MafiaMan

Is that THE Brent Bobyck?

Once again, I find myself wondering how hockey can be considered a second-tier sport to watch and attend. Did anyone see last night's Pacer/Piston game? 23-11 after the first quarter, and with 45 seconds left in the half, the score was 27-22. That's right...the Pacers had racked up all of four (yes, that's the number 4) points in the entire second quarter. Only two three pointers by them in the last 45 seconds put them into double-digit scoring in the quarter. Points by quarter: Indiana: 1st 23. 2nd 10. Detroit: 1st 11. 2nd 16. Is anyone else wondering how this is even watchable? I was a HUGE NBA fan back in the days of Magic, Larry, and Dr J. What the NBA has become thanks to Michael Jordan is crap. It's more rigged than wrestling. Referees asking the scorer's table how many fouls Shaq has, Kobe taking four steps to the hoop without a call (except for the fall on the defense after he made the shot), the Wolves TRYING to foul Shag and send him to the free throw line but the official all but ignoring the play and telling Mark Madsen "let him go". He had him in a bear hug for crying out loud! If they want to foul Shag 50 times a game, make the damn call. There are RULES and they need to be enforced whether you like them or not. At least in the NHL (in the Stanley Cup Finals, no less), the official has the GUTS to call an obvious 5:00 penalty on Calgary for a cheap shot on Lecavalier with less than 5:00 left in the game. Tough call for the Flames, but maybe their goon should have used his head. Every time I hear that the NHL is a second-rate sport, I just cringe. The NBA is a joke. And these playoffs are proving it once again. Yet announcers like Craig Sager fawn over Kobe and his "courageous" effort, comparing him to firefighters, cops, and the military in his dedication and drive. ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS, CRAIG? It's basketball. Even if he's not guilty of rape, he's guilty of cheating on his wife. Hardly a role model in my eyes. Unfortunately, I guess I'm just too conservative these days. The thug-life NBA...it's FAN-tastic. Give me the NHL any day. I only wish the season was year-round so I wouldn't have to stomach the intermission known as baseball season. My rant is over. Next?

You want hockey ratings to improve? Then HYPE THE WORLD CUP! I've read many articles touting the 1996 game 3 Canada/USA game as one of the greatest games ever played and it wasn't even shown live on ESPN! I watched it on tape-delay and I agree...it's on-par with the 1980 USA/Soviet game. Why is it people trash hockey, yet every winter Olympics, the TV ratings are thru the roof and it's impossible to get a ticket? Showcase the big events and they will come! I watched last night's Piston/Net game and honestly, how can people tune into this stuff? BORING!

Ironic, but on the ESPN website, there was an article that talked about the selection process. It's mentioned several times that players were picked "to win," not because they were the best at their position. Sound familiar? If not, I suggest you rent the afore-mentioned movie Miracle and check it out. Herb Brooks' influence is alive and well in USA hockey.

Read this week's Sports Illustrated...there is an article touting the demise of the trap in favor of speedy teams like the Lightning and the Flames. Check it out. I concur (and I'm a Red Wings fan)...Tampa Bay and Calgary have been two of the most exciting teams I've watched in recent memory. TV ratings be damned...I'm glad we don't have to watch the slog-fest that was last year's finals (Anaheim and New Jersey). GO LIGHTNING!

Fiction! In real-life, Brooks called Rob MacLanahan a "cake-eater," not a "candy-ass." Disney changed the name because they felt "candy-ass" was less offensive.

CVCL, Decent point, but I do not agree. Take a look at the size of players today in any sport. Players are bigger, faster, and stronger, yet they play on the same size rink as they did in the 1940's. If Gary Bettman wasn't such a moron, he'd have required all "new" arenas being built to have Olympic size ice sheets to open up the flow of the game. Look at how silly baseball is? Is there any wonder why home runs are up when instead of playing in cavernous parks like the days of old, bigger, faster, and stronger players now play in baseball fields the size of my local softball diamond. Big man, Sammy, and big man, Barry, hitting home runs over a 300 foot fence. I'm not impressed. Same with hockey...bigger ice sheet, more room to maneuver. On another note, Steve Yzerman has already said he will be wearing a face shield next season. If pee wees on up wear them, why dump them in the pros? It's a safety issue, folks, we're talking about someone's sight! I'm still a fan of the NHL, but what a disaster. The Flyers/Lightning series has evolved into slashing and fights at the end of every game...not exactly what the NHL is trying to promote. MafiaMan

