Today let’s make a quick closing on some of our NHL ideas. Let’s elaborate.
I’d trim the schedule to 70 games. Teams that play in a five team division plays six inter-divisional games and play every other team twice (6x4+2x23=70) or if you play in a four team division you play six inter-divisional games play every other team twice and play six other games against teams with similar records from the previous season. Kind of like how the NFL does it (6x3+2x23+6=70.) This way too we can get to the playoffs quicker and the 4th of July isn’t right around the corner once the season’s over. The player’s association would have to rollback their salaries, but by playing less and having a longer off-season they can’t get too bent out of shape about it. We’ve gotten rid of two franchises so more money will be spread around.
I couldn’t find NBC’s deal with the NHL but VS. Network paid the NHL $72.5 million in 2007-08 or $2.41 million per team. But with 28 teams it’d be $2.58 million per team. That’s not including revenue made from NBC, the Center Ice package on DirecTV, and revenue from the NHL network. More money to share +less players +fewer games +fixed rates for concessions/corporate suites= more $$$$$ for all.
I like the Olympic style point system. Three points for a regulation win, two points for overtime win, one point for overtime or shootout loss. This way you get more reward for winning in regulation. You’d also still have teams getting points and it keeps teams in the playoff hunt like today’s game
I like the touch up icing in the Olympics (and mostly every other level of Hockey.) The NHL players are susceptible to get blasted from behind or injured when they have to hustle against someone else to force icing/stop the puck from being iced.
I’m sure I’m forgetting a couple other ideas, which I’ll comment on if it comes to me. But under this plan we’ve made the NHL and game of hockey better by accepting itself for what it is. No more trying to cater to warm weather markets that don’t care or haven’t built a tradition of winning. Back to the rabid fans in Canada, back to ESPN exposure, less of a grind of a regular season and more emphasis on the fantastic playoffs.
Under our realignment plan Sidney Crosby is playing roughly a third of his games in or around the New York City lights, we have an all-Canadian division, a league that has as much young talent as it’s ever had and now by trimming two teams we’ll have over 40 less players in the league. Talk about trimming the fat. Now with better players in the league rosters will be more loaded. These will now be quasi-Olympic squads.
I just like to think I’ve helped the game make it just a little bit better. But thanks to all that have read. Please comment if you want!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Bringing the NHL Back to Prominence. Part 2.
All right. So in part one we talked about contraction. To help get our league back to an acceptable level of prominence we need to get a couple things out of the way.
1. Fire commissioner Gary Bettman. It was his idea to expand to all these failing cities, he headed the league during its season long lockout five years ago, and he's been in charge while the NBA has skyrocketed in popularity.
2. Get games back on ESPN. I'm not saying put all your chips in with them, but at least one game a week on ESPN2 would be wise. I think if the Versus Network will still pony up the dough to be the flagship home of hockey that's cool with me. "VS" treats the NHL like king and does a really good job presenting the product. It just doesn't have the notoriety ESPN does. "VS" is owned by Comcast and has been dropped from DirecTV all season. So millions of homes have to find the NHL Network to see games. That's not the easiest thing in the world to do if you're not a tech savvy person over the age of 35. If you get back on ESPN, they'll treat you with more respect and get your name on the sports landscape on a more regular basis.
So we've replaced Gary Bettman with someone, anyone. Let's just say Lou Nanne (work with me here people.) We're back on ESPN2 (Friday nights at first.) Now let's set are contraction/relocation plans into place. Here's what I would do.
Nashville, Florida, Atlanta, Phoenix, Columbus, and Tampa are all getting deconstructed somehow. It’s certainly easier said than done but this is just my dream list for teams to get the axe. The league buys out two of these teams (let’s say Florida and Nashville.)
The other four are going to move. My choices would be Winnipeg, Seattle, Quebec City, and Suburban Toronto.
I’m very leery about putting a team back in Winnipeg. Their new(er) arena that’s been built since the Jets moved to Phoenix holds just over 15,500 people. They have to have that building nearly full every night to stay alive. If they only have 85% capacity that’s roughly 13,000 in attendance. I’m betting that a Canadian city can get 15,000 in the building every night. I’m betting that in this day and age a Canadian city can. Quebec City is in the process of passing a bill to build a brand new state of the art facility. The arena was the only reason why the Quebec Nordiques left for Denver. As we’ve found out with the Wild you can’t put a price on losing a team.
Seattle is a no-brainer to me. Very progressive, Northwestern city (like Vancouver.) Seattle could use a team to fill the Super Sonics void.
Suburban Toronto- whether it be Vaughan, South Ontario’s Hamilton, or just a second team in Toronto itself this is going to happen in the real world this decade. Let’s set the wheels in motion right here.
Sorry to Saskatoon, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Las Vegas, Portland, Cleveland, Hartford, Houston, and Gary, IN.
