Hockey heritage classic edm vs. mtl

[philly97flyer]

i just checked the tv listing for next saturday night (11/22) and i did not see the outdoor game between montreal and edmonton listed on either espn or espn 2. does anyone know if the game will be televised in the states? if college football is put on over this, that would be an absolute disgrace.

[Discrim]

i don't know if this is true, but i'm thinking ESPN might be thinking if it's in Canada and doesn't involve an American team or Doug Flutie, don't 'disgrace' American airwaves with this crap.  i know it isn't crap, that's just what ESPN's treated these things like for some time...i mean, there's a reason we don't get the CFL down here anymore, ESPN didn't think anyone would watch if Flutie was back in the States.  back on topic, I'd think since it's a first in NHL history, we'd get it on ESPN, but apparently not. :angry:

[NJTank]

ESPN treats teh NHL like second class citzens this very much sucks I want to see that game.

[Ez Street]

also how can they justify putting on PBA, WNBA, poker, billiards before things like Arena Football , CFL, or Lacrosse. Just don't make sense.

[-kj]

I'm presuming CBC has broadcast rights for the game, though, so ABC/ESPN wouldn't have an in.

[jkrdevil]

I'm presuming CBC has broadcast rights for the game, though, so ABC/ESPN wouldn't have an in.

Yes, CBC does have the game for hockey night in canada.

But that wouldn't matter for ABC or ESPN, because CBC has the rights in canada, not the US. If ESPN wanted to broadcast it they could.

I think this is bullplop, This is the first outdoor game in league history. I think it should be on over 2 college teams that don't have a shot at the national title. The NHL needs to re-work thier deal to where these type games are on tv all across North America. If ESPN won't change to a different network.

If the NHL has to take less money for that to happen they should. It would help the growth of the game, and they would get back the money in the ong run.

ESPN sucks  :angry:  :angry:  :angry:

[yh]

The NHL needs to re-work thier deal to where these type games are on tv all across North America.

I agree with you, however it seems to me by your comments that you're pointing the finger at ESPN when fault clearly lies with the NHL.  They shouldn't have scheduled the game for a Saturday night during the heart of college football season.  Could they not have scheduled it on a Friday night or perhaps in February or March?  I am extremely disappointed that I am not going to have a chance to watch this historic game, however when the date was announced I knew that there wasn't a chance in hell that the game would be broadcast here because of the fact that it's on a Saturday night in November.  The NHL has created a very unique event that would have made for a very interesting TV broadcast and they scheduled it for a date and time where they should have known they were going to be shut out of all of their traditional American TV broadcast outlets.  This is just another example of the ignorance, stupidity and recklessness that is NHL "leadership."

[Snowcap30]

i got Center Ice so im watchin in    

[Roger Clemente]

They wanted it scheduled for a Saturday because in Canada, it's hockey night, and we all religiously watch it.

I think this would have been a perfect complement to Hockey Day in Canada that they're having again next February. The only problem with it though is that the timeslots they use for triple-headers are not exactly even, and so the alumni game would interfere with one of the timeslots.

But here's my idea for a super duper HDIC: Start the day at 11AM EST. Have the first game start at 1PM EST (They still have games playing that early in the day, don't they?), then the alumni game at 4PM EST, the real outdoor game at 7PM EST, then the regularly scheduled late game at 10PM EST. It would make HDIC all the more sweeter. (Plus, being in February, ESPN could probably show it)

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

[jkrdevil]

Yes, RC they still have 1:00 hockey games, in fact the Devils-Rangers game tomorrow is at 1. Though 1:00 games are rare.

I think RC's solution is perfect. And I was blaming both the NHL and Disney (Owners of ABC and ESPN)

[tmorss9]

will CBC be showing all the festivities, like legends live? i havent heard anything.

[Brian in Boston]

Much like the notion of what constitutes "great" in sports, I honestly believe that the definition of what qualifies as "historic" in sports has been watered down. Case in point: the game being discussed in this thread.

Is the outdoor NHL contest between Montreal and Edmonton an interesting marketing concept? I guess. However, to consider the game "historic" is a bit of a stretch. We're talking about a regular season NHL game (an EARLY season game, at that) between a .500 Edmonton Oilers club and a sub-.500 Montreal Canadiens squad.

