Calgary / Tampa Hockey

Terry O'Gorman is the son of one of my business partners.
(end of Coach's corner)

Those of you that want to extend your wishes, I'll direct Damian
here to print them off (with any adult images blacked out) and
pass them off.

Cheers!

yup guess they didn't tie it up

Go Lighting!!

One of the best Stanley cup series in a long time..fuckin stupid penalty by Cowtown in the last 4 minutes...thats does'nt help a team out when they need all the players on the ice.

Flame on!

That's more like it..Go Tampa

There's a Stanley Cup Finals going on now? Here's an article to illustrate my point:

Stanley Cup: Who Cares?
May 31, 7:58 PM (ET) _Email this Story
By STEVE WILSTEIN
Outside of Canada and Tampa Bay, is anyone talking about the Stanley Cup final?

The television audience in the United States is minuscule. Coverage of the Calgary-Tampa Bay series in many newspapers has shrunken to a brief. It's a championship without a buzz.

On the surface, the NHL seems to be drifting from unpopularity to irrelevance, raising the question of whether it still deserves to be called a major league in this country.

Yet the fortunes and prospects for the league are not as bleak as they appear. There are big bucks in those pucks if the NHL makes a few smart moves and avoids a really dumb one.

Take the dumb one first: A lockout or strike that knocks out next season.

"That could be the death knell of the NHL," says Nye Lavalle, president of the Sports Marketing Group. "The people who are paying $75 or $100 a ticket to see hockey are going to get fed up. They have many other choices for their time and money."

Sponsors and advertisers, who have to budget and set up promotional plans in advance, already are worried about a prolonged labor dispute after the current contract between the NHL and the players union ends Sept. 15.

"It's hurtful for any sport," Lavalle said. "It takes a long time, as we've seen from baseball, to come back from a lockout or strike. It would be much, much harder for the NHL to survive."

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman warned again recently that owners are determined to reach a radically different labor agreement no matter how long it takes. The players union, he said, ought not to test that resolve.

"If this is a test to see if the owners really mean it, it's a shame to have to go through all the hardship that will entail to prove the point," Bettman said.

A recent economic study prepared for the league, challenged by the players but repeatedly cited by Bettman, concluded that players get 76 percent of all league revenues - far more than the percentage for the other major team sports.

Changing that pay structure and going to an NFL-style revenue-sharing plan, which promotes parity and gives more teams a chance to win championships, is the NHL's top priority.

Even if the league succeeds in that, it still has a long way to go to build up its popularity.

"No. 1, the NHL has to reduce ticket prices to get people into the stands," Lavalle said. "Once they get into the stands, they're hooked."

The NHL also has to find ways to promote the personalities of players, particularly among young fans and women.

"Women love hockey," Lavalle said. "I've talked to people in the front offices of a lot of sports and nobody understands who their fans are. Young men in the 18-to-34-year-old group and women should be the people the NHL targets."

The league also should go to a European division, Lavalle said, to extend its reach and capitalize on the popularity of European players.

The influx of Europeans has raised the quality of play but made it more difficult for American fans to identify with them. More stable rosters and better promotion of players can change that.

One of the greatest challenges the NHL faces is making itself into a TV-friendly sport. The league already is packing arenas, averaging nearly 17,000 fans per game over the past three years, even with soaring ticket prices.

But traditional TV broadcasts haven't captured the speed and sounds of the game. In some movies, like last year's "Miracle" about the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, the excitement of the sport comes through. On television, the game has seemed lost as cameras try to track a small puck on a large sheet of ice and miss the quick movements of players.

That's changing with the advent of sharper, more lifelike, high-definition TV broadcasts.

"It's the biggest innovation in televising hockey in the last 50 years," NHL senior vice president Doug Perlman said recently. "It takes watching hockey to the next level."

Though there are only about 10 million HDTV sets in use in the United States and fewer than a million in Canada, nearly one-quarter of the NHL's games this year were shown in high-definition this season.

