Bear-Arms
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No one has made a play-off thread so I guess I will. What teams are we cheering for?
Play-off Thread
- Thread starter Bear-Arms
- Start date
Ta Waki Mumba
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Although I'm historically a Montreal fan I keep finding myself pulling for the Flames.
Of course I'm not so much watching hockey right now as I am waiting for the CFL season to start.
Of course I'm not so much watching hockey right now as I am waiting for the CFL season to start.
The Stanley Cup playoffs are the best sports event in North America. I'm rooting for Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings. I watched last night through the first overtime, which was 1:30 am here, and am glad I didn't see the Oilers win it in the 2nd OT.
Yeah and Stevie was hurt. No word on how bad. The Red Wings are a very frustrating team, and hockey is a very frustrating game come playoff time. Seeding, home ice, regular season head-to-head mean nothing. The Wings should have about ten Cups as they are regularly the best team during the season but often lose in the playoffs, frequently in the 1st round!
Going for the Flyers. They've had the best fans in hockey as long as I can remember, along with Detroit. Even when they stunk in the early 90's they packed the house. The Bruins are my team but they simply blew it this year. One of these years, I'd love to see the Blackhawsk, Bruins, Canadiens, and Red Wings make it to their conference finals. That would be too sweet.
But instead, we get the teams with the bigger fan base fall each year early in the playoffs and are stuck with The Devils, the Oilers will certainly upset Detroit, Calgary, Buffalo, and Ottawa.
The NHL needs its big market teams to be in contention. We can't have another Tampa-Calgary Stanley Cup, even though it was an awesome series. We've got to get the FLyers and Red Wings again. Maybe one day the Blackhawks, Kings, Rangers and Bruins will actually compete again.
But instead, we get the teams with the bigger fan base fall each year early in the playoffs and are stuck with The Devils, the Oilers will certainly upset Detroit, Calgary, Buffalo, and Ottawa.
The NHL needs its big market teams to be in contention. We can't have another Tampa-Calgary Stanley Cup, even though it was an awesome series. We've got to get the FLyers and Red Wings again. Maybe one day the Blackhawks, Kings, Rangers and Bruins will actually compete again.
Like Don I have been watching the Red Wings every step of the way and like him missed the Wings overtime loss. Yzerman as far as I can tell is day to day (back) but I sense he will be out there today in game 5. The whole series has made me nervous. Detroit has looked tentative from the start of the series. Let it loose guys for crying out loud.. At least Chelios is knocking heads as usual. Talk about a rock. Legace has looked pretty bad frankly.
ocaamikedm11
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I agree that the NHL needs its big market teams to do well, but so far, not so good. The team I am pulling for is San Jose (Don't really know why, just always liked them) and being a Philly native I also am pulling for the Flyers who are headed to another disappointing playoffs... But the NHL needs big time ratings and get on to a better TV contract than OLN..
I hope the Red Wings can still pull out their series but they're up against it.
The Devils look very strong with 15 straight wins. Every few years they get like this and end up winning the Cup. Ottawa looks very strong too. Could this be the year the Senators finally perform up to expectations in the playoffs? An Ottawa-Jersey conference final would be something to watch.
The Devils look very strong with 15 straight wins. Every few years they get like this and end up winning the Cup. Ottawa looks very strong too. Could this be the year the Senators finally perform up to expectations in the playoffs? An Ottawa-Jersey conference final would be something to watch.
I would like to encourage the NHL fans of Caste Football to
observe the Sabres in the second round. They have no
superstars, a rookie goaltender, a coach who was the worst
hockey player of all time, and a negro in a pear tree.
The Buffalo Sabres have been getting the job done by
teamwork and unselfish play. The team was designed by the
management to have four lines play every game. During the
regular season, they had ten forwards score more than 16
goals, but none had more than 30. Although the Sabres lack a
super-line, few teams can match their depth.
After watching the Philly / Buffalo series, I was left in awestruck
watching Buffalo try to contain Forsberg. This man was
undoubtedly the best hockey player on the rink. But he could
not do it alone. Philly, for some reason, signed sport-utility
vehicles for defensemen. These ogres could not defend the
chemistry of four solid lines.
The Sabres will next play Ottawa, a most formidable opponent.
PS- Denis Gauthier makes Darcy Tucker look like a Masterson
Trophy winner.
observe the Sabres in the second round. They have no
superstars, a rookie goaltender, a coach who was the worst
hockey player of all time, and a negro in a pear tree.
