The Columbus Blue Jackets clinched a playoff berth today when their game against Chicago went to overtime. They sealed the deal with a shootout win. Rick Nash, Jonathan Toews and Pat Kane missed, but Fedor Tyutin, the second Columbus shooter, scored.
Also, today, I was listening to NHL Home Ice 204 on XM and they were listing the nominations for the Espo Awards, their yearly award ceremony. I highly disagreed with their list for Michel Bergeron Trophy (for Coach of the Year).
They had: Andy Murray (Blues); Barry Trotz (Predators); Claude Julien (Bruins); Brent Sutter (Devils); and Paul Maurice (Hurricanes). Phil Esposito added Ken Hitchcock (Blue Jackets) to the list.
Uh, where is John Tortorella in this list?!
No, kidding, but seriously, where is rookie coach Todd McLellan? The Sharks are far and away the best team in the league this season. While having Joe Thornton, Rob Blake, Danny Boyle, and Evgeni Nabokov helps, are you telling me he doesn't belong in the top six of all coaches this season?
If I had to pick a top 3 to nominate, I would say McLellan, Julien, and probably Hitchcock. All are good choices, and I think Julien would/should win the real award, the Jack Adams Award. He has taken a ragtag group of players and turned them into dominant forces.
Ahh, remember the good ol' days in the year after the lockout, when Lindy Ruff (Sabres), Pete Laviolette ('Canes), and Tom Renney (Rangers) were nominated? After this season, all 3 might not be on those teams anymore, especially if the Sabres miss the playoffs again.
Two friends. Two bitter enemies. Two obsessed fans. One Rivalry.
Showing posts with label NHL Home Ice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NHL Home Ice. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Colin Campbell...
For the first time, I watched the Mike "4 Career Goals" Mottau's hit on Frans Nielsen. Very reminiscent of Brandon Sutter giving the Rayden Torpedo to Alexei Cherepanov in the Summit Series. He left his feet, he was looking for an injury. Here, Mottau headhunted Nielsen. A disgusting play on par with Chris Simon attacking Ryan Hollweg and Todd Bertuzzi-ing Steve Moore, and he gets 2 games for it.
Michael Peca touches a linesman's arm, automatic 5 game suspension. (Yes, I'm familiar with the ruling on an automatic suspension when an official is touched.)
Doug Weight gives a clean, feet-on-the-ice check to Sutter, and people vilify Weight for two weeks.
"Disciplinarian" Colin Campbell - and I use the term disciplinarian very lightly - claims it wasn't a direct hit to the head. Well, maybe he didn't see Mottau single out Nielsen and then LEAP off the ice and attack him.
Very questionable ruling.
Some plays are accidental. Weight on Sutter, for example. Jason Doig, while a bad player and a victim of the lockout (where only skilled players stay be in the NHL), injured Eric Lindros for the season, not on purpose but from a hard hit. Same can be said for Scott Stevens leveling Lindros.
However, my view on plays where the person is obviously looking for blood is that they should be suspended until the injured player can play again. Mottau should be out 2-3 months or however long it takes his victim to return. If it means a player will never play again, as it should be in Bertuzzi's case, so be it.
Anyone who wants to take the NHL to task on this horrific ruling can do so Thursdays at 4 as Gary Bettman goes on XM Home Ice 204 (and Sirius 208) to take calls from the fans. No doubt he will be hearing about this next Thursday (as I'm assuming he doesn't host a show on Thanksgiving), and no doubt he will be sticking to party-lines and reiterating what Campbell said, as he never makes waves and always touts the league as in the right. While I love the fact that the Commissioner of the NHL has a radio call-in show (that is always a good listen), I wish he wasn't so vanilla and he would stray from middle-0f-the-road, my-employees-are-always-right answers. If he came out and said Campbell flubbed this, maybe something could be done to change it.
* * *
Links to mentioned videos...
Sutter flying into Cherepanov
Michael Peca touches a linesman's arm, automatic 5 game suspension. (Yes, I'm familiar with the ruling on an automatic suspension when an official is touched.)
Doug Weight gives a clean, feet-on-the-ice check to Sutter, and people vilify Weight for two weeks.
"Disciplinarian" Colin Campbell - and I use the term disciplinarian very lightly - claims it wasn't a direct hit to the head. Well, maybe he didn't see Mottau single out Nielsen and then LEAP off the ice and attack him.
Very questionable ruling.
Some plays are accidental. Weight on Sutter, for example. Jason Doig, while a bad player and a victim of the lockout (where only skilled players stay be in the NHL), injured Eric Lindros for the season, not on purpose but from a hard hit. Same can be said for Scott Stevens leveling Lindros.
However, my view on plays where the person is obviously looking for blood is that they should be suspended until the injured player can play again. Mottau should be out 2-3 months or however long it takes his victim to return. If it means a player will never play again, as it should be in Bertuzzi's case, so be it.
Anyone who wants to take the NHL to task on this horrific ruling can do so Thursdays at 4 as Gary Bettman goes on XM Home Ice 204 (and Sirius 208) to take calls from the fans. No doubt he will be hearing about this next Thursday (as I'm assuming he doesn't host a show on Thanksgiving), and no doubt he will be sticking to party-lines and reiterating what Campbell said, as he never makes waves and always touts the league as in the right. While I love the fact that the Commissioner of the NHL has a radio call-in show (that is always a good listen), I wish he wasn't so vanilla and he would stray from middle-0f-the-road, my-employees-are-always-right answers. If he came out and said Campbell flubbed this, maybe something could be done to change it.
* * *
Links to mentioned videos...
Sutter flying into Cherepanov
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sirius/XM
Zach sent me an interesting text today. He said that I should turn on Sirius channel 208 and check out NHL Home Ice. It's the NHL channel that people who have XM already know well, and it's the channel I hear every single time I'm in Zach's car. And, much to my surprise, it's now available on Sirius Satellite Radio.
Sort of.
If you have Sirius, you can get NHL Home Ice, along with the MLB package, Opie and Anthony, and the biggest draw of them all, Oprah Winfrey. And if you want these, all you have to do is call Sirius and upgrade your package to the top tier, which is $16.95 a month. Then, you'll get the NHL on the road.
Sort of.
When I tried to do this today, I was told my radio isn't compatible with the XM channels. I've had my radio for four years, which I guess is a good reason. Then again, the ads did say nobody would have to buy new equipment as a result of the merger. Obviously, that's not the case. I called them to see if there was anything I could do, and they pretty much told me to buy a new radio. In other words, no freebies for this scribe. That sucks.
Having said that, NHL Home Ice is a quality station, well worth the extra $4 a month if you're a Sirius subscriber. Between Home Ice, the NHL Network, and NHL Center Ice, it's a great time to be a hockey fan. Those of us who have complained about the coverage of the league really can't say that anymore; today, we have all the tools we need. Who needs ESPN?
Sort of.
If you have Sirius, you can get NHL Home Ice, along with the MLB package, Opie and Anthony, and the biggest draw of them all, Oprah Winfrey. And if you want these, all you have to do is call Sirius and upgrade your package to the top tier, which is $16.95 a month. Then, you'll get the NHL on the road.
Sort of.
When I tried to do this today, I was told my radio isn't compatible with the XM channels. I've had my radio for four years, which I guess is a good reason. Then again, the ads did say nobody would have to buy new equipment as a result of the merger. Obviously, that's not the case. I called them to see if there was anything I could do, and they pretty much told me to buy a new radio. In other words, no freebies for this scribe. That sucks.
Having said that, NHL Home Ice is a quality station, well worth the extra $4 a month if you're a Sirius subscriber. Between Home Ice, the NHL Network, and NHL Center Ice, it's a great time to be a hockey fan. Those of us who have complained about the coverage of the league really can't say that anymore; today, we have all the tools we need. Who needs ESPN?
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