11/05/24
July 13, 2005
Deal In Principal: Although the deal must still be ratified by both sides (there are some rumours saying the players may actually turn it down) it looks like the longest lockout in pro sports may finally be over.
On the front page of yesterday's Toronto Sun (uggh) they had a massive bold headline about there being 20 -- that's what it said, TWENTY!! -- teams making the playoffs. Any news if this rumor might somehow be true?
posted by the red terror at 11:52 AM on July 13, 2005
Eklund has led so many of us down the wrong path for so many months, I gave up on him many months ago. But like they say, even a broken clock gets it right twice a day.
posted by the red terror at 11:53 AM on July 13, 2005
I won't believe it until Bettman and Goodenow are standing together declaring it to be over, preferably while wearing shackles & a blindfold and hanging from their heels in the town square.
posted by chicobangs at 12:10 PM on July 13, 2005
On the front page of yesterday's Toronto Sun (uggh) they had a massive bold headline about there being 20 -- that's what it said, TWENTY!! -- teams making the playoffs. Any news if this rumor might somehow be true? It's all over the Canadian sports media that this is a possibility. Each conference will have 10 teams qualify. Seeds 1-6 get a bye to the next round. Teams 7, 8, 9, 10 will play a best-of-3 series (7vs10, 8vs9), and the winners move on to the next round. The idea sound horrific at first, but it's really rooted in NHL history. 6 teams -> 4 in playoffs = 66% 21 teams -> 16 in playoffs = 76% 30 teams -> 16 in playoffs = 53% (too low!) 30 teams -> 20 in playoffs = 66% (back to "normal") If anything, it'll give the higher seeded teams (1-6 in each conference) a better chance in the playoffs. Since teams 7-10 have to play an extra (3 game) series, they'll be more fatigued than the 1-6 teams.
posted by grum@work at 12:15 PM on July 13, 2005
preferably while wearing shackles & a blindfold and hanging from their heels in the town square Man, when do they have the lottery for what city THAT takes place in? I can't see this deal not being voted in. The owners are getting what they want, and the players have already proven that any more holding out will result in the numbers getting lower and lower. What I would like to see is 15 empty arenas on opening day, just to show both sides who's *really* paying the bills... As for the 20 team playoff, I'd rather see the nember of teams lowered rather than expanded. Let's got with the top 2 in each division, and have an NFL style bracket. Making the playoffs should mean something other than you were only 5 games under .500 instead of 6... Anyway, I'm all smiles right now. The NHL is back, and everyone's well-rested. Let's get this show on the road...
posted by MeatSaber at 12:58 PM on July 13, 2005
Oh good I can play fantasy hockey again!
posted by daddisamm at 01:07 PM on July 13, 2005
So, they play 80 or 82 games, whatever it is, so that 20 teams can make it into a post-season. It makes a total mockery of the regular season. And the NHL wonders why people don't care to watch the first 60 games of the season on TV, because the games are virtually meaningless. There are too many games, the season is too long, and far too many teams make the playoffs. The NHL is clueless. When it's winter, the games don't matter. And when the games actually matter, it's summer and people would rather be outside golfing, gardening or out on their patios barbequing. It's a sad fact, when the Stanley Cup final rolls around, even most hockey fans don't care, they have better things to do. It's a lesson the NHL will never learn. They are forever ignoring the long-term so that they might make a quick buck in the short. There are a number of very big reasons why interest in the NFL is huge from pre-season to Superbowl. Making every game count is one of them.
posted by the red terror at 01:10 PM on July 13, 2005
chico, im with ya bro. i'll give a reserved w00t, because it's not like they weren't going to agree soon. oh yippee, it's Februrary 29th. and wake me when something is 'agreed upon'. as a non-nhl fan co-worker just said, "did you hear the nhl is doing something." EXACTLY.
posted by garfield at 01:15 PM on July 13, 2005
im far less excited than i thought i'd be.
posted by garfield at 01:16 PM on July 13, 2005
What I would like to see is 15 empty arenas on opening day That's the easy part. The hard part is stopping people from showing up to the other 15 arenas.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 01:33 PM on July 13, 2005
I hate hockey
posted by Astroheat442 at 01:39 PM on July 13, 2005
DJE: zing! re: Eklund and wrong paths... he's dealing with rumours, rumours can turn out to be false. that doesn't mean he isn't a source of what's being said. take it all with a grain of salt. maybe he's connected, maybe not, but when he reporting rumours he's got no control over the process. with the lockout over (soon, maybe) it'll be interesting to see what he does with the new hockey site he seems to be collecting money for.
posted by gspm at 01:42 PM on July 13, 2005
Like baseball in the mid 90's who gives a rip. All this is a temp fix till this contract expires and there is another lockout. We will see if the fans come back.
