[tommygunn]

This was a pretty terrible jersey... cratch:

[Hard Canadian]

This was a pretty terrible jersey... cratch:

we have a new winner of the worst jersey

[tigerthelion]

Well, I was enjoying tonight's game until the referees decided to be pricks. :x :x :x :x :x The referees have tainted this series already and it's not even two periods old. :rambo:

[ryan93]

I just got back from the Liberal celebrations in Iona, so i haven't seen any of the game yet...but i can't say i'm surprised to hear the refs have already made an impact.

[second_sight_kyle]

The game was called fine. Period.

[opiated]

The game was called fine. Period.

there hasn't been a game all year called fine, and tonight was no exception..Shit calls on both sides all night long

[second_sight_kyle]

The game was called fine. Period.

there hasn't been a game all year called fine, and tonight was no exception..Shit calls on both sides all night long

Yeah I was actually watching the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. Game 1 between Anaheim and Ottawa. Yeah, it started tonight. Getzlaf was called on his third cross-check from behind...seems to be the only gaff I saw, and even then the penalty was called. Both teams had their chances on the power play, no penalties were outrageous. Maybe it would help if you could explain how the referees fucked this one up...

[grimes]

The Horse's Ass fiasco:

If an NHL game is played on NBC, does anybody see it?
Imagine you're a young movie director eager to show off your work to the world. You struggle for months and months to put together a vision that will establish you as a film force to be reckoned with - and when it's time for the premiere, you spare no expense in finding the biggest theater in the best location.

Now imagine that the theater's owner tells you he's only got enough time to show the first three-quarters of your movie, because he's guaranteed to sell out the building later that night by showing the latest animated monstrosity from Disney. Do you still unveil your movie there, knowing full well the audience won't see the ending?

If you've got any respect for your product, you kindly instruct the guy to shove it, grab your movie and find a theater that respects what you do. However, if your name is Gary Bettman, you swallow the insult with a smile, show as much of the movie as you're allowed to and agree to do the whole thing all over again as soon as possible.

That's basically what happened last Saturday during the now-infamous Horse's Ass Game aired (sort of) on NBC. The U.S. network utterly humiliated the NHL by cutting away from the Buffalo/Ottawa overtime in favor of the Preakness Stakes pre-race show.

I repeat: the best hockey has to offer - playoff overtime - was pre-empted by a 90-minute preview of miniature men riding pre-glue factory components around a track for a couple minutes.

This is an entertainment partnership? What, like Ike and Tina Turner?

It is easy to be disgusted with NBC's decision, but most understand the cold, hard business facts that led to their choice. That leaves no one else to blame except for the NHL braintrust that agreed to hand their product over to such bottom-liners in the first place.

If the league knew there was even the slightest chance their game would be pre-empted, they should've scheduled the game after the Preakness was run, or on Sunday. And if NBC wanted no part of such a scenario, well, here's your hat, don't let the door, etc.

Should anything good comes out of this disaster, I hope it's the recognition of how far off the grid the NHL has fallen in America. From now on, let's do away with the Pollyanna pretensions and projections and acknowledge the real damage the lockout has wrought on the league's U.S. market.

But the lockout isn't the only cause of the league's vanishing in the U.S. There's also the NHL's move from ESPN to Versus, a decision that would've been perilous even if each and every one of the league's franchises were in rock-solid shape; in reality, it became the roundhouse kick to the head to an American fan base that already had suffered a lockout-related punch to the throat.

Since then, the NHL has been removed from the average American sports fan's psyche as if it were a prop in a David Copperfield stunt. Newspapers have cut coverage. The few "highlights" that get aired on TV are usually the ones involving swung sticks, sucker punches and stretchers.

The Horse's Ass fiasco is but the latest example of league's infinite supply of short-term thinking. From the over-reliance on expansion fees, to the reticence towards major changes to the game - yes, the lockout changed their minds in that regard, but even then, it was only temporary before the league reverted back into the "all is well" mode it operates under today - to the unwillingness to tear out lower-bowl seats and expand the ice surface, the NHL has almost always chosen the quick hit over the long, slower, smarter build.

