2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs

[Maz]

Kornheiser is NOT a Caps fan, neither is Wilbon. They both write/used to write for the Washington Post so when the Caps/Ovechkin do something they claim to be experts. Make no mistake about it, they slam the Caps as often as possible.

Heh. They dont sound so bad afterall...

[rainmaker17]

And your Texas Stars are the AHL Western Conference champions in their inaugural season....wooops wrong thread!

[Don]

And your Texas Stars are the AHL Western Conference champions in their inaugural season....wooops wrong thread!

Dont think theres a thread for that, but have fun with Hershey. Thank you for taking out Hamilton so we dont have to face Subban.

[rams80]

And your Texas Stars are the AHL Western Conference champions in their inaugural season....wooops wrong thread!

Not bad for a provisional franchise.

/You do realize Hershey's going to kill them.

[rainmaker17]

And your Texas Stars are the AHL Western Conference champions in their inaugural season....wooops wrong thread!

Not bad for a provisional franchise.

/You do realize Hershey's going to kill them.

Sure I do, but it's been a fun ride.

[Sodboy13]

Nice little success story going on down in Cedar Park. Not only are they winning, but they're also drawing - to the point where the arena has been hosting viewing parties for road playoff games. Good on 'em, especially since what's good for Austin would, I imagine, be good for Houston and San Antonio.

Now, if only they could figure out how to dress themselves.

[Seadragon76]

And your Texas Stars are the AHL Western Conference champions in their inaugural season....wooops wrong thread!

*is somewhat sore because this is the team that bought out the Iowa Chops*

[crashcarson15]

And your Texas Stars are the AHL Western Conference champions in their inaugural season....wooops wrong thread!

Dont think theres a thread for that, but have fun with Hershey. Thank you for taking out Hamilton so we dont have to face Subban.

And thank you for taking out Hamilton so the Jackets can have a coach in the next week or two.

[TheOldRoman]

As a hockey fan it's my gut instinct to join the "HATE ESPN" bandwagon, but ultimately I can't. ESPN is a business entity. They don't cover hockey extensively because ratings indicate American sports fans, by and large, don't care about hockey. They take pot shots at the NHL because the majority of American sports fans think of hockey in a comical manner at worst and with indifference at best. So really, I can't fault them for doing what makes the most business sense.

The gut reaction to these revelations would be that the NHL has to start trying to make themselves relevant to the average American sports fan. The problem is that they've been trying to do that for years and nothing has changed.

So with that in mind VS seems like a perfect fit for the NHL in the States. It's a niche channel, sure, but realistically the NHL is a niche league in the US. And the chances of it getting any better are slim to nil.

*goes back to watching TSN and CBC*

You are correct to a certain degree. However, they perpetuate it by dissing hockey.

A similar situation has been going on in Chicago for the past 25 years. Both baseball teams had been bad forever, but the Cubs got hot in 84, Ferris Bueller went to Wrigley Field, and Harry Caray was featured on WGN across the nation. It was then that Wrigley Field, which still existed only because the Cubs had failed in the past to get a new park built, became a shrine. This was at the same time the White Sox stupidly (or actually, wisely but 20 years before its time), took the team off of WGN and put them on a pay cable channel which very few people in the Chicago area and nobody outside of it actually got. The teams had been more or less equal to that point, but the Cubs became media darlings. Part of it was due to the Cubs being owned by the Tribune, but the only other newspaper, but the Sun Times tried to "out-Cub" the Tribune. The White Sox made an error of building their new park a few years too early, and its flaws are glaring within a few years. The media made light of it, some in particular (Marriotti) ran with BS conjecture about gun shot holes being in seats, claimed people got vertigo from sitting in the upper deck from the steepness, told people they were taking their life into their hands going into that dangerous neighborhood, etc. During this time, Sammy Sosa was the happy and smiling steroid abuser who the media couldn't get enough of, while Frank Thomas was the "surly slugger". So, the media, after 15+ years of "Cubs = loveable, Sox = dirty and unwashed" started justifying giving much more coverage to the Cubs on the basis that they had more fans. Well, no .

