I am one of the few Americans who actually enjoys hockey I believe. Growing up in the Detroit Area it wasn't uncommon for us to be playing street hockey from noon till sundown every weekend as a kid. I didn't have the opportunity to play ice hockey until high school unfortunately because I was poor, and well hockey is the most expensive sport there is.... It really is so sad for me to see how irrelevant hockey has become in America. The games are so frigging intense, there is no better moment in all of sports than an OT playoff hockey game in my opinion. Every shot has you on the edge of your seat! I have a couple complaints about modern hockey though:
- What P.C vagina asses thought it was a good idea to make the rinks bigger? I know why they did it, to eliminate goons in hockey. News flash, goons in hockey make the sport awesome! Bob Probert and Ty Domi were probably my two favorite players of all time. I can't even count the times that as soon as the puck dropped on the opening face off these guys just dropped their gloves and commenced to whoopin somebodies ASS! Now hockey fights are a rare treat, and the refs step in way to soon to bust em up.....
- The television rights to the NHL in hockey are just floating out there and nobody will pick it up! Literally just give it away for a couple years NHL and win back the pre-strike fans!
- Way too many friggin teams make the NHL playoffs. I cannot even count how many times my team (Red Wings) have won the Presidents Cup (best regular season record) only to run into some crap team like the Ducks with a hot goalie. This process makes about as much sense as schools and sports leagues giving every kid a trophey, such pussy shit... People wonder why America is full of mommy boy, metro-sexual males who enjoy shopping for clothes and plucking their eyebrows! Reward regular season success with better odds at the cup please... My guys have 11 cups, but they would have over 20 if the NHL didn't just let everyone in.
/Rant
8 comments:
I had no idea you were a hockey fan...
Big game tonight!!
GLGLGL
There's no doubt that hockey is the best of the four major professional sports to watch in a live setting.
And you're so right, those last minutes of a tie game, or sudden death in the playoffs, can't be topped by anything else in terms of pure tension.
I'm sure it will come out that the Red Wings are Patriots-style cheaters sooner or later though. F them and their beating the Flyers in the cup back in 1999.
Dallas beat Buffalo for the Cup in 1999, right?
Anyway, I used to watch a lot of hockey. Then it kinda disappeared from TV.
I have my autographed Hasek Wings jersey hanging in my office.
The NHL rink has not changed dimensions, dude. Hockey fans might know this. The old Boston Garden, and maybe the old Chicago Stadium and a few others, had slightly smaller rinks which were grandfathered in to the NHL. All of those have long since disappeared.
I could of swore not to long ago the NHL changed the dimensions of the rinks? If that is not the case I guess I am mistaken... I was just so pissed at the idea of that.
The International/Olympic Rink is, and always has been, quite a bit bigger (wider) than the NHL rink. You might be thinking of the fact that the NHL has moved the Red lines out towards the center, creating larger offensive zones, and also eliminated the 2-line pass infraction. The goal lines were also moved out from the boards a while back, creating more room behind the nets, although i believe they have been moved at least part-way back towards the boards. WAY MORE clutching/interference type penalties called nowadays, too. Basically, anything the league thinks will create more offense, ever since the Devils ruined hockey by perfecting the neutral zone/left wing lock-trap, and showing that mediocre defense with great goaltending can win games 2-1 all the way through the Stanley Cup.
I'm from Columbus and wasn't much of a hockey fan until we got the Blue Jackets. I go to a several games a year and have been to a couple vs Detroit. I was amazed at how many Detroit fans come to the games. Columbus has turned out to be a great hockey town and everyone was excited about making the playoffs this year. But I do agree with you that there are too many teams in the playoffs, same as the NBA. Keep it to 6 per division or they should at least make the first two rounds the best of 5 instead of 7.
Hoy, it was 96/97 Wings beat Flyers. also the same year the FU Center open.
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