posted by jtrainhoopster at 01:45 PM on July 13, 2005
What a brilliant, simple response Astroheat. I will second that, and also add that HOCKEY SUCKS. I would prefer watching curling.
posted by playball9 at 02:05 PM on July 13, 2005
Hockey? What's that? It sure hasn't been talked about or missed here in Pittsburgh.
posted by dbt302 at 02:16 PM on July 13, 2005
Why do people post in threads that pertain to sports they hate? Does that make any sense? Why did you come in in the first place -- are you a masochist? Just plain stupid? As for the lockout's end, I'm ready. Grum, Dr., we need to gather somewhere to watch Toronto's opening nght.
posted by wfrazerjr at 02:21 PM on July 13, 2005
I'd vote for the latter, fraze.
posted by garfield at 02:22 PM on July 13, 2005
That's the easy part. The hard part is stopping people from showing up to the other 15 arenas You knew what I meant, dammit...
posted by MeatSaber at 02:37 PM on July 13, 2005
I'll second garfields vote. Those of you wondering where all of the teams are going stand in regards to cap space, free agents and just who is going to get bought out should check this link out. A good summary of all the teams.
posted by camcanuck at 02:40 PM on July 13, 2005
According to TSN, Ecklund is wrong again. They say the draft will be weighted according to this chart. I've heard the draft order will be determined on the 21st, with the draft on the 30th. I think that 20 team playoffs thing has got to be bullshit. I hope so, anyway.
posted by Samsonov14 at 03:40 PM on July 13, 2005
c'mon now, the first I read about a lottery of that style was on Eklund's site, last Thursday. The only difference is that the rumour had a longer timeframe for assessing the team's performance. Which is a minor difference when you are dealing with rumours. That team-by-team rundown is pretty interesting. Once the marketplace it open it will be like the trade deadline and free-agent signing day rolled up into one.
posted by gspm at 03:47 PM on July 13, 2005
Thank God for hockey. I'm going to cherish every minute of NHL hockey until they fuck things up again in 2011.
posted by rcade at 04:16 PM on July 13, 2005
I hear you gspm, but I'd like to point out that exactly 65 minutes after Ecklund posted that lottery-style, he said "It is quite possible that some of the big teams flex some muscles at the Board of Governors meeting and get 1 ball per team." The guy's all over the fucking place, and if you post everything you hear, all the time, you're bound to get it right sooner or later. I still haven't forgiven him for all of the misinformation he spread last year. I do understand it's a "Rumor" site, but I just don't like the way the guy's gone about conducting himself and his website. Of course, I still check it every day.
posted by Samsonov14 at 04:23 PM on July 13, 2005
What I would like to see is 15 empty arenas on opening day This is right up there with hoping everyone boycotts a specific gas station on "No Gas Day", or whatever those stupid emails that come around call it.
posted by grum@work at 04:25 PM on July 13, 2005
As much as I enjoy the idea of watching the NHL, I'm more excited by the ruthless wheeling and dealing that is going to occur in the next 3 months. Some hockey players are going to get a rude awakening about their perceived value in the NHL marketplace. I'm looking at you, Bobby Holik.
posted by grum@work at 04:29 PM on July 13, 2005
nice work, sammy. can we make an no-Eklund-link rule?...until jack-ass numero uno gets something right, i don't want to be bothered.
posted by garfield at 04:32 PM on July 13, 2005
cam, thanks for the refresher. there were a few trades I had completely forgotten aboot.
posted by garfield at 04:35 PM on July 13, 2005
Eff it all, I'm excited again. They screwed themselves out of a lot of money and me out of the chance to give them some of that money. We all lost. It's back and I'm happy to be able to watch again. Anyone up for some beers on July 21st? You know who you are. The lottery will be ten exciting minutes followed by years of disappointment as Mr. Crosby ends up on Long Island (ahhh!) or in Nashville. If he ends up with my Rangers, I'll piss myself. And the rest of the hockey world will think the thing was fixed. No matter, the kid has even more on his shoulders now. Not only is he supposed to be the second coming, but now he's responsible for bringing fans back to the game. Good luck, kid. Hope you can handle it.
posted by 86 at 04:41 PM on July 13, 2005
and you know this, maaaaan!
posted by garfield at 04:47 PM on July 13, 2005
Some hockey players are going to get a rude awakening about their perceived value in the NHL marketplace. Not to mention the entire Toronto Maple Leafs roster.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 05:23 PM on July 13, 2005
Here in Columbus, I keep hearing about how wonderful it is that we have this Arena District, featuring the Nationwide Arena, featuring in turn the Blue Jackets. I have yet to meet a single Columbus Blue Jackets fan; of the folks I've talked to who've attended a game, that was it -- they went to ONE game to see what all the fuss was about. I guess $60 a ticket isn't the optimal price point to put central Ohioan asses in seats.
