I just realized this, so i looked into it. The average hockey player makes more than the average NFL player. :lol:
The hockey players have screwed themselves. I don't think they realized that without them....no one would notice.
If ESPN didn't carry the games, the 8 people that watch on TV wouldn't care either.
There are no marquee players to actually make anyone care anymore.
The best know person in hockey could walk down the street and 99.99% of people wouldn't recogize him.
Brent Hull could go to a park and people would think Tony Hawk looked a lot older in real life.
Hey Hockey Dudes....Take any money you can before people realize that there is baseball playoffs, the NFL and the NBA starting up.
rotfl
MJKTool
10-15-04, 05:16 PM
hockey hater!
Dabaomb
10-15-04, 05:29 PM
As a casual hockey fan, I'm not missing it at all.
Honestly, the only time I ever watch is during the playoffs. Then when the Devils lose, I lose total interest.
Josh H
10-15-04, 05:35 PM
Definitely looking forward to not having to flip channels during hockey highlights on sportscenter and ESPNEWS.
Preacher
10-15-04, 05:47 PM
kvrdave is an asshat.
kvrdave
10-15-04, 05:48 PM
:lol: I thought you might like it. But I think you lose citizenship if you don't. -wink-
If two people agree with you, do I get an asshat trick?
shizawn
10-15-04, 05:49 PM
With the Sharks doing so well last year I certainly was looking forward to this season.
This lockout sucks ass.
KnightLerxst
10-15-04, 05:57 PM
Yes and it sucks.
If I didn't play I would go crazy.
Roto
10-15-04, 06:01 PM
Hockey is screwed. Canadian teams never win the Stanley Cup and now it seems like half of their teams are in the Southern States. Nobody in Tampa Bay has any serious attachment to hockey.
Preacher
10-15-04, 06:12 PM
..... asshat trick
rotfl
devilshalo
10-15-04, 07:03 PM
Hockey? :hscratch:
twikoff
10-15-04, 07:05 PM
2 more minutes of sportscenter dedicated to sports I care about per day :up:
devilshalo
10-15-04, 07:08 PM
Originally posted by twikoff
2 more minutes of sportscenter dedicated to sports I care about per day :up:
Yeah, the NBA! :D
Preacher
10-15-04, 07:23 PM
Originally posted by twikoff
2 more minutes of sportscenter dedicated to sports I care about per day :up: twikoff would make it 2 asshats.
twikoff
10-15-04, 07:44 PM
Originally posted by devilshalo
Yeah, the NBA! :D
people still watch pro basketball? :hscratch:
;)
twikoff
10-15-04, 07:45 PM
Originally posted by Preacher
twikoff would make it 2 asshats.
bama fan
in canada
likes hockey
damn dude.. you just struck out!
MJKTool
10-15-04, 07:55 PM
Originally posted by twikoff
people still watch pro basketball? :hscratch:
;)
asshat!
clemente
10-15-04, 08:12 PM
I cheer for the Blackhawks...there usually out of it by now anyway! :)
FantasticVSDoom
10-15-04, 08:13 PM
Originally posted by twikoff
bama fan
in canada
likes hockey
damn dude.. you just struck out!
:lol:....Whats funnier is if the NHL doesnt come back, their last champion was from the state of Florida...I for one hope they stay locked out forever.
Copenhagen
10-15-04, 08:22 PM
No hockey :(
Jericho
10-15-04, 10:03 PM
Hockey has a lot of the same problems baseball has economic wise. Except they're not as popular, so teams lose even more money in small markets like Pittsburgh or Buffalo. The saving grace of course is that 16 teams make the playoffs (as opposed to 8 in baseball), so some smaller market teams can make it. And if you get a hot goalie, anything can happen in the playoffs. Still, this game has been dominated by the bigger market teams, Colorado, Detroit, Dallas, and New Jersey in the last decade (Yeah I realize New Jersey doesn't spend like a big market team, but they play in freaking greater New York). The players are screwing themselves by wanting too much money. I just don't see why they can't accept a portion of the revenues like basketball and football do.
PopcornTreeCt
10-15-04, 10:48 PM
Would hockey be playing right now if it was on? I haven't noticed.
RoyalTea
10-16-04, 07:37 AM
college hockey's more fun to watch anyway.
especially with no two-line pass rule.
players can receive a pass that goes from deep in the defensive zone all the way to the other blue line.
