10 reasons why the NHL playoffs are better than

[FiddySicks]

The MLB probably has the best playoff format of all the leagues, but without a Chicago team, the Yankees, or the Red Sox they're nothing.

Are you serious? What about St. Louis, Houston, All the California teams, Cleveland (when theyre winning, but if they make the playoffs they obviously are), and many others? yeah sure New York and Boston are well followed, as well as Chicago (but not like New York or Boston), but i think your underestimating the fan bases of many MLB teams.

Unless, you just meant in your opinion. In that case, nevermind.

[Eye]

The MLB probably has the best playoff format of all the leagues, but without a Chicago team, the Yankees, or the Red Sox they're nothing.

Are you serious? What about St. Louis, Houston, All the California teams, Cleveland (when theyre winning, but if they make the playoffs they obviously are), and many others? yeah sure New York and Boston are well followed, as well as Chicago (but not like New York or Boston), but i think your underestimating the fan bases of many MLB teams.

Unless, you just meant in your opinion. In that case, nevermind.

I think I get what he's saying, but I think it's only been like this since '03. Fox only wants Red Sox - Yankees. I can almost certainly say, that they were probably pissed when in last year's ALCS it was White Sox - Angels. Overall though, if you look in the 90's, the playoffs have been fine. You had Cleveland, Toronto, Oakland, Seattle, Texas, Boston, in their in many of those years, even further establishing their already great fanbases and making for some darn good coverage and baseball. But lately, It's been Red Sox - Yankees and living here in NJ, you have no idea how stupid these Yankees fans are, especially the morons at my school. But I see his point.

[See Red]

The NBA playoffs are better because with the NHL, unless you live in one of the few areas that still had an NHL team remaining, you can watch the greatest game you've ever seen and the next day at work, you can't talk to anybody else about it because nobody either watched or cares. What the hell good is professional sports if you can't talk about them around the watercooler with the guys?

And sure, one could argue that all you need to watch of a basketball game is the final two minutes of the game, but might I point out that had I watched the first five minutes of regulation of the Sabres/Canes game, then went out to dinner or whatever, and came back for the last 5 minutes of regulation, I'd have missed ZERO goals.

[BrianVlietDesign]

NHL Playoffs have been sooo much better than the NBA Playoffs. I'd rather get my name etched on Lord Stanley's Cup than hoist a tiny piece of scrap with a hoop and a ball on top.

[Your Name Here]

NHL Playoffs have been sooo much better than the NBA Playoffs. I'd rather get my name etched on Lord Stanley's Cup than hoist a tiny piece of scrap with a hoop and a ball on top.

Again, in any other year I'd agree with you, but this year there have been more incredible finishes in the NBA and more competitive series. As for the market size, this was a year when the NHL really could've used a Detroit-New York Stanley Cup. But instead, we get Carolina or Buffalo in an intrasquad scrimmage.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

My cable company doesn't carry OLN, so I'm forced to listen to the NHL conference finals via wgr550.com.

That's just pathetic, really. However, I do get the benefit of Rick Jeanneret, so I'll certainly take that.

I think the opening rounds of the NBA playoffs were much better than the conference finals so far, whereas I think the NHL has kind of been steadily exciting throughout.

Whatever, playoffs are playoffs. They're exciting in most any sport. So there.

[paynomind]

OK, if you like one sport better than the other, or one league more than the other, you will of course think that sport has better playoffs.

That said, I like hockey better than NBA. I like clumpy milk served in a rusty bowl poured over Draino better than the NBA.

But, I'm not watching either playoffs. I'm watching MLB, or TV.

[CoryB]

It's nice to see that professional sports has come to the point where only the larger market teams are seen as the successful ones that "need" to be the champion teams for the success of the league, and if they're not the league is just not considerd good.

Yah, New York, Chicago, LA, have a lot of potential "viewers" in their regions, which, really, just means money, but why is it that an Edmonton-Buffalo/Carolina final will be unsuccesful, or a Calgary-Tampa Bay (which went to seven games), or if there were an Indiana-Portland final in the NBA (for example)? The teams that make the final in any sport deserve to be there. They have their fans, smaller markets they may be, and those fans also deserve to have their team win the championship.

