Ongoing NHL thread - Part deux

[sherbert1421]

NHL -- League at crucial crossroads while reacting to troubling offseason

 

[dash]

I hope we have seen the last of Matt Cooke, but I wouldn't be surprised if some team comes a-callin'

Unsigned Matt Cooke has fire in the belly; Mike Yeo on Darryl Sydor; Ballard, Leopold updates

 

[DevilishWon]

I hope we have seen the last of Matt Cooke, but I wouldn't be surprised if some team comes a-callin'

Unsigned Matt Cooke has fire in the belly; Mike Yeo on Darryl Sydor; Ballard, Leopold updates

Hopefully the fire in the belly is ulcers

 

[forty_three]

Five Stanley Cup finals matchups we want to see - Cross Checks Blog - ESPN

Some nice ideas here.

Truth be told, I would prefer Calgary vs Columbus.

 

[tducey]

NHL -- League at crucial crossroads while reacting to troubling offseason

Yeah, it's strange for the NHL to be in a situation like this but hopefully there will not be another offseason like this again.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

There isn't a single Cup matchup outside maybe the Caps-Ducks I'd like to see there.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Milan Lucic dreams of playing for Canucks (after LA Kings Cup run)

 

[Puck082]

There isn't a single Cup matchup outside maybe the Caps-Ducks I'd like to see there.

I agree. These are atrocious. Here's my 5:

Ducks/Caps
Kings/Canadians - love the goalie matchup here
Avalanche/Wings - anyone seen Claude Lemiuex or Darren McCarty?
Stars/Isles - repeat from 1981...sorta
Canucks/Bruins...just to make Lucic pissed.

 

[dash]

Milan Lucic dreams of playing for Canucks (after LA Kings Cup run)

This must happen

 

[pixburgher66]

There isn't a single Cup matchup outside maybe the Caps-Ducks I'd like to see there.

They're all sort of ratings nightmares. Columbus Nashville?

 

[dash]

They're all sort of ratings nightmares. Columbus Nashville?

C'mon pix, it's the Big 10 vs. the SEC for the National Championship.

 

[pixburgher66]

C'mon pix, it's the Big 10 vs. the SEC for the National Championship.

I can't even imagine how bad the ratings would be. People thought TB was bad. It's not that their respective cities don't care at ALL, but they're also small cities. I imagine that's what Bettman's nightmares are. Or are they dreams because it's hockey "working" in not typical cities?

 

[forty_three]

I can't even imagine how bad the ratings would be. People thought TB was bad. It's not that their respective cities don't care at ALL, but they're also small cities. I imagine that's what Bettman's nightmares are. Or are they dreams because it's hockey "working" in not typical cities?

List of United States cities by population - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

List of United States cities by population - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

List of metropolitan areas of the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Better reflection of a city's power. For the United States, Columbus and Nashville are definitely smaller cities.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

/

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

List of United States cities by population - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Using a city population alone is a horribly misleading statistic because some cities are much more aggressive at incorporating surrounding areas than others.

Take for example Atlanta. The city of Atlanta has less than 1/2 million people, good for 39th in the US. But anyone with half a brain knows that Atlanta has waaaayyyy more people than that. The problem is that nobody lives within the city proper. They all live in the surrounding suburbs, which accounts for 4 million people, jumping Atlanta to 9th.

Same thing happens to Boston and DC, just as two other examples.

 

[pixburgher66]

List of United States cities by population - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not supposed to be a slam or anything...but Columbus is a small city in the sports landscape. Not saying they can't have local success, but the ratings wouldn't be good in a SCF.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Using a city population alone is a horribly misleading statistic because some cities are much more aggressive at incorporating surrounding areas than others.

Take for example Atlanta. The city of Atlanta has less than 1/2 million people, good for 39th in the US. But anyone with half a brain knows that Atlanta has waaaayyyy more people than that. The problem is that nobody lives within the city proper. They all live in the surrounding suburbs, which accounts for 4 million people, jumping Atlanta to 9th.

Same thing happens to Boston and DC, just as two other examples.

By city populations, Philly is almost twice as populous as San Francisco. By MSA, San Fran is comfortably (or uncomfortably, if you dislike crowds) ahead of Philly.

The only way a city population is relevant is if the city proper is losing population. Looking at you, Detroit.

As a metric, it's almost useless post-war.

 

[forty_three]

Not supposed to be a slam or anything...but Columbus is a small city in the sports landscape. Not saying they can't have local success, but the ratings wouldn't be good in a SCF.

It's just a little surprising coming from a fan of Pittsburgh, a city of almost identical overall size, who had a team that was in the same or worse condition at the <15 year mark in their history. Did the league survive the completely uninteresting matchup of the Penguins and North Stars? What about Colorado Vs Florida? Ducks and Senators? Tampa winning a cup was supposed to ruin hockey.

How does it get to the point where the whole season is about players and suddenly it's only about the city when the finals comes around? By that logic the final four every year should be LA, Chicago, Toronto and NYR. Because ratings.

You make the final, you earned it. Regardless of where you play. Size of the city doesn't mean anything. Reputation and history does. And how do you get that credibility? You go out and you compete for cups without giving a shit if the marketing team is happy.

Let's be honest with ourselves, those two cups are a big reason anyone fought for the team to stay in Pittsburgh.

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

It's just a little surprising coming from a fan of Pittsburgh, a city of almost identical overall size, who had a team that was in the same or worse condition at the <15 year mark in their history. Did the league survive the completely uninteresting matchup of the Penguins and North Stars? What about Colorado Vs Florida? Ducks and Senators? Tampa winning a cup was supposed to ruin hockey.

How does it get to the point where the whole season is about players and suddenly it's only about the city when the finals comes around? By that logic the final four every year should be LA, Chicago, Toronto and NYR. Because ratings.

You make the final, you earned it. Regardless of where you play. Size of the city doesn't mean anything. Reputation and history does. And how do you get that credibility? You go out and you compete for cups without giving a shit if the marketing team is happy.

Let's be honest with ourselves, those two cups are a big reason anyone fought for the team to stay in Pittsburgh.

Well, that one did cause us to lose a full season.