Bring hockey people into NHL
Gary James Patalsky
I have seen some of the dumbest proposals concerning the NHL recently.
They all seem to coincide with the arrival of the new commissioner. Gil
Stein should have named commissioner as Gary Bentman is trying to turn
basketball into hockey. Here are some of the ridiculous proposals.
1. The radical realignment plans.
(a) Moving the Pens out of the Patrick - dumb even to propose it.
Proposing to put the Pens in the Central division would never
happen in the first place - the Pens have the right to veto any
change in division and would do so if the NHL tried to place them
in a division in which virtually all games would start at 8:35.
(b) Less emphasis on division game - Guess they didn't see the
recent
stats in THN which showed that inner divisional games attract much
bigger crowds than games outside the division.
(c) Eliminate the division names and change them into Central
Division,
etc. This isn't basketball. Why change the names - it's one of
many things that make hockey unique.
2. A new playoff system
What's wrong with the existing system. I would rather see Patrick
Divisional teams than Buffalo or Boston in the first two rounds. A 1
versus 8 system is again something from basketball. Granted, it was
proposed a while before Bentman arrived (the crybaby Rangers proposed
this after being whipped by the Pens: "it's not fair we have to play
the Pens this early in the season."
3. A computer enhanced puck? Enough said. If you can't follow the
puck, don't
watch.
More suggestions to better the game.
Give Canada some more teams. Instead of giving Hamilton the team they
deserve, we put NHL teams in Tampa Bay and Miami.
In 5 years, put the game on Prime Sports/SportChannel, which will soon
have a viewership of 40 million people. ESPN coverage has been pitiful,
1 game every other week.
And ban NBC from covering any hockey games. The All Star Game was
perhaps the worst televised game I have ever seen.
Nelson Lu
>
>I have seen some of the dumbest proposals concerning the NHL recently.
>They all seem to coincide with the arrival of the new commissioner. Gil
>Stein should have named commissioner as Gary Bentman is trying to turn
>basketball into hockey. Here are some of the ridiculous proposals.
And you appear equally dumb.
>
>1. The radical realignment plans.
> (a) Moving the Pens out of the Patrick - dumb even to propose it.
>
> Proposing to put the Pens in the Central division would never
> happen in the first place - the Pens have the right to veto any
> change in division and would do so if the NHL tried to place them
> in a division in which virtually all games would start at 8:35.
Do they, actually? Then, why was Winnipeg moved to the Smythe when it
apparently didn't want to?
And why would this be dumb, even if this doesn't pass? Pittsburgh is the
farthest west of the Patrick teams, for sure. Is it dumb only because it
touched "your" Penguins?
>2. A new playoff system
> What's wrong with the existing system. I would rather see Patrick
> Divisional teams than Buffalo or Boston in the first two rounds. A 1
> versus 8 system is again something from basketball. Granted, it was
> proposed a while before Bentman arrived (the crybaby Rangers proposed
> this after being whipped by the Pens: "it's not fair we have to play
> the Pens this early in the season."
This shows you how unbiased you are.
>More suggestions to better the game.
>
>Give Canada some more teams. Instead of giving Hamilton the team they
>deserve, we put NHL teams in Tampa Bay and Miami.
Now, this is a dumb proposal if I have heard one.
The problem we see down in Tampa is not with Tampa Bay itself; it's with the
stupid management group; they should have given the franchise to CompuWare.
Putting more teams in Canada will do nothing to help the game's popularity
in the United States.
===============================================================================
GO CALGARY FLAMES! Mike Vernon for Vezina! Gary Roberts for Hart and Selke!
GO EDMONTON OILERS! Go for playoffs! Dave Manson for Norris!
===============================================================================
Nelson Lu (clau...@leland.stanford.edu)
rec.sport.hockey contact for the San Jose Sharks
Valerie S. Hammerl
>
>I have seen some of the dumbest proposals concerning the NHL recently.
>They all seem to coincide with the arrival of the new commissioner. Gil
>Stein should have named commissioner as Gary Bentman is trying to turn
>basketball into hockey. Here are some of the ridiculous proposals.
>
>1. The radical realignment plans.
> (a) Moving the Pens out of the Patrick - dumb even to propose it.
