Nhl Playoffs 2008 !!!!!

[Eli26]

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ok, = jokingly written. also, you've automatically assumed hockey isn't popular in the u.s., yet 25 of the 30 teams in the nhl are from u.s. cities. if these cities couldn't support a hockey team, there wouldn't be one there, would there? or is this a conspiracy to take away canada's heritage of hockey, even though the organized game of hockey on ice originated in the 17th century courtesy of the dutch.

i'll ask you to stop embarassing yourself but it's too much fun to watch.

I know the history of hockey.. it did start in the Nederlands, and was actually called Bandy before it was called hockey. Pucks were made of frozen horse dong, and it made its way through England, then to North America... where Canadians pretty much made the sport their own. Much like basketball was invented by a Canadian. But lets face it.. more Canadians play hockey than Americans (thus why 65 percent of the NHL player number is Canadian born and bred... they watch more hockey... only reason why 25 teams are in the US because there is the money down there, where as here, our major cities are far and few in between, but just because we can't have an NHL team in all of our cities, doesn't mean we don't support and love our hockey and the local teams playing here. Winnipeg has a great hockey city. We watch OHL, MJHL, AHL.. any kind of hockey. Either way, you can't dispute the fact that hockey is more popular and well received up here than it is in the US. To argue that is... well, silly.

I wished more and more Americans would follow the game and invest time and money into it. Heck, I would welcome the fact to see hockey big in cities like the Carolinas, Nashville, Phoenix, and even places that don't have an NHL team in the States. I love this sport. I would love to see it be the most watched... but thing is hockey is suffering for the most part in a lot of markets down in the US. Your northern clubs are thriving and that's awesome. Heck, the State of Minnesota grows a lot of great hockey talent. But truth of the matter a lot of the US based NHL franchises are suffering from lack of interest.

You can't find a Canadian NHL franchise suffering right now. True, we make up a small portion of the league, but again, there are only so many major cities that can support the demands and costs of an NHL team... what is the floor now? Over 30 million US? That's just the floor. As much as I would love NHL hockey in my city again, we can't afford that. But we still love our hockey and watch it anyway we can. Just because you don't have the NHL doesn't mean you can't watch and enjoy the other levels. Gotta give it to Chicago, even with an NHL club in their city, their Wolves still attract around 10,000 per game. They sure love their hockey.

 

[BadMoon]

I know the history of hockey.. it did start in the Nederlands, and was actually called Bandy before it was called hockey. Pucks were made of frozen horse dong, and it made its way through England, then to North America... where Canadians pretty much made the sport their own. But lets face it.. more Canadians play hockey than Americans (thus why 65 percent of the NHL player number is Canadian born and bred... they watch more hockey... only reason why 25 teams are in the US because there is the money down there, where as here, our major cities are far and few in between, but just because we can't have an NHL team in all of our cities, doesn't mean we don't support and love our team. Winnipeg has a great hockey city. We watch OHL, MJHL, AHL.. any kind of hockey. Either way, you can't dispute the fact that hockey is more popular and well received up here than it is in the US. To argue that is... well, silly.

I wished more and more Americans would follow the game and invest time and money into it. Heck, I would welcome the fact to see hockey big in cities like the Carolinas, Nashville, Phoenix, and even places that don't have an NHL team in the States. I love this sport. I would love to see it be the most watched... but thing is hockey is suffering for the most part in a lot of markets down in the US. Your northern clubs are thriving and that's awesome. Heck, the State of Minnesota grows a lot of great hockey talent. But truth of the matter a lot of the US based NHL franchises are suffering from lack of interest.

You can't find a Canadian NHL franchise suffering right now. True, we make up a small portion of the league, but again, there are only so many major cities that can support the demands and costs of an NHL team... what is the floor now? Over 30 million US? That's just the floor. As much as I would love NHL hockey in my city again, we can't afford that. But we still love our hockey and watch it anyway we can. Just because you don't have the NHL doesn't mean you can't watch and enjoy the other levels. Gotta give it to Chicago, even with an NHL club in their city, their Wolves still attract around 10,000 per game. They sure love their hockey.

I think a big part of it is that it is A kinda like soccer. B it is from Canada. C most of the players are not American. D you can't understand them when they talk. And E WE HAVE THE NFL!

Most of that I am just take jabs at our friendly neighbors. I actually enjoy hockey although I am not a huge fan.

 

[Eli26]

I think a big part of it is that it is A kinda like soccer. B it is from Canada. C most of the players are not American. D you can't understand them when they talk. And E WE HAVE THE NFL!

Most of that I am just take jabs at our friendly neighbors. I actually enjoy hockey although I am not a huge fan.

I can only stand to watch hockey, basketball, and football.

Baseball is a sport I used to play, but man I can not for the life of me sit through an entire game as a spectator.

 

[BadMoon]

I can only stand to watch hockey, basketball, and football.