Nefarious
10-16-04, 09:17 AM
If hockey comes back that means no more Brass Bonanza on The Sports Bash :(
Hockey needs to shorten its season and reduce the # of teams.
moorehed
10-16-04, 10:13 AM
Originally posted by kvrdave
I just realized this, so i looked into it. The average hockey player makes more than the average NFL player. :lol:
that is interesting, but when you think about it, it makes sense. every hocky player on a team plays, most all play about equal time accept for a couple guys on the end of the bench that only play occasional shifts... football has about half the team that rarely plays, and gets the minimum.
The hockey players have screwed themselves. I don't think they realized that without them....no one would notice.
the owners helped to screw everything as well... they were the ones going out and spending mad $ on players... if you were a player would you turn it down?
If ESPN didn't carry the games, the 8 people that watch on TV wouldn't care either.
i dont don't quite understand.... but i care very much that hockey is gone :(
There are no marquee players to actually make anyone care anymore.
Iginla? just to name one
The best know person in hockey could walk down the street and 99.99% of people wouldn't recogize him.
well i would... i might spooge myself but probably not.
Brent Hull could go to a park and people would think Tony Hawk looked a lot older in real life.
i'd kick him in the nuts.
Hey Hockey Dudes....Take any money you can before people realize that there is baseball playoffs, the NFL and the NBA starting up.
quite honestly id rather the NBA lock out... and my fav nba team is the reigning champs!
rotfl
:(
dave-o
10-16-04, 10:45 AM
Originally posted by kvrdave
Brent Hull could go to a park and people would think Tony Hawk looked a lot older in real life.
Brent Hull? Who the hell is that? I might recognize Brett Hull but..-wink-
As for no dedicated fans being in Tampa (as stated by another poster), there are actually a lot of Canadians and Michiganders down there that have 'migrated'.
Count me as one of the 8 that miss hockey.
Tarantino
10-16-04, 01:56 PM
Hockey sucks.
AndyCapps
10-16-04, 02:29 PM
I didn't realize it until I saw this thread. Gee, thanks.
Amel
10-18-04, 09:36 AM
Hockey's the only sport left in which I can watch any game, any time. I got Directv last year and immediately signed up for the Center Ice package. So yeah, for me it sucks that there's no hockey. I don't live anywhere close to Canada and my town knows nothing about hockey and has no team, so I get zero coverage of college hockey, European leagues, or any of the Canadian leagues. And what's really dissappointing is that the Penguins showed alot of promise at the end of last season. They're a young team with some good veterans coming back from injury, and some other guy whose name I can't remember who looked pretty good captaining the Canadians in the World Cup, would've been back this season.
As for the lockout, the blame goes all around. Both players and coaches have their heads up their butts. Hockey's not a major sport in the US, not too many care that it's not on. Most people won't even notice.
Kaffe_02
10-18-04, 10:07 AM
I havent missed it yet, but after football is over im going to go crazy. I cant stand basketball.
Timber
10-18-04, 10:35 AM
The thing I find funny about the players is that they're willing to go overseas and play for peanuts but won't accept a salary cap from the NHL.
It appears to me that the owners know the "general public" don't care about the sport but the players have deluded themselves into thinking that they are actually being missed.
kenbuzz
10-18-04, 05:12 PM
Originally posted by kvrdave
If ESPN didn't carry the games, the 8 people that watch on TV wouldn't care either.
Don't hate the player, hate the game.
Oh.... nevermind. :)
PeMo
10-18-04, 06:11 PM
Originally posted by RoyalTea
college hockey's more fun to watch anyway.
especially with no two-line pass rule.
players can receive a pass that goes from deep in the defensive zone all the way to the other blue line.
Yeah, but Thomas Vanek went pro. So we'll see less of that this year. :(
waporvare
10-18-04, 07:19 PM
What's hockey?
nickdawgy
10-19-04, 05:56 AM
Hockey is awesome. No other sport requires you to be fit and agile enough to withstand 84 games of punishment. It's a skill game. Compared to hockey, it's easy to make a basket, throw/catch a pass or hit a baseball, but try skating down the rink with a puck while someone is pulling on your jersey and trying to pull you down, and having to try and keep your balance.
