NHL's credibility

[mattola]

That game against the Boys last weekend was fun to watch (sorry matty) - Russell Wilson off to a fine start in his NFL career.

i had alot of rage that game. but the hawks were fantastic on killing us on our blunders. and there were many.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Has there ever been a more Jekyll and Hyde QB than Tony Romo? Pro Bowler week 1 has you thinking maybe this is the year, deer in the headlights week 2.

 

[juliansteed]

Just a guess: Seahawks, Packers, Vikings, Browns & Bills have the largest fan bases. Maybe some old bandwagon favorites like the Patsies, Cowgirls & Whiners.

Tons of Patriots fans on the east coast where I live. That's why I got great enjoyment from seeing them lose last week.

 

[RaiderZar]

Tons of Patriots fans on the east coast where I live. That's why I got great enjoyment from seeing them lose last week.

Giving rep to a Sharks' bethren in NB.

 

[RaiderZar]

What about the possibility of some the best (or better) Euros deciding to stay with or jump to KHL & other leagues? That would dilute the talent pool tremendously. Certainly couldn't sustain 30 teams at that point. Oy, these guys are short-sighted.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

What about the possibility of some the best (or better) Euros deciding to stay with or jump to KHL & other leagues? That would dilute the talent pool tremendously. Certainly couldn't sustain 30 teams at that point. Oy, these guys are short-sighted.

I'm a little worried about that as well. It could still sustain 30 teams but you are losing some high end talent. It's kind of like in soccer the English Premier League is the biggest and best of the leagues, Spanish Premier League is a distant 2nd with the Italian League being third. I think the Spanish and Italian leagues are far more succesful than the KHL is at this point, but it wouldn't shock me if the KHL grew to be on par with those leagues, producing 2 or 3 teams that could legit contend with an NHL roster.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Soccer's big takeover - ESPNFC

 

[jstewismybastardson]

Dabolts says all the illegal aliens being monitored by Neilson are skewing tv ratings

 

[Comeds]

What about the possibility of some the best (or better) Euros deciding to stay with or jump to KHL & other leagues? That would dilute the talent pool tremendously. Certainly couldn't sustain 30 teams at that point. Oy, these guys are short-sighted.

If that would happen, and I do not think it would, there is a possibilty that the games after the lock out would be very entertaining. Perhaps more so than previously. More than one journalist has the opinion that the 80s and early 90s games were exciting because the players were on the whole not nearly as good as they are now.

Either way, the owners should not worry about whether Europeans will come back when they are trying to negotiate a CBA. It will either happen or it wont, the league will be fine. Its an empty threat IMO.

 

[blindbaby]

The one thing that could potentially damage hockey in Canada is cost.

My son played rep baseball this spring/summer, cost - $1,600
My nephew played rep hockey last winter, cost - $15,000

That's only a small sample size from a small town, but the cost for rep hockey is a huge burden, even for an upper middle class family.

 

[Vadered]

The NHL is rapidly approaching the point where it has as much credibility as I have rep posted beneath my name.

 

[RaiderZar]

If that would happen, and I do not think it would, there is a possibilty that the games after the lock out would be very entertaining. Perhaps more so than previously. More than one journalist has the opinion that the 80s and early 90s games were exciting because the players were on the whole not nearly as good as they are now.

Either way, the owners should not worry about whether Europeans will come back when they are trying to negotiate a CBA. It will either happen or it wont, the league will be fine. Its an empty threat IMO.

Aside for the NFL (which is basically a US sport, sorry CFL), the other 3 sports have done a good job at bringing together the best athletes in the world for their given sport. If Euros stay there to play, I just think we fans are subject to an inferior product. That should lead to less teams, less revenues.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

Dabolts says all the illegal aliens being monitored by Neilson are skewing tv ratings

Fox is showing an EPL game this weekend. I know I won't be watching. I hope you enjoy it.

 

[DevilishWon]

15 years soccer surpasses hockey and baseball in terms of popularity in the U.S. Book it.

The only problem with that prediction is people hve been making it since Pele came to the Cosmos in the 70's...so it's a rolling 15 years

BTW

NFW

 

[beantownmaniac]

The good pub checklist:

Good beer



That's the whole list.

I would add attractive female servers and plenty of big screens to the list, but that's just me...

DS is a brainiac. He's more interested in a good collection of trivia cards.

 

[beantownmaniac]

Has there ever been a more Jekyll and Hyde QB than Tony Romo? Pro Bowler week 1 has you thinking maybe this is the year, deer in the headlights week 2.

Jay Cutler?

 

[Darkstone42]

DS is a brainiac. He's more interested in a good collection of trivia cards.

Psh, you don't know what you're talking about.




I prefer science journals...

 

[Winged_Wheel88]

The NHL is rapidly approaching the point where it has as much credibility as I have rep posted beneath my name.

Negged.

 

[blindbaby]

Nagged.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

In the great irony and hypocrisy of our time, this third lockout will definitely hurt the casual fans, the bandwagon fans, and the fans who are just starting to latch on to the game or who do not yet have deep roots to the team (think expansion markets like Nashville, Columbus, Dallas, Florida, Phoenix, etc). Why is this ironic and hypocritical of the NHL? Well, because as usual the NHL is banking on their legions of die hard fans, the fans for which hockey runs through their blood. The guys who have piles of old used skates and sticks in the basement, the guys who will watch AHL, CHL, NCAA, ECHL hockey, the people who will stream SEL games and buy NHL Network just to watch the WJC's. These fans are the NHL's welfare, the NHL's lifeline to survival. The NHL is taking us for granted yet at the same time, we are the primary bargaining chip for the owners. They know they can deep dick us whenever they want and we will keep watching games, buying tickets, and purchasing overprices sweaters.

Strangely enough, one of the biggest problems concerning the state of the NHL's economy and the direction of the new CBA stems from the NHL's aggressive attempt to bring in new fans in non-traditional markets, and their shunning (either indirectly or directly) of it's hard core base. For the record, I have absolutely no problem with a hockey team in Phoenix, Florida, Nashville, Columbus, or anywhere else the NHL wants to put a team. I think growing the game in new markets is great. But the NHL and Bettman went about it in all the wrong ways. Instead of fixing the system and mending the economy of the way the NHL did business to maintain teams in Quebec, Winnipeg, and Minnesota, they ripped those teams away and flipped the bird to the die hard fans in those markets. At the same time, they launched rapid expansion that saw the league nearly add nine new teams in just over ten years. The only way this was sustainable was if at least 75% of these new and relocated franchises grabbed hold of their communities and started a long term, strong revenue generating fan base in their first five years. Obviously that was a pipe dream, and many of these smaller market expansion teams are still hurting to day.

Expansion and relocated teams aren't the only ones hurting under the new CBA, but they make up a very large portion. During all this time the league cracked down on fighting to make the game appeal to a broader audience, further alienating the original core fan base.

So after growing too big too fast, in markets where fans were expected to be made, not earned, AND turning their back on the people that helped make the league what it was and what it is today, the NHL is now shutting down for a third time in less than twenty years, and guess what? The reason they feel comfortable doing so is because all the fans they gypped in Minnesota, Winnipeg(I'm assuming they are still a little bitter), Hartford, Quebec City, and other parts of Canada are still "Ol' Reliable". They are going to lose many of the fans they had earned in Phoenix, Carolina, Miami, Tampa, and Dallas, and who can blame them? Imagine being a fan in Atlanta. You are given a team, and ten years and TWO lockouts later that team is gone. Why bother?

It's a fucking joke is what it is, and the NHL needs to get their shit together.