>
> Proposing to put the Pens in the Central division would never
> happen in the first place - the Pens have the right to veto any
> change in division and would do so if the NHL tried to place them
> in a division in which virtually all games would start at 8:35.
Gee, doesn't Toronto do this all the time? Funny, I thought they were
in the Norris division and in the Eastern time zone. At least they
were the last time I visited the city (or turned on the tv or radio to
a Canadian station out of Toronto). And didn't Winnipeg get shafted
into going to the Smythe without supreme veto power? How'd Pittsburgh
manage to acquire it? Divine right? Ease up a bit and look at what's
already been done.
--
Valerie Hammerl John Sr. would lift Pat over the boards, grab
ham...@acsu.buffalo.edu his hand, and start running around the outside,
V085...@UBVMS.CC.BUFFALO.EDU faster and faster. "I wanted to learn how to
get that feeling, and the only way was to learn how to skate." P. LaFontaine
Gerald Olchowy
>In article <EfS5gQm00...@andrew.cmu.edu> Gary James Patalsky <gp...@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
>>
>>They all seem to coincide with the arrival of the new commissioner. Gil
>>Stein should have named commissioner as Gary Bentman is trying to turn
>>basketball into hockey. Here are some of the ridiculous proposals.
>>
>
>a backseat sport in America's minds for so long. The new commissioner will
>make some mistakes, but the NHL does not need a hockey man (gee, Ziegler did
>a hell of a lot didn't he?), they need a good manager. Do you think when
>Apple got their CEO from Pepsi, it made any difference that he knew soft
>drinks and not computers? He sure as hell turned Apple around though.
>
We have to survive until the end of the season until Bettman is able
to hire his right-hand hockey man...unfortunately, for Oiler fans, his short
list is comprised of one name...Glen Sather...who is obviously the
best candidate for the job...and even though he really doesn't want
the job, will be pressured by most of the hockey people in the NHL
to take it. Sather is going to have to decide between the job he
really loves, which is being the head honcho of a hockey team, and
doing what is perhaps in the best interests of the game overall, which
may be to take the job in the NHL office as Bettman's hockey conscience.
As an Oiler fan, I'm torn, because it would kill me to see Sather leave,
yet he (and perhaps maybe Pat Quinn) are the only hockey people with
enough "weight" to balance Bettman...but Quinn hasn't won his Stanley
Cup yet. Gerry Meehan appears to be the second choice at the moment...
Sinden would be able to do the job well, but is really too old and
doesn't want to move to New York.
Gerald
Valerie S. Hammerl
>
>We have to survive until the end of the season until Bettman is able
>to hire his right-hand hockey man...unfortunately, for Oiler fans, his short
>list is comprised of one name...Glen Sather...who is obviously the
>best candidate for the job...and even though he really doesn't want
>the job, will be pressured by most of the hockey people in the NHL
>to take it. Sather is going to have to decide between the job he
>really loves, which is being the head honcho of a hockey team, and
>doing what is perhaps in the best interests of the game overall, which
>may be to take the job in the NHL office as Bettman's hockey conscience.
>
>As an Oiler fan, I'm torn, because it would kill me to see Sather leave,
>yet he (and perhaps maybe Pat Quinn) are the only hockey people with
>enough "weight" to balance Bettman...but Quinn hasn't won his Stanley
>Cup yet. Gerry Meehan appears to be the second choice at the moment...
>Sinden would be able to do the job well, but is really too old and
>doesn't want to move to New York.
I've only heard Sinden, Meehan, and what's-his-name -- Washington's
GM, as candidates. When did Sather enter the picture and how did I
miss his becoming the frontrunner?
I've been hearing Meehan for quite a while, and in an interview by
either Jim Kelley or Bob Dicesare, he stated he won't even discuss the
possibility of involvement with Bettman's short list until June, when
his contract as Sabre GM expires. Were Meehan to get the job, then
Muckler would assume the role of GM and a new coach would be found.
If not, then Muckler would remain head of hockey operations but would
probably give up coaching. I get the impression that the Sabres
players have really tried his patience with their road woes. :-)
Silly question, though, since you've introduced Sather into the
equation: What makes him the best qualified candidate? I'm having a
bad day, so humor me. (This should not be read as a sign that I
support Meehan's naming, just that I'm curious. Is that clear?)
