NHL's Popularity Rising

I've been a constant promoter of the game of hockey since I was a kid. I love it and think everyone else should, too. I understand the limitations in playing the sport (not enough rinks, expensive, harder to play) and understand the problems with the TV version of the sport, but still think that anyone who attends a hockey game live will absolutely love it.

The NHL lockout in 2004 killed the rise of the NHL and took it off the nation's leading sports network, ESPN. That was a dagger to a sport that was one of the fastest-growing sports in the 90s and had some of the best players of all-time still lacing up the skates. The lockout turned off many fans because a whole season was lost and fans found other interests.

Coming back from the lockout would be a long journey back to respectability. The NHL was mocked, laughed at, and the butt of many jokes by ESPN and was forced to accept a TV deal with the Outdoor Life Network, which was known more for its hunting and fishing shows than anything remotely close to mainstream sports. Well, 4 years later, with a new name (Versus), an HD channel, and expanded programming (college football, UFC, college basketball, "The Sports Soup"), the network is now looking like a respectable sports network. The NHL helped the channel improve and eventually forced VS to create an HD channel, which greatly helps the NHL's popularity on TV, because HD helps no sport more than hockey.

The problem is, 1/3 of the nation does not get VS. It is a Comcast-owned network that can't be found on many cable packages. Compared to ESPN, VS is nothing. That said, while ESPN's quality of programming is decreasing - from more New England Sports coverage to laughing at players during interviews - VS's is improving. The NHL coverage is solid. It is generally unbiased (except for playing the same teams over and over again) analyst-wise (there are exceptions) and it is improving with every broadcast.

With the improving broadcast is an improving product. The days of the trap and boring 1-0 games are gone. Instead, exciting young superstars have emerged and promoted the game to a whole new level. There are intense rivalries developing and the constrasts between superstars creates a great balance: Sidney Crosby is a clean-cut, says all the right things, a leader while Alex Ovechkin looks like a caveman, can barely speak proper english, and is not afraid to speak his mind. Luckily, the two players happen to play on two teams that have had tons of postseason play against one another and in which there is a distinct rivalry between the two teams and, more importanty, the two cities. Hockey fans saw this coming a mile away when the two players began playing their rookie year; they finished 1-2 in Calder Trophy voting with Ovechkin beating out Crosby, who was everyone's lock pick to win the award. Caps fans feel that Ovechkin was disrespected by the media and the NHL early on and is just now getting the coverage and praise that he deserves. It is a gold mine for the NHL and creates one of the best rivalries in sports.

And the rest of the nation is taking notice. Not only has each game been a top story on ESPN, the ratings on VS are skyrocketing. They are still less than the NBA, but when you consider than hockey is still very much regional (certain cities love it, others don't know it exists) in the United States and a huge chunk of the viewing population does not get VS, the ratings are great. The best part is that they are improving and are now at pre-lockout, ESPN days. It is great exposure for the game and the fact that each and every game has been down to the wire makes it even better.

Still, as good as the games have been and as good of coverage as Versus has done, the NHL would be better served to find a way back on ESPN in the coming years. The only thing that would change that would be if VS found its way into every cable TV set in the United States. Then, I would think the NHL would be better served to stay on it because of the coverage that VS gives and the fact that NHL is the premier broadcast on the station. ESPN gives the NHL more national exposure and would be played in many more homes than VS. Also, ESPN would be able to play commercials for the NHL, create a nightly highlight/wrapup show, hire more NHL analysts (Barry Melrose and Matthew Barnaby are great, but it's just TWO guys!), but more importantly it would stop the endless stream of unproffesionalism from the Sportscenter personalities who have laughed at or mocked the NHL the last four years. Oh, and ESPN has 2 HD broadcast channels, and, like I've said, HD hockey is the best HD sport around - and it isn't even a contest.