KnightLerxst
10-19-04, 06:33 AM
Originally posted by nickdawgy
... try skating down the rink with a puck while someone is pulling on your jersey and trying to pull you down, and having to try and keep your balance.
Shit man I have a hard enough time not tripping over the blue line!
Damn I miss hockey.
DJLinus
10-26-04, 10:06 AM
I don't go to too many games because I'm usually priced out (unless I use my uncle's season tickets), but I really enjoy watching them when I do. At least our Blue Jackets have a winning season now...
HOCKEY SEASON ROCKS (link (http://www.theotherpaper.com/cover.html))
Enjoy the ample parking, fat refund checks and undefeated team
By Aaron Marshall / Oct. 21, 2004
The word "deserted" really doesn't do justice to the plaza scene in front of Nationwide Arena Tuesday night. It was 7 p.m. sharp, and the Blue Jackets should have been ready to face off in their second home game of the year.
Instead, the completely empty plaza had all the charm and ambience of a nuclear-testing zone. Up above, on the Arena District's giant TV screen, the message "Arena District Hot Zone" flashed noiselessly. From the open doors of Frog, Bear & Wild Boar, the sounds of a lone man playing a guitar cut through the silence.
"Once upon a time…in your wildest dreams," sang Mike Perkins as he hit the chorus of the Moody Blues song "Your Wildest Dreams."
An ironic song on this night for Blue Jackets owner John McConnell, GM Doug MacLean and the people in Columbus who live and die with this town's 4-year-old NHL franchise. For the 99.9 percent of the Columbus population not in that tiny subset, it was a fitting tribute. This is our wildest dreams.
Why? Because this hockey season is shaping up to be the best ever.
OK, technically, some would argue, there's no hockey being played. True, but who among us really went for the guys skating around and trying to put the round thing in the net thing?
Quit lying. You went for the boozing before the game with your buddies. You went with that other nice couple to hit that one restaurant you had been meaning to go to for so long. The hockey game was just a place to ride escalators, buy overpriced beer and leave early to beat the traffic.
So, for you—for most of us—what doesn't this season have?
Hitting the bars
It almost sounded like a foreign language. But it was merely the cry of bartenderus desperatus, a mournful and endangered species spotted a mere slap shot away from Nationwide Arena.
"Howyadoinwouldyouguyslikeatable?" asked the helpful-but-not-so-Irish chap at O'Shaughnessy's Pub Friday night as the Blue Jackets' home opener was in the process of not starting. Told that drinks were the only order of the night from these patrons, he seemed whipped. How stupid do we look, buddy? This is no time to eat.
At the bottom of the happy hour sign was fine print that made a world of difference at that moment: "Not available during special events." If the Blue Jackets had been playing, the beers would have cost a month's rent. On this night, Buds were $2.
Then there was the ambience. No fat dudes in Rick Nash sweaters. Plenty of room to lounge in supreme comfort. You could arrange chairs in any fashion you wished. You could even see a power play—when the five bar staffers swung into action against the four people sitting at the long bar.
Over at the Frog, Bear & Wild Boar, the beers were even cheaper—$1.50 all the way until 9 p.m. Is this a great hockey-free country or what?
Best start ever
A primary reason the 2004-05 hockey season is clearly the best in Blue Jackets history is that the team isn't playing.
Every year, fans get their hopes up that this will be the year that the Jackets make that playoff push. And every year those hopes are checked. But not this year, Stinger Boy.
Let's go inside the numbers: Perfect record on the road. Perfect record at home. Let's go outside the numbers: Penalty busters look good. Power play guys look sweet. Let's go in between the numbers: Our goalie looks sharp, and the lack of losses, well, that speaks for itself.
The Russian kid looks good. The not-Russian kid who's buddies with Simon Frazier looks good.
As a bonus, no annoying hockey-guy conversations to be trapped into at work. If someone wants to talk hockey lockout, just say this: "Those greedy players and owners are cutting off their noses to spite their faces." Then add: "Ignite the spite!"
If that doesn't work, mutter something about how Tressel needs to hit the tight end over the middle and walk away.
A silver lining for bars
OK, so the lack of hard-drinking, hockey-sweatered customers would be a drag if you owned a bar in that trendy neck of the woods. But even here, there's an enormous upside.
This week, Nationwide Realty Investment announced it has sliced Arena District rents for a dozen bars and restaurants in half because of the NHL lockout.