>
>Gerald
Anthony Jang
>They all seem to coincide with the arrival of the new commissioner. Gil
>Stein should have named commissioner as Gary Bentman is trying to turn
>basketball into hockey. Here are some of the ridiculous proposals.
>
>1. The radical realignment plans.
> (a) Moving the Pens out of the Patrick - dumb even to propose it.
The proposed expansion would be good for the other 25 teams. Not everyone
can be happy.
> (c) Eliminate the division names and change them into Central
>Division,
> etc. This isn't basketball. Why change the names - it's one of
> many things that make hockey unique.
Unique and unsuccessful.
>3. A computer enhanced puck? Enough said. If you can't follow the
>puck, don't
> watch.
That's the problem with new viewers, they can't follow the puck. If they
don't watch how does this create more interest in the NHL?
>More suggestions to better the game.
>
>Give Canada some more teams. Instead of giving Hamilton the team they
>deserve, we put NHL teams in Tampa Bay and Miami.
As much as Hamiliton deserved a franchise, the belief behind giving teams
to southern (or less traditional) cities is to spread out the interest.
This is to create less regionalized demand, what many believe is the big
stumbling block of the NHL ever getting a BIG tv contract.
>And ban NBC from covering any hockey games. The All Star Game was
>perhaps the worst televised game I have ever seen.
Perhaps banning the AS game would be a better idea. I've read that
the NHL is considering buying air time from ABC in order to televise
the games in the finals. Maybe this will finally bring true hockey to
US network. But I wonder what the ratings will be if it's Vancouver vs
Montreal.
Tony
Mark Shneyder
>>In 5 years, put the game on Prime Sports/SportChannel, which will soon
>>have a viewership of 40 million people. ESPN coverage has been pitiful,
>>1 game every other week.
>>
Yeh,maybe in 5 years they'll have 40 million. But in 1993,they can only
pull in 15 million via TCI and Cablevision local franchises. Prime/SC channel
would have a harder time landing on any non-TCI or non-Cablevsion system
than SportsChannel America ever did. TCI maybe coming out with 500-channel
compression systems in a couple of years and boasting about other technological
advancements, but to say that they're not well liked among its peers would
be a huge understatement.
Also,if you were more familiar with the 4-year ESPN-NHL deal you'd know that it's
basically year-to-year deal with ESPN having an exclusive renegotiation period
after which if the deal and conditions for the new season are not reached,NHL
could possibly talk/walk to Prime/SC. But do you honestly think NHL would
ever do business with left-over cheap losers from SC America?(Short memories,eh? :
clueless Jim Papa and that magnificent card-board studio set in SCA bunker on
Long Island,which was probably borrowed from a local Cablevision's Long
Island cable access channel for the 1992 playoff coverage. Remember the
PLANT? :-)
Basically,if ESPN II is off the ground(even in a limitted capacity) by
September,consider Prime/SC venture officially dead.
As for this week's ESPN coverage,it's 2 games!(as US Postal Service ad
would say,"It's TWO!" :
Friday : at 7:30pmEST, Canuck at Sabres
Saturday : at 2:00pmEST, BlackHawks at Penguins
-PPV Mark
Russell Jaslow
>They all seem to coincide with the arrival of the new commissioner. Gil
>Stein should have named commissioner as Gary Bentman is trying to turn
>basketball into hockey. Here are some of the ridiculous proposals.
>
It's this very line of thinking that has caused hockey to be relagated as
a backseat sport in America's minds for so long. The new commissioner will
make some mistakes, but the NHL does not need a hockey man (gee, Ziegler did
a hell of a lot didn't he?), they need a good manager. Do you think when
Apple got their CEO from Pepsi, it made any difference that he knew soft
drinks and not computers? He sure as hell turned Apple around though.
>1. The radical realignment plans.
> (a) Moving the Pens out of the Patrick - dumb even to propose it.
>
> Proposing to put the Pens in the Central division would never
> happen in the first place - the Pens have the right to veto any
> change in division and would do so if the NHL tried to place them
> in a division in which virtually all games would start at 8:35.
I can understand this point. Unfortunately, someone will be unhappy.
> (b) Less emphasis on division game - Guess they didn't see the
>recent
> stats in THN which showed that inner divisional games attract much
> bigger crowds than games outside the division.