Baseball is a sport I used to play, but man I can not for the life of me sit through an entire game as a spectator.

I am one that doesn't consider Baseball America's sport. I much prefer Football. I played baseball for 9 years and could never watch a game.

 

[KitFisto]

BadMoon,

I don't watch hockey for the fights, but they are a PART of the game. Players in hockey police themelves much better than the refs of the league. If they ever took fighting out of the game then they may as well hae them a purse and tell them to swing away with it.


And IMO the NHL DESTROYS the nfl.

 

[tylerd]

That is one thing I think is weak with Hockey. Don't get me wrong I love a good brawl. However, these guys are pros. They should act accordingly. Fighting should not be tolerated. I know I will be bashed because this is a HOCKEY thing but come on. What is it saying about the players? It is almost like throwing a temper tantrum. Take the NFL. Nothing says tough more than when a wide receiver get slammed to the turf and bounces right back up and gives the corner or safety a nice nod. As if to say you aint hurt me. In hockey a guy gets slammed and wants to piss and moan and fight. I say take fighting out of the game and bench them all. This whole ENFORCER stuff is lame. It is weaker to me to watch some guy get slammed and then want to fight then just shaking it off and saying nice hit.

the role of enforcer has been carried over from yesteryear and has less and less of a place in today's hockey. seems the rules have opened the game up and with a large percentage of european players in the league, it seems hard contact, especially resulting in injury, is highly frowned upon. i predict that in the near future, enforcers will be a part of hockey's past, even though i admit a good fight was fun to watch.

 

[BadMoon]

BadMoon,

I don't watch hockey for the fights, but they are a PART of the game. Players in hockey police themelves much better than the refs of the league. If they ever took fighting out of the game then they may as well hae them a purse and tell them to swing away with it.


And IMO the NHL DESTROYS the nfl.

I am not saying it isn't. I am saying it shoudnt. They are getting paid to be pros. Not a bunch of fighting ^^^^^es. Fighting is lame in any sport. To me it shows poor sportmansship unless of course it is a fighting sport. Also they are not showing that they are a team player. They then get to sit on their ass for a few minutes while the rest of the team plays shorthanded.

 

[tylerd]

I can only stand to watch hockey, basketball, and football.

Baseball is a sport I used to play, but man I can not for the life of me sit through an entire game as a spectator.

i will watch hockey first, baseball second (even though they went on strike in 1994, i like the little games within the game), football third (watch the betting lines and you'll see why teams up by 4 tds in the 4th quarter are still passing the ball) and basketball last (too many thugs).

 

[kain4521]

There are MUCH MUCH more major cities in the US than in Canada which can support the costs of an NHL franchise. It's simple logic... but my point is, Hamilton, Winnipeg, and even Quebec would allure more fans than a place like Nashville, and probably half of the other teams located in the US. Pretty much every Canadian franchise enjoys near-to-sell-out to sell out games, pretty much every night. Whereas places like Phoenix, Nashville, and it's a long list that goes beyond that, but those are two teams that usually get knocked for having terrible terrible attendance, in some cases where the buildings are half full. Don't be fooled by the recorded attendance numbers the NHL publishes. Go by pictures. Pictures don't lie. I'll find a link for you and show you the proof is in the pudding.

When Team Canada was playing the US for Olympic Gold in 2002, the ratings for that game were so astronomically high, that it shattered records left, right, and center for viewership in Canada. 1/4 of the country (which almost sounds unheard of) sat down to watch the our team win Gold. Just under 2 million of Americans watched that game to support the US team, which isn't even 1 percent.

Lets face it, Americans rather watch cars go around an oval check on a repetitive basis vs. watching a game that actually has a lot more to it. hehe

Oh, but the crashes are so much fun... yay!

I like Nascar.

Just never could get into watching hocky on TV but enjoyed the times that I went to the Ice Bears games. And I dont watch the races for the wrecks they just slow the cars down.

 

[bagelsncheesey]

I am one that doesn't consider Baseball America's sport. I much prefer Football. I played baseball for 9 years and could never watch a game.

Hell yes.

 

[KitFisto]

I am not saying it isn't. I am saying it shoudnt. They are getting paid to be pros. Not a bunch of fighting ^^^^^es. Fighting is lame in any sport. To me it shows poor sportmansship unless of course it is a fighting sport. Also they are not showing that they are a team player. They then get to sit on their ass for a few minutes while the rest of the team plays shorthanded.

You are so wrong it makes monkey cry

 

[Shai]

Fights are part of the game.

 

[praxitas]

the role of enforcer has been carried over from yesteryear and has less and less of a place in today's hockey. seems the rules have opened the game up and with a large percentage of european players in the league, it seems hard contact, especially resulting in injury, is highly frowned upon. i predict that in the near future, enforcers will be a part of hockey's past, even though i admit a good fight was fun to watch.

