All-Star game's starting line up announced
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getzlaf15
- Hall of Fame
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- Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 9:33 pm
- Custom Rank: TBL Update Team
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Hypnotist
- Checking Line
- Posts: 558
- Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2007 2:35 pm
- Location: NW Ohio
Neids - Great Player -- Bad All-Star Selection
He's got 11 pts in 19 games!!! Rafalski only has 43 in 51
Just finished watching the Skills Competition. All I can say is that it isn't surprising that the NHL US TV ratings are abyssmal. The commentators didn't know what was going on, the timers on the fastest "Skater" (i.e. Accelerator) weren't working correctly and the "new" events were horrible replacements for the old events. The only things that didn't make me want to cry were the things that they didn't "improve". Here is my list of rants.
1. Obstacle Course Relay - What was wrong with the old skills relay? The old relay had each player running the full course. They broke it up into minute segments that even ECHL level talent could do in their sleep. The puck-weave section?
Please. You are not in the NHL if you couldn't do that . Malkin was the only one who had any problems and the puck jumped on him.
2. Fastest Skater - Should have been renamed "Quickest Skater" and I wouldn't have had as big a problem with it. What was unexciting about watching NHLers do a ciruit at top speed?
Took all of the skating skill out of this event and made it a flat sprint.
3. Elimination Shootout - Not terrible, but I much prefered the 2-on-Goalie Breakaway challenge. The inevitable happened where they had 3 players from 1 conference and 1 from the other.
4. Young Stars Game - Thinly veiled advertisement for the NHL forcing a second 5 minute overtime 3-on-3 down our throats in the near future. LOOK, LOOK AT ALL THE GOALS BEING SCORED!!! If it is implemented, you will NEVER see all three players below the dots in the offensive zone. Plus the veteran goalies were less concerned with making good saves as they were about not blowing a groin or such. On top of that, if it were an OT period, there would only be 1 goal scored. Hopefully the league will see the only way to make the regular seasons more exciting and break the trap that is still prevalent is to tie league standings to goal scoring or goal differential. Coaches get paid to WIN GAMES. Period. A 2-1 win is worth the same as a 7-4 win. You want more goal scoring, get rid of the 2-0-1 points system and rank teams by goals scored. Too radical? How's about goal differential then? A 2-1 win would be worth 1 point a 7-4 win would be worth 3. Has there ever been a coach with a winning season record fired simply because they weren't outscoring the opposition by a big enough margin? Makes more sense to me than making the nets bigger.
5. Accuracy Shooting - Minor tweaks, not enough to be an issue.
6. Hardest Shot - No tweaks that I noticed, but then again how much tweaking could be done to something as straight forward as blasting the puck as hard as you can? (Note to NHL Staff & Officials...That was a retorical question...Do not try to answer it)
7. Breakaway Challenge - This was a serviceable idea that got buggered. Doing a competition like this with goalies in net was like watching a MLB Home Run Derby where the pitchers were throwing curveballs, sliders and changeups or a NBA Slam Dunk Competition with Yao Ming in the paint. Here a tip, pull the goalie, put in a target like the one for the slapshot part of the Obstacle Course (about 3'x3') and only give "Style" points if they hit the target.
I was on the fence about Bettman, even through the lock-out. Now that I am seeing what he and his ilk are doing to this great game, he needs to go...badly. Is Canada accepting Permanent Resident Visa applications? It is getting to be too painful to be a hockey fan living in the US.
He's got 11 pts in 19 games!!! Rafalski only has 43 in 51
Just finished watching the Skills Competition. All I can say is that it isn't surprising that the NHL US TV ratings are abyssmal. The commentators didn't know what was going on, the timers on the fastest "Skater" (i.e. Accelerator) weren't working correctly and the "new" events were horrible replacements for the old events. The only things that didn't make me want to cry were the things that they didn't "improve". Here is my list of rants.
1. Obstacle Course Relay - What was wrong with the old skills relay? The old relay had each player running the full course. They broke it up into minute segments that even ECHL level talent could do in their sleep. The puck-weave section?
Please. You are not in the NHL if you couldn't do that . Malkin was the only one who had any problems and the puck jumped on him.2. Fastest Skater - Should have been renamed "Quickest Skater" and I wouldn't have had as big a problem with it. What was unexciting about watching NHLers do a ciruit at top speed?
Took all of the skating skill out of this event and made it a flat sprint.3. Elimination Shootout - Not terrible, but I much prefered the 2-on-Goalie Breakaway challenge. The inevitable happened where they had 3 players from 1 conference and 1 from the other.
4. Young Stars Game - Thinly veiled advertisement for the NHL forcing a second 5 minute overtime 3-on-3 down our throats in the near future. LOOK, LOOK AT ALL THE GOALS BEING SCORED!!! If it is implemented, you will NEVER see all three players below the dots in the offensive zone. Plus the veteran goalies were less concerned with making good saves as they were about not blowing a groin or such. On top of that, if it were an OT period, there would only be 1 goal scored. Hopefully the league will see the only way to make the regular seasons more exciting and break the trap that is still prevalent is to tie league standings to goal scoring or goal differential. Coaches get paid to WIN GAMES. Period. A 2-1 win is worth the same as a 7-4 win. You want more goal scoring, get rid of the 2-0-1 points system and rank teams by goals scored. Too radical? How's about goal differential then? A 2-1 win would be worth 1 point a 7-4 win would be worth 3. Has there ever been a coach with a winning season record fired simply because they weren't outscoring the opposition by a big enough margin? Makes more sense to me than making the nets bigger.
5. Accuracy Shooting - Minor tweaks, not enough to be an issue.
6. Hardest Shot - No tweaks that I noticed, but then again how much tweaking could be done to something as straight forward as blasting the puck as hard as you can? (Note to NHL Staff & Officials...That was a retorical question...Do not try to answer it)
7. Breakaway Challenge - This was a serviceable idea that got buggered. Doing a competition like this with goalies in net was like watching a MLB Home Run Derby where the pitchers were throwing curveballs, sliders and changeups or a NBA Slam Dunk Competition with Yao Ming in the paint. Here a tip, pull the goalie, put in a target like the one for the slapshot part of the Obstacle Course (about 3'x3') and only give "Style" points if they hit the target.
I was on the fence about Bettman, even through the lock-out. Now that I am seeing what he and his ilk are doing to this great game, he needs to go...badly. Is Canada accepting Permanent Resident Visa applications? It is getting to be too painful to be a hockey fan living in the US.
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Coyote of the Sea
- Minor League
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Shadd666
- Super Mario
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- Location: Toulouse (France)
I missed the first "skill" competition, but the others terribly annoyed me. So i can't comment on the first (non-)event, but i totally double Hypnotist on the others. It was so boring that i had no difficulty to sleep after that (it endeed around 3am in France...).
I doubt the All-Star Game of tonight will be more entertaining. Will watch it though. But really because i'll have nothing else to do...
I doubt the All-Star Game of tonight will be more entertaining. Will watch it though. But really because i'll have nothing else to do...