Let’s see how our conference’s and divisions shake up after our twists.
Gretzky Conference
Pacific Division
1. Seattle
2. Vancouver
3. San Jose
4. Anaheim
5. Los Angeles
Great West Division (BURRRRRRR!)
1. Winnipeg
2. Minnesota
3. Colorado
4. Calgary
5. Edmonton
Central Division (One less team to accommodate the travel to Texas)
1. Dallas
2. St. Louis
3. Chicago
4. Detroit
Howe Conference
Mid-Atlantic
1. Washington
2. Carolina
3. Philadelphia
4. Boston
Metro
1. New York Rangers
2. New York Islanders
3. New Jersey
4. Pittsburgh
5. Buffalo
Canadian (Not too shabby Eh?)
1. Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Toronto Beavers
3. Ottawa
4. Quebec
5. Montreal
So that’s what I have for realignment in the league. I think it’s pretty fair. I especially like the idea of an All-Canadian division. Think of the rivalries and drama every season! I also like the thought of having Pittsburgh and Buffalo play in a division with the NYC metro area so the teams have to travel farther than 800 feet to play road games.
That’s all for today. A lot to take in I know. Tomorrow we tie up some loose ends that I especially need to think about a little more. Please feel free to comment below!
1. Fire commissioner Gary Bettman. It was his idea to expand to all these failing cities, he headed the league during its season long lockout five years ago, and he's been in charge while the NBA has skyrocketed in popularity.
2. Get games back on ESPN. I'm not saying put all your chips in with them, but at least one game a week on ESPN2 would be wise. I think if the Versus Network will still pony up the dough to be the flagship home of hockey that's cool with me. "VS" treats the NHL like king and does a really good job presenting the product. It just doesn't have the notoriety ESPN does. "VS" is owned by Comcast and has been dropped from DirecTV all season. So millions of homes have to find the NHL Network to see games. That's not the easiest thing in the world to do if you're not a tech savvy person over the age of 35. If you get back on ESPN, they'll treat you with more respect and get your name on the sports landscape on a more regular basis.
So we've replaced Gary Bettman with someone, anyone. Let's just say Lou Nanne (work with me here people.) We're back on ESPN2 (Friday nights at first.) Now let's set are contraction/relocation plans into place. Here's what I would do.
Nashville, Florida, Atlanta, Phoenix, Columbus, and Tampa are all getting deconstructed somehow. It’s certainly easier said than done but this is just my dream list for teams to get the axe. The league buys out two of these teams (let’s say Florida and Nashville.)
The other four are going to move. My choices would be Winnipeg, Seattle, Quebec City, and Suburban Toronto.
I’m very leery about putting a team back in Winnipeg. Their new(er) arena that’s been built since the Jets moved to Phoenix holds just over 15,500 people. They have to have that building nearly full every night to stay alive. If they only have 85% capacity that’s roughly 13,000 in attendance. I’m betting that a Canadian city can get 15,000 in the building every night. I’m betting that in this day and age a Canadian city can. Quebec City is in the process of passing a bill to build a brand new state of the art facility. The arena was the only reason why the Quebec Nordiques left for Denver. As we’ve found out with the Wild you can’t put a price on losing a team.
Seattle is a no-brainer to me. Very progressive, Northwestern city (like Vancouver.) Seattle could use a team to fill the Super Sonics void.
Suburban Toronto- whether it be Vaughan, South Ontario’s Hamilton, or just a second team in Toronto itself this is going to happen in the real world this decade. Let’s set the wheels in motion right here.
Sorry to Saskatoon, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Las Vegas, Portland, Cleveland, Hartford, Houston, and Gary, IN.
Let’s see how our conference’s and divisions shake up after our twists.
Gretzky Conference
Pacific Division
1. Seattle
2. Vancouver
3. San Jose
4. Anaheim
5. Los Angeles
Great West Division (BURRRRRRR!)
1. Winnipeg
2. Minnesota
3. Colorado
4. Calgary
5. Edmonton
Central Division (One less team to accommodate the travel to Texas)
1. Dallas
2. St. Louis
3. Chicago
4. Detroit
Howe Conference
Mid-Atlantic
1. Washington
2. Carolina
3. Philadelphia
4. Boston
Metro
1. New York Rangers
2. New York Islanders
3. New Jersey
4. Pittsburgh
5. Buffalo
Canadian (Not too shabby Eh?)
1. Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Toronto Beavers
3. Ottawa
4. Quebec
5. Montreal
So that’s what I have for realignment in the league. I think it’s pretty fair. I especially like the idea of an All-Canadian division. Think of the rivalries and drama every season! I also like the thought of having Pittsburgh and Buffalo play in a division with the NYC metro area so the teams have to travel farther than 800 feet to play road games.
That’s all for today. A lot to take in I know. Tomorrow we tie up some loose ends that I especially need to think about a little more. Please feel free to comment below!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Bringing the NHL Back to Prominence. Part 1.