It's so sad that success is only tied to TV ratings, and that mindset has become a part of sports life. There is way to much emphasis on ratings, instead of actually playing the game well. It's a good thing, then that the lowly Canadian NHL teams haven't won a cup since '93, or the league would be considered a joke (which some people already consider it to be, because it has teams in "small markets")...

There was a stretch of 8 years (from '83 to '90) where the Stanley Cup final was in Alberta. Because the Flames and Oilers were that good. Two insignificant small market teams. And they've now made the last two finals... How can that be considered a failure? When any team has the potential to be the champion, the whole league prospers.

[Fred T. Jane]

When any team has the potential to be the champion, the whole league prospers.

Bob Goodenow just called, he said you're a liar.

[jkrdevil]

I don't buy the whole big market argument. Green Bay is the smallest market size for pro sports in the US yet if they are in the Super Bowl the ratings are higher than normal.

The problem is the NHL sucks at marketing the league and the teams. Maybe if the NBC games weren't always the Red Wings and the Rangers each week more people would be familiar with th other teams. Therefore when those other teams get to the Finals they are familar to the viewers and more people would be more inclined to watch. If the NHL markets all the teams nationally the Ratings for the finals would be more consistant each year with a small boost if a bigger market team makes it.

[HedleyLamarr]

It's nice to see that professional sports has come to the point where only the larger market teams are seen as the successful ones that "need" to be the champion teams for the success of the league, and if they're not the league is just not considerd good.

Yah, New York, Chicago, LA, have a lot of potential "viewers" in their regions, which, really, just means money, but why is it that an Edmonton-Buffalo/Carolina final will be unsuccesful, or a Calgary-Tampa Bay (which went to seven games), or if there were an Indiana-Portland final in the NBA (for example)? The teams that make the final in any sport deserve to be there. They have their fans, smaller markets they may be, and those fans also deserve to have their team win the championship.

It's so sad that success is only tied to TV ratings, and that mindset has become a part of sports life. There is way to much emphasis on ratings, instead of actually playing the game well. It's a good thing, then that the lowly Canadian NHL teams haven't won a cup since '93, or the league would be considered a joke (which some people already consider it to be, because it has teams in "small markets")...

There was a stretch of 8 years (from '83 to '90) where the Stanley Cup final was in Alberta. Because the Flames and Oilers were that good. Two insignificant small market teams. And they've now made the last two finals... How can that be considered a failure? When any team has the potential to be the champion, the whole league prospers.

Think of it this way: NBC paid nothing to get the rights to the NHL, and OLN didn't pay all that much for broadcasting NHL games. These are two American channels. They lose a good portion of their viewership because one of the finalists is not an American team; therefore they lose American viewers. Buffalo and Raleigh are not big media markets. The hardcore hockey fans will watch, regardless. The on-the-fence fans are likely to watch. It's the non-hardcore, non on-the-fence fans the NHL won't be able to convince to watch because the big market teams aren't playing.

If you see a sporting event pitting teams from Edmonton-Carolina, and a sporting event pitting teams from New York-Chicago, which matchup would grab your attention more?

More viewership = more you bring to the table when making deals with sponsors. And with their economics right now, the NHL would kill for a better TV deal than they are stuck with right now.

[ninersdd]

The NBA playoffs suck because all the good teams get the call(Especially the Spurs and Manu Ginobili)

[ninersdd]

The Packers are in a small market but everyone knows about them, but in the NHL, teams like the small market Hurricanes, almost nobody has heard about them

[HedleyLamarr]

The Packers are in a small market but everyone knows about them, but in the NHL, teams like the small market Hurricanes, almost nobody has heard about them

Think of how long the Packers have been in existance.

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

i don't go for the big market/small market argument.

its really which teams are more exciting to watch.

which would you rather watch:

Mavs/Pistons or Mavs/Heat final

or

Oilers/Sabres or Oilers/Hurricanes final?

the non hardcore, non hockey fans to on the fence fans will be more inclined to watch the Mavs/Heat or Mavs/Pistons than Oilers/Sabres/Canes finals.

