?

Now that the Winter Classic has been cancelled, a question: Is the NHL, and I mean the league and players together, actually suicidal? After the last work stoppage the NHL was booted from ESPN, which now seems to go out of its way to ignore hockey altogether, and returned to being mostly a regional sport (Upper Midwest and Northeast) after making national gains. I'm not sure the league can afford to lose another season. Sure, people in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, and Alaska will come back, but will anyone else care? If they can't figure it out real soon they might as well stop bargaining because there will be nothing left to save.

USA! USA! USA!

Ryan Miller received more applause last night than Sidney Crosby before the Sabres and Penguins dropped the puck. They were in Pittsburgh. Miller is introduce around 1:20, Crosby at 2:25.



So, just to be clear, the visiting goalie got a better response the the home team's star player. (Via John J. Miller at The Corner)

Double-header at the Big House?

Puck Daddy, in a post discussing potential future locations (30 of them), mentioned playing the game at Michigan Stadium and even making it a double-header with UM and MSU playing Cold War II as well. While I would have a hard time forcing myself to buy a ticket to an event in Ann Arbor, I think that might just be enough to get me to do it. Then I'd regret it later when I froze to death at the Big House, but it still might be worthwhile.

Hall of Famer

Steve Yzerman selected to the Hockey Hall of Fame today, along with former teammates Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille. There's not much to write about the Captain that hasn't already been written, so I'll just link to one of my last posts on him. So, the only question left is whether Steve Yzerman is the greatest all-time Detroit sports hero, or is there someone (Gordie Howe? Joe Louis?) who would rank ahead of him?

Best & Worst

According to SI, Detroit has one of the best owners in sports (Mike Ilitch, #1 in the NHL) and one of the worst (William Clay Ford, second worst in the NFL).

Hockey at Wrigley

Happy New Year. Are you ready for some hockey?

What you need to know...

...about Lord Stanley's Cup, courtesy of the Detroit News. A sample of the interesting facts:

- The first US team to win the Cup was the Seattle Metropolitans.
- Scotty Bowman's name appears on the Cup 9 times, more than any other coach.
- It takes 13 years to fill the ring of the Stanley Cup.

Observation

NBC hockey commentators < Mickey Redmond.

5 Pints

That's how much blood Richard Zednik lost after a freak accident where a teammate's skate cut his carotid artery. This happened back on the 11th, he's now been discharged from Buffalo General Hospital where he received life-saving surgery. You've probably seen the video by now, but I'm not going to post it because I had to turn away from the TV when they showed it on PTI the other day. The crowd's reaction in the photo in this article tells you all you need to know. I think most of the time we forget just how dangerous sports, especially hockey, can be. This was quite a reminder.

#1 Penguin

As expected, the Pittsburgh Penguins made Sidney Crosby the first pick in the NHL Draft. Crosby, who turns 18 next week, only has a little pressure, as he is being compared to Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux and is expected to by the saviour of hockey. Think Lebron James, minus all the Nike money. Good luck, kid.

Thawed Out

So, 301 days later, the NHL has returned. This is good news. I can't say I really missed hockey all that much, but I did miss having the Red Wings on TV from time to time, especially around playoff time. Hockey was needed to balance the awful NBA. The big question is: Can the NHL redeem itself? The lockout has done major damage. For example, ESPN found that programming that replaced hockey, like more college basketball, actually got better ratings. Are they going to be quick to switch back over? Lots of fans will have left, can rule changes and possible ticket price cuts bring them back? Detroit will do fine, but what about Columbus or Phoenix?

The Red Wings will look very different too. First, they have a new coach, Mike Babcock, formerly of the Ducks. Second, the new salary cap is sure to affect the roster, which would have had a $60 million payroll if the season hadn't been cancelled. There are contract rollbacks, but we're sure to see a younger Wings team missing some old favorites. Discussion about that here.

Some final thoughts. The new league should be more competitive with a salary cap. However 20 of 30 teams making the playoffs is ridiculous. That's 66% of the teams in the league. That works fine in a fantasy league, but in real sports it's going to lead to a devalued regular season and some very unworthy teams making the playoffs. Finally, I'm all in favor of a competitive league, it's done wonders for the NHL, but lets not forget what started this whole thing: The Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup. This produced a hockey apocalypse. Hopefully, things can now be set right.

$3.5 Billion

That's how much a sports advisory company and an investment firm jointly offered to buy all 30 NHL franchises. Apparently, they believe that single ownership of the league would improve competition dramatically. The purchase doesn't depend on the league making a deal with the Player's Association. You can read about it here. Personally, I don't see this happening. Some small market owners might jump at the chance to get out, but would Mike Ilitch? I don't think so.