As I’m sitting down watching more Olympic Hockey, I can’t help but make comparisons to the NHL and it’s product.
8 ½ million people watched Sunday night’s telecast of USA-Canada on MSNBC. It was the most watched show on the network ever. That doesn’t surprise me; there simply aren’t that many raging liberals that watch the type of product the network produces. That’s not even really a joke it’s just a pseudo-fact. So it tells me that there are fans out there that want to watch the product.
Like everything in our society, over-expansion in the last 15 years really hurt the games product. Once Wayne Gretzky led the Los Angeles Kings to the Stanley Cup finals in the spring of 1993, The NHL was the hottest sport in America .
Hockey had already left the Twin Cities and moved to Dallas. Soon after teams left Quebec City, Hartford, and Winnipeg, Manitoba for Denver, North Carolina, and Phoenix. Expansion teams were popping up in San Jose, Anaheim, Tampa, Miami, Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus, and back to the Cities. Unquestionably hockey has been a success in Minnesota, San Jose, and Denver. Tampa, Anaheim (twice), Dallas, and Carolina have all won the Stanley Cup. The Florida Panthers made the finals, Nashville has been very competitive the past few years while Columbus, Phoenix, and Atlanta have been generally mediocre or down right crappy.
For the record, I have been to three games in Tampa Bay and one in Atlanta.
I could turn this into a socio-economic thesis paper for a Sports-Buisness Master’s program but I’m not going to do that. The fact remains over-expansion has hurt the league more than it’s helped.
So while watching these Olympics we see some subtle and overt changes to the game of hockey that only helps. Certainly I realize that the games can’t be compared completely since these Olympic teams are glorified All-Star squads, but you can only make teams better by doing one thing.
Contracting.
No I’m not Bud Selig but to battle some of these lame duck teams, franchises and fan bases you just have to get rid of them.
Take a look at the bottom-10 teams in attendance average. (Capacity percentage in parenthesis.)
20. Columbus- 15,318 (84.5)
21. Florida- 15,127 (78.6)
22. Anaheim- 15,047 (87.6)
23. Tampa- 14,996 (75.9)
24. New Jersey- 14,972 (85)
25. Carolina- 14,694 (78.5)
26. Nashville- 14,558 (85.1)
27. Colorado- 13,610 (75.6)
28. Atlanta- 13,203 (71.2)
29. New York (Islanders)- 12,500 (76.7)
30. Phoenix- 11,178 (63.9)
Some of those numbers are outrageous. Warm weather/Expansion teams account for eight out of the ten. And we all know that attendance numbers are naturally inflated anyways. However, some of these numbers can be completely explained in my mind. This isn't Indoor Lacrosse, WWE Raw, or the Bull Riders Tour. This is the NHL!
I'd like to point out
A. New Jersey and Atlanta are naturally terrible sports areas. The Hawks-Wolves game tonight in the ATL was half-full and the Hawks are one of the best teams in Basketball! As well as the fact the Braves had trouble selling tickets to playoff games during the height of the Maddox-Glavine-Jones era. New Jersey on the other hand...look- if you live in that toilet of a state you’d just root for the Rangers anyways. Another location that couldn’t sell out playoff games for the Devils. It has to be noted that these are two areas that are directly affected by our economy.
B. Colorado fans, despite the Avalanche being yet again a top team in Hockey, weren’t expecting quite as good of a season from a very young hockey team this year. Couple the fact the team doesn’t have superstar players like Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Patrick Roy anymore. The Nuggets are the hot ticket in town. Pure and simple.
C. The New York Islanders play in an archaic arena on Long Island, It’s literally been 25+ years since they’ve been in the title hunt, and they still have to pay a premium to attend games because of its location. All indications are club Owner Charles Wang is close to a remodeling of the team’s home arena to help bring in a new era of hockey.
But the others teams…well the economy is certainly in play but the situation in some of these places is a joke. Currently the NHL owns the Phoenix Coyotes a la MLB and the Montreal Expos, Columbus has lost reportedly $80 million in the last seven years because of its bogus arena lease, The Sports Business Journal recently reported the NHL has advanced the Lightning "club revenue-sharing money for the '09-10 season," which is the second advance the team has received, having also gotten $2 million from Sun Sports (South Florida’s sports network and Lighting rights holder) to help make payroll last April. Think about that: The team's television partner needed to kick the Bolts dough to ensure their player’s checks wouldn't bounce.
So contraction isn’t only necessary, it’s a no-brainer.
Tomorrow- More nerdy, in-depth hockey talk and a few ideas. Feel free to comment below, bookmark the site, and spread the word about the blog!
