2012 Stanely Cup

[HarveyWallbangers]

Either team winning is all right by me, but I kinda hope it goes to game 7. Two big metro areas in a game 7, the ratings might almost be as high as a cooking show rerun.
Why is it most americans don't care about hockey? Its fast action with high intensity. Who doesn't like that?

Plenty of people in the USA love hockey, but it's hard for people living in warmer climates to relate to it. But there are places in the USA (Minnesota, North Dakota, greater Michigan, Massachusetts) where hockey is extremely popular. Surfing is probably a lot of fun to watch, but most of us can't relate to surfing.

[pbmax]

They all (well, all that aren't from Minnesota) whine about not being able to see the little black puck. Attention deficit disorder, if they lose track of it for a second or two, they change the channel!

Plus, as Eddie Murphy pointed out, black guys are not interested in anything that involves white guys with masks and sticks

Speaking of which, while some of Fox's innovations were downright annoying, like the vapor trail, the glow puck was fantastic. It let you follow the puck along the near boards where you normally can't see what is happening except for watching where their heads are turned. HD is great, but it would be better with the glow puck.

Badgers and Flyers fan. Harv and the Fighting Sue can get stuffed and so can the Devils.

Long live Tim Kerr and Paul Ranheim.

[Upnorth]

So game 6 in LA. One more win to set up a great game seven. I hope NJ wins tomorrow so it can happen. For one game only go Devils.

[Guiness]

Seriously PB? That black puck on the white ice was too hard to follow?

[Patler]

I hated the glow puck. The action tells you where the puck is, even if you can't see it. It is no more difficult to see than a baseball is at times. The difference is that most Americans understand baseball enough that if they lose sight of the ball it doesn't bother them, because they still understand what is going on and can quickly pick it up again. Most Americans don't understand hockey, so they panic if they can't see the puck.

[Joemailman]

I hated the glow puck. The action tells you where the puck is, even if you can't see it. It is no more difficult to see than a baseball is at times. The difference is that most Americans understand baseball enough that if they lose sight of the ball it doesn't bother them, because they still understand what is going on and can quickly pick it up again. Most Americans don't understand hockey, so they panic if they can't see the puck.

I was a Chicago Blackhawks season ticket holder for several years in the mid-late 1980's. Going to that many games made it much easier to watch games on tv. You just get a sense of where the puck is based on the way players are reacting. I also think the flat screen high-def tv's have made hockey viewing a lot better than it used to be.

[pbmax]

Seriously PB? That black puck on the white ice was too hard to follow?

I hated the glow puck. The action tells you where the puck is, even if you can't see it. It is no more difficult to see than a baseball is at times. The difference is that most Americans understand baseball enough that if they lose sight of the ball it doesn't bother them, because they still understand what is going on and can quickly pick it up again. Most Americans don't understand hockey, so they panic if they can't see the puck.

I know where the puck is by the action, but not being able to see it is distracting. Not paradigm-shifting or rage inducing, but distracting. And its far more difficult to see than a baseball. There are cases in each ballpark where a baseball cannot be seen (some foul territories and teams that grow ivy on the outfield wall) but in the normal course of game play, its not obscured by a wall running the length of the field.

For the puck, its only a real problem on the near boards, where the puck is obscured by the wall (why they don't switch to an opposite field view is beyond me) and in the crease.

And the ice is clear, not white, which of course leaves room for ads. And those ads aren't white.

The glow puck or clear boards would help. Or a director with enough stones to show opposite rinkside cameras when the puck is being mucked around the near boards at the blue line by four players.

[Patler]

I know where the puck is by the action, but not being able to see it is distracting. Not paradigm-shifting or rage inducing, but distracting. And its far more difficult to see than a baseball. There are cases in each ballpark where a baseball cannot be seen (some foul territories and teams that grow ivy on the outfield wall) but in the normal course of game play, its not obscured by a wall running the length of the field.

For the puck, its only a real problem on the near boards, where the puck is obscured by the wall (why they don't switch to an opposite field view is beyond me) and in the crease.

And the ice is clear, not white, which of course leaves room for ads. And those ads aren't white.

The glow puck or clear boards would help. Or a director with enough stones to show opposite rinkside cameras when the puck is being mucked around the near boards at the blue line by four players.

I hate clear boards too, at the few rinks I have seen them. It really doesn't help seeing the puck that well anyway.

In most rinks the ice is not clear, either; because as it ages it cracks, and resurfacing tends to layer the ice rather than reform it. That's why it becomes mostly a milky color, and the bright ads become muted as the season wears on. Not necessarily a problem for NHL and many NCAA rinks, where the ice is often taken out and put back in frequently, and only hot deionized water is used for resurfacing. But the ice is always put in over a colored background, usually white rink paper or paint. Some have on occasion used colored backgrounds. (I have helped put in and paint many ice sheets over the years.)

As for using opposite side views, that was tried briefly, too; at about the same time as the glow puck. As quickly as the puck changes sides, switching views was more distracting than helpful, confusing even the most knowledgeable as to which team was going which way. It had a very short trial.

I can't ever remember even the slightest concern or distraction about not seeing the puck. The general indication of the glow puck was no more informative than what I knew anyway, that the puck was along the boards, or in the crease. Besides, the glow puck was often a bit behind the actual location anyway. I was thankful when that experiment ended.

[Cheesehead Craig]

I think it was the WSJ who said this weekend was the worst sports weekend of the year.

The Pacquio fight controversy
I'll Have Another being scratched from the Belmont
The NHL Playoffs still going on

[Guiness]

Seriously PB? That black puck on the white ice was too hard to follow?

Um, what's up with this post? I didn't make it.

[Upnorth]

So Kings in 6. Looks like some happy NJ haters on this forum. Also good to see a new young team in a major center get a cup. If San JOse can develop a rivalry with them, maybe rating in the area will go up.

Also Based off your post above Guiness, you should get that concussion looked into.

[MadtownPacker]

So Kings in 6. Looks like some happy NJ haters on this forum. Also good to see a new young team in a major center get a cup. If San JOse can develop a rivalry with them, maybe rating in the area will go up.

Also Based off your post above Guiness, you should get that concussion looked into.

No one except maybe people in LA and San Jose care about hockey in Cali.

[pbmax]

No one except maybe people in LA and San Jose care about hockey in Cali.

Isn't the old joke that 5 million Canadians have moved to California to get away from hockey?

[Guiness]

So Kings in 6. Looks like some happy NJ haters on this forum. Also good to see a new young team in a major center get a cup. If San JOse can develop a rivalry with them, maybe rating in the area will go up.

Also Based off your post above Guiness, you should get that concussion looked into.

Ha ha. Thanks, lol

Turns out the post was somewhat legit. Someone at my house decided to take out her frustration over being a Canadians fan by poking fun at pb!

[Cheesehead Craig]

About time that hockey mecca that is LA got a title.