2011 Winter Classic

[spndnchz]

linkage

 

Sid vs OV on New years day

 

and

 

Calgary hosts Montreal for an outdoor game in February of 2011.

 

Not sure how I feel about the Pens getting another Winter Classic. I suppose it okay because they'll be hosting this one. Good for the game to have a big matchup playing.

 

Bettman said the cap's going up by 2 million next season too.

[darksabre]

great. one big love fest for the winter classic this year. the announcers are going to be so confused as to which player to fellate first. they might as well rename it The Jock Sniffer Classic.

[That Aud Smell]

this game isn't for the die-hards -- it's for the casual fans who are nursing hangovers, etc.

 

i don't blame the league for working to get the biggest bang that it can for its ratings-buck.

[LabattBlue]

great. one big love fest for the winter classic this year. the announcers are going to be so confused as to which player to fellate first. they might as well rename it The Jock Sniffer Classic.

I never understand this type of comment, and you are not alone in expressing them, so I am not singling you out. Would you expect them to tout this as a matchup of Mike Rupp vs. Matt Bradley instead? Crosby and Ovechkin are far and away the two biggest stars in the NHL today and the networks are going to focus on them as much as possible.

[spndnchz]

great. one big love fest for the winter classic this year. the announcers are going to be so confused as to which player to fellate first. they might as well rename it The Jock Sniffer Classic.

 

testes...testes.. 1...2...3?

 

(props to my bro 4 that 1)

[shrader]

I never understand this type of comment, and you are not alone in expressing them, so I am not singling you out. Would you expect them to tout this as a matchup of Mike Rupp vs. Matt Bradley instead? Crosby and Ovechkin are far and away the two biggest stars in the NHL today and the networks are going to focus on them as much as possible.

 

And it's not just the NHL. I don't know if anyone has noticed yet, but Lebron James is a free agent. Then there's Brett Favre. But who gets it from baseball? I don't feel like Arod has gotten anywhere near as much of a push ever since the steroid thing.

[deluca67]

this game isn't for the die-hards -- it's for the casual fans who are nursing hangovers, etc.

 

i don't blame the league for working to get the biggest bang that it can for its ratings-buck.

Why wouldn't the "die-hard" fan want to see two of the best and exciting teams in hockey?

[darksabre]

I never understand this type of comment, and you are not alone in expressing them, so I am not singling you out. Would you expect them to tout this as a matchup of Mike Rupp vs. Matt Bradley instead? Crosby and Ovechkin are far and away the two biggest stars in the NHL today and the networks are going to focus on them as much as possible.

 

Right, which is what drives me nuts. There are OTHER players on this ice besides these two guys helping to win games. Yes, they're all-stars, but holy cow, a little more focus on the games and a little less of the love fest mentality would be great. They make such a big deal out of these guys that they spend half the game talking about them and not calling a damn thing. "Oh and look at this play Sidney Crosby made on his last shift" as the game is going on in the background we get treated to a replay of Crosby stick checking a guy that takes up half the screen. Absurd.

 

I don't mind them touting their superstars. My problem is how much is ruins the watch-ability of the games they play in.

 

I'm here to watch hockey. Not hear about how Sidney Crosby "is an android! He's not human!" <_<

[deluca67]

Right, which is what drives me nuts. There are OTHER players on this ice besides these two guys helping to win games. Yes, they're all-stars, but holy cow, a little more focus on the games and a little less of the love fest mentality would be great. They make such a big deal out of these guys that they spend half the game talking about them and not calling a damn thing. "Oh and look at this play Sidney Crosby made on his last shift" as the game is going on in the background we get treated to a replay of Crosby stick checking a guy that takes up half the screen. Absurd.

 

I don't mind them touting their superstars. My problem is how much is ruins the watch-ability of the games they play in.

 

I'm here to watch hockey. Not hear about how Sidney Crosby "is an android! He's not human!" <_<

Please! If Crosby was a Buffalo Sabre you would be spending your nights watching his highlight DVD while you work on your wrist-shot so to speak. :doh:

[ThePebble19]

this game isn't for the die-hards -- it's for the casual fans who are nursing hangovers, etc.

 

i don't blame the league for working to get the biggest bang that it can for its ratings-buck.