DaveK, Despite being a Red Wings fan, I believe you are 100% correct. Rocket Richard must be turning over in his grave knowing that only two Canadian hockey teams are still alive in the Stanley Cup playoffs while teams from San Jose and Tampa Bay are near-favorites or favorites to make the finals. I used to cheer against Canadian teams, now I find myself pulling for them. A Detroit/Toronto or Detroit/Montreal cup finals would draw a monster share of the Canadian TV market. We'll see if it happens.

Here's one I recall being played when the Sioux took the ice..."Machinehead" by Bush. Not bad, not bad at all. Although this one is pretty loud and pretty tasteless, the beat of "The Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson rocks! "Welcome to the Jungle"...that song never gets old.

My humble picks: Detroit over Calgary in 6 San Jose over Colorado in 6 Philadelphia over Toronto in 7 Tampa Bay over Montreal in 6

Goon, Uh oh. Looks like some changes in Beantown after tonite's performance. Personally, I think Boston should send Martin LaPointe back where he belongs...in a Red Wing uniform! GO RED WINGS!

The Detroit Red Wings do a pretty amusing job of mixing songs up, particularly when penalties are called. I can recall hearing "It's a Mistake" by Men at Work when a Red Wing is marched off to the sin bin for two minutes. One of the funnier ones I heard, though, was when the St Louis Blues team goon (I forget his name...scrolled thru the roster and couldn't find it) was sent to the penalty box in a game earlier this season. The guy had hair about 4' long and they played "Sign" by Tesla...not the whole song, just the part where it said "and the sign said long haired freaky people...need not apply." You could hear the laughter throughout the arena. As far as best song, though? Like it or not, Gary Glitter's "Rock n Roll Part I" will always rule the roost.

With all due respect to the larger programs, I think the "regionals" have taken something away from the regular season record. For example, a small school like UMD, UND, or Denver can win the WCHA regular season, then have to play the tournament in either Milwaukee or St Paul in front of large hostile crowds. What was the reward for the Sioux winning the MacNaughton Cup? A WCHA title game in front of 16,500 Gopher fans. It's no different in the CCHA...Northern Michigan, Nebraska-Omaha, Miami (Ohio) all get to play at Joe Louis Arena in front of huge pro-Michigan and pro-Michigan State crowds. Before you start screaming bloody murder at me, let me say that I'm 100% OK with the conference tournaments being played at these venues. BUT... ...let's then base the post-season on overall standings. I'll use as an example of two years ago, the 2002 Denver Pioneers, who won the WCHA regular season title and then won the Broadmoor Trophy in St Paul by defeating the Gophers, again, in front of 16,000-17,000 pro-Minnesota fans. Their reward? A death-sentence regional game in Ann Arbor against Michigan. Nice. Now, how about we go back to the home ice advantage format. Denver in 2002 deserved it on the basis of their performance in the conference regular season and playoffs. Let them host their first round NCAA opponent in their home rink. What difference does it make if Holy Cross flies to Minneapolis for a regional or to Denver for a one-game playoff? Make the regular season meaningful again! I'm not being anti-Gopher here, but it's absurd that the #5 team in the conference regular season was allowed to be a #1 seed for an NCAA tournament. By that same theory, the top four teams in the ACC should have all been #1's for the basketball tournament. It's ridiculous and puts all the weight on the shoulders of a computer ranking. Imagine this year if Colorado College would have made the tournament. They'd have had a home rink to play their regional games based on what? A near .500 record? Surely, you jest. I don't think there was anything wrong with the way the system used to be with the exception of the silly two-games total goals rule. Anyone concur?

Sheesh...8-2, 8-3...and I call myself a "financial manager." I'll write it off as being up too late on a Saturday night.

Did anyone hear Barry Melrose on NHL Tonite? He mentioned something to the effect of (and I'm paraphrasing) 'nice to see a western team win it now and then.' Take a look at the past ten years, Barry...sheesh: 2004 Denver, 2003 Minnesota, 2002 Minnesota 2001 Boston College 2000 North Dakota 1999 Maine 1998 Michigan, 1997 North Dakota, 1996 Michigan 1995 Boston University 1994 Lake Superior State By my count, I have 8 "western" schools and 2 eastern schools. And if you want to be REALLY picky and say that the WCHA consists of western schools and everyone else is eastern, it's still 5-5! Nice work, WCHA!