8 ½ million people watched Sunday night’s telecast of USA-Canada on MSNBC. It was the most watched show on the network ever. That doesn’t surprise me; there simply aren’t that many raging liberals that watch the type of product the network produces. That’s not even really a joke it’s just a pseudo-fact. So it tells me that there are fans out there that want to watch the product.
Like everything in our society, over-expansion in the last 15 years really hurt the games product. Once Wayne Gretzky led the Los Angeles Kings to the Stanley Cup finals in the spring of 1993, The NHL was the hottest sport in America .
Hockey had already left the Twin Cities and moved to Dallas. Soon after teams left Quebec City, Hartford, and Winnipeg, Manitoba for Denver, North Carolina, and Phoenix. Expansion teams were popping up in San Jose, Anaheim, Tampa, Miami, Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus, and back to the Cities. Unquestionably hockey has been a success in Minnesota, San Jose, and Denver. Tampa, Anaheim (twice), Dallas, and Carolina have all won the Stanley Cup. The Florida Panthers made the finals, Nashville has been very competitive the past few years while Columbus, Phoenix, and Atlanta have been generally mediocre or down right crappy.
For the record, I have been to three games in Tampa Bay and one in Atlanta.
I could turn this into a socio-economic thesis paper for a Sports-Buisness Master’s program but I’m not going to do that. The fact remains over-expansion has hurt the league more than it’s helped.
So while watching these Olympics we see some subtle and overt changes to the game of hockey that only helps. Certainly I realize that the games can’t be compared completely since these Olympic teams are glorified All-Star squads, but you can only make teams better by doing one thing.
Contracting.
No I’m not Bud Selig but to battle some of these lame duck teams, franchises and fan bases you just have to get rid of them.
Take a look at the bottom-10 teams in attendance average. (Capacity percentage in parenthesis.)
20. Columbus- 15,318 (84.5)
21. Florida- 15,127 (78.6)
22. Anaheim- 15,047 (87.6)
23. Tampa- 14,996 (75.9)
24. New Jersey- 14,972 (85)
25. Carolina- 14,694 (78.5)
26. Nashville- 14,558 (85.1)
27. Colorado- 13,610 (75.6)
28. Atlanta- 13,203 (71.2)
29. New York (Islanders)- 12,500 (76.7)
30. Phoenix- 11,178 (63.9)
Some of those numbers are outrageous. Warm weather/Expansion teams account for eight out of the ten. And we all know that attendance numbers are naturally inflated anyways. However, some of these numbers can be completely explained in my mind. This isn't Indoor Lacrosse, WWE Raw, or the Bull Riders Tour. This is the NHL!
I'd like to point out
A. New Jersey and Atlanta are naturally terrible sports areas. The Hawks-Wolves game tonight in the ATL was half-full and the Hawks are one of the best teams in Basketball! As well as the fact the Braves had trouble selling tickets to playoff games during the height of the Maddox-Glavine-Jones era. New Jersey on the other hand...look- if you live in that toilet of a state you’d just root for the Rangers anyways. Another location that couldn’t sell out playoff games for the Devils. It has to be noted that these are two areas that are directly affected by our economy.
B. Colorado fans, despite the Avalanche being yet again a top team in Hockey, weren’t expecting quite as good of a season from a very young hockey team this year. Couple the fact the team doesn’t have superstar players like Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Patrick Roy anymore. The Nuggets are the hot ticket in town. Pure and simple.
C. The New York Islanders play in an archaic arena on Long Island, It’s literally been 25+ years since they’ve been in the title hunt, and they still have to pay a premium to attend games because of its location. All indications are club Owner Charles Wang is close to a remodeling of the team’s home arena to help bring in a new era of hockey.
But the others teams…well the economy is certainly in play but the situation in some of these places is a joke. Currently the NHL owns the Phoenix Coyotes a la MLB and the Montreal Expos, Columbus has lost reportedly $80 million in the last seven years because of its bogus arena lease, The Sports Business Journal recently reported the NHL has advanced the Lightning "club revenue-sharing money for the '09-10 season," which is the second advance the team has received, having also gotten $2 million from Sun Sports (South Florida’s sports network and Lighting rights holder) to help make payroll last April. Think about that: The team's television partner needed to kick the Bolts dough to ensure their player’s checks wouldn't bounce.
So contraction isn’t only necessary, it’s a no-brainer.
Tomorrow- More nerdy, in-depth hockey talk and a few ideas. Feel free to comment below, bookmark the site, and spread the word about the blog!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Instant Reaction: USA vs. Canada Olympic Hockey.
Rapid reaction to the fantastic Olympic contest between our United States and the "home" Canadian team: I thought it was just tremendous that MSNBC gave this matchup a full 45-minute preview to the match. Analysts Jeremy Roenick and Mike Milbury did a great job setting the stage for the game and gave it that "Big Fight Feel" that's been lacking from these games so far. It tells me that starting this week when it's win or go home that they'll continue to showcase the sport this well.
