PuckUpdate .: The Hockey Blog
Crawford Fired; Myers Markets: So the Kings fired Marc Crawford. Helene Elliott says it was the right thing to do. In fact, she says the Kings never should have hired Crawford to coach a young team in the first place. I'll admit Crawford didn't...... , posted on June 11, 2008 more
Malkin Sick; Stevie Y Stays Classy: My favorite part of the end of each round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is when the losing team reveals its injuries. It's like a big mystery is solved each round. Over in Pittsburgh, the big reveal was Evgeni Malkin...... , posted on June 06, 2008 more
Through the Television Glass...: Red Wings coach Mike Babcock's big plan for game four? Just watch the minutes for the Zetterberg line. There's not much news today since the NHL limited player access yesterday, making only four players from each team available. Drew Sharp...... , posted on May 30, 2008 more
Penguins Try to Get Mojo Rising: So the Penguins are hoping some Mellon Arena mojo (they have not lost there in the playoffs) is enough to turn around their post-season fortunes. Also in Pittsburgh's favor? The Wings don't have the best record with 2-0 series leads....... , posted on May 28, 2008 more
NBC Does Hockey Well!: I know I often complain about the quality of US hockey telecasts, so in the spirit of being constructive, I should probably say I've really been loving NBC's Sunday coverage. I'm not a huge fan of Doc Emrick's work for...... , posted on March 31, 2008 more
Forsberg Actually Returns. For Real!: I can't believe Peter Forsberg really came back. And then he played. He didn't put up any points in last night's win over the Canucks, but playing on a line with Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk, it seems to just...... , posted on March 05, 2008 more
Foppa Not Signing: I know the season isn't over, but I'm ready to weigh in with the least surprising announcement of the 2007-08 season: Peter Forsberg isn't coming back to the NHL this season. I'd be shocked if he ever returned to the...... , posted on February 19, 2008 more
If Rock Could Beat Paper, the Stars Could Have a Scorer: Mike Heika briefly addresses what I occasionally wonder about: How does the two-headed beast that is the Dallas Star GM-ship go about doing business? Not that there's really an answer. Heika reports that co-GM Brett Hull seems more interested in...... , posted on February 14, 2008 more
Does Marleau Know the Way Out of San Jose?: San Jose Shark Patrick Marleau is supposedly on the block? He's been rumored to be out of San Jose since the Sharks got Joe Thornton. I always kind of assumed the Sharks forgot they wanted to trade him. Also, Neil...... , posted on January 23, 2008 more
Save the Goalies, Save the World: I'm surprised Martin Brodeur's leaving the NHL's competition committee wasn't made a bigger deal. When you have one of the game's best (ever) criticizing the league and its treatment of goalies, that's a pretty powerful statement. Dallas (for now) goalie...... , posted on January 21, 2008 more
The Last Walz: So apparently Larry Brooks is the only person in the world who thinks a more balanced NHL schedule is a bad idea. Brooks' argument is that familiarity breeds rivalry breeds exciting hockey. And that's true, if you're talking a rivalry...... , posted on December 03, 2007 more
Fun With Owners: There's some cool NHL management stuff floating around the Internet this week. Boston magazine had an interesting piece on Charlie Jacobs, the man who runs the Boston Bruins for his father. The article doesn't say anything crazy. Basically that Jacobs...... , posted on November 30, 2007 more
Expanding the NHL Market: An Interview with Fred Teng: Tonight's Rangers-Islanders tilt will be a bit unusual. A New York City radio station (WZRC; 1480 AM) is actually going to broadcast the game in Chinese. I was pretty shocked when I first heard about the plan, wondering how this...... , posted on November 19, 2007 more
'Wow. That Leash Was Shorter Than William Henry Harrison's Term As President': So remember that short leash in Dallas I mentioned? I thought it was on coach Dave Tippett but apparently it was on GM Doug Armstrong. Armstrong was fired yesterday, with Brett Hull and Les Jackson named co-GMs. I'm not sure...... , posted on November 14, 2007 more
Inside the Penalty Box: James Lipton, host of INSIDE THE ACTOR'S STUDIO, is tight with former NHLer Rudy Poeschek. I'd love it if Lipton would start interviewing athletes: "Mr. Gretzky. Can we speak to your stick? What is your stick thinking on a breakaway?"...... , posted on November 07, 2007 more