IMHO, simply because the game is being played outdoors in front of a large crowd doesn't come close to qualifying the contest as being a "history-making" event. Frankly, it's nothing more than a marketing gimmick. The more I think about it, the more contrived and embarassing a marketing gimmick it seems to be. This is the professional hockey equivalent of a small community gathering all of its residents together on the town green to hula-hoop simultaneously. Great! North Haverbrook set the Guinness World Record for "Most People Simultaneously Hula-Hooping"! Is this what the NHL feels it has to do to draw attention to its product? It's ridiculous.

I'm also not buying that there is anything about this game that is going to make for a more "interesting TV broadcast". The NHL's product on television has long been plagued by the difficulties inherent in trying to capture the speed and fluidity of the sport (not to mention following the puck) in a broadcast. Am I to understand that increasing the size of the venue's seating area - thus, further distancing camera positions from the playing surface - is going to serve to make the broadcast more intimate?

The game is a gimmick: nothing more and nothing less. If it were being broadcast on ESPN or ESPN 2, folks would tune in, wait for a shot of the crowd to see how large the gathering was, then switch to something else.

Brian in Boston

[Roger Clemente]

Yes, the alumni game is being shown on CBC starting at 4:30PM EST.  It's only 90 minutes long though.

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

[Snowcap30]

does ABC still do hockey games starting after the superbowl? cuz then the games are at 1 and 3

[jkrdevil]

Brian, Your right it's a gimmick but I feel it is historic. This game feels to me like hockey going back to the origins (just one game though). Hockey started on lakes and ponds. I know when ever the water freezes where I live enough to skate on there are many little pick-up pond hockey games.

You do make a great point about the Tv and the cameras. The other day, I was watching the Devils-Sabres from rochester (sp?). The arena was small and you could see the game much better, and clearer. You could see the puck and the lines. In some rinks (ottawa, comes to mind) I can barely see the top of the circles clearly. I think the NHL needs to figure out a way to get the cameras closer in all rinks.

But I still feel ESPN should broadcast the game.

[Roger Clemente]

There should be no problem with the cameras involved with the game.  If you've ever watched football, you can see how close the regular play-by-play cameras can zoom in on a play or player.  It should be no problem for the NHL, in fact because the rink is only about half the size of the football field, the turning radius on the camera is reduced.  And with all that empty space between the seats and the rink, you could put many more cameras in there in many more unique positions.

This game seems to be marketed squarely at Canadians and with good reason and intentions.  Canadians love hockey, and love playing it outdoors.  So it's almost a huge sigh of relief that we finally get to see the Canadian game the way it was meant to be played (albeit still confined to the rink).  And the fact that so many Canadians get to partake in this histroic moment makes it more proud to us, regardless of the game at hand.  It allows them to at least get to watch Wayne Gretzky lace them up and play again, if only for one day.  (Hell, amongst my friends, that is the number one reason to watch the game).  And besides, two sub .500 teams squaring off can be just as intense as to above .500 teams, especially if they are two Canadian teams.

I would love to see this thing done more often.  Hell it would rule if the entire sport could be played outdoors all year long, like football.

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

[tmorss9]

I wouldn't be to concerned with the camerawork. When Michigan and Michigan State played at Spartan Stadium a few years ago it looked fine. The only difference was the lighting, but that was just because of the setting. I'll probably videotape the entire thing. It may be a little gimmicky, but it will be a great event, and absolutely historic. I wouldnt be surprised to see this happen in more cities, assuming all goes well.

[Puckguy14]

ABC and ESPN (otherwise known under their real names, NBABC and ESPNBA) couldn't give 2 cents (and that's in Canadian) about the NHL.  Now with College Basketball getting ready to go, you'll have hockey on 1 night a week, for one game, on ESPN2.  Plus where has NHL 2 Night been?  Or did they cancel that too?  Shoot ESPN shows NBA 2 Night 5 nights a week plus their "Baseball Tonight" like show where they sneak peek into all games.

Read what I wrote in how to fix the NHL thread on how I would fix this problem.

[NJTank]

Yeah ESPN shovels the NBA down our throat.

You knwo its not that I hate the NBA but man it can really get boring at times (mainly the first 43 minutes of every game) I'd much rather see NHL doubleheaders on it. Not Nuggets Vs Magic like they had last nite.

Its not just on ESPN and ESPN2 have you been to ESPN>com lately?

I go there each nite when I do the Image of the Day for my website and its almost like Lebron James is front and center nightly.

Enough we don't need to follow him each game.

There are other things going on its getting sickening and then you got the Kobe trial it never ends.