Originally I was mad that this game was on MSNBC and not NBC, mainly because of HD, but after seeing the pre-game show I totally see why it's getting showcased on cable.
USA looked great in the 1980esqe Olympic team sweater. If you were under a rock today I'll break the news to you. Today is the 30th anniversary of USA's upset over the Soviet Union. "The Miracle on Ice."
As for the game itself the crowd was as hot as any you'll ever see. Part game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, Part Jonas Brothers Concert. USA seemed to get a little lucky with it's first two goals but kept up the pace with the mighty Canadians. Sharks' winger Dany Heatley's goal made a real statement and Chris Drury and the Americans kept fighting back. Really impressive overall. I thought the second period was really about settling down and setting a pace for the game. Canada needed to see if they could get by team USA without playing their "A" game, and the Americans just needed to figure out how match Canada's daunting star-power.
The late penalty kills by the Americans in the third were thrilling. Buffalo's Ryan Miller was off the charts with 4:00 minutes left and then Sidney Crosby squeeks one by him. Go Figure.
The final three minutes were about as thrilling, mesmerizing, polarizing, and fantastic as any sporting event as you'll ever see. A FURIOUS flurry by Canada. Ryan Miller standing on his head, USA players spreeing on the ice to block pucks. (L.A.'s and former Badger Drew Doughty especially wore one.) All this leading to Ryan Kessler hustling his ASS off to sprawl out and give USA and empty-net clinching goal. NBC play-by-play man Mike "Doc" Emerick is just insane good calling these last three minutes.
He's literally a cross between Jim Ross, Mike Goldberg, and that Spanish Soccer anouncer that screams GOALLLLL!!! for 45 seconds.
Major props to the American fans for rocking the USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! chants
The Americans take it in the end 5-3. Did I mention this was a prelimanary, round robin contest? We're not even in the medal round yet.
How fitting that the Americans' young squad pulls it out against the veteran, superstar roster a'la 1980. Not completely a fair comparison but there are shades there.
A++++ effort from both teams. They WANTED it. The crowd brought the heat, the TV crew was outstanding.
What we know: USA will be a top 2 seed and get a bye in the medal round. Canada looks just dejected. They barely beat Switzerland on Thursday and now lose to team USA. With the games being held in Vancouver the pressure is now on. You know the Swedes, Czechs, Slovaks, Russians, and Fins aren't going to lie down for anyone. I'd bet the farm that Martin Brodeur get's benched in favor of Roberto Luongo in the net for Canada from here on out.
Canada's made their bed and now must lie there. Here's hoping we can get a rematch sometime this week. Sid Crosby looks like he got stabbed.
I typed this "stream of consciousness" style so I'm not going to correct any grammar or spellings. I implore you to share your thoughts below!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
My iTunes Collection
Recently I hit the 4,000 song mark on my iTunes. Not too shabby seeing that I started with about 150 when I first got iTunes at Christmas of 2001. This isn't also for me too brag, it really isn't that big of a deal. If you have 150 songs i'm sure you're content, if you have 7,000 songs, you're a borderline felon for the amount of content you've pirated. But hey I dipped into mine and found some good content!
Total Songs- 4002
Total Artists- 758
Versions of Eagles' "Hotel California"- 4
Versions of Pink Floyd's "Money"- 4
Songs by Eddie Money- 6
Songs by Bryan Adams- 7
Songs by Bush- 3
Songs about Bush (George W. that is.)- 1
Songs by the Beatles- 21
Songs from Breatles members' solo careers- 13
Songs by John Lennon- 0
Songs by the Chicago Bears- 1
Songs featuring the word "Love" in the title- 177
Christmas songs- 29
Songs by O-Town- 1
Rap songs- 294
Songs featuring a Jack White project (White Stripes, Raconteurs, or Dead Weather)- 33
Wrestler theme songs- 7
Songs by Bruce Springsteen- 141
Songs by artists named "Van" (Halen and Morrison)- 79
Country Songs- 47
Songs over seven minutes long- 151
Songs about Lady Lumps- 1
Songs featuring Nate Dogg- 12
Songs written by Brian Wilson (Beach Boys songs)- 11
Songs about Brian Wilson- 1
Songs by The Strokes- 19
Songs about "The Stroke"- 1
Obviously my taste is flawless...
Total Songs- 4002
Total Artists- 758
Versions of Eagles' "Hotel California"- 4
Versions of Pink Floyd's "Money"- 4
Songs by Eddie Money- 6
Songs by Bryan Adams- 7
Songs by Bush- 3
Songs about Bush (George W. that is.)- 1
Songs by the Beatles- 21
Songs from Breatles members' solo careers- 13
Songs by John Lennon- 0
Songs by the Chicago Bears- 1
Songs featuring the word "Love" in the title- 177
Christmas songs- 29
Songs by O-Town- 1
Rap songs- 294
Songs featuring a Jack White project (White Stripes, Raconteurs, or Dead Weather)- 33
Wrestler theme songs- 7
Songs by Bruce Springsteen- 141
Songs by artists named "Van" (Halen and Morrison)- 79
Country Songs- 47
Songs over seven minutes long- 151
Songs about Lady Lumps- 1
Songs featuring Nate Dogg- 12
Songs written by Brian Wilson (Beach Boys songs)- 11
Songs about Brian Wilson- 1
Songs by The Strokes- 19
Songs about "The Stroke"- 1
Obviously my taste is flawless...
