SuperSkills and Young Stars game go tonight on CBC at 8.. The Allstar game goes tomorrow an hour earlier at 7pm, also on CBC. Allstar vBookie here..!
What a shitty game. Even the players don't want to be involved in it http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/michael_farber/01/23/allstar.notes/index.html
In for super skills. Fuck the game. Although i think its stupid that they brought in a local Jr goalie and gave him strict orders not to attempt any saves
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5G77 Safari/525.20) That "dunk comp" style shootiut is garbage there is only so much you can do I thought st louis should of won with the no puck on stick. The young stars game was fun to watch. An also charas 105 slapper now that's impressive
The whole Skills Comp is a joke. All I can say about last night's Skills Comp is.... WOW.... it was sad really, aside from the Accuracy, Hardest shot and Fastest Skater. What ever happened to Puck Control Relay, Goalie Challenge and the Pass/Shoot skills? All the meaningful skills used in today's game. The Skills Comp definitely lost it's fan appeal last night I think.
I second this. The skills comp the last two years now has sucked ass. The NHL is trying to make it to much like a NBA skills comp so they can draw in more American views. All these did was turn the Skills Comp into a damn joke. The only parts of the show I enjoyed were the original events, hardest shot/accuracy/shoot out/fastest skater......so I guess everything besides the show off event. I vote for St Louis, Getzlaf had the nice goal from behind the net. Ovechkin did not deserve to win, IMO. Old Skills Comp > New Skills Comp.
I don't tend to watch any all-star games or skills comps....didn't watch this weekends festivities at all...highlights were good for me.
I had a good laugh at that too.. they ask him a question with a 2 on 1 coming up.. "hold on a min".. lol
I'd prefer for them to go back to the old Wales vs. Campbell format. Hardest Shot Fastest Skater Breakaway relay Accuracy What I did like about this year was the "score and you stay in" breakaway thingy. Great Idea. Bogus that there is no goaltending award anymore.
I dont think the all star game is a reflection on the game as a whole. It's much better now than it was pre-lockout. They just need to stop tinkering with the rules and fix some aspects of the all star game, or find a different way of promoting the league mid-season than the all star game.
I hate to say it but Gary Bettman has really taken the NHL in the wrong direction.... most would agree The only benefit is the salary cap... much better with it!
To me...i don't see any effort from the players in teh game. I think they all have strict instructions not to do anything stupid and get injured...so it ends up being glorified pond hockey. Course...I don't blame clubs for not wanting their best players to get injured in a game that really is only for the fans...and means nothing else.
I'm disagreeing, as do most people I know who watch the game regularly. Care to get specific with what is wrong with it?
PS: Not trying to be a prick with that last post - it's just most of the people I talk with about hockey tend to agree that they like the NHL more now than before the lockout..
i think the biggest problem is trying to americanize the league more. I'm sure franchises could work in Winnipeg and Quebec City again. Its not like they're extremely successful in the hockey hotbeds of phoenix, carolina and nashville. I guess in all fairness, I guess i can see how the league is becoming more popular since he's been commissioner. I just don't care for the rule changes and unnecessary expansion to Nascar country.
The NHL is better run under Bettman. He's implemented some good things over the years (salary cap, stance on suspensions, shutting down a couple of BS attempts for owners to sell their clubs, etc...) Now, the man himself is a complete piece of shit. Little man syndrome to the extreme. He doesn't answer the questions he's asked and is a rediculously defensive person.
Ok, maybe its just that i don't like the man... i can't say i completely agree with what you said about BS attempts to sell the clubs. which sales are you referring to?
I don't think Winnipeg or Quebec City could hold a team. Fuck, I think most top-tier players now a days would balk at thought of even having to live in a place like Winnipeg.. even Edmonton has trouble attracting star talent. I do agree that there are better places for some of the newer teams in southern States, but can't say I disagree with trying - Bettman's just having a problem with pulling the plug and relocating them. I can't say I blame him, though - it looks bad for the league once teams start moving all over the place. Building a fan base takes time, too, so I can't imagine there wasn't a timeline for determining success that was put in place before the teams were relocated. Saying all that, I would love to see a team like Phoenix moved immediately - fucking Beslisle is ready and willing, has a sold out stadium in a hockey crazy market... if Gretzky wasn't there, I imagine it would be done. What new rules do you not like?
When I see the way Bettman talks down to Ron Maclean everytime he's being interviewed it makes me want to go right through the TV. He's such an arrogant ass.
Ron always tries to drill Gary and Gary always gets defensive and agitated. It's good humor watching them go after each other. I love it.
I don't really like the delay of game penalties... ie, over the boards on a clearing attempt and the goalies playing the puck in the restricted zone. I also didn't like the talk of making the net bigger. That seems to be done with though
They're great interviews, except for the part where Gary get's defensive... which I suppose means that the interviews actually suck!