My biggest beef isn't anything related to the arena...it's that the focus is taken off of the team and has been placed on socializing, drinking beer, and "being seen." The arena is just not as intimidating as old REA. CFM...you and I need to log off the computers and get a life! What the hell am I doing here on a Saturday night?

What could have made REA more intimate? Maybe lower the roof and eliminate the gigantic lounge areas to keep the noise sealed in? I don't even know why I get into these arguments. The students and players will tell you...old REA was better.

Yea, that's it. I wanted new REA to be exactly like the old REA.

Some Sioux fans actually feel Junior Lessard deserved the award. I know I do. I've seen Junior play and he is solid. There's no question he made his teammates better players when he was on the ice. Unlike the 2001 Ryan Miller debacle, I concur with this decision. I also saw Ryan Miller play. He was the product of a stifling defense more than his stellar goaltending. I witnessed a game against UMass where he had a shutout going, gave up a goal with about 10:00 left in the game, and then was pulled to prevent another goal which would have raised his goals against. That award was fraudulent and Jeff Panzer was totally robbed. But there's no smoking gun on this case. Congrats Junior!

Yea, the atmosphere at the new place is twice as good as old REA. I've climbed up this tree before. Hockey is not about the hockey anymore...it's about the Fighting Sioux Club, drinking all-game long, fighting about what cheers can/can't be said, etc. REA is style over substance. Check out BU's new arena...there are comments about making sure the arena is intimate to accomodate the "noise" factor. This should have been a primary consideration of new REA instead of making sure the old-timers weren't rudely interrupted from their naps during game-time.

I made three trips to REA this season. Maybe wiser heads prevailed in this decision for this past season, but on my trips last year, I was charged $5 for a "lap ticket" for my 1-year old to watch the game. Either I slipped thru the cracks this year or else that policy was scrapped because I didn't pay it this time around, but trust me, I was FUMING about this last season. Paying $25 to see my 2-second picture on the jumbo-tron is one thing, paying an extra $5 so my 1 year old can sit on my lap for a sporting event that he'll have no recollection of when he gets older is a joke. I realize economics drive what happens as Sicatoka has pointed out on more than one occasion. But I think it's getting taken to the point where it is beyond absurd. No one demaned leather seats that could be ripped open by the shoes of people who jump all over them while scurrying around between periods and no one asked for marble floors. All of these extras could have been used to keep costs down for future generations. Instead, what's going to happen is an over-priced game in a gawdy in-your-face building. I can hear the crickets now when they're giving away tickets because the Sioux are in a down season like Mankato or Michigan Tech and you know what? REA won't be a money-maker then. I'm still confused as to why there is a mile-long waiting list for season tickets when every trip I've made to Grand Forks, I get to see 500-1500 empty seats.

You're preachin' to the choir, cfm! I was at that game at the Xcel...Adam Hauser takes a MONSTER slash at a Maine player skating by him, then gives him another whack as he turned around to come back up the ice. No call, but the ref promptly blows the whisle against Maine at center ice, leading up to that power play goal. That call was a bigger joke than the two no-calls ten seconds prior to that. I totally agree with you...Maine was hosed in 2002.

DU alum Keith Magnuson Dies Maine lost Shawn Walsh a few years ago...did you forget about more recent events involving a Denver alum? "Emotionally, I'm pulling for Maine"? I guess if emotions rule who you root for, it's going to be hard to cheer against either Maine or Denver.

Goon, I believe you "couldn't care less" about who wins the game. If you could care less, it means just that. It means you care and actually could care LESS than what you care for. That being said, watch the game. I bet you'll be surprised. Frankly, this run by Denver is quite a story. I hope they win it all.

DU*Pioneer, Glad to see your education at Denver University paying off. Those of us who took Spelling 101 know the word is "drought," not "draught." Can't spell "edukashen" without DU! MafiaMan p.s. Tongue-in-cheek humor if you haven't caught on. Congrats on a great season and beat Maine!