The mavs, pistons and heat are a better ratings grabber than the Oilers,Sabres, Canes.

conversey if the finals were Clippers and Wizards in the nba and Redwings and Rangers were in the NHL, the NHL would be a bigger ratings grabber than the Clips and Wiz. though given the piss poor marketing of the NHL, i'm probaby sure the worst of NBA teams could out draw the best of the NHL.

[WSU151]

I think the NBA playoffs have been fantastic. I like hockey, but to be honest, when the Avalanche got smoked by the Ducks, I quickly lost interest. I couldn't care less if Buffalo or Carolina goes to the finals.

However, in my opinion, I think that this year, the NBA has benefited from great basketball and maturing rivalries, with the latter being a key part to any successful playoff system. Mavs/Suns, Mavs/Spurs, Suns/Lakers-Clippers, Pistons/Heat, etc are all becoming really good rivalries, and in some cases, natural rivals. I follow the Heat more than any other team, and the rivalry with Detroit is more real than any sort of "rivalry" between Buffalo and Carolina or Edmonton and Anaheim. That's what makes the NBA better this year, as it seems like there is more at stake than just a championship. In the past...NHL by far. But this year (and obviously last year with no NHL) the NBA playoffs have been my choice of television.

[TFoA]

The NBA playoffs suck because all the good teams get the call(Especially the Spurs and Manu Ginobili)

Whom are eliminated. Some calls they got.

Anyways, any other year I would pick the NHL Playoffs, just because of the fact that every night that they go out, it ain't like the NBA were some teams would take a night off and know good and well they could sweep and/or win the series in 5 games if they wanted to. In the NHL, it's an all out war, you fight to stya in the playoffs and you fight not to go home.

But on the flipside, the NBA Playoffs, at least this year, are more exciting and better just because of one thing:

Spurs vs. Mavs. BEST. SERIES. EVER.

That and the fact that most of these series have been going deep into Game 7 have made the NBA Playoffs, in my mind, eclipse the NHL Playoffs for the first time in a while.

[CoryB]

Think of it this way: NBC paid nothing to get the rights to the NHL, and OLN didn't pay all that much for broadcasting NHL games.  These are two American channels.  They lose a good portion of their viewership because one of the finalists is not an American team; therefore they lose American viewers.  Buffalo and Raleigh are not big media markets.  The hardcore hockey fans will watch, regardless.  The on-the-fence fans are likely to watch.  It's the non-hardcore, non on-the-fence fans the NHL won't be able to convince to watch because the big market teams aren't playing.

If you see a sporting event pitting teams from Edmonton-Carolina, and a sporting event pitting teams from New York-Chicago, which matchup would grab your attention more?

More viewership = more you bring to the table when making deals with sponsors.  And with their economics right now, the NHL would kill for a better TV deal than they are stuck with right now.

Oh, I fully understand it - but that doesn't make it right. I'm admittedly biased, being from Edmonton. I'm so tired of the place I was born and have lived in all my life not being recognized at all just because we "only" have a million people here. We have an NHL team, just like New York, and we've had it for 26 years. We don't have it because someone felt sorry for us.

Because we're a little smaller, we had to struggle to keep it here during the tough times. Now the Oilers have played well enough to get into the Stanley Cup final, but because "no one will watch it" in the "important high population American markets" it's considered to be a bad thing. It's not just the Oilers, though, it's any team in any sport in a so-called small market. When the Canadiens are considered a small market team, in a city the size of Montreal, something's wrong.

My problem is that the only thing that is important is the money - not the talent or the game. It's all about markets now. It never used to be that way.

If you really like the sport, you'll watch any team play. If you really want to learn about the sport, being new to it, it shouldn't matter what team you watch. When I wanted to learn about baseball, I'd watch any baseball game, and, most likely, the championship game, because the teams there are supposed to be the best at the game... and that's where I started my appreciation of that sport. After time, I started to have favourite teams.