Unlike most offers from Nationwide, this one gets better when you read the fine print. The half-off on rent will last "until the Blue Jackets play a game in the arena," which includes all off-season if the Jackets skip out on the whole season.
Maybe if the Columbus Destroyers go on strike too, rent will be free.
Traffic? What traffic?
Traffic jams are a way of life in the nation's 15th largest city. But gridlock is a distant memory in the Arena District.
Even when driving aimlessly in circles through the area's most screwed-up construction zone—the corner of Neil and Spring, just west of the arena—there's no traffic tie-up.
It's 1978 all over again. Hey, is that the old Ohio Penitentiary over there?
The check is in the mail
There's a great reason for diehard season ticket holders to be excited about this season. It's green and it folds and has little pictures of deceased presidents on it.
Beginning Nov. 10—and once a month afterward until games begin or the Earth goes into the sun—season ticket holders will get refund checks in the mail. Hefty checks to cover the value of a month's worth of canceled tickets, anywhere from a few hundred bucks to a few thousand bucks, depending on where you sit.
That's not all.
The Blue Jackets are paying 3 percent interest on that unused ticket money. And you didn't even have to know Roger Blackwell to get that.
The money for the first month will include cash for missing the first three home games of the year, plus four canceled pre-season hockey games.
That's right, no one is getting screwed into buying pre-season hockey tickets this year.
You wouldn't pay to see preseason NHL hockey if Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky chased each other with chainsaws between periods. This year, nobody has to. Instead, ticket holders are sitting back and letting the money roll on in.
Your Ohio State Buckeyes
Even if you're one of those hockey diehards who know Zigmund Palffy from Milan Hedjuk—and that is pathetic, by the way—not all hope is lost in town. There's still big-arena-based hockey to watch live and in person, and it doesn't set you back an arm and a skate.
We're talking Ohio State hockey. The Bucks are playing host to one of the best college teams in the nation, the No. 6 Miami Redhawks, tonight.
The battling Bucks—who opened the year with two road wins in league play for the first time since 1977—will not only play hockey. They will also raise the 2004 CCHA championship banner—you can still remember Mike Doss holding it up after the big win can't you?—to the Value City Arena rafters.
You'll never live to see a championship banner hoisted into Nationwide Arena's rafters, not with all the red meat you eat.
As if a hockey game for $11—that's two beers in Blue Jacket land—isn't enough, the first 5,000 fans will get a free schedule magnet.
Can they do that? Oh, yes, they can. Not to mention you'll sit close enough to the action (lower bowl is rarely filled) to actually see what the guys are skating around after.
After the game, the team is holding a Meet-the-Buckeyes autograph session. And you can bring the kids since this session will be held in Value City Arena, not the VIP room of Dockside Dolls as was sometimes the case with the NHL guys.
Time travel
Let's say you're too cheap to own season tickets, but you're among the two dozen people who enjoyed watching the Blue Jackets on television. Your life's better, too.
Thursday night is classic Blue Jackets night on FoxSports Ohio. How cool is that? We didn't even know there were classic Blue Jackets games.
Imagine tuning in to a CBJ game with the certainty the team will actually win, or at least keep it close. It's going to happen this year, baby. Every Thursday.
Enjoy it while you can, fans. Someday they'll settle the NHL lockout, and it'll be back to the same old grind.
raven56706
10-26-04, 10:10 AM
I thought hockey was finished for good already
JEStinson3
10-26-04, 01:10 PM
I live in the so called "Hockeytown" and I didn't even notice that hockey wasn't on until Al and John made fun of it last night on MNF.
I hate hockey, especially bandwagon, red-neck fans that watch just in case there is a fight.
I hope that it never comes back.
Richard Malloy
10-26-04, 01:10 PM
Definitely looking forward to not having to flip channels during hockey highlights on sportscenter and ESPNEWS.
I was looking in vain for a reason why I might give a shit about all this ("hockey" wtf is that?), and here it is... Thanks, Josh! :)
Homer Simpson
10-26-04, 04:15 PM
The big question is, if a hockey puck falls to the ice in an NHL arena, does it make a sound?
Flashback
11-03-04, 07:28 PM
At this time for all of you hockey fans (okay you 2 or 3) the All Star game has been cancelled and the season is now being discussed.
Buy: