Commentary
NHL knows how to bring in a new year What, no nasty poker references?
The NHL had a big New Year’s Day party, 71,000 people showed up and stayed through a blizzard and it had more TV viewers than the Gator Bowl.
Let’s hope that all the hockey hating idiots who like to make fun of the NHL and compare its TV ratings to the numbers drawn by poker, equestrian meets and women’s basketball will finally get it through their heads that the NHL’s popularity doesn’t come close to being reflected in the national Nielsens.
The Winter Classic in Buffalo was an “event” the same way that every NFL game and every NASCAR race is an “event”. An NHL team that has a decent run in the playoffs will play 90 games. The NFL champion will play no more than 20.
Do you think the Steelers would do any better than the 17 rating that the Penguins and Sabres got in this market if they played 90 times a year?
What kind of ratings would NASCAR get on FOX for the 87th race of the season?
The fact that the game was played outside in a football stadium made it unique in much the same way that one of 16 Sundays in an NFL regular season is unique.
All you need to know is that the New York Times sent a reporter to the game.
– The reviews on the Winter Classic were almost universally glowing. Kevin Allen of USA Today wrote: “The cynics who criticized this event as being a promotional stunt simply have forgotten that sports are supposed to be entertainment.”
The Baltimore Sun is not widely known for its devotion to hockey but here’s what Bill Ordine of the Sun wrote: ” On a day that used to be dominated by the most exciting matchups in college football, the most entertaining sports on TV yesterday was not on the gridiron but on the ice -and I mean really cold ice.” And here’s David Shoalts of the Toronto Globe and Mail: “Everything you could want in an outdoor game was there yesterday. The only thing missing was mom ringing the dinner bell so someone would say, ‘Okay, last goal wins.”
– Do you think playing hockey outside in the falling snow on less than perfect ice somehow pollutes the purity of the sport? What’s more of a gimmick and less pure, playing hockey outside in a blizzard or playing football under a roof, on a carpet?
– NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman loved the show and said he would like to do it again. That’s good. Let’s just hope that he doesn’t do it next year. Let’s face it; a big part of the appeal was that it had never been done before in the United States. It had been four years since the Oilers and Rangers had played in the only other outdoor game in NHL history. Every four years seems about right.
– Anybody can throw on some shorts and a tee shirt and go to a New Year’s Day football game in Orlando, but it takes some real dedication and toughness to sit in blowing snow and freezing temperatures for four hours to watch a hockey game in Buffalo. It reminds me of what my friend, Stan Savran, used to say about the NFL. He said the NFL should only be in cities like Pittsburgh, Cleveland, New York, Detroit, Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago, where games can be played in real football weather.
– Do you think maybe it’s time for everybody to just leave Michel Therrien alone and let him coach?
– Is there any chance that the people who came up with the idea for the Iowa caucuses are the same people who came up with the idea for the BCS?
nHas there ever been less of a buzz about college football’s “national championship” game than there has been about Ohio State-LSU?
– How can anyone justify calling either Ohio State or LSU a champion if neither had to play West Virginia or USC, not to mention Missouri or Virginia Tech? To me, LSU-Ohio State is just another college football game.
– Roger Clemens says that former trainer Brian McNamee injected him with B-12 and lidocaine. McNamee’s lawyer says that McNamee has a Masters degree in sports medicine and knows the difference between testosterone and B-12 and he says his client stands by what he said to the Mitchell Report – that he shot Clemens up with testosterone. Another lawyer for McNamee is threatening to sue Clemens for defamation. Let’s see, that’s one threatened lawsuit by the trainer and none by Clemens. I’m still going with guilty until proven innocent on this one.
Not to be cynical.
– If the NHL decides to schedule the Flyers and the Penguins outside at Beaver Stadium next year, I’ll be watching no matter what college football game it’s up against.