That may only be a pipedream, but right now, the reality is that the NHL's popularity is continualy rising and should be passed pre-lockout days in the next 1-2 years. The main reason for it? Cities such as Washington, D.C., and Chicago finally fielding exciting, competitive teams. They are two top-ten markets that could not draw well for years. That has changed and both cities should be able to draw well for the next decade. Add in the fact that some small-market, struggling teams could move to cities like Hartford, Winnipeg, Kansas City, or Las Vegas (all of which could and will support a team to the point where 16-17,000 are coming a night), and you've got a league that is becoming more and more popular nation-wide. It helps that the NBA's product is decreasing - the officiating is a joke (worse than the NHL), there is little to no parity, and many players are accused of being prima donnas and playing lazy. The NHL already draws better than the NBA (helped by Canada's constant sell-outs), so it's just a matter of translating that onto the television. This year's NHL playoffs has been one of the best in recent memory; there have been countless great games and all but 2 series so far have been fantastic. And so far, people are beginning to tune in, whether it's because the product is better, they want to see the superstars, or they are bandwagon fans, it doesn't matter. More viewers is more hockey fans, and more hockey fans means more parents getting their children into hockey, which means more youth teams, which means more rinks, which means more generations of hockey families.

And that is ALWAYS good for the NHL.

Really Manny? Really?

I'm going to keep this short, because, frankly, there's not much information out about it yet. All we know so far is that Manny Ramirez (pictured left after hitting his 500th home run) has been suspended for 50 games by MLB for violating the league's drug policy. In a recently released statement from Ramirez, he claims that the drug in question was prescribed to him by a doctor for a personal health issue. Although not a steroid, the drug was banned by Major League Baseball.

This makes me sad. I had a post a while back about how bad A-Rod's steroid use was for the game of baseball. This is just another blow. It may end up being just the one isolated incident, taking the wrong drug for the right reasons, and maybe that will blow over. But do you actually have any faith that that's what it is? In any case, his name is no longer clean. Which great hitters in baseball still are? Albert Pujols? Ryan Howard? I guess there are still a good handful, but it's just sad to see one of the great hitters in baseball history veer off the straight and narrow. 

Don't get me wrong. I think Manny is a goon. I definitely don't think he's a saint, and I think that what he did with Boston last year was just plain wrong. I'm just saying for the game in general, it hurts. 

(Photo Credit: www.babble.com)

The Case for the NBA Playoffs

Yesterday, I posted about how, during the month of May, the only sport leagues really available to you are the NHL and the NBA, both of which conveniently are the middle of their playoffs. The NFL draft is over, college football spring games are done, and there's only so much you can do with college basketball recruiting. So, you're left with a choice. Which one do I follow? In all likelihood, neither is your primary league of interest. I made the case for the NHL yesterday; today, it's the NBA's turn. Keep in mind, these are for the casual fan.

1. It's much more relatable. Everyone's played a game of pickup basketball in their life, even if the last time it happened was in middle school. Everyone knows the silent satisfaction you get from making a jump shot that's slightly out of your range, and the frustration and embarrassment that comes with missing a layup. So that makes it all the more awe-inspiring when you see Ray Allen curl off a screen and hurl up a three pointer that magically finds it way into the basket, or when you see a guy only a few inches taller than yourself drive through the lane for a thunderous dunk. I'm about six feet tall and I can barely grab rim on a nine inch rim for crying out loud. Maybe that's just me, though. 

But anyway, the fact of the matter is you know how hard it is to play basketball. Odds are, you don't know how hard it is to play hockey. Once again, making generalizations here, but I feel like this is a good one. To me, a Lebron James slam makes me say "I want to do that" more than an Ovechkin wrist shot. 

2. True star power in every game. So you know Ovechkin and Crosby. The other hockey players still in the playoffs that are household names? Maybe Malkin. Maybe Cam Ward. Maybe Chris Pronger. Maybe Pavel Datsyuk, and that's a real reach. I'm sorry, but that's not too much. I counter those six with LeBron James, Kobe Bryant (pictured, right), Dwight Howard, Yao Ming, Carmelo Anthony and Dirk Nowitzki. Now those are household names. Those are players with personalities that are as tall as they are. Dwight Howard may actually believe he's Superman. None of them (um ... replace Carmelo Anthony with Chauncey Billups) are punks, either. They're good, fun players to watch who are good ambassadors of the game. And I haven't even talked about their level of play. 

