More NHL games canceled
Games canceled through Jan. 14 per ESPN. This is absolutely ridiculous.
December 20th, 2012 at 4:26 PM ^
Does anyone not from Canada care? Until the Superbowl is over no one will even notice. Apart from a handful of cities/states hockey is a dying sport
December 20th, 2012 at 4:28 PM ^
I'm not from Canada and I care.
December 20th, 2012 at 5:41 PM ^
December 20th, 2012 at 4:28 PM ^
No it's not. It's thriving, making great gains in major markets (including the three biggest) and carving out strong niches even in places like Nashville that have struggled in the past. It has a good television situation on a rising network that is dedicated to its success, it has recognizable and marketable stars, and it garners positive media attention when it actually plays games.
And it's about to throw it all away.
December 20th, 2012 at 4:37 PM ^
I believe this LINK will discredit you...
I like hockey myself but America does not and I feel hockey fans have a hard time coming to grips with this
December 20th, 2012 at 4:57 PM ^
The matchup does have an impact on virtually every championship event with the exception of the Super Bowl.
I'm not saying the NHL is "thriving" per se...but they have increased revenue for seven straight years since the 04-05 lockout.
December 20th, 2012 at 4:58 PM ^
link showing a substantial increase in youth players since 2005-06? USA Hockey membership numbers could very well be the best predictor of future popularity of the sport, and 15.6% over the past six years is pretty damn good. These latest numbers also include one year growth numbers of 12.7% in Arizona, 11.8% in California, and many examples of double digit growth in the Mite division nationwide. In all, 37 states experienced growth in registered USA Hockey playing members in 2011-12.
December 20th, 2012 at 7:42 PM ^
Youth hockey is also one of the most expensive sports to play due to equipment, rink time, and transportation. It will always be somewhat of a niche sport, especially outside of it's historic footprint, because of it.
Exponential growth in a small market still means a low relative increase in absolute viewership.
December 20th, 2012 at 8:27 PM ^
to try and say that the NHL will have higher viewership than the NFL sometime soon, or to say that 100% of youth will play hockey in x years. My only point was that growth itself means hockey is not a dying sport.
I don't disagree with what you say as far as the limit on youth hockey in America (it was definitely a struggle for my family in Illinois), but if anything that might make the growth numbers more impressive.
December 21st, 2012 at 12:01 AM ^
Honest question. Who are the marketable stars? I don't follow hockey but will watch the occasional game in the playoffs and the finals, but I don't think I could name more than 5 players. I live in a NhL market (NYC) but it's one where the Rangers seem to be far behind the other 3 major sports for media attn. They'r fans are passionate but the players dont seem to have nearly the cultural profile of players for even the Nets. Is this a case of hockey culture or fandom being a closed circle?
December 21st, 2012 at 12:46 AM ^
Points a season, and nobody bought it.
December 21st, 2012 at 12:59 AM ^
Kane and Toews seem about as popular in Chicago as anyone. There might be other athletes on their level of popularity (Urlacher if he was a few years younger, maybe Hester or Noah), but they're definitely up in that top tier. Also, by top tier I mean everyone not named Derrick Rose.
December 21st, 2012 at 12:17 PM ^
The NHL is dangerously at risk of regressing back to that territory again. Scoring regressed to dead puck era levels last year and the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals were a repeat of the disastrously unappealing Finals that defined a lot of that era. That probably played at least some part in why the Finals got such shitty ratings.
December 20th, 2012 at 4:41 PM ^
December 21st, 2012 at 10:31 AM ^
Are you Nik Stauskas?
December 20th, 2012 at 5:44 PM ^
I third that and I prefer to watch hockey over football but, that's just because I played it from 4years old to college
December 20th, 2012 at 5:48 PM ^
Anecdotal, but here in DC, a town whose natives fancy themselves "Southerners," the people are hockey mad. And it doesn't just extend to northern transplants like myself. Average ticket prices are well above $50 and have been increasing by double digit percentages for a few years. I would guess their other revenue streams are growing just as quickly.