Ahh, the only thing I agree with you on. The inner divisional games are the
most fun.
> (c) Eliminate the division names and change them into Central
>Division,
> etc. This isn't basketball. Why change the names - it's one of
> many things that make hockey unique.
>
Man, are you way off base here. The NHL has the most assinine, egotistical
divisional naming system in the history of sports. Nobody I know who is not
a hockey fan is able to follow it. And that prevents getting more people
interested in the sport.
>2. A new playoff system
> What's wrong with the existing system. I would rather see Patrick
> Divisional teams than Buffalo or Boston in the first two rounds. A 1
> versus 8 system is again something from basketball. Granted, it was
> proposed a while before Bentman arrived (the crybaby Rangers proposed
> this after being whipped by the Pens: "it's not fair we have to play
> the Pens this early in the season."
>
WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't even know if the Rangers were the first ones to
propose it, but I do know that NYR bitched about this long before Pittsburgh
was any good. They complained bitterly when the did not make the playoffs
despite having superbly better records than Quebec and Hartford who did.
Besides, as a fan, I'm getting sick and bored with the same series every
single year. It adds no suspense to the playoffs, and makes the future
rounds anticlimactic (especially after a Ranger-Islander series). I would
like to see a little diversity, so the best 4 teams reach the semis, not the
first round.
>3. A computer enhanced puck? Enough said. If you can't follow the
>puck, don't
> watch.
>
I'm sick of tired of people blasting the glowing puck. Okay, so it didn't
work out. I don't like it either. But at least they *tried* something.
We didn't get to be the most technologically advanced society by sitting on
our asses unwilling to try new things. So the puck didn't work. Fine, put
it away. Now, try something else to make the game more viewable for the non
fans who we need to attract.
>More suggestions to better the game.
>
>Give Canada some more teams. Instead of giving Hamilton the team they
>deserve, we put NHL teams in Tampa Bay and Miami.
>
Tough call. I would like to see Hamilton with a franchise, but if Miami and
Anaheim work out, it would be a great thing for the NHL.
>In 5 years, put the game on Prime Sports/SportChannel, which will soon
>have a viewership of 40 million people. ESPN coverage has been pitiful,
>1 game every other week.
>
Talk about trying to repeat history. SportsChannel promised all these
wonderful numbers concerning viewership, and not only failed to live up to
their promise, but never even came close. 40 million people? Yeah, I have
a bridge in Brooklyn going really cheap...
>And ban NBC from covering any hockey games. The All Star Game was
>perhaps the worst televised game I have ever seen.
But, though you may be right, the All Star Game is also the worst game to
cover. Let's reserve judgement on the networks until ABC covers some playoff
games this year.
--
Russell Jaslow |Spec Racer #33 Finger Lakes Reg|NY RANGERS|My employer
Eastman Kodak Company |In memorium: Andrew Spiller, |and the |has nothing
Rochester, New York |Cynthia Bishop Halstead. Keep |Cup! This |to do with
jas...@bissun.kodak.com|the damn drunks off our roads! |year.... |my drivel.
Gerald Olchowy
>In article <1993Feb10.1...@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca> golc...@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca (Gerald Olchowy) writes:
>>
>>We have to survive until the end of the season until Bettman is able
>>to hire his right-hand hockey man...unfortunately, for Oiler fans, his short
>>list is comprised of one name...Glen Sather...who is obviously the
>>best candidate for the job...and even though he really doesn't want
>>the job, will be pressured by most of the hockey people in the NHL
>>to take it. Sather is going to have to decide between the job he
>>really loves, which is being the head honcho of a hockey team, and
>>doing what is perhaps in the best interests of the game overall, which
>>may be to take the job in the NHL office as Bettman's hockey conscience.
>>
>>As an Oiler fan, I'm torn, because it would kill me to see Sather leave,
>>yet he (and perhaps maybe Pat Quinn) are the only hockey people with
>>enough "weight" to balance Bettman...but Quinn hasn't won his Stanley
>>Cup yet. Gerry Meehan appears to be the second choice at the moment...
>>Sinden would be able to do the job well, but is really too old and
>>doesn't want to move to New York.