"We're already seeing a huge impact on hockey," Perlman said.

The NHL is switching networks next season - assuming there is a next season. NBC is back on the ice after 29 years, replacing ABC.

It's a modest but significant commitment by NBC over the next two years: seven regular-season games beginning in January and six playoff games in regular Saturday afternoon time slots. The network also will televise Games 3-7 of the Stanley Cup finals in prime time.

ESPN and the NHL also agreed to a deal to keep the league on ESPN2 next season, with options for the cable network to extend the deal for two more seasons.

All the pieces are in place for a comeback by the NHL. If the networks can figure out how to get the action in the arena to translate to the tube, and if the NHL can avoid one dumb move while making a few smart ones, the buzz just might come back to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

---=

Steve Wilstein is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at swilstein(at)ap.org

---

Lock out next season will kill this sport, and that's too bad. Hockey's a great game...

Dang, Flames lost the game

"That could be the death knell of the NHL," says Nye Lavalle, president of the Sports Marketing Group. "The people who are paying $75 or $100 a ticket to see hockey are going to get fed up. They have many other choices for their time and money."


Is'nt that what they said about basketball and baseball a few years ago?

guess what vic, you arrogant peice of shit

america isnt the only country in the world

go back to your baseball and fuck off

Oh. You again.

I hate baseball, BTW.

How am I arrogant? Just stating the facts. You just seem beligerant. Highly beligerant. Smoke some weed and chill the fuck out...

While the established Hockey fan can appreciate and recognize that tonights game was a very good one. In fact the series has been good. The league and ABC must hate that 1-0 score tonight. To the non hockey fan this was not the game to turn them on to the sport for life thats for sure. Hockey is in a tough spot.

BTW, i'm not a Calgary fan, I'm a Flyers fan. I just thought that calgary would get hot in the 3rd period to tie it up. Good game either way.

I enjoyed hockey a lot more before the big push to the US. I don't understand why we have to bend over backwards for a bunch of knobs who don't get this sport. I know it's about money, but fuck them anyway. Tonight's game kicked ass.

I think the game could have done without most of the southern US cities. How can extending the reach of the NHL to Nashville, florida and the desert to anything to grow the game. All it does is grow the pockets of a few at the cost of the real hockey markets.

Florida is actually a logical extension of the game, seeing as there are so many northern transplants and visitors here. Tons of attendance records have been broken in Florida.

Thank you. Glad I am not the only one who feels this way.

I live in tampa, bitches!

Not that it matters. What was the final score?

OK thats a possibility, but tell me you dont see a large % of people in the stands that barely understand the game. It's like going for the quantity not quality (of fans) yeah there's 10x more people in the US, but I'd say the hockey fan ratio is 100x less (if that makes sense)

1-0 Tampa, scored on a 5 on 3 2mins into the game, yeah the second penalty was kinda warranted, but the refs decided tonights game from the start. The crowd got into a good 30sec chant of "Fraiser sucks!" (Carey Frasier the Ref)

I dunno, maybe when the Lightning first started 10 years ago people were more clueless, but when I go to the local bar on a hockey night, everyone's into the games.
And I haven't heard anyone ask what icing is in a very long time.

Vic is still sour his Flyers lost!!!

HAHAHA what a chump.

Someone snapped a photo of Vic and one of his friends at a Flyers game....

Oh yeah one more thing.....







GO LIGHTING!!!!

Hockey is the greatest sport around. I would really hate to see it die out again.

I am actually much bigger than both of those guys in the pics...Maybe if we ever met one another, you'd see for yourself.

I am really struggling here with these Cup finals. If the Lightning win, then you are happy. If the Flamers win, then Myst is happy. It's a lose-lose anyway you look at it.

Hey Vic, still bitter?

Get over it! The BEST team won. So un-bundle your panties and watch some REAL players go at it in the spotlight that is THE STANLEY CUP.

I speak the truth about these finals, with no bitterness whatsoever.