Monday, February 15, 2010
For Those of You with a Budget
Just click the above title. Really cool and useful. Bookmark and try it, especially for those of you starting careers or continuing with education.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Odds and Ends
As mid-week spurns up I have a couple thoughts that aren't worth writing too much for.
- Olympics start this Friday and I expect spectacular things out of Vancouver. Local skiing star Lindsey Vonn is suddenly questionable with a deep shin bruise. I highly doubt she won't participate as on top of all the press and publicity she's received, it would be a severe disappointment to not see her perform. I'd hate to think she's trying to play up the injury to get some sort of sympathy and have a made for TV moment we'll be talking about for years to come. Miss Vonn, I hope you're truly injured and not trying to get your own Visa commercial. My theory is she realized she's an athlete with Minnesota ties so just wanted to spare herself from choking/embarrassment.
- Lil' Wayne was suppose to be thrown into Rikers Island Prison in New York Tuesday. But alas he didn't, he had to get some dental work done.
- Taylor Swift is getting panned in early Valentine's Day reviews. Doesn't surprise me she was pretty average hosting Saturday Night Live, the girl is supremely talented and has a bright future writing songs, can't sing to save her soul however.
- Had a chance to rent "Public Enemies" and "It Might Get Loud" recently. Both were pretty disappointing. Enemies dragged through the middle at a crawl and unfortunately I knew exactly how John Dillinger's story ends. Just so hard to sit through. It was also the first Billy Crudup film I didn't totally enjoy. Loud, is a documentary about the journey of guitar god's Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White. Page and Edge are truly stars who are comfortable in their own shoes' veterans while White comes off very gimmicky and noticably panders his oddness to the camera. Tough sell though for White to seem on the same level as the other two. I'd also probably enjoy Loud more if I was a musician because there is alot of guitar talk. "Public Enemies": C-, "It Might Get Loud"- C.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Big Game Preview
Super Bowl XLIV is Sunday in Miami; here is a preview for Sunday’s game.
I fully expect a competitive game between New Orleans and Indianapolis. Peyton Manning has a lot riding on this game in terms of his legacy and that can’t be ignored. New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has stated publicly that his team will have a similar game plan to strategize against the Colts. I expect Manning to get hit a lot like Brett Favre did in the NFC Championship game. Of course I’m sure the NFL and the officials will emphasize and stress late hits, especially those against Manning.
Indianapolis is questionable only in terms of Dwight Freeney being injured. The All-Pro defensive end is a question mark with his ankle injury and it will be interesting to see how he affects Sunday’s game. Saints’ left tackle Jermon Bushrod (talk about just pulling letters out of a hat to come up with a name!) and teammates played admirably against Jared Allen and the Vikings so I’m not sure Freeney’s impact would have been as huge as assumed.
Factor in the Colt’s have played the majority of the season without starting cornerback Marlin Jackson and safety Bob Saunders so it’s probably business as usual for this crew.
New Orleans certainly has offensive weapons to exploit Indy’s D so they can’t be ignored. However since losing to Dallas on Dec. 19th, the Saints have lost to a pitiful Tampa Bay Bucs (At home, vs. a rookie QB) and a mediocre Carolina Panthers squad (featuring the immortal, as the Vikings found out, Matt Morgan at QB.) While beating a really banged up Arizona team that completely rolled over in the playoffs, and squeaked a game against a superior Minnesota squad who, combined with some questionable officiating, really beat themselves. Before the Dallas game they pulled a luck rabbit’s foot out of their ass in two consecutive weeks Dec. 6th at Washington and Dec. 11th at Atlanta.
New Orleans last impressive, decisive win was Monday, Nov. 30 when they demolished New England 38-17. That’s so long ago Tiger Woods only had a couple mistresses and Lady GaGa was still considered a woman!
I’m completely in the camp that New Orleans doesn’t deserve to be at the Super Bowl this weekend and I’d think that even if I weren’t a Vikes fan. Luck has prevailed for this team. I should note that is still a really good team, but I also think this team could easily be 9-7 next year. Just a hunch.
Of course the Saints’ are dedicating this for their fans in New Orleans, the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Because they didn’t dedicate the whole 2005 season to the victims and they didn’t dedicate there 2006-7 run to the NFC championship to the victims.