The Buffalo Sabres have been getting the job done by
teamwork and unselfish play. The team was designed by the
management to have four lines play every game. During the
regular season, they had ten forwards score more than 16
goals, but none had more than 30. Although the Sabres lack a
super-line, few teams can match their depth.
After watching the Philly / Buffalo series, I was left in awestruck
watching Buffalo try to contain Forsberg. This man was
undoubtedly the best hockey player on the rink. But he could
not do it alone. Philly, for some reason, signed sport-utility
vehicles for defensemen. These ogres could not defend the
chemistry of four solid lines.
The Sabres will next play Ottawa, a most formidable opponent.
PS- Denis Gauthier makes Darcy Tucker look like a Masterson
Trophy winner.
Bear-Arms
Mentor
The Sabres have a black guy, too? Every team seems to have their token black player now.
This is an abnormal number of upsets even for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Looks like the Devils and Senators are cooked, both down 0-3 now. I have to find a team in the semis to root for. Maybe the Sabres since they've never won the Cup. I don't think a Buffalo teamhas ever won a pro sports championship.
Don Wassall said:
The Billsdid win a couple of AFL championships back before the Super Bowl began. Don't know if that counts, especially considering that Jack Kemp was their QB.
Realgeorge
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Very impressive, Carolina spanking the New Jersey Devils. NJ got one back today, but Hurricanes will be too much. Amazing how awful the Rangers were against NJ.
The Hasek mega-injury is a sick story. Having a four-month-long groin injury is just unacceptable. Hasek does have an oddball personality.
Edmonton is surprisingly resilient. Beat the Redwings like a drum. They too have a token Black on the team.
Ron Wilson is an excellent coach, hope his Sharks win the cup.
Don Cherry does EXCELLENT work on Hockey Night in Canada. He took Alfredsson to task as a suddenly underachieving Captain of the Ottawa Senators. Alfredsson is good, but arrogant. Can't figure out what's wrong with the guy against Buffalo, but he is playing in a haze. We all find Ray Emery to be a boor, but he hasn't been too bad between the pipes.
And the Mighty Ducks! Teemu has new life in those old legs.
Bravo for the NHL! A most excellent season. All the media hockey haters will get to eat crow in a year or two. Some major network will outbid OLN and grab the very-well-watched NHL.
Just hope somehow the Penguins can get a stadium and stay in Pittsburgh
The Hasek mega-injury is a sick story. Having a four-month-long groin injury is just unacceptable. Hasek does have an oddball personality.
Edmonton is surprisingly resilient. Beat the Redwings like a drum. They too have a token Black on the team.
Ron Wilson is an excellent coach, hope his Sharks win the cup.
Don Cherry does EXCELLENT work on Hockey Night in Canada. He took Alfredsson to task as a suddenly underachieving Captain of the Ottawa Senators. Alfredsson is good, but arrogant. Can't figure out what's wrong with the guy against Buffalo, but he is playing in a haze. We all find Ray Emery to be a boor, but he hasn't been too bad between the pipes.
And the Mighty Ducks! Teemu has new life in those old legs.
Bravo for the NHL! A most excellent season. All the media hockey haters will get to eat crow in a year or two. Some major network will outbid OLN and grab the very-well-watched NHL.
Just hope somehow the Penguins can get a stadium and stay in Pittsburgh
Realgeorge said:
Try telling NHL fans that pro hockey is an inferior sport to pro basketball or that it's less exciting. I was watching some of the Oilers-Sharks game last night and the Edmonton crowd was unbelievably loud. What a great atmosphere. Reminds me of the great times I had going to Penguins playoff games before the team went into survival mode.
The only reason hockey isn't a "major" sport is because the media refuses to treat it like one. There justisn't enough "Iginla types" to appease them and never will be.
Hard to get an exact handle on the NHL but a few things. Number one attendance was up this year despite a one year layoff. Fans at games are obviously passionate and OLN, if you are lucky to get it in your area, does a decent job of coverage. Yes the big market teams all went down in flames but the playoffs have been exciting. A pal of mine has been watching nearly every second and he says the play with the rule changes has opened things up better. I have been watching it every night too. And thankfully the shootout is not in effect for the playoffs.