posted by alumshubby at 06:03 PM on July 13, 2005
alum, the CBJs have averaged over 17,000 fans per game each of their first four years. And they pretty much sucked.
posted by 86 at 07:41 AM on July 14, 2005
OK, I had a premonition last night that the draft lottery will be rigged and Crosby will go to either Phoenix to be Gretzky's bitch (he is absolutely going to be the head coach) or New York (R), or Chicago. Should this not happen, I may even believe that the owners are above the board and perhaps were losing money. Perhaps.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 09:23 AM on July 14, 2005
Funny, Weedy, I dreamed he'd wind up in Phoenix too. Or maybe Ottawa, depending on whether they wanted to bolster a poor-market hotbed or a poor-market Gretzky-run frontier town.
posted by chicobangs at 09:39 AM on July 14, 2005
If there's one thing Ottawa needs, it's more goal production.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 09:58 AM on July 14, 2005
some life in the Chicago franchise would be nice. should be interesting where ever he goes. I just might buy a ticket when his team rolls through town.
posted by gspm at 12:20 PM on July 14, 2005
Yeah, gspm. That'd be funny. They'd have to actually promote the franchise player a little, instead of counting on the 20,000 hardcore fans in Chicago to show up every night and the hell with the rest of the city. Thank God for hockey. I'm going to cherish every minute of NHL hockey until they fuck things up again in 2011. Word up, rcade.
posted by chicobangs at 12:28 PM on July 14, 2005
If he doesn't end up a Bruin, I'm hoping Crosby ends up in Buffalo or Chicago. Both teams could really, really use him. And Washington really got screwed with this deal. I wouldn't mind seeing him end up there, either. No matter what, as long as he doesn't find his way to Toronto, NYR, or Montreal, I'll be happy.
posted by Samsonov14 at 01:54 PM on July 14, 2005
I'm pretty sure that Crosby ending up in Colorado would be a bad thing. Now there is a franchise that doesn't need another great player...
posted by grum@work at 02:10 PM on July 14, 2005
When you look at that draft lottery system, it's really not all that bad. Teams with one ball have a 2.1% chance of winning, teams with 2 balls have a 4.2% chance, and the four teams with 3 balls have a 6.3% chance. There's still only a 25% chance that any one of the teams with 3 balls wins the lottery. So that ain't bad. Basically, this is a kind of like a 30 team field of Giacomos. Should be fun.
posted by Samsonov14 at 03:29 PM on July 14, 2005
Do the Bruins have any balls?
posted by yerfatma at 03:37 PM on July 14, 2005
that remains to be seen.
posted by garfield at 03:46 PM on July 14, 2005
grum - if Tampa resigns their main guys then I'd place them alongside the Avs as a potent lineup that no other team in the NHL would want to see add another top gun.
posted by gspm at 03:51 PM on July 14, 2005
grum - if Tampa resigns their main guys then I'd place them alongside the Avs as a potent lineup that no other team in the NHL would want to see add another top gun. The Lightning? Pbbbbbt! What have they done, lately? :)
posted by grum@work at 04:15 PM on July 14, 2005
Do the Bruins have any balls? that remains to be seen. Nice, Garf. All teams have at least one ball, yerfatma.
posted by Samsonov14 at 04:46 PM on July 14, 2005
Oh, I meant it the way he took it.
posted by yerfatma at 05:01 PM on July 14, 2005
Oh, I get it. I get jokes!
posted by Samsonov14 at 06:04 PM on July 14, 2005
i keep looking at the thread head. deal in principle. principal, he's your pal.
posted by gspm at 07:25 PM on July 14, 2005
PTA Poker Game.
posted by yerfatma at 07:54 PM on July 14, 2005
Maybe it's just the schadenfreude speaking, but I kind of hope Crosby goes to the Rangers, and then they still don't make the playoffs. (I mean seriously, do they even have a goalie on their roster?)
posted by fabulon7 at 09:04 AM on July 15, 2005
fabulon7, that would be funny. No pressure on the kid, neither. Hey, if he goes to Pittsburgh, then Mario can hand off the franchise to him when his second impossibly large megabucks contract comes up. "Tag, you're it!"
posted by chicobangs at 10:06 AM on July 15, 2005
Eklund (who I'm apparently the last person to find out about) was on WEEI at lunch saying the deal is ready to go and the draft will feature a 30 team lottery for the right to make sweaty, passionate love to Sidney Crosby's potential.