It’s kind of like how the 2008 Giants dedicated their Super Bowl title to victims of 9/11, or the Twins dedicated their playoff tie-breaker win to the victims of the 35W bridge collapse, and it’s reminiscent of the White Sox dedicating their 2005 World Series title to the victims of the 1871 Great Chicago Fire.
If you can’t tell I was being sarcastic. I’m of the political, sociological, and economic mind that the City of New Orleans, the state of Louisiana, and the entire Gulf Coast in general will never flourish and prosper until they move and quit playing the victim card.
It’s this simple: You had a faulty levee system for your area and a NATURAL disaster happened. FEMA, Mke Brown, and George Bush dropped the ball, and hundreds of millions of dollars and countless hours have been volunteered to help you back on your feet. I’m not saying your ungrateful, that’s not to say I wouldn’t feel incredible grief and burden had I lost all my possessions, but Hurricane Katrina was going to happen sooner or later. You weren’t victims of a disaster like a terrorist attack.
During the pre-game for the NFC Championship Fox 9 had some talking head doofyus mingling with fans walking around the Superdome about their thoughts. One slightly inebriated Saints fan said, and I’m paraphrasing “Sorry Vikings fans, but today is our day. Come down here and spend money, we need it but the Saints are going to win. Who Dat?!”
A drunken man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts. What a completely hateable comment.
So as I snap out of my conservative political rant I’ll predict the Colts take home the giant, quasi-phallic Vince Lomabardi trophy (soon to me renamed the St. Brett Favre trophy sponsored by Wrangler.) 30-24.
Prepare for a flag-fest. If someone in Saints Gold even smells Manning he’ll get flagged. New Orleans has a furious 4th quarter comeback but falls short. Interestingly the Saints had to make a major comeback versus the Dolphins on Sep. 3 in the stadium where the game is being played.
Stray Thoughts
• All this talk about the Tim Tebow and Man Crunch commercials are blown way out of proportion. The liberal media slant against the Tebow spot is a joke, the conservative groups bending out of shape over the gay-dating sight is out of touch. Put it this way: a service nobody has ever heard of like “Man Crunch” cannot afford to pay for a Super Bowl spot without bankrupting themselves, so by you getting all whipped up over it and crying fowl in the media you just gave them all the FREE publicity they need! I say let the fairies do whatever they want.
• I suspect The Who will be pretty dreadful at halftime. Lead-Singer Roger Daultry was struggling to hit notes in 1978 and that was more than 30 years ago. Some of their biggest hits like Who Are You?, Won’t Get Fooled Again, and Babba O’Riley are all over 5 minutes long, So the condensed medley fire storm that is the halftime show will be awkward anyways. How can you condense Baba???
• My vote for next years show? Eagles, Bon Jovi, or Whitney Cummings
• Interesting prop bets that I’d bet the house on:
1. Number of camera shots on Kim Kardashian?: Over/Under 2.5
2. How many times will Hurricane Katrina be mentioned? Over/Under 2.5.
• I would bet everything in your possession on the OVER for both. And by the way, if I’m the CBS’ producer in the truck for the Super Bowl don’t I give like five grand to a friend, tell him to place the over for the Kardashian one and go out of my way to show Kim three times in the first quarter? Or if I’m Jim Nance don’t I say Hurricane Katrina three times in thee opening segment??
• I love how the NFL trademarked the words “Super Bowl.” Every time I see a TV commercial saying something like “Buy that big screen in time for the “Big Game” or head on down to Super Value to stock up on queso dip for your “Penultimate Vase” party. I can just see an old person being really confused. NFL un-trademark “Super Bowl” now and get extra free publicity.
allright now that I'm all whipped up, I implore, beg, plead of you to comment below.
I fully expect a competitive game between New Orleans and Indianapolis. Peyton Manning has a lot riding on this game in terms of his legacy and that can’t be ignored. New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has stated publicly that his team will have a similar game plan to strategize against the Colts. I expect Manning to get hit a lot like Brett Favre did in the NFC Championship game. Of course I’m sure the NFL and the officials will emphasize and stress late hits, especially those against Manning.
Indianapolis is questionable only in terms of Dwight Freeney being injured. The All-Pro defensive end is a question mark with his ankle injury and it will be interesting to see how he affects Sunday’s game. Saints’ left tackle Jermon Bushrod (talk about just pulling letters out of a hat to come up with a name!) and teammates played admirably against Jared Allen and the Vikings so I’m not sure Freeney’s impact would have been as huge as assumed.
Factor in the Colt’s have played the majority of the season without starting cornerback Marlin Jackson and safety Bob Saunders so it’s probably business as usual for this crew.