But penetrating the overall TV audience has been a persistant problem for the NHL. I do think that the media has to share some of the blame. ESPN who shows no hockey now treats it like a minor league sport. Meanwhile they cover the NBA to death. Does the media shy away from hockey because whites dominate hockey the sport? It seems to me the answer is in part yes--just look at tennis coverage after the William's sisters play fell off some. Not the whole reason but it seems the sports media and SI, which by the way is having a dreadful year, are so fixated on the idea that blacks are the only real athletes that they refuse to believe whites could be anywhere near as good etc. so we end up with a lopsided media coverage. I mean why the heck is Vince Young or Michael Vick discussed to death whereas individual hockey players are barely focused on? The NFL draft was covered with so much analysis you would think the sports media was preparing for war. Even now every little is covered like who gives a S regarding say Reggie Bush and his uniform number and his hamstring or what have you for crying out loud it is baseball season and NHL (and NBA) playoffs not to mention the heart of tennis season arriving. Not to mention World Cup. Skewed if you ask me. Maybe not the full anti-white thing going on but more just plain blindness and stupidity. And the stereotyping of white athletes is still humming along unabated.
But penetrating the overall TV audience has been a persistant problem for the NHL. I do think that the media has to share some of the blame. ESPN who shows no hockey now treats it like a minor league sport. Meanwhile they cover the NBA to death. Does the media shy away from hockey because whites dominate hockey the sport? It seems to me the answer is in part yes--just look at tennis coverage after the William's sisters play fell off some. Not the whole reason but it seems the sports media and SI, which by the way is having a dreadful year, are so fixated on the idea that blacks are the only real athletes that they refuse to believe whites could be anywhere near as good etc. so we end up with a lopsided media coverage. I mean why the heck is Vince Young or Michael Vick discussed to death whereas individual hockey players are barely focused on? The NFL draft was covered with so much analysis you would think the sports media was preparing for war. Even now every little is covered like who gives a S regarding say Reggie Bush and his uniform number and his hamstring or what have you for crying out loud it is baseball season and NHL (and NBA) playoffs not to mention the heart of tennis season arriving. Not to mention World Cup. Skewed if you ask me. Maybe not the full anti-white thing going on but more just plain blindness and stupidity. And the stereotyping of white athletes is still humming along unabated.
Maple Leaf
Mentor
Hockey may not be covered much in most the U.S. markets but so what? U.S. media coverage is not by any means the standard all sports must aspire to. The World Cup as you stated does not get much coverage but the entire world watches and participates and it's even laughable if anyone could consider world class soccer players as anything less than excellent. Some of the best hockey players in the world are true red, white, and blue Americans and if you asked them, guys like Chris Chelios, they would tell Mike Ditka and the rest where they can stick their 40 and vertical.
Hockey is covered a lot in the U.S. markets that have NHL teams. In Pittsburgh where I live, the Steelers are far and away the most covered team, but the Penguins get as much coverage as the Pirates. I would imagine that in cities that have both NBA and NHL teams, the press coverage would be about equal. It's the national media that ignores hockey.
I don't live in a big city but I suspect what Don says is accurate. I do poke around on the i-net. Cities with both NHL and NBA are covered roughly equally by the newspapers. In some cases like Detroit the Red Wings might be covered as much as the Lions. The real problem with hockey coverage is as Maple Leaf pointed out is the national media. On the ground level therr is enthusiasm and strong attendance numbers. The national media has fallen into some ugly patterns since the ESPN era began and over the past several years, a tabloid mentality has settled in.. What is more important? Danica Patrick and Michelle Wie or Stanley Cup champs and Roger Federer? The Wie story is pretty useless from a reality standpoint but the media keeps insisting otherwise. So what she makes the damn cut on the men's tour. She isn't going to win Masters or any other men's tournament so who gives a rip? These are just examples of how the national media gets sidetracked by tabloid crap instead of the real thing. In the real world SI would have had Federer at least on two SI covers by now and the NHL two or three covers a year at minimum. Not to sound *******y but I compile better cover stories for SI than this current joke of an editor. Sad .
I hate to say it RealGeorge, from what I read, the NHL ratings were abysmal. There'll be noone wanting to pick it up so long as the ratings remain low. And unfortunately, the ratings WILL remain low so long as Buffalo and Edmonton play for the CUP.