You Get What You Pay For: Greg Wyshynski has a nice interview with Jim Gordon, host of XM's FACE OFF show. Gordon is pretty candid. I found this fascinating: "Technically, we're supposed to be first in line [for NHL guests]. Technically, a team like Detroit is...... , posted on November 06, 2007 more
Who Can Stop the Flyers? Seriously. Help!: So what happens first? Do the Flyers just run out of players to suit up or do they hurt everyone else in the league until there's no one left to play? While I'm reasonably sure Randy Jones didn't mean to...... , posted on October 29, 2007 more
Hockey Back to ESPN, Part XIV: Neil Best has more on hockey maybe returning to ESPN. The only reason I repeat this is that I've noticed a lot of hockey in ESPN: The Magazine the past few issues. Last issue, they did a big piece on...... , posted on October 17, 2007 more
No Jovo to Rangers: John Dellapina from the Daily News takes on the Ed Jovanovski to the Rangers rumor that's been kicking around (most recently seen here): Dellapina says there's no way it can happen for cap (and other reasons). I was pretty shocked...... , posted on October 09, 2007 more
18 Days to Go: And we're off: The city of St. Louis was shocked to see the Blues sign a genuine NHL star. By the way. It's Paul Kariya. Adrian Dater predicts Peter Forsberg will end up playing with the Ducks, who somehow always...... , posted on September 11, 2007 more
Dumb Donald Is So Dumb, When He Played On My Line, He Actually Iced His Blank: Cool. Mike Milbury is joining NBC and their revamped non-studio studio show. Sadly, for him at least, Bill Clement won't be a part of NBC's hockey coverage, though (Thanks to Neil Best for being all over this, by the way)....... , posted on July 30, 2007 more
Mario Lopez: 'Shut Up, Dude!': Newsweek had a piece on how ESPN has become more about cheering athletes than dissecting sports. There's an interesting paragraph, though: And many influential sports bloggers, such as The Big Lead and Deadspin, have accused the network of ignoring sports,...... , posted on July 18, 2007 more
Islandergate Day Two: Why doesn't HBO want to admit that Kevin "ENTOURAGE" Connolly is an Islanders fan? Yesterday, PuckUpdate reported Connolly is a fan of the fish sticks. What we can now also report is that HBO seems to be Photoshopping the Isles'...... , posted on June 21, 2007 more
Cleveland Cavs: 'We Were in the Finals. Honestly!': Oh man. This week kind of got away from me. The NBA Finals are over and I didn't really even think about it. Apparently, I'm not alone. Marc Berman, who covers the Knicks for the New York Post blogged about...... , posted on June 15, 2007 more
American Newspapers: 'What Cup?': Tarik El-Bashir blogs about what a lot of us outside of Ottawa and Anaheim have noticed: not many newspapers are covering the finals at all. El-Bashir points to a Globe and Mail article that actually breaks down just who isn't...... , posted on May 28, 2007 more
Terry Jones Versus TV: This is pretty funny. The Edmonton Sun's Terry Jones is covering Ducks-Wings in California and he couldn't see the games from Detroit because his hotel doesn't get Versus. Also, speaking of Versus, I'm not a huge Ray Ferraro fan, but...... , posted on May 15, 2007 more
Too Many Opinions? Or Not Enough?: I'm a pretty big fan of Mike Heika, who covers the Stars for the Dallas Morning News. His weekly email newsletter had an interesting section: Honestly, my paper would prefer I not make declarations about firing GMs and coaches. While...... , posted on May 04, 2007 more
Times Watch: Today's Times has three NHL stories! Take that Knicks and Mets. The Yankees are in good shape. Firing their training coach actually made the front page of the A section....... , posted on May 03, 2007 more
Drop the Puck Already!: Versus sent me a note that they had put up something with the NHL's 30 (I only count 15) greatest playoff moments. I'm always cynical about these pitches, but the guy pitching me mentioned the 1994 Rangers, so I figured...... , posted on April 12, 2007 more
Nice Things: Nice! HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA is staying with the CBC. Interestingly, the new deal caps the number of Leafs game, and rotates in other Canadian teams. I'm guessing this deal started before the Oilers went into a tailspin. More nice!...... , posted on March 27, 2007 more
Monday Madness!: Here are the quick hits: Road Hockey Rumble is a TV show! See what I mean here. Mike Grier is a patient, forgiving guy. SportsMemorabilia.com interviewed me. Is anyone out there going to the Eastern Sociological Society meeting this weekend?...... , posted on March 12, 2007 more
Thornton Trade Still Looking Awful: The most interesting part of Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau going to Calgary for Andrew Ference and Chuck Kobasew? Stuart and Primeau were both part of what San Jose sent over for Joe Thornton, making that deal look even worse...... , posted on February 12, 2007 more
Super Cup: I'm sure I'll get to the Rangers trading for Sean Avery. But not today. I can't even begin to think about how between his dating habits and his insane rants, he'll be all over every page of the papers. Johnette...... , posted on February 06, 2007 more
NHL: 'Dude. Take Off the Lens Cap': The NHL is trying to establish a baseline quality for all of its telecasts. The guy in charge of this is John Shannon, the NHL's senior vice president for broadcasting. He looks at everything from the announcers to the camera...... , posted on January 26, 2007 more
Kicking It Larry King-style: Larry Brooks says the NHL seems very hot to make the nets bigger, in an effort to increase scoring. Shockingly, goalie Martin Brodeur thinks it's a bad idea. But he's actually right. If the NHL wants more scoring, I'd seriously...... , posted on January 22, 2007 more
NHL on NBC: The NHL on NBC kicked off this weekend. I checked in because, to be boorish, Hockey Day in Canada was killing me. We get it. All kinds of people play hockey. And save lives. And do both. NBC's national telecast...... , posted on January 16, 2007 more
Good News/Bad News: How many NHL GMs are sitting around pounding their foreheads over the rebirth of the Phoenix Coyotes? Another few weeks of solid play and the Coyotes won't be giving away the team for prospects. Even the Coyotes can't love the...... , posted on January 08, 2007 more
Just Call Him J-Rod: I don't think I knew just how complex Jaromir Jagr's contract was. I knew the Caps were paying him to pay in New York, but I didn't know about all of the incentives in the contract. Now I do, thanks...... , posted on November 28, 2006 more
TV and Hats: Evan Grossman, former Islanders beat reporter for the New York Post and now writing for NHL.com, has a nice look at what goes into the TV production of an NHL game. Basically, it's a lot of work. Don't try it...... , posted on November 07, 2006 more
Bruins: 'The Cap is on Salaries, Not Tickets. Now Let's Trade Chara!': I love how teams always have a compelling reason to raise ticket prices. The Bruins are hardly the only team to do this, but I find their rationalization of increased tickets especially distasteful, mentioning an increased salary cap as a...... , posted on August 28, 2006 more
Neil Smith: 'It Ain't Easy Being Me': The New York Daily News had a very cool story looking at Neil Smith's post-Ranger career. It's interesting, because Smith speaks super candidly about his six years without a GM job. He talks about almost getting the GM gig in...... , posted on August 14, 2006 more
LA Times: '41 Games is Enough': I don't like to do too many media-centric posts, but this is pretty crazy. The LA Times is slashing its hockey coverage. According to BenMaller.com, the Times will no longer send beat reporters to all Kings/Ducks road games. Over at...... , posted on July 18, 2006 more
Big E in Big D?: Wow. So Eric Lindros is about to become a Dallas Star (login info.). You know. Unless he doesn't. He told the Dallas Morning News he wasn't interested in money so much as he was interested in opportunity. In Dallas, he'd...... , posted on July 17, 2006 more
CuSa is Born; Stars Not Shooting: It's so interesting how no one wants Manny Legace. The Blues are being coy about their goalie needs, floating the idea that Curtis Sanford, or CuSa, as I've just named him, has enough to be a number one. That...... , posted on July 13, 2006 more
Does Flavor Kill Ratings?: Eric at OffWing made a great point about the dearly departed color guy John Davidson, now president of the St. Louis Blues: While Steve has nothing but praise for Davidson, I found most of his postseason work on NBC/OLN to...... , posted on July 05, 2006 more
Game Seven Rates...For Hurricanes: So how about those Hurricanes, eh? Was it me or was Edmonton just a smidge to nervous? I saw quite a few overshot passes, especially in the first two periods. It's crazy to think that if Edmonton had connected on...... , posted on June 21, 2006 more
Ain't No Cake Like a Johnny Cake: Larry Brooks thinks the OLN/NBC studio shows are boring (login info.). He's pitching Jeremy Roenick as a talking head. I think it would be cool to pair him with Brett Hull. They even kind of look alike. Brooks' point is...... , posted on May 22, 2006 more
Going After Bettman: SportsFilter had a link to this Economist article on the NFL. It's interesting because it compares the NFL to the other US sports leagues. And because, apropos of nothing, the Economist busts out this line: The hockey league's commissioner, Gary...... , posted on May 10, 2006 more
Icings: Meet Mr. Stanley Cup. He's a 57-year-old steel mill worker from Saltsburg, PA. The Times found him. I found a bunch of I. Sings. I smell another story....... , posted on May 08, 2006 more
Head in Glove: Having just watched the Rangers go down two games to none to the Devils, I'm out of words, so I'll hand things over to Mrs. PuckUpdate: Why do you need [Jaromir] Jagr to score on a five-on-three? I could score...... , posted on April 25, 2006 more
Avery Blackballed: Geez. What's with Sean Avery getting blackballed? He's not going to be working in the studio for Rogers Sportsnet. It seems that the NHL might have preferred Avery not have that gig. Sure, Avery is a jerk, and he's not...... , posted on April 20, 2006 more
Davidson Feeling Blues?: Oh man! Ranger/OLN announcer John Davidson might take over the St. Louis Blues? What's up with that? Is there a better color guy in hockey? Is it fair to do this to Ranger fans? Or hockey fans? I think the...... , posted on April 11, 2006 more
Changing Channels: The funniest thing about LA King Sean Avery being crazy (login info.)? It forces HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA's Kelly Hrudey to go off on a rant about Avery and respect and hockey and how Avery's antics are somehow destroying the...... , posted on April 10, 2006 more
Things I Wonder About: I don't watch a lot of OLN. In fact, I try and avoid OLN whenever I can. But they had Rangers-Bruins last night, and it was blacked out locally, so I watched OLN. The video quality was shockingly good. Everything...... , posted on March 21, 2006 more
Olympic Hangover: Oh my goodness I love the NHL's narrow little ice. I might have once suggested that the NHL go with that wide international ice, but after watching the Olympics and then the NHL, I'm going to have to insist the...... , posted on March 02, 2006 more
Morning Reads: Two nice reads this morning: Carnival of the NHL #18 is up at Abel to Yzerman Over at DoubleViking, Hoorock has posted a mid-season NHL report Enjoy!...... , posted on January 31, 2006 more
TCOB: Two quick things: First, the mighty Matt Law found video of the Mario Lemieux goal I went on about yesterday. Next, the Times named Joe Sexton their new metro editor. Sexton was once a sportswriter who spent a decent amount...... , posted on January 27, 2006 more
Maps and Podcasts: Steve Wells over at HockeyCat is working on a guide to hockey rinks in the US. He's starting in the southeast and working his way north. The map is here. If you have a link or rink to add, contact...... , posted on January 17, 2006 more
PuckSharing: And dang. No one told me yesterday was Hockey Day in Canada. Luckily, my afternoon TV clicking happened to run into the day-long event. I don't really have anything else on that. I just dug a whole day of hockey....... , posted on January 09, 2006 more
Between the Benches: The Boston Globe had some notes about the NHL on NBC. Apparently, they're going to have a goalie cam and a reporter on the ice, between the benches. I actually saw OLN do that to a reporter and it seemed...... , posted on January 03, 2006 more
Saved the Instigator: Wow. The Instigator, my new favorite online comic about hockey, is back online. That was pretty easy. More details are here, including a classy note from the CBC thanking the fans for making it possible for the comic to come...... , posted on November 08, 2005 more
Bring Back the Instigator: Mike Lee of TheFeeder.com has launched a campaign to save The Instigator, a comic strip published on the CBC site. The strip disappeared during the lockout and now the CBC won't bring it back without a sponsor. Mike set up...... , posted on October 23, 2005 more
ESPN on OLN: I found this sooooo interesting. ESPN.com's John Buccigross weighed in on OLN's NHL coverage. It's sort of a delicate thing, but Buccigross discussed the NHL's new network with class: All in all, the OLN game was excellent. Good replays, good...... , posted on October 20, 2005 more
Being Sidney Crosby: Sports Illustrated (or maybe SI.com) has an interesting feature on Shawna Richer, the Globe and Mail writer covering Sidney Crosby. I listen to very little sports talk radio/tv, but I was watching some local call-in show on the local cable...... , posted on October 10, 2005 more
The Return of the NHL: Day One: Oh man. If it wasn't for the Jewish New Year, I'd swear it was Christmas. So much hockey. * * * New York is truly the greatest city in the world. I say this because I'm able to flip through...... , posted on October 06, 2005 more
Cablevision Blacks Out Again: Here in New York City, OLN is making the October 5 NHL opener, featuring Flyers-Rangers, available to any cable system that wants it. How come? Great question. Cablevision, which owns the Rangers, doesn't think OLN has an exclusive right to...... , posted on September 28, 2005 more
My NHL: The NHL has a new marketing concept: My NHL. I don't know what that means, but I guess the NHL thinks it will work. I guess I can talk about how I actually worked on some of the brainstorming for...... , posted on September 22, 2005 more
A Three Asterisk Kind of Morning...: Interesting. Larry Brooks says there's a rumor the Thrashers might be low-balling Ilya Kovalchuk at the suggestion of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman (login info.). I really do love the idea of a sport where the commissioner chases his best players...... , posted on September 12, 2005 more
Emrick to OLN; Eklund No Kid: No big shock, but Doc Emrick will be the main play-by-play voice for OLN. It's a good call by OLN. Emrick is great. Rumor has it, John Davidson will provide the commentary, which is a nice pairing. I own a...... , posted on August 31, 2005 more
Blackhawks Eye Moira Kelly: This is pretty funny. The Blackhawks have hired Olympic speedskater Dan Jansen to teach the team speed, strength, and conditioning. It's a great move. Speed is going to be key in the new NHL. But hiring a speedskater? Doesn't that...... , posted on August 30, 2005 more
SI Back to TV?: Friday's Post had an interesting article suggesting Sports Illustrated is looking to return to TV via OLN (login info.). I point this out only because as OLN currently has a pretty limited inventory of sports properties right now, an SI/OLN...... , posted on August 28, 2005 more
You Don't Like Mondays: So maybe this whole OLN thing isn't the best thing for hockey fans. Steve Zipay from Newsday lays out a scenario where OLN will box fans out of games. How? Their exclusivity clause. If OLN is showing a game, it's...... , posted on August 23, 2005 more
Clement Shooting Resumes: You've really got to hand it to Bill Clement, last seen calling hockey for ESPN. The guy really knows how to hustle. When did OLN announce they would be broadcasting hockey this season? Thursday night sometime? Clement is everywhere, now,...... , posted on August 22, 2005 more
Free Agents; More Chili: So the first day of free agency was a bit quiet. The Florida Pathers signed Gary Roberts and Joe Nieuwendyk (login info.). I really get the feeling Roberts and Nieuwendyk wanted to a) still play together and b) play someplace...... , posted on August 02, 2005 more
The New NHL: So things are moving along with the NHL aren't they? They've gone from lockout to full-on trade fury in just a week or so. Although the fury is pretty much all potential fury. No one is really moving yet. Everyone...... , posted on July 25, 2005 more
Banjos to Facewashes: I have to admit, as a professional hockey blogger you might suspect I'm a bit optimistic about the game. But I'm really not. I'm sort of shocked they even settled the lockout. And I'm even more shocked that after being...... , posted on July 20, 2005 more
Something to PuckUpdate About: Wow. I go on vacation for a week and the whole lockout gets solved. I should have done that months ago. I was really happy to see the NHL didn't get any smarter while I was basking in the beauty...... , posted on July 18, 2005 more
Sharkspage Blogs It All; A Play is Born: I just wanted to acknowledge that this post from PJ at Sharkspage captures like two weeks worth of hockey news. It's amazingly impressive. He must have interns. Also from Sharkspage: a link to this photo shoot which is almost not...... , posted on July 07, 2005 more
Fun With Caps; NFL Punks Canada: The thing I really hate about caps in sports is that it forces you to deal with economics. It's not enough to imagine a good trade. You also have to know the finances of both teams. It's kind of a...... , posted on June 20, 2005 more
Hockey Madness: It's getting harder and harder for me to read about hockey. Larry Brooks reports the owners and players are still miles away from any kind of resolution to the lockout. The International Ice Hockey Federation couldn't give away the World...... , posted on May 09, 2005 more
ESPN: 'You're Locked Out, NHL...Maybe': So ESPN is planning its exit strategy from the NHL, or so it seems. It's pretty messed up when you consider they show bowling on ESPN2. The NHL has had its problems, but it's still better than bowling. There. I...... , posted on May 04, 2005 more
NFL to NHL: 'We Got Your Viewers Right Here': The Post had an interesting item last week. Andrew Marchand reported that ESPN might not be too interested in the NHL now that they have the Monday Night Football package. I'm not sure what it really has to do with...... , posted on April 26, 2005 more
If Larry Brooks Falls in the Forest: So there's no hockey, but at least I can find out what Flyers goalie Robert Esche has on his iPod. Rather scarily, we both have Elton John's "Tiny Dancer." I'm trying really hard not to think about what that says...... , posted on April 12, 2005 more
TSN Hacked?: Also, does anyone know if TSN was hacked this weekend? I noticed this Saturday: Of course, it did help me to learn CODE LYOKO is a weird cartoon....... , posted on January 16, 2005 more
Rangers Test Site; NPR Discovers Hockey: So apparently the Rangers are using this lull in the season to work on their Web site. Check out this survey. At least the usability and marketing people aren't dying of boredom, over at the Garden. Plus, one of my...... , posted on January 12, 2005 more
Happy Thanksgiving!: Happy Thanksgiving! A few days ago I talked about how the NHL is getting more publicity in its current lockout state, than if the season was actually going on. The trend continues. The New York Observer, a very tony New...... , posted on November 25, 2004 more
NHL Finds Spotlight Without Players: This is pretty interesting. PRWeek is talking about the NHL lockout. And they mention that the Players' Association is actually seeing a demand in media requests for their time. That kind of makes sense. There's not a ton of reason...... , posted on November 19, 2004 more
I Want My NHL TV!: Newsday takes a brief break from lockout news to talk about some of the potential of the NHL. The big hope for the sport? Plastics. Nah. Not really. According to Alan Hahn, it's high definition television. The proportions of HDTV...... , posted on September 13, 2004 more
Networks Schedule Around Hockey: The Washington Times takes a quick peak at how the various networks, local and national, Canadian and American, are planning to fill the NHL-size hole in their schedules. Nothing too shocking. ESPN is going to college basketball and Canada's TSN...... , posted on September 07, 2004 more
Calling Hockey=Calling Olympics: Richard Sandomir at the New York Times has an interesting piece on ESPN hockey commentator Bill Clement's role in the Olympics, calling badminton. How did he go from hockey to badminton? He was a regional badminton champ back in high...... , posted on August 27, 2004 more
NHL on NBC: The NHL is moving to NBC, according to the New York Times. It's a good deal for NBC. They're not paying the NHL anything upfront. It's just an agreement to share revenue from a few regular season games, Saturday playoff...... , posted on May 19, 2004 more
Lockout Proof NHL 2005: So I'm a big geek and I play a lot of NHL 2004 for PlayStation 2. It's got this sort of GM-y function, where you not only play the game, but you also act as the GM, trying to make...... , posted on May 19, 2004 more
Canada: 'Play at Night!': The Globe and Mail says Canadians aren't too into afternoon hockey games. Sadly, ESPN and ABC only want afternoon hockey games, which don't tank their ratings for a whole night — merely for just an afternoon. I've never really liked...... , posted on May 11, 2004 more
HNIC Spoof: I don't know if this HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA spoof is actually funny since my home connection is so slow, but in case it is, and I don't have any reason to believe it isn't, check this out. The few...... , posted on April 08, 2004 more
NHL Migrating Off Broadcast TV in States?: This is kind of sad, but not surprising: The All-Star game looks like it'll be on ESPN next season, rather than broadcast on ABC. It's just more proof the NHL isn't popular here in the states. Rudy Martzke at USA...... , posted on February 10, 2004 more
PopcornUpdate: I'm going to see MIRACLE because I think it'll be weird if I don't see it. I'm just worried about two things. 1) That the theater will be filled with angry people who thought they were going to see PASSION...... , posted on February 05, 2004 more
Wickenheiser Online: Has anyone else ever noticed that female hockey sensation Hayley Wickenheiser's Web site is listed as an affiliate of Slam! Hockey? I find that kind of weird. Does she pay for that? Does Slam!? I wasn't aware she was that...... , posted on November 26, 2003 more
THN Beefcake: Am I the only one who saw this week's issue of The Hockey News and thought he had accidentally subscribed to Teen Beat or something? What's with that picture of Joe Thornton in the 1930s suit? Isn't he a hockey...... , posted on November 10, 2003 more
Choose Your Own Hockey Adventure: This is kind of a good idea. ESPN2 is going to let fans vote on which games air. The first vote is St. Louis/Detroit vs. Isles/Pittsburgh. I have no idea who would pick the Islanders/Penguins game. Who wants to see...... , posted on October 02, 2003 more
Heatley: 'I'm On the Game': So I'm pretty lame. I'm psyched Dany Heatley is going to be on the cover of NHL 2004. Fans of the game will recall that Heatley's gap-toothed face graces the opening montage of NHL 2003, where a bunch of players...... , posted on August 21, 2003 more
Underrated/Overrated: So ESPN.com's Page 2 lists current underrated athletes. Jeff Merron picks Ron Francis to represent hockey. I'm not so sure. Mainly for the fact that Francis' whole shtick is being underrated. Google him and underrated and you'll see what I...... , posted on August 06, 2003 more
NHL TV Update: OK. So I'm the ignorant American. A kind PuckUpdate reader let me know that Canada has two — that's right, two — all hockey channels (The NHL Network and Leafs TV). So I need some sort of dish to grab...... , posted on July 14, 2003 more
I Want My NHLTV: Here in the states, the NFL is starting its own network. And teams only play one game a week! How can that support a network? What are they going to show during the week? Someone needs to start an NHL...... , posted on July 11, 2003 more
Game Seven Rates: Game seven got the highest ratings for an NHL game since 1998, when ABC first started carrying the finals. Look for people to start trying to get the Stanley Cup finals into one game, like the Super Bowl. I love...... , posted on June 11, 2003 more
Take That David Stern!: Woo hoo! Hockey isn't the only sport getting bad ratings. The NBA Finals also aren't doing well. Not that I'm happy to see another sport suffer. But I am. So who's fault are the bad NHL ratings, anyway? Not Buffalo's....... , posted on June 09, 2003 more
Booing Berman: Oh man. This column is almost a week old but it's so great. It's a great take-down of Chris Berman and ABC's Cup coverage (l:laexaminer; p:laexaminer). Mike Penner manages to touch on everything that's been bugging you about ABC telecast...... , posted on June 09, 2003 more
Hockey Columnist Kelley Fired: Condolences to the writing staff of FoxSports.com — SportsJournalists.com says they were all laid off. Among the casualties is NHL writer Jim Kelley. He always had a lot of good stuff. I didn't link to him as much as I...... , posted on June 05, 2003 more
TV Time: Jean-Sebastien Giguere is going to be on THE TONIGHT SHOW this Friday. The other guests? Colin Quinn, Jim Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. That's right. An NHLer finally makes THE TONIGHT SHOW (although Brendan Shanahan was on in 1997) and it's...... , posted on May 22, 2003 more
Rink Blog: Hey! Check out Rink Blog, a newish hockey blog by Tim Harvey. It's good stuff. There are a couple of nice hockey blogs I don't have permanent links to. It's on my list of things to do after the finals....... , posted on May 19, 2003 more
Demers on Ice: Did anyone else know ex-coach Jacques Demers is commenting on the Stanley Cup playoffs for USA Today? I sure didn't. He picks Ottawa over New Jersey in seven. I want New Jersey to win because I know them pretty well,...... , posted on May 07, 2003 more
Number One With a Mullet: Billy Ray Cyrus cut off his mullet. This means that the only place left to see a mullet on TV is Barry Melrose. I wonder if this will translate into ratings for the NHL. And as long as we're being...... , posted on May 06, 2003 more
TSN vs. CBC: Who would have thought that one of the playoffs tougest match-ups would be the CBC vs. TSN? Not me! I don't get either of those stations. The two Canadian networks are fighting over playoff games. It's really complicated. I don't...... , posted on May 01, 2003 more
No Pictures!: Funny stuff from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune complaint bag (scroll down). A reader wants to know why the paper runs so many hockey fight photos. The paper responds: That is what they do in professional hockey. It is part of the...... , posted on April 08, 2003 more
War Comes to HOCKEY NIGHT: OK. So you might not know it by just reading here, but there's a war going on in Iraq. Shocking, right? I've been kind of ignoring it because it just scares the crap out of me and I figure most...... , posted on March 25, 2003 more
Morganti Math: 'NHL=Rangers': You know, people talk about how obsessed the league is with the Rangers. I usually just think they're over-reacting. But now I'm starting to think there is a pre-occupation with the Rangers. ESPN's Al Morganti lists the 10 stories to...... , posted on February 05, 2003 more
Rodney Dangerfield on Ice: Aw geez. Hockey gets no respect. The Times has an article about the Arena Football League and how NBC, which is broadcasting it, is hoping it'll catch on as a TV sport. Arena football, while popular, is totally unproven on...... , posted on February 03, 2003 more
Too Many Chefs: I know ABC has been using the three-man booth of John Davidson, Gary Thorne, and Bill Clement, but I hadn't really seen it in action. They were working the All-Star Game, though, and gee whiz was it noisy. Hockey isn't...... , posted on February 03, 2003 more
Your TV Guide: Oh yeah baby. America loves it some hockey. ESPN is moving three Sunday games to prime time. Hockey's ratings are actually up this year, although it still rates like pro bowling. But still. Prime time is big time. Hockey will...... , posted on January 24, 2003 more
Scary: I just got this week's issue of The Hockey News. One of the cover teases is "What Really Happens in NHL Dressing Rooms by Barry Melrose." I'm going to be honest here. I'm really scared the story is erotic....... , posted on January 10, 2003 more
Free Hockey: I want to move to Florida. Time Warner customers there are getting free NHL Center Ice packages for the rest of the season. I never get anything free....... , posted on January 08, 2003 more
John Davidson to Stanley Cup?: Ranger broadcaster and ABC personality John Davidson could be calling this year's Stanley Cup Finals, according to the New York Post. He'd be working the booth with Gary Thorne and Bill Clement. Davidson usually works the finals from the studio....... , posted on December 16, 2002 more
Bizarro World: I was just reading Chris Stevenson in the Ottawa Sun for the first time. Does every sport have their own Peter Vecsey? Their own jokey, corny guy who you read just so you can get mad? I'm just wondering....... , posted on October 15, 2002 more
Hit the Road, Jack: The Sports Illustrated NHL preview is on sale now. They have a nice piece featuring one quirk from each NHL city. For instance, did you know that in St. Louis, part of the visitor's bench is in the attack zone,...... , posted on October 15, 2002 more
Good News Bad News: The good news is ESPN's opening night ratings were up 6% from last year, their best numbers since 1992. The bad news is that only brings the ratings up to a .82. I'm not sure, but I think bowling might...... , posted on October 11, 2002 more
Fun Time: Here is a review of NHL 2003, the video game. Spin had one, too, but I forgot to write about it. They had some Canadian rock band review it. Everyone seems to like it, and the goaltending is supposed to...... , posted on October 10, 2002 more
Thanks, Guys!: MSNBC weighs in on the NHL's new obstruction rules with a piece that makes no new points while being really, really late. Gotta love those networks! In other trite hockey news, Reuters has the two-millionth story on Atlanta Thrasher rookies...... , posted on October 08, 2002 more
Get Out of Town!: Fascinating! ESPN is backing away from hockey for the NBA. In other news, the NHL plays on ice. John Saunders is moving to the ESPN's NBA team. I always found his hockey work kind of stiff....... , posted on October 07, 2002 more
Ron MacClean: Just so no one thinks American announcers are the only ones who engage in sloppy contract negotiations, Canadian institution Ron MacClean is also having trouble reaching a deal with his bosses. MacClean is off of HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA for...... , posted on October 03, 2002 more
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