New Orleans certainly has offensive weapons to exploit Indy’s D so they can’t be ignored. However since losing to Dallas on Dec. 19th, the Saints have lost to a pitiful Tampa Bay Bucs (At home, vs. a rookie QB) and a mediocre Carolina Panthers squad (featuring the immortal, as the Vikings found out, Matt Morgan at QB.) While beating a really banged up Arizona team that completely rolled over in the playoffs, and squeaked a game against a superior Minnesota squad who, combined with some questionable officiating, really beat themselves. Before the Dallas game they pulled a luck rabbit’s foot out of their ass in two consecutive weeks Dec. 6th at Washington and Dec. 11th at Atlanta.
New Orleans last impressive, decisive win was Monday, Nov. 30 when they demolished New England 38-17. That’s so long ago Tiger Woods only had a couple mistresses and Lady GaGa was still considered a woman!
I’m completely in the camp that New Orleans doesn’t deserve to be at the Super Bowl this weekend and I’d think that even if I weren’t a Vikes fan. Luck has prevailed for this team. I should note that is still a really good team, but I also think this team could easily be 9-7 next year. Just a hunch.
Of course the Saints’ are dedicating this for their fans in New Orleans, the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Because they didn’t dedicate the whole 2005 season to the victims and they didn’t dedicate there 2006-7 run to the NFC championship to the victims.
It’s kind of like how the 2008 Giants dedicated their Super Bowl title to victims of 9/11, or the Twins dedicated their playoff tie-breaker win to the victims of the 35W bridge collapse, and it’s reminiscent of the White Sox dedicating their 2005 World Series title to the victims of the 1871 Great Chicago Fire.
If you can’t tell I was being sarcastic. I’m of the political, sociological, and economic mind that the City of New Orleans, the state of Louisiana, and the entire Gulf Coast in general will never flourish and prosper until they move and quit playing the victim card.
It’s this simple: You had a faulty levee system for your area and a NATURAL disaster happened. FEMA, Mke Brown, and George Bush dropped the ball, and hundreds of millions of dollars and countless hours have been volunteered to help you back on your feet. I’m not saying your ungrateful, that’s not to say I wouldn’t feel incredible grief and burden had I lost all my possessions, but Hurricane Katrina was going to happen sooner or later. You weren’t victims of a disaster like a terrorist attack.
During the pre-game for the NFC Championship Fox 9 had some talking head doofyus mingling with fans walking around the Superdome about their thoughts. One slightly inebriated Saints fan said, and I’m paraphrasing “Sorry Vikings fans, but today is our day. Come down here and spend money, we need it but the Saints are going to win. Who Dat?!”
A drunken man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts. What a completely hateable comment.
So as I snap out of my conservative political rant I’ll predict the Colts take home the giant, quasi-phallic Vince Lomabardi trophy (soon to me renamed the St. Brett Favre trophy sponsored by Wrangler.) 30-24.
Prepare for a flag-fest. If someone in Saints Gold even smells Manning he’ll get flagged. New Orleans has a furious 4th quarter comeback but falls short. Interestingly the Saints had to make a major comeback versus the Dolphins on Sep. 3 in the stadium where the game is being played.
Stray Thoughts
• All this talk about the Tim Tebow and Man Crunch commercials are blown way out of proportion. The liberal media slant against the Tebow spot is a joke, the conservative groups bending out of shape over the gay-dating sight is out of touch. Put it this way: a service nobody has ever heard of like “Man Crunch” cannot afford to pay for a Super Bowl spot without bankrupting themselves, so by you getting all whipped up over it and crying fowl in the media you just gave them all the FREE publicity they need! I say let the fairies do whatever they want.
• I suspect The Who will be pretty dreadful at halftime. Lead-Singer Roger Daultry was struggling to hit notes in 1978 and that was more than 30 years ago. Some of their biggest hits like Who Are You?, Won’t Get Fooled Again, and Babba O’Riley are all over 5 minutes long, So the condensed medley fire storm that is the halftime show will be awkward anyways. How can you condense Baba???
• My vote for next years show? Eagles, Bon Jovi, or Whitney Cummings
• Interesting prop bets that I’d bet the house on:
1. Number of camera shots on Kim Kardashian?: Over/Under 2.5
2. How many times will Hurricane Katrina be mentioned? Over/Under 2.5.
• I would bet everything in your possession on the OVER for both. And by the way, if I’m the CBS’ producer in the truck for the Super Bowl don’t I give like five grand to a friend, tell him to place the over for the Kardashian one and go out of my way to show Kim three times in the first quarter? Or if I’m Jim Nance don’t I say Hurricane Katrina three times in thee opening segment??
• I love how the NFL trademarked the words “Super Bowl.” Every time I see a TV commercial saying something like “Buy that big screen in time for the “Big Game” or head on down to Super Value to stock up on queso dip for your “Penultimate Vase” party. I can just see an old person being really confused. NFL un-trademark “Super Bowl” now and get extra free publicity.
allright now that I'm all whipped up, I implore, beg, plead of you to comment below.
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