Winter Classic a Terrible Event

[chi777]

Why not play the All Star game outside instead of inside. And the winner gets home ice in the cup finals, similar to baseball.

Because the all-star game is still going to suck. Contriving little ways to make it relevant or meaningful isn't going to help it. Why take away the accomplishment for being the best team in the regular season just to try and make a boring game slightly meaningful. It's dreadful and a complete failure at promoting what's best about NHL hockey.

The Winter Classic game, on the other hand, is an unmitigated success. You can't argue with the ratings. The NHL should move the skills comp to that afternoon to help draw more viewers from markets not participating directly in the the event. The NHL should be working on ways to enhance the stature of the WC and stop wasting time with the archaic all-star game.

 

[edog37]

Why not play the All Star game outside instead of inside. And the winner gets home ice in the cup finals, similar to baseball.

you really want to take an idiotic idea from baseball.....

 

[Tom ServoMST3K]

What they need to do is drop the stupid All-star game entirely for the Winter Classic. The All-star game is truly horrible product. Players who don't care lazily skating around, stupid fan voting, no defense, no hitting, and no fun to watch. The Winter Classic is at the very least a competitive game between two competitive teams that are usually considered Cup contenders with a couple of stars each.

They should dump the All-star game completely, move the skills competition to the afternoon of the Winter Classic, and then play the Winter Classic game at night. Players on the either of the two teams have the option to skip the skills comp if they want.

My Plan:

1. Alumni game at 1pm
2. Skills comp at 3pm
3. Profit
4. Winter Classic game 7pm

Was I the only one dissapointed in the alumni game this year only 10 000 fans? really for super Mario? At least have it at a venue where 10 000 fans don't look like 20

 

[Oilslick941611]

FYI temperatures in Toronto on New Year's Day were 6 C.

Unless the NHL takes an active, progressive role in mitigating Global Climate Change (as if) it is likely this kind of freak seasonal weather will happen again, no matter where they schedule the game.

and it rained in Ottawa on the 29th and the 30th of December and by new years there was no snow on the ground.

 

[LadyStanley]

Was I the only one dissapointed in the alumni game this year only 10 000 fans? really for super Mario? At least have it at a venue where 10 000 fans don't look like 20

That's all the tickets they sold. (Probably could have sold more)

It was a "late" addition to the schedule.

 

[Tom ServoMST3K]

That's all the tickets they sold. (Probably could have sold more)

It was a "late" addition to the schedule.

sad really In the 1st HC I cared more about seeing the old timers game with gretzky then the actual game

i believe it was a 5-5 tie and Mario had 2 points

 

[saskganesh]

and it rained in Ottawa on the 29th and the 30th of December and by new years there was no snow on the ground.

I think Minnesota will get their game sooner than later.

 

[Tommy Hawk]

Because the all-star game is still going to suck. Contriving little ways to make it relevant or meaningful isn't going to help it. Why take away the accomplishment for being the best team in the regular season just to try and make a boring game slightly meaningful. It's dreadful and a complete failure at promoting what's best about NHL hockey.

The Winter Classic game, on the other hand, is an unmitigated success. You can't argue with the ratings. The NHL should move the skills comp to that afternoon to help draw more viewers from markets not participating directly in the the event. The NHL should be working on ways to enhance the stature of the WC and stop wasting time with the archaic all-star game.

First of all, because the league has an unbalanced schedule, having the most points doesn't mean you were the best team, just the best team in your conference. When they start playing a balanced schedule, then you can make the claim the team with the most points was the best team in the regular season for the league.

you really want to take an idiotic idea from baseball.....

I didn't say get rid of the cap and have a luxury tax, I am using one of their better ideas.

 

[rgb63]

+27 and +35 are both brutal, and are both utterly ridiculous temperatures if people are talking about holding a hockey game. Yes, yes, I know..."grow" the sport to new fans, blah blah blah. Nothing will change the fact that something is off about a temperature near the +30 zone (i.e. extreme summer heat) during a hockey game in what is supposed to be "winter".

Lol "extreme summer heat." +30 is pretty normal during the summer for pretty much anywhere the NHL is in the US.

 

[Ignoramus*]

FYI temperatures in Toronto on New Year's Day were 6 C.

Unless the NHL takes an active, progressive role in mitigating Global Climate Change (as if) it is likely this kind of freak seasonal weather will happen again, no matter where they schedule the game.

Is this some kind of joke? This has been one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record. In fact, environmentalists have blamed the coldness on "global climate change" - the warming causes the cooling according to these goofs.

Expect many more freezing cold nights this winter (like tonight) and expect many more freezing cold winters in the coming decade.

 

[Ignoramus*]

I totally agree with the original poster. These outdoor games deep in the US at this time of year are a joke.QUOTE]

Pittsburgh is deep in the US? I guess Buffalo and New York are too then.

 

[Dado]

I personally had zero interest in watching it so I didnt
I didnt even watch the highlights

Yeah, that sums it up for me, too. Didn't care about the game, watched very little of it, didn't bother catching up on what I missed.

But if it was interesting for others, cool, no skin off my back.

 

[Jeffrey93]

I totally agree with the original poster. These outdoor games deep in the US at this time of year are a joke.

Pittsburgh is deep in the US? I guess Buffalo and New York are too then.

I thought that when I read it too. I think a geography lesson is in order.

IMAGE REMOVED - COPYWRITE VIOLATION

Also note Scranton to the East-North-East of Pittsburgh. That is where Dunder Mifflin is!