>
>I've only heard Sinden, Meehan, and what's-his-name -- Washington's
>GM, as candidates. When did Sather enter the picture and how did I
>miss his becoming the frontrunner?
>
Sather doesn't want the job at all, but Toronto newspapers have
suggested that Bettman wants Sather. There is a difference between
campaigning to not get a job and campaigning to get a job...Meehan
and Poile want the job...Sather doesn't...so Sather isn't going
to float trial balloons in the New York media promoting a candidacy
he doesn't want. Sather will have to be pressured into accepting
the job...because he would rather be a GM. If all of his hockey
friends in the NHL gang up and tell him he has to do this for the
good of the game is the only way Sather, the competitor, would
become, Sather, the administrator.
>
>Silly question, though, since you've introduced Sather into the
>equation: What makes him the best qualified candidate? I'm having a
>bad day, so humor me. (This should not be read as a sign that I
>support Meehan's naming, just that I'm curious. Is that clear?)
>
Bettman needs a hockey conscience...who better than Sather who
was a hardworking grinder as a player, and played for Bowman(Habs),
Arbour(Blues), Sinden(Bruins), Francis(Rangers), and Kelly(Pittsburgh);
who has been an incredibly successful coach and GM, never missing
the playoffs, 5 Stanley Cups, and who reinvigorated the NHL with
skating hockey, with a dash of European "flair", and who has run
a small market Canadian club and understands the financial dire
straits of such teams. Sather has been the single most important
person in hockey for the last fifteen years...and has a profound
understanding of the game, and why it is the greatest game.
Sinden (too old), Quinn (wants a SC), Fletcher (has the Maple Leaf
challenge), Mike Smith (smart but a little too anti-Canadian and
pro-Russian for my liking)...are probably the best of the other
candidates...Meehan and Poile haven't shown me that they really
understand hockey with the way they have run their teams...they
are efficient competent people but I don't trust them as a
hockey conscience for Bettman.
I sort of wish Sinden would take the job for the interim until
Sather wins one more Stanley Cup...I've sort of convinced that
Sather wants a champion with a distinctly different team...sort
of the Don Shula or Joe Gibbs or Scotty Bowman test...winning
championships with different personnel.
Gerald
Gerald Olchowy
>In article <1993Feb10.2...@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca> golc...@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca (Gerald Olchowy) writes:
>>
>>Bettman needs a hockey conscience...who better than Sather [...]
>>who has been an incredibly successful coach and GM, never missing
>>the playoffs,
>
>
There is still a pulse in the Oilers' corpse and with the Kings
having been put on life support in recent weeks...the Lazarus Oilers
may be again rising from the grave, much to the horror of all the
Jets and the Canuck fans who have been dancing on it for the last
two months.
84 games is a long season...Corson, with a critically ill father,
Tikkanen, and everyone else on the club who have been underperforming
offensively for the first 50 games, are not likely to for the full
season.
The Oilers have two young goaltenders, a big young defensive core,
and forwards who can skate and hit...all they lack is a little offensive
punch...if the puck ever starts bouncing the right way, the Oilers
will be playing hockey again in May. The Oilers still need a bit
of cooperation from LA to get into the playoffs, but what was hopeless
only a month ago, is now again within the realm of possibility.
Gerald
STEVEN JAY GIBBLE
ssell Jaslow) writes:
>In article <EfS5gQm00...@andrew.cmu.edu> Gary James Patalsky <gp2f+@andre
w.cmu.edu> writes:
>>
>>I have seen some of the dumbest proposals concerning the NHL recently.
>>They all seem to coincide with the arrival of the new commissioner. Gil
>>Stein should have named commissioner as Gary Bentman is trying to turn
>>basketball into hockey. Here are some of the ridiculous proposals.
>
>It's this very line of thinking that has caused hockey to be relagated as
>a backseat sport in America's minds for so long. The new commissioner will
>make some mistakes, but the NHL does not need a hockey man (gee, Ziegler did
>a hell of a lot didn't he?), they need a good manager. Do you think when
>Apple got their CEO from Pepsi, it made any difference that he knew soft
>drinks and not computers? He sure as hell turned Apple around though.
>
(stuff deleted)
>
>>3. A computer enhanced puck? Enough said. If you can't follow the
>>puck, don't
>> watch.