People are writing articles about these finals, saying exactly what I did.

This is tough hockey to watch. I need coffee and Red Bull before watching these games.

oh
it all makes sense now

vic is a philly fan

hey asshole - the best team won. get that through your fucking head. primeaus heroics were the only reason philly was kept in the series - the whole team is a bunch of pussies.

i mean watching from the west (calgary) at the eastern semifinals, i was able to enjoy the games without any bias. i didnt care who won, philly or tampa. if philly won, calgary would have crushed them. if tampa won, it would have been one hell of a finals. clearly, CLEARLY tampa was the better team in that series.

fuck off

Obviously. It's hard to participate and show interest in a party that you weren't invited to. BTW, The view from up here is pretty grand.

Doesn't sound like much of a party. Just Tampa and Calgary fans. In fact, besides you guys and die hard hockey fans, NOBODY is watching this series. This is a party I am happy to miss. Sitting at home watching the wall, or even better, hanging out with Myst would be more fun that watching this series.

Myst, you vagina. When people tell you you are special, they don't mean you are a one of a kind person.

The game wasnt that good really. Both teams played with less of an edge, as most teams will do in such a piviotal game.

Expect game 5 to be more like game 3 was.

That being said, it was absolutely a joke to see that 5 on 3 in the first 2 minutes of a stanley cup final. the penalty on Commodore was a good call, but the 2nd penalty called was a fucking joke. Both players cross checked each other. Kerry Fraser is a fucknut.

The 5 min boarding was a joke too. Vinny was getting up until his teammate told him to stay down and ham it up. Amazing how just staying down for a minute will cause the refs to hand out a major in the last 4 min of a 1-0 game. Moronic call.

If I am Vinny I keep my head up the rest of the way cause his little acting bullshit will have people head hunting his ass.

I agree about the penalties, hopefully it will motivate the Flames big time for game 5.

I couldnt agree more. I know they all want to win the cup, but theres gotta be a point where you ask yourself if its worth your own self respect. Vinny will get a beating next game. Simon is going to pound him.
All in all it was a decent game. The flames played way better then Tampa and had some wicked chances. They just couldnt get it in the net. Next game will be different.

Vic if the Flyers were still in it you would be talking shit all over the board. But, once again you are proving what sore losers Philly fans are. Your should be used to it, Philly chokes every fucking year.


GO BOLTS!

People that have actually played the game know that last night's game was terrific, and a perfect example of how intense it can get. The low score and the intense forchecking AND back-checking attest to that. Calgary played their hearts out, and even in the final minutes playing short-handed, 5-on-4, you could barely tell they had a penalty at all. Had that senseless penalty not occured they might very well have tied it up, maybe won in OT. We'll never know.


Sorry, this is great hockey. Fans from all over the world in something like 200 counries are watching this, so if a few sourpussy fans of defeated teams are calling it boring, here's a thought.... DON'T WATCH. Coming on a message board yapping about how boring it all is makes you look retarded. Why would anyone in their right mind continue to watch something they find that boring??

Halloo? Anyone like..... hoome?

Hey Vicki, do some research before posting and maybe you won't look like such a tool! If 3.135 million people is considered NOBODY then I'd love to see your definition of SOMEBODY!

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Winnip...01/480975.html

TORONTO -- Canadian TV viewers are still being drawn to the Flames. CBC had 3.135 million tune into Calgary's 3-0 win over Tampa Bay in Game 3 of the Cup final Saturday, making it the second-highest rated NHL game ever for the network. Only Game 7 of the 1994 final between Vancouver and the New York Rangers drew more viewers, with 4.957 million tuning in to watch the 3-2 Rangers win.

The number was up from the 3.063 million that tuned in for Game 1 between the Flames and Lightning. Game 2 drew 2.811 million viewers.


Sour Grapes is the life of a Philly Fan.

