’s going to be able to continue coaching of course:
The league had been waiting for its own independent report on Tocchet’s activities before being able to make a final decision on whether Tocchet is free to resume his coaching activities or is subject to supplementary league discipline. That report is now in the hands of the league.
If Tocchet did indeed meet with Bettman this afternoon, I’m sure we’ll know a lot more about his future by tomorrow morning.
Major Stories • Operation Slapshot • NHL
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Friday, October 26, 2007
Rick Nash Goal
Rick Nash had a nice goal tonight, thought I’d share a clip of it.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
A New Era for Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks look like they have a competitive, entertaining team this season after many seasons of finishing towards the bottom of the Western Conference.
While play can mark the beginning and end of eras in a team’s history, ownership decisions may mark big change for Chicago.
It was announced today that the Hawks are in dicussion with Comcast to get some home games on television. Former owner Bill Wirtz, who passed away almost a month ago, did not allow home games to be broadcast, saying he thought it wasn’t fair for season ticket holders. The Blackhawks are now controlled by one of his sons, Rocky, who made the announcement to employees this afternoon.
Many teams have all games televised. When games aren’t, they’re generally away games. Tomorrow’s game in Chicago against the Blue Jackets isn’t being televised in either market. Fans who order Center Ice aren’t used to being shut out from games, and hopefully the Blackhawks can work with Comcast to stop the Hawks from being part of these instances.
Idea for the NHL: when games aren’t being televised, use the arena feed and the radio call (if there is one) and offer fans the opportunity to watch the game online.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
More on the NHL Network
I’m not sure if this is a nation-wide update, but here in NYC we’re now treated to knowing what’s on the NHL Network. The guide from the cable boxes now displays proper programming.
It was similar, but not the same as the schedule on the NHL Network’s website before. This is the schedule for the Canadian version of the network.
The biggest difference has been live games. Carolina vs Pittsburgh was on the schedule last night, but a vintage game was on our network here in the States.
The next live NHL game on the Canadian schedule is October 31st, but according to the guide here, and the ticker I’ve seen on the channel, we should be able to watch Buffalo at Florida this Friday, the 26th. Just as much as the live broadcasts, the late night replays are great for those nights when many games are on at once.
Hopefully a US schedule will be released soon.
Eric McErlain says he needs to pick up an HD tv for the channel. I wish we had that option here (I wish we had Center Ice HD channels as well).
Tapeleg’s not impressed with the network yet. He offers a few suggestions and there are some good comments.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Cleavage for Ticket
It’s really a simple deal. If you’ve got the boobs, you’ve got the ticket. You can keep them mostly covered, and they won’t need to do any other work, but they gotta be there. Another gem on Craiglist.
I have a bunch of Canucks tix, and normally I use them for business development and entertain client, or take some of my cheap friends who wont buy their own, and once in a while, my wife decides she is a hockey fan and enjoys a game.
I know there are always lots of people looking for tickets, so I figured I would post on CL, and see if there was anyone else that would like a FREE ticket to go to the game with ME…..meet a complete stranger, and spend a harmless evening watching the Nucks. I am sure the conversation will be somewhat more interesting, entertaining, or at the very least, better to look at than one of my clients or beer drinking friends.
So here is the criteria and what I propose…....I am looking for an attractive, fit, married or single, classy, BUSTY female to join me as my guest for an upcoming Canucks game. No game in particular…whatever fits both of our schedules. Ideally you would wear something classy, but with a little edge to the outfit…i love cleavage, I love big boobs, and i love a little attitude and confidence to go along with it.
This is NOT about sex, or trying to solicit a sexual encounter and I am NOT expecting anything in return before or after the game. Just some fun conversation, a cool experience, and maybe a glimpse (ok maybe two)at some nice BIG boobs….I am a total boob guy, but unfortunately, most of my clients are males, and my wife was not blessed with anything bigger than a b cup.
So…....if you fit the description, email me back, and lets see if we can set up a “Canuck date”....
me: 30, married, professionally employed, attractive, clean cut, classy and respectful.
Hat tip to Marty
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The NHL Store Is Here
The NHL Store is open for business and looking good.
It wasn’t too busy when I was in, which was a bonus, as I was able to walk around and take a look at everything easily. I was also able to squeeze in a little EA NHL 08.
It’s exactly what you’d expect from a league store: jerseys, tshirts, hats, and a variety of other souvenir-like items.
Reebok’s Retro Sport line is very nice. Pricey, but nice.
Thanks to a correction in the comments of the NHL Network post, I found out the “Fan Fest” is tomorrow, 11-2.
Like Costa, I was able to pick up a key to the Unlock Your NHL Dreams contest. I actually have a couple, which I was told was ok (one per day seemed to be the mentality). Costa doesn’t think there’s a difference between keys, and physically there doesn’t appear to be, but who knows. If I win on one and lose on another, I guess we’ll know.
The NHL must treat their interns well, or they have a great screening process, because thosee handing out the keys were very friendly.
Murph over at Islanders Army also dropped by the store today.
Here are a couple of more pictures I took with my phone:
Some real pictures can be found here.