>>
>
>I'm sick of tired of people blasting the glowing puck. Okay, so it didn't
>work out. I don't like it either. But at least they *tried* something.
>We didn't get to be the most technologically advanced society by sitting on
>our asses unwilling to try new things. So the puck didn't work. Fine, put
>it away. Now, try something else to make the game more viewable for the non
>fans who we need to attract.
Why does the NHL need to attract new fans so desperately? Is the league losing
money? Are teams folding because they're broke? No I don't think so. If I had
Prism,(which I don't because I'm a poor college student) I could watch all the
Flyer's games and with ESPN covering the playoffs, I get to see all the games
that I really wanted to. I think the NHL is looking foolish and desperate trying
to come up with some gimmick to attract new fans. The glowing puck idea is
about as low as it can get. It is just plain stupid. The NHL is just fine
the way it is (except the linesman shouldn't break up fights) and I can't see
why it is trying to attract a bunch of schmucks who have no clue about the
game.
>--
>Russell Jaslow |Spec Racer #33 Finger Lakes Reg|NY RANGERS|My employer
>Eastman Kodak Company |In memorium: Andrew Spiller, |and the |has nothing
>Rochester, New York |Cynthia Bishop Halstead. Keep |Cup! This |to do with
>jas...@bissun.kodak.com|the damn drunks off our roads! |year.... |my drivel.
>
Steve Gibble
Lehigh University
Mike Godfrey
>
>who has been an incredibly successful coach and GM, never missing
>the playoffs,
Perhaps he should take the job now, while his record's intact!
--
Mike Godfrey Motto of the "new" Canada:
Dept of Comp Sci, UofT E pluribus complures.
mi...@turing.toronto.edu Out of many, several.
Russell Jaslow
>
>the way it is (except the linesman shouldn't break up fights) and I can't see
>why it is trying to attract a bunch of schmucks who have no clue about the
>game.
>
Ahh, yes, but weren't we all at one time "a bunch of schmucks who have no clue
about the game"? You can't be a veteran without first being a rookie.
Anthony Jang
>
>Why does the NHL need to attract new fans so desperately? Is the league losing
>money? Are teams folding because they're broke? No I don't think so.
The NHL needs to attract more fans to pay for the ever escalating players'
salaries. Teams that are/were thinking of relocating include: Jets,
Oilers, North Stars, Whalers and furthermore 1/3 - 1/4 of the teams
are losing money. Other than that the NHL is in great shape :-)
Tony
twol...@aud.alcatel.com
Do you have ANY positive comments regarding the NHL at ALL??
You seem to hate EVERY proposed change.....!!!
Just out of curiosity...where the heck are you from....perhaps
all of OUR (other netters) questions about your philosophy will
be answered!!!
===============================================================================
For specific box scores, Dallas Freeze Info, Oklahoma City Blazer Info, or
any other CHL Info, please contact Marc Foster or myself at:
mfo...@geohub.gcn.uoknor.edu or
===============================================================================
| Ted Wollnik Jr | Go Black Hawks !!! |
| twol...@rdxsun11.aud.alcatel.com | Belfour for Vezina..Roenick for Hart |
===============================================================================
| I used to think that - everyone was the same |
| Walking around all the time - thinking all the same things |
| But I know it's not true, just to look at you |
| I can tell you're not that way |
| - Redd Kross |
===============================================================================
| OFFICIAL: Net contact for the Dallas Freeze (and the rest of the CHL ??) |
===============================================================================
yeah I know!! but at least it HOCKEY !!!!
George Ferguson
In article <17...@fozzy.UUCP> twol...@aud.alcatel.com writes:
>Do you have ANY positive comments regarding the NHL at ALL??
>You seem to hate EVERY proposed change.....!!!
>Just out of curiosity...where the heck are you from....perhaps
>all of OUR (other netters) questions about your philosophy will
>be answered!!!
To whom were you referring? All of us?
>| OFFICIAL: Net contact for the Dallas Freeze (and the rest of the CHL ??)
Despite your official status, perhaps the tirade was meant for email?
George
--
George Ferguson ARPA: ferg...@cs.rochester.edu
Dept. of Computer Science UUCP: rutgers!rochester!ferguson
University of Rochester VOX: (716) 275-2527
Rochester NY 14627-0226 FAX: (716) 461-2018