Don't get me wrong, the intensity in the rinks in Edmonton and Buffalo is awesome. But that won't convey to the rest of the sports world if we can't see the freakin' games! I don't get OLN where I live, so I am stuck watching freakin' poker on ESPN 2, or worse the WNBA, instead of the most exciting playoff tournanment in the world, the Stanley Cup. It's painful. Adn trust me, I love it when the small market teams with their incredibly loyal fans win. But the NHL can not afford that. We need Chicago and Philly and New York back in contention. Parity is good for the well established NFL. It is not good for hockey, at this time.
As far as Maple Leaf saying "so what" that hockey isn't covered much in the US... It is a big deal to me. I love hockey and because it isn't carried other than OLN, I can't watch it. So, for me personally, I do care that hockey isn't covered in the NHL because it's the best sport in the world.
And finally, of course it's racist that hockey isn't covered much! I can absolutely guarantee you that if the Rangers had a couple different type of players, they would be all over the news and their games would certainly be prominently featured on SportsCenter if nothing else.
I am now going for the Carolina Hurricanes. Just because I live in the South and would welcome hockey continuing it's southern expansion among fans. Josh
Don't get me wrong, the intensity in the rinks in Edmonton and Buffalo is awesome. But that won't convey to the rest of the sports world if we can't see the freakin' games! I don't get OLN where I live, so I am stuck watching freakin' poker on ESPN 2, or worse the WNBA, instead of the most exciting playoff tournanment in the world, the Stanley Cup. It's painful. Adn trust me, I love it when the small market teams with their incredibly loyal fans win. But the NHL can not afford that. We need Chicago and Philly and New York back in contention. Parity is good for the well established NFL. It is not good for hockey, at this time.
As far as Maple Leaf saying "so what" that hockey isn't covered much in the US... It is a big deal to me. I love hockey and because it isn't carried other than OLN, I can't watch it. So, for me personally, I do care that hockey isn't covered in the NHL because it's the best sport in the world.
And finally, of course it's racist that hockey isn't covered much! I can absolutely guarantee you that if the Rangers had a couple different type of players, they would be all over the news and their games would certainly be prominently featured on SportsCenter if nothing else.
I am now going for the Carolina Hurricanes. Just because I live in the South and would welcome hockey continuing it's southern expansion among fans. Josh
Josh, NBC has been showing a playoff game on Sunday afternoons. It's not much but it's better than nothing if you can't pick up OLN.
The Anaheim-Edmonton game 3 tonight was really exciting. The Oilers went into the third period up 1-0 then scored three quick goals to apparently put it away. But the Ducks made it 4-3 then 5-4 before finally losing. Eight goals in the third period! Anaheim hadnear misses on afew othergreat chances to score.
Edmonton is up 3-0 in games now so it looks like they'll be playing Carolina or Buffalo in the finals. A Canadian team hasn't won the Stanley Cup since Montreal in '93, what a drought for Canada that may finally end.
The Anaheim-Edmonton game 3 tonight was really exciting. The Oilers went into the third period up 1-0 then scored three quick goals to apparently put it away. But the Ducks made it 4-3 then 5-4 before finally losing. Eight goals in the third period! Anaheim hadnear misses on afew othergreat chances to score.
Edmonton is up 3-0 in games now so it looks like they'll be playing Carolina or Buffalo in the finals. A Canadian team hasn't won the Stanley Cup since Montreal in '93, what a drought for Canada that may finally end.
Hey folks, minor league hockey is just as awesome as the NHL. Of course, I think college hockey is best.
But I just got done reading the website at www.theahl.com and read about the overtime game 7 between the Portland Pirates and Hershey Bears. 8100 screaming loons at Hershey to see them come from 2 goals down and win the game in OT. Man that must have been awesome. I am telling you, there IS a market for hockey, but the stupid powers that be in the NHL are too lame to take advantage of the beauty of the game.
If any of you are in a minor league town, I highly encourage you to go to a game.
But I just got done reading the website at www.theahl.com and read about the overtime game 7 between the Portland Pirates and Hershey Bears. 8100 screaming loons at Hershey to see them come from 2 goals down and win the game in OT. Man that must have been awesome. I am telling you, there IS a market for hockey, but the stupid powers that be in the NHL are too lame to take advantage of the beauty of the game.
If any of you are in a minor league town, I highly encourage you to go to a game.
The Buffalo-Carolina series has been very exciting to watch. It's a shame one of them has to lose Game 7, but the winner will be a worthy conference champion. The sustained intensity and tension in playoff hockey beats that of the NBA playoffs any day.
lumsdenpower
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f**k CAROLINA
They beats MONTREAL
