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Hockey Back

Edgy DC Jul 13 2005 03:37 PM

pending player ratification.

Frayed Knot Jul 13 2005 03:51 PM

The team owners lost a full year and will shirley take a hit on attendance and TV money for some time to come, especially in some of the weaker cities, BUT ... conventional wisdom has it that many of them were losing LESS money by staying closed than they were by staying open, and now they've got a salary cap that not only didn't they have before but one that's much more strict than the one the players were rejecting 6 or so months ago. So, when you consider where they'd be had they not had this lockout - one year deeper in debt and still w/runaway spending - the owners have to look at the public relations hits they'll take on this and feel the whole ordeal was worthwhile. The players' association didn't get beat on this, they got pummeled. Now you just have to hope that the MLB owners don't see this and start getting wild ideas about their players caving and winning a similar protracted war.

PatchyFogg Jul 13 2005 03:55 PM

I'm not so sure the players got pummeled. Read Alan Hahn's column from Sunday: http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/ny-sphahn104338341jul10,0,7036498.column

seawolf17 Jul 13 2005 04:19 PM

Let's... Go... Fly-ers! Clap clap clapclapclap...

Johnny Dickshot Jul 13 2005 04:22 PM

I guess I planted some long lonesome seed of a song Way down inside me long ago And now I can't remember when it was But it joined up with the rest of them and grows It's such a little song it don't compare With all your big ones you hear everywhere But when it dawns way in the back of your mind The big ones are made up of the little kind Union song, union battle, all added up Won us all what we got now Union song, union battle, all added up Won us all what we got now I can't even start to look around me here Without hearing this song And seeing all of us first separated Hurt, apart and afraid Hungry for the union And so we kept on Singing and working, fighting till we got it And this is the big union song I guess I hear Union song, union battle, all added up Won us all what we got now Union song, union battle, all added up Won us all what we got now We fought there at your place We fought there on your ship And I guess if you missed out on the fight for our union You missed out on one awful big step us people took Na, na-na na-na Na, na-na na-na Na, na-na-na Na-na-na-na, Na-na-na-na

ScarletKnight41 Jul 13 2005 04:24 PM

seawolf17 wrote: Let's... Go... Fly-ers! Clap clap clapclapclap... WTF? How can a Long Islander root for THEM?!?!?!?!

MFS62 Jul 13 2005 04:25 PM

Johnny, you couls have put up an Islander picture. Then you could have shown four Stanley Cups. Or a Devils picture, and shown some shiny new ones. The minute the season starts, the Rangers will be 12 points out of a playoff spot with five games to go. Later

Willets Point Jul 13 2005 06:58 PM

Here we go Bruins, here we go. Where we go, I dunno. I watch college hockey, it's much more interesting.

Rockin' Doc Jul 13 2005 07:53 PM

If not for all the reports of labor negotiations this past winter, I would have never noticed that hockey was gone.

Johnny Dickshot Jul 13 2005 08:07 PM

That's No. 91, former Islander Butch Goring with the bad hair and the Stanley Cup. I like old hockey photos in the same way I like old boxing photos.

Rockin' Doc Jul 13 2005 08:57 PM

Johnny D must have a thing against teeth.

Frayed Knot Jul 13 2005 10:43 PM

Any photo groups containing Butch Goring, Gerry Cheever, and Gump Worsley (Best. Name. Ever.) is AOK w/me. And back to the agreement. There may be some parts of the negotiations that went the players way (better FA rules from what I hear) but considering where they started they've lost a year's salary that they'll never get back, agreed to an immediate 24% salary rollback, had many lucrative contracts run out in the interim, and will operate under a hard cap ... it's tough not to use the word pummeled.

PatchyFogg Jul 14 2005 11:56 AM

Frayed: I've gone and booked Alan Hahn for tonight's 2nd hour, so please tune in.

ScarletKnight41 Jul 14 2005 12:11 PM

I ain't no HockeyBack Girl. I guess I'll watch some of the playoffs in the spring. But I doubt I'll have much interest in the sport until then. Which is a shame, because hockey is generally something I enjoy watching (more than any sport other than baseball), but I've just lost all interest by this point.

SI Metman Jul 14 2005 02:26 PM

Is there any way David Stern can take over and award the Rangers the #1 pick?? In other local hockey news, Larry Robinson is the Devils coach once again.

metirish Jul 14 2005 02:42 PM

Even Hockey commentators in Canada say it would best for the games profile if Crosby went to the Rangers.

Willets Point Jul 14 2005 02:46 PM

It's hard to get excited because even without the lockout, the quality of play in the NHL has deteriorated greatly the past decade and a half. Dickshot's pictures are a sobering memory of how great it used to be.

PatchyFogg Jul 14 2005 03:15 PM

Willets Point wrote: Dickshot's pictures are a sobering memory of how great it used to be. Can we start a "Let's Take Things Out Of Context" Thread with this doosie?!?!

Willets Point Jul 14 2005 03:42 PM

I like old-time hockey. Those are pictures of old-time hockey players. What's out of context?

Edgy DC Jul 14 2005 03:46 PM

Frayed Knot Jul 14 2005 03:46 PM

PatchyFogg wrote: Frayed: I've gone and booked Alan Hahn for tonight's 2nd hour, so please tune in. Problem is Patch I've kinda strayed from NHL hockey. And not just due to the strike, I've been drifting for a decade or more now. So while I'm sure Hahn will have a much more informed take on things that I do, I'm not tossing aside Mets/Braves & Yanx/Sox for hockey talk in July. I just don't care as much as when I used to follow it (and even play it) a bunch of yeara ago. But it's good that it's back, I hope that the sport as a whole is on much better financial footing than before, and I hope that the players didn't get as royally screwed as I fear (even though much of it is their own fault. Now all the league needs to do is reduce the size of the league (by about half), reduce the length of the season (by about half), and cut back on the pct of the league making the playoffs (ditto) - and they may have something there.

