04/19/24
February 25, 2010
SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
I much prefer NHL'ers be in the Olympics (as the games are just awesome with them), but I can see why it's a bad idea:
1) The break in the schedule sucks.
2) The players risk injury.
and the most important reason
3) The NHL games look like crap when compared to the high-quality affairs we are witnessing right now.
Is a fan of hockey going to want to watch Toronto vs Atlanta after watching Canada vs Russia (or Canada/USA or even Latvia/Czech)? It'll be like watching Pop Warner football after watching the Super Bowl.
posted by grum@work at 01:34 PM on February 25, 2010
Maybe you're not supposed to transplant tendons or something: former Red Sox doc Bill Morgan surrenders his medical license. Again.
posted by yerfatma at 01:50 PM on February 25, 2010
3) The NHL games look like crap when compared to the high-quality affairs we are witnessing right now.
I think that is really the heart of the issue for Bettman, no? He's seeing how incredibly popular and appealing this Olympic hockey is, and he can't stand the fact that he's missing out on an opportunity to profit from it.
posted by Spitztengle at 02:09 PM on February 25, 2010
The NHL games look like crap when compared to the high-quality affairs we are witnessing right now.
And it's on NHL-width rinks, so Bettman doesn't have the usual excuse that Olympic hockey's extra space rewards breakaways, skating and passing ability instead of dump-and-press. Sochi 2014 may take place with a new broadcaster, and it's hard to predict who'll have NHL broadcast rights in 2014, so that's another factor which may shape the relationship between the NHL and the Olympics.
In semi-related news, as the Winter Games come to a close, Canada has a genuine opportunity to top the medal table (with strong chances in both men's and women's curling and ice hockey)... as long as you don't do the North American thing and rank by total medals.
posted by etagloh at 02:57 PM on February 25, 2010
3) The NHL games look like crap when compared to the high-quality affairs we are witnessing right now.
Perhaps there are statistics to prove (or disprove) this, but I've noticed that there seems to be less penalties committed during these Olympic games
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 03:15 PM on February 25, 2010
Perhaps there are statistics to prove (or disprove) this, but I've noticed that there seems to be less penalties committed during these Olympic games
I have also noticed that there seems to be less use of the whistle by the refs in these games. I was listening to the Phil Esposito radio show on ESPN 1040 out of Tampa and he was repeatedly talking about how these games were going so much smoother because of the lack of interference calls.
posted by Demophon at 04:25 PM on February 25, 2010
Hilarious profanity-laced tirade by Tommy Lasorda when trying to yank Doug Rau in the 2nd inning of game 2 of the 1977 World Series.
Obviously, this is quite unsafe for work, virgin ears and Doug Rau.
posted by NoMich at 05:42 PM on February 25, 2010
In semi-related news, as the Winter Games come to a close, Canada has a genuine opportunity to top the medal table (with strong chances in both men's and women's curling and ice hockey)... as long as you don't do the North American thing and rank by total medals.
Yeah, I don't think they meant to count gold medals only when they organized the whole Own the Podium thing.
posted by bperk at 06:28 PM on February 25, 2010
Hilarious profanity-laced tirade by Tommy Lasorda when trying to yank Doug Rau in the 2nd inning of game 2 of the 1977 World Series.
That is just great.
"But there's a left-handed hitter coming up--"
"I don't give a BLEEP. You got three left-handed hitters and they all got BLEEPing hits on you! Rivers, Jackson and that BLEEPin' other guy, they all got, they all hit - that guy that just hit the ball was a left-handed hitter, wasn't he?"
posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:14 PM on February 25, 2010
With Olympic hockey at an all-time high (in the Canadian market anyway), Bettman uses this opportunity to remind folks how this isn't necessarily in the best-interest of the NHL.
Thought I better get something in here to kick off a conversation ... quiet in the huddle today .... are we still exhausted from watching hockey last night?