 

The problem I see is that they left a lot of money on the table here. They should have gone for the "Neutral" site, and had the game at Beaver Stadium.

 

The NHL's two biggest stars, and 106,000 of their closest friends.

[darksabre]

Please! If Crosby was a Buffalo Sabre you would be spending your nights watching his highlight DVD while you work on your wrist-shot so to speak. :doh:

 

There is no player in any sport that I like THAT much.

 

And if Crosby was a Buffalo Sabre we wouldn't even be having this conversation. We'd be talking about how awesome our Stanley Cup is.

[PromoTheRobot]

Who can blame the NHL for flogging their superstars. The Winter Classic is all about catching non-hockey fans who stumble onto the game while looking for a college bowl game. I still want to see Ducks vs Kings in the LA Coliseum. If they can play outdoor hockey in Las Vegas the can play in LA.

 

PTR

[SwampD]

Right, which is what drives me nuts. There are OTHER players on this ice besides these two guys helping to win games. Yes, they're all-stars, but holy cow, a little more focus on the games and a little less of the love fest mentality would be great. They make such a big deal out of these guys that they spend half the game talking about them and not calling a damn thing. "Oh and look at this play Sidney Crosby made on his last shift" as the game is going on in the background we get treated to a replay of Crosby stick checking a guy that takes up half the screen. Absurd.

 

I don't mind them touting their superstars. My problem is how much is ruins the watch-ability of the games they play in.

 

I'm here to watch hockey. Not hear about how Sidney Crosby "is an android! He's not human!" <_<

The only problem with this thinking is that we have the only other superstar in the sport on our team. If Miller wasn't on the Sabres do you think there was any way in heck that the first Winter Classic would have been in Buffalo. No way. And don't be surprised if we get another one in the next couple of years, well before some other team that deserves one gets it simply because of him.

 

You gotta be able to see the forest through the trees. We got it pretty good coverage wise. We just need more big wins.

[Stoner]

There is no player in any sport that I like THAT much.

 

And if Crosby was a Buffalo Sabre we wouldn't even be having this conversation. We'd be talking about how awesome our Stanley Cup is.

 

No, we'd be talking about how he got robbed by not being named a Selke finalist.

[bunomatic]

This is a little off topic but did come from Buttmans speech.Did anyone notice that Gary never shyed away from the coyotes relocation question and actually finally opened the door to winnipeg at some point in the future.He even stated that the potential buyers were patient and going about the process the way the league likes.

[OverPowerYou]

Three straight years the away team in the Winter Classic has reached the Stanley Cup Finals. Washington will be the 4th straight next year.

[Tyrannustyrannus]

And it's not just the NHL. I don't know if anyone has noticed yet, but Lebron James is a free agent. Then there's Brett Favre. But who gets it from baseball? I don't feel like Arod has gotten anywhere near as much of a push ever since the steroid thing.

 

don't even get me started on Lebron James and the City of New York. The Post already has had photoshopped pictures of him in a Knick's uniform on the front page...

[shrader]

don't even get me started on Lebron James and the City of New York. The Post already has had photoshopped pictures of him in a Knick's uniform on the front page...

 

I think ESPN has done the same for about half the teams in the league. Personally, I can't stand basketball, but that whole situation is pretty interesting. Has there every been a free agent of that level in any sport? Arod is the only one that comes to mind, but the structure of baseball pretty much limited that sweepstakes to 2 teams.

[carpandean]

Three straight years the away team in the Winter Classic has reached the Stanley Cup Finals. Washington will be the 4th straight next year.

But they're not built for the playoffs! ;)

[Two or less]

I'm usually too hungover to really care what the announcers are saying during the Winter Classic game so i don't care what type of love-fest it will be with Ovie and Sid. Nobody complains about the Ryan Miller love-fest. But, it's great for hockey. The ratings will be huge and people who never usually tune in, probably will tune in to see Crosby, Malkin and Ovechkin. I'm ok with that.

[Buffalo Fan]

The problem I see is that they left a lot of money on the table here. They should have gone for the "Neutral" site, and had the game at Beaver Stadium.

 

The NHL's two biggest stars, and 106,000 of their closest friends.

 

 

I do agree with this to an extent...it would be great to create new fans in other hockey areas, but Beaver stadium holds 115k or so. That's a lot of tickets!