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Double Bass Hockey?

F

frichter

Mar 26, 2007
147
1
Chicago, IL
#1
With the NHL season about 1/4 in the books, I am a little surprised that nobody has gotten a hockey thread started (especially with all of the Canadians around here). The NHL product is great this year with young guns like Ovechkin, Crosby, Toews, Kane, etc. and traditionally great teams like the Red Wings, Bruins, and Rangers claiming some of the top spots in the standings. Not to mention the Chicago Blackhawks establishing themselves as a revitalized organization :hyper:.

I realize that hockey has kinda been in the dumps for awhile, but there is some great hockey happenin (with some nice rule changes) that I wish could be seen beyond local programming and the VS station. Anyway, anybody around here follow puck?
 
#3
ouch . . . good one. :D

Although that is a statement which people are accustomed to hearing in these parts, I do have to say that there is a rebirth of the Blackhawks organization. They have drafted well, put home games back on the tube, and brought back legends such as Mikita and Esposito as "ambassadors." The team is exceptionally fun to watch -- they have a bunch of talented skaters and stick handlers, not to mention some undersized but confident bruisers. And they picked up a new coach that is putting it all together (just wish he could make the defense a bit more solid and consistent). So yes, they are still around! Go to a game and check it out -- cheaper than those choking cubs and underwhelming bears.
 
#4
Hockey's a great game and I love to watch it live. The NHL product is, however, and IMO, characterized by a great deal of negative air pressure. In other words, it sucks.

Best hockey game ever, IMO, was that Olympics final 10 or so years ago with Canada versus the USA. Hardly any fighting or goonish stickwork, few penalties, and no stopping for commercials. Just end-to-end, fast, skilled hockey playing.

And the good guys won!
 
#5
Damon Rondeau said:
Best hockey game ever, IMO, was that Olympics final 10 or so years ago with Canada versus the USA. Hardly any fighting or goonish stickwork, few penalties, and no stopping for commercials. Just end-to-end, fast, skilled hockey playing.

And the good guys won!
Click to expand...

Are you talking about the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City? I think you have to be because 10 years ago in Nagano Canada lost to the Czechs in the semifinal in a shootout. The only Canadian to score on Hasek in that shootout was Trevor Linden and the ******* coach Marc Crawford left Wayne Gretzky on the bench!! :eek:

Damon's just mad because the Jets moved away. Not that I don't understand (I still have Jets socks) but now he's stuck with the Canucks' farm team and right now we have all the good players! :(
 
#6
Jets, Shmets. Truth be told I lived and died with the old Habs but I dug the Bruins, too. My biggest NHL fan days go back to Yvan Cournoyer and Bobby Orr, though. Ancient, I know...

Hockey's a magnificent game to and I reserve the right to be grumpy about it 'cause we go way back.

I've gone out to a few Moose games -- it's OK hockey. I don't mind that we're a farm team, and I'm quite happy it's the Canucks.
 
#9
Damon Rondeau said:
Hockey's a great game and I love to watch it live. The NHL product is, however, and IMO, characterized by a great deal of negative air pressure. In other words, it sucks.

Best hockey game ever, IMO, was that Olympics final 10 or so years ago with Canada versus the USA. Hardly any fighting or goonish stickwork, few penalties, and no stopping for commercials. Just end-to-end, fast, skilled hockey playing.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm not gonna argue whether international hockey or the NHL is the better product. However, the NHL is the only professional hockey organization in the world that can pay the top players. As a result, it is full of fast, skilled hockey players.

Fighting is something that is always brought up when people are puttin down the NHL. Sure, I wish that guys like George Parros and Tie Domi would actually play some hockey rather than just look for a guy to kill, but I also enjoy seeing Adam Burish (blackhawks) take a guy down when he takes a cheap shot at Patrick Kane (5'9 175). I'm not going to say that fighting is necessary to the game, but won't complain about it either.

I think that the NHL has gotten an overall bad wrap since the strike, and rightfully so . . . they screwed some **** up and are now payin the price. However, I think that they have done a great job of speeding the game up and not making it as cumbersome as Damon makes it seem.

Certain rule changes have helped, including: three line pass is legal (get the puck from end to end without stopping play), no line changes after an icing (teams ice the puck less now), four on four overtime (doesn't get much faster than that), no blowing the whistle for a puck jammed between players on the boards (scrum), penalizing teams for delay of game when they hit the puck out of play. This year alone, I have noticed fewer whistles and a quicker game. If you have seen the NHL product in the last couple years and don't dig it, fine. However, if you are basing your idea of the NHL on past play, then I urge you to check it out again.

No matter what hockey you watch, it is such a beautiful game . . . after over ten years of not playing, I think I might be lacing up the bauers in the near future. :D
 
#13
I'm a big hockey fan, being a Red Wings fan all my life, not just since the 90's. The problem I have is that I live in Columbus, Ohio and most of the hockey fans around here are Blue Jacket fans and they really have no idea about hockey. I mean they watch their Jackets and know the rules but they really don't know much about the tradition and the rivalries. To them the Red Wings vs. the Jackets is just another OSU vs. Michigan game. If they beat us then they're happy. Never mind the fact they've never been to the playoffs in their existence.
 

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