Obiously, there are more Cubs fans than Sox fans in Chicago. That is due in large part to successful decisions the Cubs made and poor decisions from the Sox. However, it would be silly to think the media screaming the Cubs were for wealthy attractive people and the Sox were for degenerate riff-raff and minorities for two decades had nothing to do with the size of the fanbases.

Hockey wasn't doing too well before, but ESPN constantly saying "You want NHL highlights? Nobody cares about hockey!" has done nothing but futher hurt the sport.

[Maz]

I haven't been reading this thread all that much recently, so i don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but...

For the past three years the road team of the Winter Classic has made it to the Stanley Cup Finals (Pittsburgh, Detroit, Philadelphia). So far (not counting this year), all those teams have lost. And for the past two years, those teams defeated the host team of the Winter Classic in the playoffs (Detroit def. Chicago, Philadelphia def. Boston).

If the pattern continues, then the Flyers lose this series, and the Crapitals will defeat the Penguins and go to the finals next year.

Oh the bittersweetness.

[BrySmalls]

I haven't been reading this thread all that much recently, so i don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but...

For the past three years the road team of the Winter Classic has made it to the Stanley Cup Finals (Pittsburgh, Detroit, Philadelphia). So far (not counting this year), all those teams have lost. And for the past two years, those teams defeated the host team of the Winter Classic in the playoffs (Detroit def. Chicago, Philadelphia def. Boston).

If the pattern continues, then the Flyers lose this series, and the Capitals will defeat the Penguins and go to the finals next year.

Oh the bittersweetness.

And the Caps will beat the Jets in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.

[BBTV]

Chicago wears red too... just sayin'.

[Brass]

This is reaching back a page, but does anybody get the feeling that anybody who talks hockey on ESPN doesn't know what they're talking about, except Melrose, Buccigross, etc? Especially when Kornhesier or Wilbaum try to talk about it on PTI. They say the most simple things that anybody could guess, yet try to sound like experts.

[Shane Does Art]

This is reaching back a page, but does anybody get the feeling that anybody who talks hockey on ESPN doesn't know what they're talking about, except Melrose, Buccigross, etc? Especially when Kornhesier or Wilbaum try to talk about it on PTI. They say the most simple things that anybody could guess, yet try to sound like experts.

What chu talkin' 'bout Willis?

[Still MIGHTY]

This is reaching back a page, but does anybody get the feeling that anybody who talks hockey on ESPN doesn't know what they're talking about, except Melrose, Buccigross, etc? Especially when Kornhesier or Wilbaum try to talk about it on PTI. They say the most simple things that anybody could guess, yet try to sound like experts.

What chu talkin' 'bout Willis?

Yeah as far as actual hockey knowledge and smart things said I'd rank the regular ESPN personalities as such:

1. Barnaby

2. Levy

3. Melrose

4. Buccigross

[WJMorris3]

Is it even worth watching the Stanley Cup Finals? I'd be shocked if the Flyers even scored a goal, much less won a game. Niemi has been playing over his head this postseason.

[Still MIGHTY]

Is it even worth watching the Stanley Cup Finals? I'd be shocked if the Flyers even scored a goal, much less won a game. Niemi has been playing over his head this postseason.

No. For you it's not.

Remember, the Blackhawks already won your real Stanley Cup Final.

Don't bother with this one. It's an exhibition.

[jkrdevil]

Chicago wears red too... just sayin'.

The third or 4th related clip (which ever one is 5 minutes) is the American broadcast of the game. Marv Albert on color!

This is reaching back a page, but does anybody get the feeling that anybody who talks hockey on ESPN doesn't know what they're talking about, except Melrose, Buccigross, etc? Especially when Kornhesier or Wilbaum try to talk about it on PTI. They say the most simple things that anybody could guess, yet try to sound like experts.

I include Melrose in Buccigross in the they don't know what they are talking about. Melrose is a clown in general. None of ESPN tv people I would classify as "insiders" if there is breaking news they are far behind.

[NEW.ERA]

4-3 Philadelphia

This game is nuts.

[lordsketor]

4-3 Philadelphia

This game is nuts.

Now 4-4.