Like I said, I understand why it's this way, but I don't like that it's this way.

[Gary]

i don't go for the big market/small market argument. 

its really which teams are more exciting to watch. 

which would you rather watch:

Mavs/Pistons or Mavs/Heat final

or

Oilers/Sabres or Oilers/Hurricanes final?

the non hardcore, non hockey fans to on the fence fans will be more inclined to watch the Mavs/Heat or Mavs/Pistons than Oilers/Sabres/Canes finals. 

The mavs, pistons and heat are a better ratings grabber than the Oilers,Sabres, Canes. 

conversey if the finals were Clippers and Wizards in the nba and Redwings and Rangers were in the NHL, the NHL would be a bigger ratings grabber than the Clips and Wiz.  though given the piss poor marketing of the NHL, i'm probaby sure the worst of NBA teams could out draw the best of the NHL.

WOW what a way to leave out the Suns out of any matchup in the NBA Finals, you pretty much already decided that the Mavs were the Western Conference Champions. They are tied at 2.

Anyway, I think it depends on what sport you like most, I like hockey, but right now if I had to choose between the two, I go with the NBA playoffs, especially all of the games I have been to in the playoffs. Right now in the US, we don't get the opportunity to watch the NHL Playoffs because alot of the cable providers do not have the OLN Network. So right now i'll choose the NBA playoffs, plus if the Suns and Pistons make the Finals I already have a nice couple weeks to go to both Auburn Hills and Phoenix for all 7 games .

[HedleyLamarr]

Oh, I fully understand it - but that doesn't make it right. I'm admittedly biased, being from Edmonton. I'm so tired of the place I was born and have lived in all my life not being recognized at all just because we "only" have a million people here. We have an NHL team, just like New York, and we've had it for 26 years. We don't have it because someone felt sorry for us.

Because we're a little smaller, we had to struggle to keep it here during the tough times. Now the Oilers have played well enough to get into the Stanley Cup final, but because "no one will watch it" in the "important high population American markets" it's considered to be a bad thing. It's not just the Oilers, though, it's any team in any sport in a so-called small market. When the Canadiens are considered a small market team, in a city the size of Montreal, something's wrong.

My problem is that the only thing that is important is the money - not the talent or the game. It's all about markets now. It never used to be that way.

If you really like the sport, you'll watch any team play. If you really want to learn about the sport, being new to it, it shouldn't matter what team you watch. When I wanted to learn about baseball, I'd watch any baseball game, and, most likely, the championship game, because the teams there are supposed to be the best at the game... and that's where I started my appreciation of that sport. After time, I started to have favourite teams.

Like I said, I understand why it's this way, but I don't like that it's this way.

Like all the other sports, money has taken precedent over the game itself. And let's face it....when three of your teams have filed for bankruptcy fairly recently, there is a financial problem with the league.

During the late 80's and throughout the 90's, the league didn't have to do a lot of self-promotion. Even the average sports fan knew who the stars were and which teams routinely were Cup contenders. Popularity exploded, and expansion was rampant.

As I said before, the hardcore fans and the fence-fans will be watching. What NBC and OLN won't be able to pull from are those non-hockey fans in the markets where a team is playing, as well as not being able to draw attention from having a big city team in the Finals. There are people who would watch a game involving a New York City team just to watch them lose.

One thing the league desperately needs is a decent TV deal. The NHL got the same deal from NBC that the AFL got: sharing profits and advertisements, and no money from NBC. CBS, ESPN, Fox, and NBC paid a ton of money for the NFL broadcasting rights. ABC/ESPN and TNT put up a lot of money for the NBA. ESPN and Fox paid a lot for MLB. CBS shells out a lot of dough for March Madness. Fox just paid a lot to get the rights to the BCS Bowl Games (other than the Rose Bowl). There is no reason why the NHL can't promote itself the way the NFL and the NBA does.

Edmonton vs. Buffalo/Carolina would be an exciting climax to the season to NHL fans, but when the dust settles, the low TV ratings will dictate how good a deal the NHL gets in the future.