I am most definitely NOT in agreement with you on that. The reason the enforcer is not utilitzed as it should be is because of the lame instigator rule. I can guarantee you that the "pests" of the NHL (avery, ott, neil, tucker, ruutu ect) would play alot more honest. There are way to many cheap shots that have occured over the past few years since this has gone into affect. Im not saying they didn't happen before, but the dirty players get away with dirty plays. The players simply cannot police themselves as they should be able to without putting the game in jeopardy. (giving the other team pp's ect)

Here's a story for you ... Bob Errey told this story when the Coyotes were in Pittsburgh. Errey (who weighs about 170 lbs soaking wet) once checked Gretzky during a game ... didn't elbow him, slash him, cross check, etc. ... just checked him. Semenko came up to Errey on the next shift and said, "Touch Wayne again, and I will kill you." Errey said that he learned right then and there that you don't touch Gretzky ... and he wasn't whining about it. That was just the way it is.

Obviously that is a story of someone that was paid to protect the best player in the league at that time. But, I can guarantee you that if someone pulled some kind of BS hit on anyone else on his team he would steam roll them without question.

The league is all worried about these headshots and boarding incidents that have been going on and they are the ones that are preventing them from stopping. I know for sure I would think twice about giving someone a blind side hit if I knew a 250lb cement head was going to kick my ass my next shift!!


I know your point was that enforcers will get weeded out. But, in my opinion they are the ones that prevent more of the hard, cheap hits from happening in the first place.

BTW 2hrs 9min until the Pens start their run to the CUP

 

[Eli26]

I am most definitely NOT in agreement with you on that. The reason the enforcer is not utilitzed as it should be is because of the lame instigator rule. I can guarantee you that the "pests" of the NHL (avery, ott, neil, tucker, ruutu ect) would play alot more honest. There are way to many cheap shots that have occured over the past few years since this has gone into affect. Im not saying they didn't happen before, but the dirty players get away with dirty plays. The players simply cannot police themselves as they should be able to without putting the game in jeopardy. (giving the other team pp's ect)

Here's a story for you ... Bob Errey told this story when the Coyotes were in Pittsburgh. Errey (who weighs about 170 lbs soaking wet) once checked Gretzky during a game ... didn't elbow him, slash him, cross check, etc. ... just checked him. Semenko came up to Errey on the next shift and said, "Touch Wayne again, and I will kill you." Errey said that he learned right then and there that you don't touch Gretzky ... and he wasn't whining about it. That was just the way it is.

Obviously that is a story of someone that was paid to protect the best player in the league at that time. But, I can guarantee you that if someone pulled some kind of BS hit on anyone else on his team he would steam roll them without question.

The league is all worried about these headshots and boarding incidents that have been going on and they are the ones that are preventing them from stopping. I know for sure I would think twice about giving someone a blind side hit if I knew a 250lb cement head was going to kick my ass my next shift!!


I know your point was that enforcers will get weeded out. But, in my opinion they are the ones that prevent more of the hard, cheap hits from happening in the first place.

BTW 2hrs 9min until the Pens start their run to the CUP

I love you Prax in a very platonic way! Go Pens Go! No editing that you bastards!

Lets do a hockey pool boys!

 

[Voorhees27]

ok, = jokingly written. i guess you've just ignored the link i provided to all the organized junior hockey from the u.s.? denial is an ugly thing eli. as a reminder, winnipeg and quebec lost their franchise because they couldn't support their teams.

also, you've automatically assumed hockey isn't popular in the u.s., yet 25 of the 30 teams in the nhl are from u.s. cities. if these cities couldn't support a hockey team, there wouldn't be one there, would there? or is this a conspiracy to take away canada's heritage of hockey, even though the organized game of hockey on ice originated in the 17th century courtesy of the dutch.

i'll ask you to stop embarassing yourself but it's too much fun to watch.
it's nice that you love hockey but the sport belongs to the world and isn't just a canadian exclusive buddy. that's right guy.

Close but theres actually 6 dude. America has 10 times the population compared to Canada's so having 6 of 30 teams sounds about right.

 

[praxitas]

Here we go fella's WWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


LETS GO PENS!!!

 

[praxitas]

Roberts!!!! 1-0 Pens

 

[Eli26]

Close but theres actually 6 dude. America has 10 times the population compared to Canada's so having 6 of 30 teams sounds about right.

Yes, and that isn't a good argument to say hockey is bigger in the US than in Canada because of the number of NHL teams in US vs. Canada...

So because some billionaire puts a team in Nashville or Phoenix means that there are more people who play hockey and watch hockey in those cities than Winnipeg which doesn't have an NHL franchise? LMFAO

Anyway, Pens up 1-0!

 

[nash]

Should I be proud to have one of the best colleges for hockey as my alma mater?

 

[Eli26]

Fleury is looking sharp and the Pens are hitting a lot! Good period so far for the land lovin' birds.