The lockout is costing most parties serious money, but saving me a little.
December 20th, 2012 at 7:07 PM ^
I wish I was Canadian (from west michigan) and I care. Bettman is completely complicit with chronic lost of interest in the league. At least I have college hockey and juniors (on CBC) going right now to keep me somewhat sane.
December 21st, 2012 at 12:25 PM ^
What is this "NHL" of which you speak?
Signed, a former Atlanta Thrashers fan
December 20th, 2012 at 4:27 PM ^
Only if you're a rational human being.
December 20th, 2012 at 4:27 PM ^
At this point, why even bother? 41 games on the schedule now according ot the official Red Wings calendar. Even if they salvage the rest of the season right now the playoffs will be nearly as long as the regular season... it would be such a fraud.
December 20th, 2012 at 4:29 PM ^
They would change the schedule. In '95 they started at the tail end of January, played 48 games, and the Wings got as far as the Finals before getting swept by the Devils.
December 20th, 2012 at 6:41 PM ^
The NBA wasn't a fraud last year.
December 20th, 2012 at 6:41 PM ^
The NBA wasn't a fraud last year.
December 20th, 2012 at 4:35 PM ^
I had a bad feeling about this NHL season when I saw that the NHLPA hired Donald Fehr. That guy will hold out to the bitter end.
December 20th, 2012 at 4:39 PM ^
IMO we are going to soon learn that every team in the NHL was secretly purchased by one insanely wealthy man over the past 40 years whose only son died in a tragic zamboni accident somewhere in Manitoba. On that fateful day he swore on the life of his beloved son to wipe professional hockey from the face of the earth and began his diabolical plot to kill the sport by buying all franchises, one by one, using a series of robots to do his bidding. When enough of the hockey-hating robots were put in place he was able to summon the dead and bring the corpse of the Dear Leader, Kim Jong II back to life as Gary Bettman - zombie commissioner.
The last steps in his evil plan to kill hockey have the robot owners and the zombie commissioner propose a "deal" with the players union so one-sided and ridiculous there was no way they could accept it thereby assuring the rich man that professional hockey would never again be played in North America. I think we are at that point now.
I have no other logical explanation for what's happening other than that. Nothing else makes sense.
December 20th, 2012 at 4:43 PM ^
I was just hoping that hockey would come back to take away at least some of the time that the farcical NBA takes up on the ESPN. If I wanted to see basketball played with 60% effort, I'd walk down to the over-40 league at the YMCA!
~Herm
December 20th, 2012 at 4:49 PM ^
December 20th, 2012 at 6:10 PM ^
It's not as if the NHL is broadcast on ESPN anyway. I don't care for the NHL, but I don't take shots at it either. But since the sheep around here refuse to see through your act, of course they'll eat up your anti-NBA comments.
Further, 60% effort (though a laughable assertion) > grown men acting like zoo animals, fighting and concussing each other.
December 20th, 2012 at 6:54 PM ^
An NBA fan asserting that another league acts like zoo animals? When was the last time an entire team climbed into the stands like a flock of enraged wildabeests to fight the fans? Or pulled a gun on a team member over a gambling debt? Or numerous other incidents which have only highlighted the childish and comical behavior of a large segment of the NBA population.
Moreover, I have watched NBA events on television and they are anything except sporting events. Much more comparable to the Professional Wrestling circuit of the mid-1990s. I don't need some pseudo-rapster yelling at the fans to "Get Louder" in the middle of the 2nd quarter in the middle of the season where each team casually jogs up and down the court, occasionally allowing the "star" player to toss up a ridiculous three-point (which in my opinion, has dimished much of the game) or try some sort of "from the streets" trick play.
Additionally, I do not require a bunch of faux-strippers to toss their hair about during the one minute commercial breaks which occur every two minutes; although the occasional frisbee chasing dog is welcome respite from the comical displays of teamwork on display for the majority of the game. But, my oh my, those players do hustle... for the final five or six minutes of every game, which just so happen to be close enough to warrant fans' attention, even though the majority of the game was decidely lopsided for the majority of the game.
