Is hockey popular in England?
I’m not there!
I don’t have Versus but I do live close to Canada so i get the Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts (in addition to the Wings games). Should be an interesting season though Anaheim’s still the team to beat. Hopefully the Wings can repeat last year (except for that losing in the Western Finals thing).
Stevo
Because you touch yourself at night.
No idea.
Want something even worse? Remember that outdoor game between Montreal and Edmonton a few years back? That was a cool idea and they’re doing it again this year between Buffalo and Pittsburgh. The problem?..Guess what day it’ll be on. That’s right…NEW YEAR’S DAY!!! The ONE day when there will be about 20 awesome college football games on ALL day, and the NHL decides to put its marque game of the year on the same day. Why not put it on during the first day of March madness while you’re at it? Seriously, I love hockey, but the NHL is totally clueless.
Stevo
No idea either. But I hear London is dark, dark in the daytime. People sleep, sleep in the daytime, if they want to…
Seriously, they had shots of the crowd and everybody had their soccer jerseys on.
BTW, what team is the Dragons? Cool looking jersey, whatever city is was.
Game On!!! Red Wings - Ducks tonight!
What’s the NHL?
^ National Honkey League
3-2 Wing in OT!
YES!!!
^ A shootout is much better than just a tie…even when the Wings win. I didn’t even know until yesterday that the season was starting. I’ll have to check out the Blackhawks roster and see just how awful it’s all going to be this year. Bill Wirtz died of cancer last week. I’m not saying that it’s a good thing that he died, but it does give Blackhawks fans some hope. Actually seeing all the home games televised would be great.
^^Yeah, I was debating who the new worst owner in all opf sports was now that Wirtz is gone. Yeah, maybe you guys will actually get to see your team now. It’s so sad that an original six team is all-but-dead in that town. They used to have a MAJOR rivalry with the Wings. Be careful though…the Hawks look frisky this year…they may do something.
I was bummed since I couldn’t find the dang Wings on TV. And yeah, i hate the shootout since it’s really not hockey but I hate ties even more so I’ll put up with it. I still wish we could go more than five minutes in a game without a penalty but I guess those days are gone and buried.
Stevo
I’m getting free NHL center ice for a week and just watched Coaches Corner. Grapes is hilarious!!!
See the Leafs/Habs game on Saturday. What a horrible ending to an otherwise awesome game. These teams fight tooth and nail, get to OT, and it’s just LITTERED with lame penalties on pathetic holding and pushing calls. Man that sucked. What a shitty ending to a great game.
Stevo
My fiancee and I went to the Blackhawks game on Saturday night. They were playing the Stars. The Stars scored once in the first period. Then there were no goals for almost the whole rest of the game. At the end of the third, the Hawks had a 5-on-3. The shot from the point deflected in front and went in with 1.5 seconds left. Then they still had a 4-on-3 in overtime and scored after less than a minute. Jamie was not happy. I, along with the other 10 Hawks fans, was thrilled. The United Center was empty. I’m hoping that this season is the beginning of a Blackhawks resurgence. They have a lot of good, young players. A good goalie. There is no reason to continue being so bad.
Going to the Flyers/Atlanta game tonight, first game of the 07-08 season for me. Go flyers
Well, the Hawks have beaten the Wings twice already so there’s some hope for you guys. Seriously, I think the Hawks will be better this year…keep the hope alive. I like that team.
By the way, does Dallas Drake do anything on the Wings but fight? I swear I haven’t seen him do anything else. Not that I mind anyway…
And what’s with Vancouver’s new uniforms? They’re horrible. And that block-lettering is dreadful. What were they thinking? The first time I saw them I thought they were throwbacks.
Stevo
^^ That game is on Versus tonight. I’ll look for you in the crowd. Wear a big sombrero so I can see you. The only thing about Atlanta that interests me is Kovalchuck…they are 0-5-0. The Flyers might be pretty good. Briere from Buffalo is a good addition. Gagne and Kapanen. Hatcher on defense. Those are some good players to build a good team on.
^ Wait. Say that again…the Hawks beat the Wings twice already. Yes. I can hardly believe it. I really think that it’s a turning point for the Blackhawks. They have been bad for years. They have gotten good draft picks. Bill Wirtz just died. His sons are taking over the team. Bill Pulford, who worked with Wirtz in the Blackhawks for 100 years, has left for some other Wirtz family job.
Those Vancouver jerseys are awful. The new jersey/uniform design for the whole league sucks. This is from John Buccigross’ column last week:
-
Those jerseys
Every NHL player looks as if he is wearing a boy’s medium T-shirt purchased at Express from the local mall instead of a NHL jersey. This is something one would expect a weightlifter from South Jersey to wear out to dinner with the Mrs. at Applebee’s, not Andrew Cogliano at Joe Louis Arena. -
Jeremy and those jerseys
Upon further review, the San Jose Sharks are wearing arguably the ugliest uniforms in any team sport in the history of team sports. When Art Howe was wearing a polyester Houston Astros uniform in the Astrodome circa 1981, maybe that was the worst; but that is hotly debatable because Howe was so hot in '81. When I see these Sharks uniforms on television, I think I’m watching a skit from “Full House” in which Joey Gladstone goes five-hole on a stumbling Uncle Jesse. These Sharks are so 1991, so “Yo! MTV Raps.” “Everybody dance now!” These things need to be put into a dumpster, set on fire and rolled down a mountain as soon as possible. Then again, maybe that’s why Jeremy Roenick is off to a good start. He thinks it’s actually 1991. -
Confidence in Chicago
After watching the Blackhawks’ first couple of games, I am a little more confident (but not wholly) in my preseason prediction that Chicago will make the playoffs. Four straight summers of having a single-digit draft pick is beginning to pay off. It’s still a long shot, especially with Martin Havlat’s injury, but this is a good team.
The worst stretch in the team’s history was from 1946 to 1958 – they made the playoffs just once. We are presently in the second-worst span, as Chicago has missed the playoffs eight of the last nine seasons, but things are obviously on the upside. Patrick Kane, the No. 1 overall draft pick this past June, is already an impact player. Choosing No. 88 showed wisdom beyond his years. With that identical snowmen number, Kane looks much bigger than his 5-foot-10, 170-pound frame. No number makes you look bigger than 88. Kane asked for No. 888, but was rebuffed by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who has started to wear No. 88 on the back of his Men’s Wearhouse suit.
As the season goes along, Kane will go through stretches when he gets worn down, but he has “star” written all over him, and that’s because he sees the ice. He has five-star vision. These kinds of players are usually foolproof. Jonathan Toews, who should make his NHL debut this week, is further along than Kane, so he will be an impact guy right away. If the Blackhawks can get Havlat back in December, just when the young guys might need a hand, Chicago could be looking good.
I think Roenick’s story with San Jose this year is cool. He used to be my favorite player when he first came into the league with the Blackhawks. Then he became some loud-mouthed asshole.
i’ll be all the way at the top, and i mean all the way, back to the wall top
the seats up there are great thou, b/c you can watch the game develop from overhead, kind of like playing EA NHL whatever year from the above ice cam angle, much easier to see who’s open and whatnot
hey it’s free, can’t complain