3. A Cavs-Lakers final will go down as one of the best in history. I guarantee that. The first round games? With the exception of the Garnett-less Celtics and the Bulls, they were kind of boring. The second round games? Well, Houston has already shown they're going to go down with a fight, but I don't know if Boston, Atlanta and Dallas will do the same. The semifinals? They'll be fun. Howard keeping LeBron out of the paint, the Nuggets going deep to try to outrun the Lakers, that will be some good basketball. That being said, nothing's going to compare to the inevitable Cleveland-Los Angeles finals. You're going to see two of the top 10 players in the history of the NBA squaring off. It's going to be amazing to watch. Unlike the NHL, whose best matchup is happening right now in the quarterfinals, the NBA's best matchup will happen on the biggest stage.

4. Charles Barkley is the primary NBA analyst. And I don't even like Barkley. But come on. Whenever the guy opens his mouth, something absurd is going to come out of it. That's entertainment value. 

(Photo Credit: AP)

In the "No One is Surprised" Department....

ESPN is reporting that Brett Favre is going to be meeting with Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress about un-retiring and playing for the Vikings.

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

I honestly am beginning to believe that there will never be an offseason that does not have Brett Favre controversy.

Interview with Terrence Ross

If you have a Scout.com membership, check out the story on 4-star recruit and Maryland commitment Terrence Ross here.

Here's a short preview:

Ross said the biggest reasons for his commitments were, "the crowd, the arena, and the coaching staff."

"Coach Williams said that I could make a major impact as a freshman, and I could start if I really worked hard and really play my first year."

Also check out some highlights here.

The Case for the NHL Playoffs

It's that time of year in the sporting world. The NFL Draft is over. College football spring games are over. Teams that will be in the playoffs at the end of the year are off to slow starts in MLB - plus, you know you have the entire summer to watch baseball. This leaves you with the NBA and NHL playoffs. As a sports fan, you're obligated to watch some, but, like the majority of sports fans, you don't know that much about either. I'll tell you what merit the NHL playoffs provide the casual viewer (like myself) today, and then do a follow-up about the NBA sometime soon. 

1. There's no time like the present. After the 04-05 season was canceled by a lockout, the NHL has been searching for a new identity. It found it in the first true superstars in the game since Gretzky, and yes I mean that. There have been great players since the Great One retired, but none more accessible than Penguins center Sidney Crosby (pictured, left) and Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin (also pictured left). Conveniently, both are engaged against each other in their conference quarterfinals right now, with Ovechkin's Caps up 2-0. Even more conveniently, both had hat tricks (that's three goals in the same game for those of you completely uneducated in the sport) in a thrilling game two last night. Watch one of their games, and you will come to love one and hate the other. New fans generally lean toward loving Ovie. 

2. The games are a lot closer. Of course, when both teams combine to score about seven goals per game, the score is likely to be a lot closer than when teams combine to score almost 200 points per game, like the NBA. Games can be dominated by one team in terms of time of possession, but not in the scoreboard. Breakaways and goalies in hockey are the great equalizers. No matter how poorly your team is playing, if your goalie is playing lights out, you're going to be in that game by the end. If you get lucky and make a quick substitution, or get a guy out of the penalty box at the right time, you can get a breakaway, too, which gives you a better scoring chance than any offensive set ever could.

3. Hockey players and fans care. Most hockey players are either from Canada or Europe. Well, I don't know about most, but a significant number are. I love America as much as the next guy, but the average immigrant to the U.S. works harder than the average U.S. born guy. I'm sorry, there are obvious exceptions, but this is a blog and you're reading mine. It shows with hockey. These eastern Europeans don't care about star power. They care about hone thing: hockey. The average NBA player just lacks the general insanity that the average NHL player has. Players constantly crashing into the boards, sticks flying everywhere, goalies sprawled out in every which direction (see picture of Capitals' Varlamov, right), the passion for the game is evident. And, hockey crowds are awesome. The sport is deprived of money, so ticket prices (especially those in the playoffs) aren't cheap. People paid good money to get there, and the places are packed. When a home team player scores, you can barely hear the announcers. 

4. Hockey in HD looks better than anything else in HD. Well, maybe Planet Earth has it beat. But that's it. I'm serious. You have to see it. 

(Photo Credits: AP)

Save of the year

Epic.