PatchyFogg Jul 17 2005 10:48 PM

Try this-- http://hosted.filefront.com/patchyfogg You want the MP3 file, as the WAV was my ill-fated first attempt. I hope this works! Let me know. Thanks.

Frayed Knot Jul 17 2005 11:59 PM

Turns out that I caught maybe the last half of your chat with Hahn on the radio (the Met game must have been quick that night) Like I said, the problem isn't just the new agreement. I don't really particularly care who "won" but it's tough to side w/the players when half of them are going around saying "we got our asses kicked". But it's also state of hockey in general, something that extends to well before the strike/lockout. In addition to the fact that they expanded too much, too fast, at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons, and - in many cases - to the wrong places; the league's too big, the talent too thin, the season too long, the playoff pool too deep, and - maybe most of all - they refuse to enforce the rules as written. IOW, the same thing that's driving Lemieux, Hull, and half the other skilled players in the league koo-koo is the thing that's makes the game dreary to watch for me. I don't blame Hahn for being enthusiastic. Hell, he's a hockey writer who's had zippo to write about for the last 14 months or so. But he has an interest in being a bit of a cheerleader for the sport at this point in time. Me, I've got other things to do.

metirish Jul 22 2005 02:30 PM

Follow the Draft live today, Crosby to the Rangers I hope. http://www.msgnetwork.com/content_news.jsp?articleID=v0000msgn20050721T023510827&newsgroup=ap.sportsml.columnist.article&sports=ice-hockey&team=other&league=nhl

Frayed Knot Jul 22 2005 02:39 PM

From what I understand, Crosby has about an 8% chance of winding up w/the Rangers ... and if he does there'll be the biggest cries of "FIX" since Florida Democrat's during the 2000 elections.

metirish Jul 22 2005 02:42 PM

Or since Patrick Ewing went to the Knicks.

metirish Jul 22 2005 04:41 PM

The Penguins won the Crosby sweepstakes..

Spacemans Bong Jul 22 2005 11:39 PM

The Pens eh? Well, at least he went to a franchise that REALLY needed a boost.

Willets Point Jul 23 2005 08:53 AM

What you all think of the rule changes. They all look okay to me except for the no ties rule. Shootouts are stupid in soccer and will be stupid in hockey.

ScarletKnight41 Jul 23 2005 09:46 AM

I've seen shootouts in minor league hockey. I'm not so opposed to the idea. One of the reasons that I primarily watch playoff NHL hockey instead of regular season games is that playing for the tie makes for boring games - I like the idea that at the end of the contest there's a clear winner and loser.

OlerudOwned Jul 23 2005 03:38 PM

Glad they brought back the tag-up rule. Offsides kills momentum way too much.

Frayed Knot Jul 25 2005 12:10 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jul 25 2005 10:31 AM

]Well, at least he [Crosby] went to a franchise that REALLY needed a boost. Now if only he could go to a franchise that could actually afford to pay him. On the other hand, if this all gets worked out, Crosby will play with Mario Lemieux who is one year older than young Sidney's father. Rule changes: - Expanding the blue lines/getting rid of the red line: Good move and has only been suggested in some quarters for about 30 years now. Not surprising to see that the NHL is still moving at the pace of plate tectonics. - Tag-up offisdes Also good, not sure why they canned it a few years back - Smaller goalie pads Fine but minor. This was really at the bottom of the list of why scoring is down - Limiting where the goalie can play the puck Stupid. I don't see where this was a problem or what it solves. Simply treating the goalies just like regular players if/when they leave the crease to play the puck would be sufficient, but that's far too smart and simple for the NHL - Crackdown on "Obstruction" calls GREAT!!!! I'll also believe it when I see it. They've been threatening to do this at least as long as MLB has said they're going to keep batters in the box to speed things up. The failure to do this is what drove the game into the ground, drove me away from the sport, and also drove Mario Lemieux away at least until he had a financial interest in coming back. - Shoot-outs HATE IT, HATE IT, HATE IT. It's a gimmick and it's only going to further encourage teams into playing for a tie and then taking their chances w/the shoot-out ... which leads to the biggest problem they haven't and won't solve: Namely that the playoff system - where 16 of the 30 teams qualify - is what rewards mediocrity in the first place! Teams know that the playoff round is a big crapshoot anyway so why not strive for mediocrity since 1 point/per game gets you to the promised land.

Willets Point Jul 25 2005 09:35 AM

I hate the shootout too. If they want to reduce ties why not have a ten minute or even full 20-minute sudden death overtime? There are just going to be a bunch of games which will be decided by what basically amounts to a skills shooting competition after 65 minutes of actual play.

Edgy DC Jul 25 2005 09:46 AM

Could you just imagine if MLB decided to settle 12-inning ties with a homerun contest? The notion almost makes me want to scramble this post so nobody from MLB stumbles upon the idea and runs with it.

seawolf17 Aug 04 2005 09:03 AM

Ah, and Magic Boy comes home, back where he belongs, as the Flyers reverse fourteen years of Eric Lindros-inspired misery by re-signing Peter Forsberg. Too bad they're going to have to deal Jeremy Roenick to stay under the cap.

Sandgnat Aug 04 2005 11:41 AM

Niedermayer....Dead. Dead Duck anyway.