And don't you dare give me any of that "revenues have never been better!" claptrap. Those who have been to games in St. Louis, Florida, New Jersey, Washington and about eight other NHL locales know how dire the league's straits are. Just because owners push their luck pushing up ticket prices doesn't make them sports visionaries of the highest order.

To the contrary: their willingness to sell only one section of their product on NBC demonstrates a serious, scary ignorance of the most vital portion of that product: the payoff. That's what everyone expects from a good joke, great song, or any other entertainment experience. But they didn't get that last Saturday - and, worst of all, the NHL can't guarantee it won't happen again.

Think of E.T. without the little brown bugger returning to wherever it was he came from. Think of The Great Escape without the escape. Think of The Usual Suspects without the twist to end all twists.

Robbed of their natural endings, each of those films would be summarily flung into the entertainment industry's remainder bin. Without a dramatic reversal of form, that's precisely where the NHL and its nearly-aired games are headed.

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Exactly.

[opiated]

The game was called fine. Period.

there hasn't been a game all year called fine, and tonight was no exception..Shit calls on both sides all night long

Yeah I was actually watching the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. Game 1 between Anaheim and Ottawa. Yeah, it started tonight. Getzlaf was called on his third cross-check from behind...seems to be the only gaff I saw, and even then the penalty was called. Both teams had their chances on the power play, no penalties were outrageous. Maybe it would help if you could explain how the referees fucked this one up...

you're not even worth talking to

[opiated]

Something like the Vancouver "vintage" jerseys they were playing in for the playoffs?

This is a hockey stick. I use one of these to play hockey. Let's go hit the puck with it.

That's a good, simple design. The stick logo forms a stylized "C," and it's simple and clean.

agreed, and the colours are perfect..but of course, even though the fans want the 'nucks to have that as their regular uniforms, the suits are going to use something else next year, and are promising that the "whale" will be a huge part of that logo...do they not listen to fans??? the whale fucking sucks

[tth_fan]

agreed, and the colours are perfect..but of course, even though the fans want the 'nucks to have that as their regular uniforms, the suits are going to use something else next year, and are promising that the "whale" will be a huge part of that logo...do they not listen to fans??? the whale fucking sucks

Same in Edmonton. If the organization listened to the fans, the Oilers would be going back to their vintage orange blue and white....but then they would lose the "oil-man" on the shoulder, and lose some marketing I guess. Long story short, they're not listening, and they are sticking with the Navy & copper.

[j-monster]

Something like the Vancouver "vintage" jerseys they were playing in for the playoffs?

This is a hockey stick. I use one of these to play hockey. Let's go hit the puck with it.

That's a good, simple design. The stick logo forms a stylized "C," and it's simple and clean.

agreed, and the colours are perfect..but of course, even though the fans want the 'nucks to have that as their regular uniforms, the suits are going to use something else next year, and are promising that the "whale" will be a huge part of that logo...do they not listen to fans??? the whale fucking sucks

Wasn't the whale added to the Canucks' logo because of the name of the company that used to own them? Orca Bay or something like that? And now someone else owns the Canucks, right?

Which makes it even dumber that they keep the whale in the logo... makes absolutely no sense and has no connection at all to the team. Brutal.

Oh well, at least you have Luongo...

[cferneyh]

Wasn't the whale added to the Canucks' logo because of the name of the company that used to own them? Orca Bay or something like that? And now someone else owns the Canucks, right?

Which makes it even dumber that they keep the whale in the logo... makes absolutely no sense and has no connection at all to the team. Brutal.

Oh well, at least you have Luongo...

Orca Bay (Sports and Entertainment) is still the name of the company that owns the 'nucks and GM Place, but the owner of Orca Bay has changed.

[j-monster]

Wasn't the whale added to the Canucks' logo because of the name of the company that used to own them? Orca Bay or something like that? And now someone else owns the Canucks, right?

Which makes it even dumber that they keep the whale in the logo... makes absolutely no sense and has no connection at all to the team. Brutal.

Oh well, at least you have Luongo...

Orca Bay (Sports and Entertainment) is still the name of the company that owns the 'nucks and GM Place, but the owner of Orca Bay has changed.

OK, thanks for the correction.

Still think the 'nucks should go back to their vintage unis.

[fingernailsonhull]

I was watching the hockey game on NBC when they cut away to the Preakness Stakes. It was enraging.