Although, judging by your picture, I suppose you are the type who buys Dave Brandon's hideous monstrosities.
~Herm
December 20th, 2012 at 6:57 PM ^
At least the NBA, as an association, doesn't condone/promote fighting. Also, I'm somewhat too old for jerseys. I don't buy them or wear em.
December 20th, 2012 at 7:44 PM ^
Mods need to clip this part of the thread quickly...there's flame in them there hills.
December 20th, 2012 at 7:58 PM ^
"Although, judging by your picture, I suppose you are the type who buys Dave Brandon's hideous monstrosities."
Please, clarifiy this last bit. Because the insinuation you are making is that a sig of a poster with a parody of the president as a rapper, means that Brandon/youth/AA/hip-hop culture is driving the multiple alternate uniform trend in college football.
Not inflammatory at all, but then again, it always degenerates to this when people bring up NBA v. NHL crap.
December 20th, 2012 at 8:25 PM ^
Bah! I didn't even realize that was the President. I thought it was some rap singer. But yes, I think that to some extent, rap listeners and that market is driving some of the changes.
~Herm
December 20th, 2012 at 7:10 PM ^
The NBA is about as close to the fixed circus that is the WWE as any league in the country. America would be for the better if David Stern's replacement reverses about every decision he put in place for the past decade.
December 21st, 2012 at 12:03 AM ^
Impressive. It took 10 minutes for the attack on the NBA to appear in the thread about the NHL. I think that's a new record for restraint on this board.
December 20th, 2012 at 4:46 PM ^
December 20th, 2012 at 4:55 PM ^
Hockey is a really great sport. Too bad their trying to kill it. Personally, I'd much rather sacrifice the NBA...or even the NFL.
(edit) On second thought, if the NHL really did manage to kill itself off then I would have to think that there would be enough interests left over to salvage some of the pieces and create a new league. It'd likely be much smaller and located in the Midwest, Northeast and Canada and that might actually be an improvement (in the big picture sense of things).
December 20th, 2012 at 4:51 PM ^
I don't want to get into a Why Bettman Sucks thread but his visionary ideas have been crucial in hindering hockey's potential
December 20th, 2012 at 6:52 PM ^
If the season is cancelled, a thread of such direction will doubtless be well-received.
December 20th, 2012 at 4:52 PM ^
Seriously this dispute is such bs. I've been a huge NHL fan and this lock out sucks. Another year off doesn't exactly help the Wings in any way as well.
December 20th, 2012 at 4:53 PM ^
December 20th, 2012 at 5:16 PM ^
i'm not a big fan of the regular season anyway. Just wish I had something more to watch on these cold winter nights
December 20th, 2012 at 5:39 PM ^
December 20th, 2012 at 5:46 PM ^
That said a 48 game schedule is about right for the NBA and NHL. The NFL should be 12 games (especially if they really cared about concussions).
The NHL playoffs are the best of the four sports and the Stanley Cup presentation is also the best in sports. I would great miss the NHL if they threw away the whole season. Holding out with faint optimism...
December 20th, 2012 at 5:46 PM ^
NHL regular season is the shit.
December 20th, 2012 at 6:08 PM ^
So here I am, not being entertained.
December 20th, 2012 at 6:18 PM ^
hard to think about sports management incompetence without his mug coming to mind. If they lose this season -- which seems likely -- he will have presided over the loss of one-third of the league's schedule over the past eight years. Very hard for me to understand how the ownership, which includes lots of "good" owners, can tolerate this knucklehead.
And yes, I get that there has been unreasonableness on both sides. But at the end of the day, I think Bettman did a horrible job of setting expectations and worse job executing the contract negotiations.
December 20th, 2012 at 6:53 PM ^
December 20th, 2012 at 6:40 PM ^
if they played a 40 game season, I'd boycott. Not going to recoup $ on my nickel this year. Spring training starts in 2 months.