[NHL] I went to a hockey game...

[DeltaOne81]

RichS wrote:

That said...GO HURRICANES!

Rich, Rich, Rich... we can agree to disagree on this Clarkson thing - but the Whore-i-canes? Look into their history a bit and I think you'll find it an absolutely I'm possible franchise to route for.

Personally, I can't truly route for the Avs, Coyotes, 'Canes, or Stars for that reason (yes, I know other teams have moved in the past, but not during my hockey-conscious lifetime). The Avs had the Bourque-factor last year, so that was an exception. I also hate back-to-back champs as a general rule, so the Avs are out, and the Wings I hate (long story) plus they won too recently.

Conclusion: Go Sens/Leafs! Plus you have the Canada connection there which is always a nice touch (I'm not Canadian, but it IS their game).

-Fred

[Stewart]

Everyone gets on a goalie when there are a lot of goals scored, but look at the number of totally unmarked guys there were banging in rebounds yesterday. It is totally unfair for a goalie to have to face that many rebound shots from close range. Goalies stop the first shot, defense is supposed to take care of the rebounds... failing that, take care of the other players to allow goalie to cover. Montreal did neither very well series, and it finally cost them.

[jtwcornell91]

melissa '01 wrote:

I think hockey should be played only in geographic regions capable of having snow come winter time.

Hey, it snowed in Louisiana this past winter!
http://lsuligo.phys.lsu.edu/LLO_Snow_l.mov

[dianne \'99]

Okay, time for me to chime in here.  Why has no one mentioned the Sharks?  Every other team in the playoffs has been brought up.  My money is on the Sharks to knock out the Avs.  After that, who knows.  I would love to see Detroit out of it (as I'm sure many would), but I can't see that happening easily.  I do think that any of the three remaining Western teams can beat whichever Eastern team emerges, as none of the Eastern teams really impress me.  

Regarding the statement about hockey, snow, and geography, while I agree to a point, I couldn't bear it if there were no hockey at all in CA!  It's bad enough that the nearest D-I college team is three states away.  There are enough eastern/midwestern transplants spread around the country to support hockey in warm climates -- I know I always will!

[melissa \'01]

have not mentioned the sharks purely out of fear. they have a good team and could very well go all the way - tho i think that detroit will be a tough team to supass for whomever wins the avs/sharks series.

i too believe that whichever team wins the west will win the cup - tho the east will no doubt make it difficult.

as for the snow thing - didn't mean to upset anyone or slight any team/organization. hockey is a great sport no matter where it is but just can't seem to find affection for teams located in warm climates. it's a personal and admittedly unjust bias. call me cold-hearted!  :-D

sorry couldn't resist.

[RichS]

agree 1000%...he was left defenseless by his teammates...both D men and forwards.  He had no chance on quite a few of the goals scored on him in the past 2-3 games.

[RichS]

Melissa,

I was in no way implying that you were bandwagoning or are fickle...

but I have spoken with a lot of marginal hockey fans...or people who say they are fans...who ask things like..."oh, who's on that team?" before they answer whether they'll be watching the game.  What marquis players does Carolina have?  No really recognizeable D men to the average fan...which I am not :-D and really only Francis, O'Neill, and Brind'amour among the forwards...and Kapannen who has been nearly invisible so far...and of course Cole, who is not a surprise to those who followed him in college.

Surely more people would have watched had the Devils won but tsk tsk...;-)

By the way, Irbe was very "hot" with the Sharks a few years back when he led them to a huge upset over Dtroit in the second round out west..he has always been streaky!

[RichS]

You can root against Karmanos all you want...no problem.  But I root for the players...:-D

[RichS]

Actually, isn't Lacrosse "their" game?

[RichS]

Fred,

What "Clarkson thing" are we disagreeing on?  Is Cole being from Clarkson another reason for you to root against Carolina?  Or am I missunderstanding you?

Hey, we all now Karmanos was a jerk...but the state of Conn and the Whaler fans allowed themselvesto be duped...

Their moving is ancient history to me, and as much as I dislike him, I root for the players...too much focus on the owners ruins the best part of being a fan.

How do you think I've managed to "ignore" Steinbrenner all these years? ::rolleyes::

GO OTTAWA....GO HURRICANES.....GO SHARKS...the Adam Graves factor! :-D

[Greg Berge]

I'll always* go for an Original Six team against an interloper, so I'm all for the Leafs tonight.

* excepting the Isles, of course.

[DeltaOne81]

Rich-

No, the "Clarkson" thing was merely the fact that you're a Clarkson fan :-)... and we can agree to disagree on that - it was meant in jest of course, perhaps I shoulda put a smiley --> ;-), there we go.

I'm not gonna get into Karmanos bashing - I don't want to put this board through that. If ya really wanna discuss it, email me, but I have a hunch we both think it's better left alone - if I really feel like it there's plenty of surviving Whalers web sites that'll endulge me there. :-D

You say the owner's make it less fun, I say hating jerks is fun... potato, potahto :-)). Seriously though, routing against people is almost as fun as routing for people. Maybe it's a little mean spirited, but no harm done, it's just sports.

And needless to say, I don't ignore Steinbrenner either ;-).

-Fred

[judy]

read an article recently talking about the fans Carolina has amassed and I think the ESPN guys brought up a good point. Carolina has an NBA team and an NHL team...which team is moving? the Hornets. But then, the fan base has built slowly and they're doing pretty well this year so don't quite know if it's a lot of bandwagon fans mixed in or not.

Anyways, yeah, it does feel wrong to see hockey played in an area generally not associated with hockey (the south) but I'm pretty damn close to it and I'm pretty thankful that DC has a hockey team (sucky as they were this year) and Hershey has a team (almost as sucky as the Caps this year) so I can see the game live without having to drive 5 hours.

[rhovorka]

but the state of Conn and the Whaler fans allowed themselves to be duped...

What an absolutely horrible thing to say.  How in the world could Whaler fans "allow themselves to be duped?"  Explain to me how the fans had any say in the matter whatsoever.  Karmano$ played some really dirty tricks to screw a terrific fan base in a (get this) place where hockey passions run high.  Only to move to a place where they still have to bring in NASCAR drivers to drop the ceremonial puck and pretend to drive the zamboni just to attempt to fill the joint during the regular season.

I'm firmly in the corner with Fred and Melissa on this (as well as Greg's original 6 comment).  Moving a team to the desert from places that live, eat, sleep, and breathe hockey is a sacrilege.  And I flat out refuse to cheer, support, or be happy for any success such a franchise has.

Of course, it all leads back to Gary effing Bettman, and it is the main reason I hate him so much.  He'll probably never feel the pain of a hockey town that loses a team it loves.

For the first time since the Buffalo-Dallas Finals, one of my favorite teams is meeting one of my most hated teams in the playoffs, and I will be rooting for Toronto fervently.

[Al DeFlorio]

And...besides all that, the Leafs president is a Cornell hockey icon.