If you look over this thread carefully, I NEVER mentioned the Flyers once. My point in posting in this thread is not to badmouth the Lightning or the Flames, but to illustrate my previous point that these finals are BORING. You can yap all you want about how these teams deserve to be there, and I will agree with you there, they played better hockey. BUT, it doesn't change the fact that I cannot stay awake during these games because they are BORING. They are the equivalent of a sporting sleeping tablet.

I know it must bother you that most of America and the world don't care about these boring finals, but the numbers don't lie. See the article I posted. Nobody is watching these finals except Tampa and Calgary fans, and the random hockey die hards here and there...

Sorry to write the painful truth.

C'mon Acid. You're smarter than this...I expect this type of comment from Myst, not you.

These numbers are NOT anything to brag about. They are anemic when compared to other sporting events with considerable draw. My point stands: these finals are boring and no one really cares, except Tampa, Calgary, and die hard hockey fans.

Sorry for speaking the truth.

Vic, I was simply pointing out that people are indeed watching the finals this year. One of the reasons being the networks pegging it as a U.S. vs. Canada matchup instead of a Calgary vs. Tampa matchup.

The Pride of two countries will get ratings in my opinion. Both are exciting teams to watch and I think the ratings will be good across the board.

But they are not good across the board. These are the lowest rated finals in a long time...read that article I posted.

The Canada vs. U.S. factor is an interesting point, but Canada's loyalty and interest in this series blows away any U.S. interest, simply because no one really cares about Tampa except Tampa fans and hockey die hards. The facts don't lie.

Vic anytime Philly plays Tampa in a big game - Philly loses!!!

Get over it.




Philly fans apparently the biggest sore losers around.

You know for a fairly smart guy otherwise, these posts of yours are getting dumber by the second. This one tops them all so far. Utterly ridiculous. Keep going man, you're on a roll.

The way I see it, these two teams are playing their hearts out, both offensively and defensively, both are playing the hard-hitting game, maybe Calgary a bit more than Tampa, and just about all players involved are going "All-Out" for the glory. It is obvious that both teams want it, and they want it bad. You can't help but have great end-to-end hockey for the full 60 minutes, and that my friend is the mark of what the greatest level of hockey in the world means.

If you're bored, then the problem is with you, not the near-4 million Canadian fans nor the millions of other fans around the world watching this. Of course Canadians would be watching this even if there were only two US-based teams. Why? Because we love the game. Why keep on bitching about how boring it is when you could be out cutting your grass or golfing?

I totally agree . If the players come to an agreement next year, and they recude the goalie equipement size like they are telling us, the hockey will be much better and more offensive in the next years.

Assmunch...the discussion here isn't about the Flyers or me being upset about them losing to Tampa. The discussion is about the finals being boring and having the lowest ratings in a long, long time. Keep up, son. I can't carry you all the time.

Who says I am not doing either? How is stating the facts bitching? I am also stating my opinion that these finals are boring. TO ME! You can have your own opinion about the matter. That's why our nations are so great. We can agree to disagree about our own opinions. I respect that you have a boner over this matchup. I don't. I have tried to watch these games, and they bore the hell out of me. Nothing you say can change this.

This year's Stanley Cup =

Go Tampa!

Calgary all the way!

ALL U PEOPLE IN TAMPA SHOULD STFU!

your city is filled with retirees who dont even know what hockey is.

and Vic Vagina should also STFU, this finals are fucking awesome, Tampa and Flames are both such hard grinding teams. Only complete idiots who listen to basketball sportscasters would call this final boring.

SO DON'T FUCKING WATCH IT.


Helloo? Anyone like, hoome??

Only an idiot entrenches his opinion so hard-headedly and narrowmindedly like this, especially in light of the fact that my opinion comes from over 21 years of me actually playing the game, and over 35 years of watching hockey. The things I've said about this series are sound and reasoned, two things that idiots love to ignore.

Your negative opinion is in the minority from where I sit. The way I see it, all you need do is to not watch any more hockey until the fall, that is if there is any to be watched. Pretty simple strategy. Me, I'll savor this last series to it's fullest.