After reviewing the ratings for Saturday's NHL Finals Game 3 on NBC I've determined that St4rbux, Killer and I may have been the only people in America that watched that game. And I'm only sure of that because we were in the same room. NBC logged the lowest 
primetime rating IN ITS HISTORY. I know that they were battling Lebron James' coronation on TNT and sweet summer weather, but it is ridiculous that this game got lower ratings than Mama's family reruns and the Food Network's "Build a Better Burger" or some such nonsense.
primetime rating IN ITS HISTORY. I know that they were battling Lebron James' coronation on TNT and sweet summer weather, but it is ridiculous that this game got lower ratings than Mama's family reruns and the Food Network's "Build a Better Burger" or some such nonsense.Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw offered his ten ways to improve the NHL to save it next year. I agree with some suggestions (contract to fewer teams, change unbalanced schedule) and vigorously disagree with others (limiting playoff overtimes). I'd love to hear some other reactions to his suggestions and suggestions of your own. Personally, I have been a proponent of contraction since before the lockout. I say knock it down to twenty teams to increase the quality of teams and eliminate organizations that are hemmoraging cash. I would even go so far as to say that I would bid the Caps farewell if it meant a stonger NHL in the long term. Hockey remains a grand game; I wish more people cared.
7 comments:
Part of me says that that guy smokes crack.
I agree fully with league contraction. Eliminate several U.S. teams and send a couple back to Canada and Hockey will thrive again. Mic the coaches? End OT's? End OT's are you kidding me? Crack smoker.
My ideas for fixing the NHL...
OT - go back 5 on 5 and get rid of the shoot out...I think that alone has watered down the NHL's product.
Get new announcers - No wonder nobody is watching, these guys are total dildos. Pierre McGuire even looks like a big penis. I don't know anything about broadcasters of other sports, but I'd be willing to bet that these guys that the NHL has working for them are the worst. They do nothing for the sport. Has anyone else noticed that the NHL also has the worst sponsors. I could watch TV all day long and the worst commercials would come on during a hockey game.
If I have to see the Enterprise "Let's go gerls!" spot one more time I'm going postal.
Officiating - These guys suck ass. These guys suck balls. I think one thing that kills the casual viewers intrest is that it takes forever to figure out what is a penalty. I've been a die-hard fan for nearly 20yrs now and I get confused. These guys are waaay inconsistant. It's hard to like something that you don't understand.
Did I mention that Pierre McGuire and Ed Ol...cyk/check,chck, whatever do nothing for the sport?
Here's the big one - How about if the NHL just stops trying to make the league a top tier sport and be pleased to be the king of the B-List. There was nothing wrong with the league when they decided to "fix" it. It obviously isn't the money making machine that they tried to make it, so now stop trying.
Wishfulk thinking - A team of NHL GM's travel back in time, maybe to 1982 or 85 to study every aspect of what made the game great and then come and put what they learn into action.
Oh hey, I forgot the most important detail, get rid of that worm Bettman! Screw him and his F-ing self-important speach. His little bit about the Ducks being the first cup winner was nothing more than him praising his expantion. Notice how he wouldn't let go of the cup when Neidermyer tried to take it? Can't miss out on any photo ops.
I agree that the shootout should go. Obviously, with shootouts gone you would return to ties. However, I would abolish getting one point for losing in overtime. That's one of the most ridiculous rules I've ever seen. How dumb is it to get a standings point for losing?
I also agree that the announcers stink. Mike Emerick is supposedly the best in the biz, but I've never enjoyed his coverage. Pierre Mcguire (or whoever you out "Inside the Glass") is useless, bringing little relevant info. it's like they have this doofy faux excitement trying to pump up an audience. The great announcers in other sports (Vin Scully in baseball, Pat Summerall and Keith Jackson in football, to name a few) are minimalists letting the game breath and letting the pictures speak for themselves.
Yeah, truly a smarmy hump.
I've agreed with contraction for several of the sports. You can't tell me that some of the 3rd and 4th pitcher in some rotations deserve to be there. Heck, even the great cathedral Camden Yards is under half full for nearly all of their games now. If you had teams like the old Oilers with all of the star power on several teams, people would watch. You could have guys on the second line that are assistant captains now. If I was gauranteed to see stars, I would watch.
As for the overtime and tinkering with the points, it seems like the vogue thing to do. Even golf has a points system now. (Who would have even thought this would be possilbe.) Nascar now has a playoff. (Again, who'd thunk it?) Things change, and it seems lately, not necessarily for the better. Everyone wanted a piece of the pie, and now that it's stale, they're not sure what to do.
I think 18 teams would work. 8x6=48, 9x4=36. Play the 8 teams in your conference 6 times, play the out of conference 4. 84 games. Make it an 8 team playoff, which would be around 40% of the teams. Take a page from the NBA and do a 5 game series the first round. No shootouts. That means the finals could be a month earlier than they are now. No fear of the hockey fans actually going outside to enjoy the summer if the summer isn't here yet...
The answer is simple...Let the boys fight and lose some of the restrictive rules. The game has become passionless because of the rules. Refs call more penalties and that takes away momentum. Let the game self police the way it always had. Just look over the past few years...number of fights have dropped...number of fans in the seats and ratings have dropped as well. It is not a watered down product, just a boring one.
I miss Tom Mees, may he rest in peace... he was the best announcer south of the Canadian border.
Am I the only one who thinks Bettman looks a lot like DeVito in his Penguin make up in the which ever Batman movie it was?
I agree with contraction, I like Birdie's math on the schedule.
Oh, if we the fans are to be subjected to the foils of the salary cap and the rent a player state it has created... how about a ticket price cap? I have been to far fewer games, none actually in the past three seasons, than ever before... Oh and the last three games that I did attend were because I got free tickets, but they were in those damn corporate show-off seats, surrounded by a bunch of rude cell phone abusing businessmen who were lamenting about how they couldn't get basketball tickets... great seats, but terrible atmosphere, away from the rest of the real fans.
Oh, and I don't care what anyone says Niedermayer (both of 'em actually) is a dirty, devious little uni-bomber looking ass... great skaters sure, dirty players absolutely... they committed so many uncalled penalties in the games that I actually watched, that I turned game five off in the beginning of the second period.
Oh, and again... Comissioner Palpatine has to go...
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