The Rite of Spring

[STL FANATIC]

I respectfully disagree. I'll defend the admiral's right to vent. He's not coming in this thread to say the NHL sucks or hockey sucks. He's coming in this thread to discuss relevant and current happenings. And in doing so he's also expressing his opinion that said happenings help make the NHL the worst sports league.

You can't have negative opinions in threads if it's done relevantly and reasonably. In fact, that's usually a big part of discourse in general.

And... he's right. I've said it for a long time. If I could successfully support the sport of hockey and the St. Louis Blues without lending any support to the NHL, I'd do so. If the sport of hockey and the St. Louis Blues could still exist prominently but the NHL could fold, I'd support that. Unfortunately that's just a fantasy, they're obviously linked.

But the point is the league is garbage and it's been run as garbage for a long while. And I'm not a Bettman hater either. I don't think he's half as bad as people say. But the league in general has a leadership problem. He's part of it. The owners are part of it. The GMs are part of it. And the other NHL cronies, including those in charge of discipline are part of it. And they don't seem to be willing or smart enough to fix it.

Instead they continue a trend downright incompetency. And while it certainly could just be incompetency, they also have left themselves open to very reasonable conspiracy theories with a lot of the decisions that come down from their offices. Be it Shanahan dishing out suspensions to teams and players in a manner that appear far too jaded by his playing days, NHL officiating (including the video reviews from Toronto) blatantly favoring big markets when they need help making the playoffs, or some incredibly sketchy officiating and discipline favoring the league owned franchise, it's not hard to believe.

The league is a joke. If I heard a non-NHL fan say it, my first instinct would be to get defense. But I don't know anymore. How can I defend this garage league? It's bad. Every league has it's problems, but none creates new ones and fails to address them all like the NHL.

[Sodboy13]

It's been said before on these boards, in threads like this one: Many of us feel like hockey is the best sport, run by the worst people. The events of this postseason (and not just the Chicago-Phoenix series), along with what's looming in the offseason, go a long way to reinforce that belief.

[IceCap]

I respectfully disagree. I'll defend the admiral's right to vent. He's not coming in this thread to say the NHL sucks or hockey sucks. He's coming in this thread to discuss relevant and current happenings. And in doing so he's also expressing his opinion that said happenings help make the NHL the worst sports league.

You can't have negative opinions in threads if it's done relevantly and reasonably. In fact, that's usually a big part of discourse in general.

And... he's right. I've said it for a long time. If I could successfully support the sport of hockey and the St. Louis Blues without lending any support to the NHL, I'd do so. If the sport of hockey and the St. Louis Blues could still exist prominently but the NHL could fold, I'd support that. Unfortunately that's just a fantasy, they're obviously linked.

But the point is the league is garbage and it's been run as garbage for a long while. And I'm not a Bettman hater either. I don't think he's half as bad as people say. But the league in general has a leadership problem. He's part of it. The owners are part of it. The GMs are part of it. And the other NHL cronies, including those in charge of discipline are part of it. And they don't seem to be willing or smart enough to fix it.

Instead they continue a trend downright incompetency. And while it certainly could just be incompetency, they also have left themselves open to very reasonable conspiracy theories with a lot of the decisions that come down from their offices. Be it Shanahan dishing out suspensions to teams and players in a manner that appear far too jaded by his playing days, NHL officiating (including the video reviews from Toronto) blatantly favoring big markets when they need help making the playoffs, or some incredibly sketchy officiating and discipline favoring the league owned franchise, it's not hard to believe.

The league is a joke. If I heard a non-NHL fan say it, my first instinct would be to get defense. But I don't know anymore. How can I defend this garage league? It's bad. Every league has it's problems, but none creates new ones and fails to address them all like the NHL.

It's been said before on these boards, in threads like this one: Many of us feel like hockey is the best sport, run by the worst people. The events of this postseason (and not just the Chicago-Phoenix series), along with what's looming in the offseason, go a long way to reinforce that belief.

BINGO!

[RedSox44]

Coyotes fan thread:

Hossa just got rocked by Torres!!!! **** yeah!!!!

Rip marion hossa

Love it Torres!!!!!!

That's a clean hit.

May have left his feet a little, but otherwise that's just a typical solid, crushing Raffi Mother****ing Torres hit.

What an awesome, clean hit.

Live by the sword, die by the sword. The Hawks had to know it was coming back their way.

Hossa Dive! am i doing it right!?

Torres the human wrecking machine. Unlike chicago fans I will heed to nhl decisions

Hossa leaving UC in an ambulance.

Now I really, really, really, really hope this team leaves for...any :censored:ing city. this team and those fans for cheering the injury of an opposing player.

[speedy]

You're pathetic, dude.

I don't think people who've spent an entire day whining about every Blackhawks related thing imaginable should be talking about pathetic. Canucks are down 3-0, do you see us crying about it? No you don't. I kept my mouth shut about the suspension and the Torres hit but after the accumulative effect of said whining by all the hawks fans on here, I have to say that seeing your team lose damn near made my day.

Enjoy

This entire post was typed in jest, right... right? The Canucks are the most insufferable fan base in the history of history. Now not everyone is bad, but a good majority is. Self-entitled, delusional, insane - you name it. Your posts are constantly filled with annoying comments or backhanded slaps to make yourself feel better about the Vancouver Sissy-Nannies, so just do us all a favor and stop trying to criticize other fans - it's enormously hypocritical.

