1) Rough night on TV last night. I was so looking forward to San Jose-Calgary, but it was on Versus. Which meant it wasn't being shown on Center Ice. So when Philadelphia-Washington ran late, I couldn't catch the late game, even if I paid $169 for the right to watch every game this season. Thankfully, nothing really happened in the first period... or so we're told.
2) At the close of last night's studio show on Versus, Rick DiPietro said he hopes the Islanders miss the playoffs so he could come back and do more analysis. He was joking. I think. Anyway, he didn't do too badly. That said, I still maintain that if the Isles could have gotten into the playoffs, DP could have stolen them a round. And after that, nobody would have had a problem with an Islanders-Rangers Winter Classic. Still, nice to see DP marketed as a star - the NHL needs to do more things like this.
3) Speaking of the Islanders, kudos to their TV team. You can always tell who the good announcers and analysts are by their post-season assignments; that is, if you're sitting at home during the playoffs, you're probably nothing special. The Islanders have Deb Placey (aka Deb Kaufman) and Butch Goring in the MSG studio - not the biggest deal, but it's something. Howie Rose is doing his usual great job with the Mets on WFAN, and Billy Jaffe is working for Versus. We're spoiled by good announcers in the New York area; I, for one, certainly appreciate it. I still miss Gary Thorne on SportsChannel and ESPN, though.
4) The new trend this year in the playoffs is (home team color)-outs. It used to be something you'd see in Winnipeg/Phoenix, Calgary, and pretty much nowhere else. The Islanders did it in 2002, but never did it again. Then the Miami Heat did it when they won the NBA Finals two years ago, and now everyone's back on the bandwagon. I'll admit, it looks pretty cool. No, it looks really cool.
But it's sort of teetering on the point of ridiculousness now. The Flyers had an orange-out in their two home games, which was in direct response to the red-out of the Capitals. But let's not forget that both of these teams ditched their respective colors fairly recently, thanks in large part to the all-important "focus groups" and "key demographics". The Caps changed to a blue motif in 1995, while the Flyers went to black uniforms in 2000. Now, everyone is supposed to forget all about that and embrace these colors? Sounds gimmicky to me.
Now that the trend has started, though, don't look for it to stop anytime soon. Even the Dallas Stars have gotten in on the action, calling for a black-out. As if hockey doesn't have enough trouble drawing fans. Now everyone will think all hockey fans are angry emo kids. Ugh. Anyway, in the link, the excellent Greg Wyshynski asks the question that matters most to the fans - if you've put a ton of money into a white jersey of your favorite player, why should you now be forced to leave it at home?
And, finally...
5) It's crazy to think that after four relatively even-played games, the Rangers could win the series tonight. And the only loss on their record would be in overtime. Now that would be impressive. The Rock should be electric tonight, even if it's due mostly to rabid Ranger fans. And you know the Devils won't go down without a fight (or at least a good whine or two), so we're in for a treat tonight.
2) At the close of last night's studio show on Versus, Rick DiPietro said he hopes the Islanders miss the playoffs so he could come back and do more analysis. He was joking. I think. Anyway, he didn't do too badly. That said, I still maintain that if the Isles could have gotten into the playoffs, DP could have stolen them a round. And after that, nobody would have had a problem with an Islanders-Rangers Winter Classic. Still, nice to see DP marketed as a star - the NHL needs to do more things like this.
3) Speaking of the Islanders, kudos to their TV team. You can always tell who the good announcers and analysts are by their post-season assignments; that is, if you're sitting at home during the playoffs, you're probably nothing special. The Islanders have Deb Placey (aka Deb Kaufman) and Butch Goring in the MSG studio - not the biggest deal, but it's something. Howie Rose is doing his usual great job with the Mets on WFAN, and Billy Jaffe is working for Versus. We're spoiled by good announcers in the New York area; I, for one, certainly appreciate it. I still miss Gary Thorne on SportsChannel and ESPN, though.
4) The new trend this year in the playoffs is (home team color)-outs. It used to be something you'd see in Winnipeg/Phoenix, Calgary, and pretty much nowhere else. The Islanders did it in 2002, but never did it again. Then the Miami Heat did it when they won the NBA Finals two years ago, and now everyone's back on the bandwagon. I'll admit, it looks pretty cool. No, it looks really cool.
But it's sort of teetering on the point of ridiculousness now. The Flyers had an orange-out in their two home games, which was in direct response to the red-out of the Capitals. But let's not forget that both of these teams ditched their respective colors fairly recently, thanks in large part to the all-important "focus groups" and "key demographics". The Caps changed to a blue motif in 1995, while the Flyers went to black uniforms in 2000. Now, everyone is supposed to forget all about that and embrace these colors? Sounds gimmicky to me.
Now that the trend has started, though, don't look for it to stop anytime soon. Even the Dallas Stars have gotten in on the action, calling for a black-out. As if hockey doesn't have enough trouble drawing fans. Now everyone will think all hockey fans are angry emo kids. Ugh. Anyway, in the link, the excellent Greg Wyshynski asks the question that matters most to the fans - if you've put a ton of money into a white jersey of your favorite player, why should you now be forced to leave it at home?
And, finally...
5) It's crazy to think that after four relatively even-played games, the Rangers could win the series tonight. And the only loss on their record would be in overtime. Now that would be impressive. The Rock should be electric tonight, even if it's due mostly to rabid Ranger fans. And you know the Devils won't go down without a fight (or at least a good whine or two), so we're in for a treat tonight.
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