Back on topic, seriously geeked out about the prospect of playing Florida in round 2. Granted the Bruins have to get by the Caps but there's such a disparagey of top to bottom talent that the Bruins should clean up shop in the next few games.

It sucks that the most intriguing series is all but over, I would have loved to see Pens/Flyers go 7. Just the prospect of that makes me giddy, too bad it won't happen.

[DawgPacPBH]

Fans are all obviously biased a little, but the way some fans react to things like that is a travesty.

[RedSox44]

It's been said before on these boards, in threads like this one: Many of us feel like hockey is the best sport, run by the worst people. The events of this postseason (and not just the Chicago-Phoenix series), along with what's looming in the offseason, go a long way to reinforce that belief.

I agree vehemently with this comment.

[Lights Out]

(Eh, well. Chris Paul trade was rigged, but going the other way. But whatever)

Ummm... no. Trades get voided pretty much every year in the NBA, either due to medical reasons or just owners not wanting to go through with it. Hell, it just came out that Ray Allen was traded to the Grizzlies for a couple minutes at the deadline this year, but then the Celtics backed out before finalizing it (because the Nets chose the Gerald Wallace trade over a similar trade for Paul Pierce). Did the Celtics "rig" that trade?

[Sport]

Get the god damn NBA out of my hockey thread!

[maz]

It sucks that the most intriguing series is all but over, I would have loved to see Pens/Flyers go 7. Just the prospect of that makes me giddy, too bad it won't happen.

There's a 90% chance you're right, but goddammit, I believe. I BELIEVE.

/StateOfDenial

[GO2HELL]

Morgo, please. Save yourself and us Canuck fans the embarrassment and just shut the up already. It's people like you that make fans around the league hate us. Quit attempting to troll the untrollable. It's not working.

You're posts are constantly filled with annoying comments or backhanded slaps to make yourself feel better about the Vancouver Sissy-Nannies, so just do us all a favor and stop trying to criticize other fans - it's enormously hypocritical

QFTFT

[Sodboy13]

Get the god damn NBA out of my hockey thread!

I would, but Andrew Shaw just got 3 games for Basketball Reasons.

[Still MIGHTY]

(Eh, well. Chris Paul trade was rigged, but going the other way. But whatever)

Ummm... no. Trades get voided pretty much every year in the NBA, either due to medical reasons or just owners not wanting to go through with it. Hell, it just came out that Ray Allen was traded to the Grizzlies for a couple minutes at the deadline this year, but then the Celtics backed out before finalizing it (because the Nets chose the Gerald Wallace trade over a similar trade for Paul Pierce). Did the Celtics "rig" that trade?

Except when the entire league and Stern own the Hornets (compared to just the Celtics backing out of your example) and it gets nixed for the nebulous "basketball reasons", that's a bit scketchy. I thought we all agreed with that at the time. You have no problem with it because the Clippers came out on top of the thing.

----

Anyway, BACK TO HOCKEY!

[The_Admiral]

I remember defending the whole Chris Paul thing, and that the rest of the league, as the owners, had the right to not make the Lakers markedly better if they so chose. That doesn't mean, of course, that it wasn't a situation to be avoided, or that it made the NBA look highly sketchy, because it did, but it comes with the territory when the league has to own a team. And yet in comparison to this Coyotes thing, the Hornets' collapse ended up being handled rather tidily, I must say. Didn't even take an entire season to find an actual owner with actual money.

[RedSox44]

It sucks that the most intriguing series is all but over, I would have loved to see Pens/Flyers go 7. Just the prospect of that makes me giddy, too bad it won't happen.

There's a 90% chance you're right, but goddammit, I believe. I BELIEVE.

/StateOfDenial

Remember what the Flyers did to the Bruins two years ago?

It can happen.

[Island_Style]

I will say this, when you cheer hockey failure in the south you cheer for the death of hockey. The outer edge is the first to rot, then the core. It is a bad sign of the times and you should hope for league success.

GO PANTHERS!

GO NHL!

[IceCap]

I will say this, when you cheer hockey failure in the south you cheer for the death of hockey. The outer edge is the first to rot, then the core. It is a bad sign of the times and you should hope for league success.

I'm not cheering for hockey to fail in the south. I'm hoping the league realizes that hockey's already failed in Glendale. That's an important distinction to make.

[RedSox44]

I will say this, when you cheer hockey failure in the south you cheer for the death of hockey. The outer edge is the first to rot, then the core. It is a bad sign of the times and you should hope for league success.

I'm not cheering for hockey to fail in the south. I'm hoping the league realizes that hockey's already failed in Glendale. That's an important distinction to make.

I actually don't think any of the adamant anti-Coyotes members of this board are cheering for hockey to fail in Florida or Nashville or anywhere else in the south.

[The_Admiral]

My objections to the Panthers lie more with Yormark and Tallon than with suburban Miami, which I like, but the two of them are bad for the league. Tallon shat where he ate. I should think that when you are fired from your job due to gross incompetence only to be immediately re-hired out of loyalty and pseudo-familial respect, you ought to take your sinecure and be happy with it, not bail for another job and continue going about your spendthrift ways, screwing up the entire scale of free agency just in time for a new CBA negotiation with Don Fehr as the league's financial health gets worse.

[NEW.ERA]

Torres suspended indefenitely. Hearing Friday.