Ahhh....learning is so great!

 

[Jeffrey93]

Is this some kind of joke? This has been one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record. In fact, environmentalists have blamed the coldness on "global climate change" - the warming causes the cooling according to these goofs.

Expect many more freezing cold nights this winter (like tonight) and expect many more freezing cold winters in the coming decade.

The entire Globe warming will cause more snow and cold in certain regions. The warming impacts the ocean currents....which usually carry warmer air to certain areas....because of Global Warming (in theory) these currents are altered and therefore certain areas get colder than normal.

Not sure I buy the whole theory....an interesting fact though.....during the days after 9/11 when all planes over North America were grounded the average temperature on this continent dropped by 2ºF a day. That means it was 4ºF cooler after 2 days of no air travel. Maybe if the US didn't allow the bin Ladens to jump on their plane and get out of the country after meeting with Bush Sr....it would have been 2.1ºF a day.

So are cars to blame for Global Warming? Industry? Nah....if Global Warming exists it is because of the gas guzzling heat/pollution puking planes!! Or not....this guy doesn't really care.

ANYWAY.....these Winter Classics will always be threatened by warm spells going through the region, regardless of where they are held. Unless it is up near the Territories....

 

[Tom ServoMST3K]

Yeah, that sums it up for me, too. Didn't care about the game, watched very little of it, didn't bother catching up on what I missed.

But if it was interesting for others, cool, no skin off my back.

I thought the old timers game was cool i watched the highlights of that but I don't like ovi or crosby so this game gave me zero interest

 

[Hockey Team]

Wow. Professionals playing on crappy ice is such a concern. Cuz you know, kids don't play on even crappier ice on ponds and what not.

If a game in a rink with some slush on it is going to cause injuries to professional players then they suck. Players made adjustments to how their skates are sharpened and what not. They ADAPT to the conditions. You realize there's 30 different NHL rinks and they all have different ice right?

The scoring on the game did suck though partly because of the fact you couldn't pass the puck

 

[Jeffrey93]

I thought the old timers game was cool i watched the highlights of that but I don't like ovi or crosby so this game gave me zero interest

Honest question here.....you don't like Ovechkin or Crosby....that's fine. But, why would that cause you to not watch??

I don't like either of the Sedins or 'No Show Joe' Thronton...but I would still watch a Canucks vs. Sharks game.

Was it a form of protest for you not to watch? Or was it because the event was billed as the Sidney vs. Alex event that made you not watch? Or are you just not that interested in the first place? Or something else??

I don't care what your reason was....I'm just curious.

 

[BigT2002]

I think Minnesota will get their game sooner than later.

No we won't as this HOCKEY BOARD is evident already with that. People still believe that my team plays a defensive trap system and that they are too boring to consistently watch play. The game against NJ was painfully evident of what people irrationally believe to the extent of English Settlers believing that Indians were savages. Yes I know that is a rash generalization but its absolutely pathetic and it is the deal breaker for the league. Does Minnesota deserve the game? I can firmly tell you that no other state in the Union deserves it more considering where the majority of American born players are coming out of to represent this country and with how big the game is in general here, and I grew up in Michigan. The issue is, no one cares about the Wild unless we go on a miracle run again like 2003 and knock off Vancouver and Detroit to get into the WCF, or even higher. With the success of the Big House having well over the capacity of the stadium for the MSU vs UM game, I will put my money on Detroit vs Colorado next year in Ann Arbor. They are going for rivalries and they've yet to have it further west than the Mississippi into flyover country based entirely on demographics. Heaven help us if Michigan made the Rose Bowl next year and Detroit had the WC because you'd lose the entire state of Michigan and most of Chicago right there.

---------------------------------

Far as the WC goes. As sad as this is to say, it really isn't meant for us anyways. Its meant to draw in more casual American fans (hence why they didn't want Canadian teams) and they are drawing from either superstars or American born players as much as possible in order to bolster than game as an American sport rather than "we just play in this sport but we aren't the best at it." American's love to be the best at things. If we won the gold medal game in the Olympics, it might sparked it a little more than winning Silver, and that is my honest opinion.

 

[CorbeauNoir]

The scoring on the game did suck though partly because of the fact you couldn't pass the puck

But that's exactly the point. You can only 'adapt' so much before it simply turns into a boring, crappy game.

 

[BigT2002]

But that's exactly the point. You can only 'adapt' so much before it simply turns into a boring, crappy game.

No one from NOAA predicted that PA was going to be getting rain in January. Hell Minnesota got that same rain 3 days before. The only difference is the jet stream runs right through the Twin Cities at this time, hence why its colder than Alaska here.

 

[TCNorthstars]

Imagine if Crosby or Ovechkin did rip his knee up? Worth it then?

I guess we better not have NHL hockey at all for fear that the above might get injured.

 

[OthmarAmmann]

No one from NOAA predicted that PA was going to be getting rain in January. Hell Minnesota got that same rain 3 days before. The only difference is the jet stream runs right through the Twin Cities at this time, hence why its colder than Alaska here.

Really? The average daytime high for January is 34 and the record is 69. Not exactly Resolute Bay. Rain would definitely be a possibility.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh#Climate

 

[CorbeauNoir]

No one from NOAA predicted that PA was going to be getting rain in January. Hell Minnesota got that same rain 3 days before. The only difference is the jet stream runs right through the Twin Cities at this time, hence why its colder than Alaska here.

But the Buffalo and Boston WCs were slow boring games too. The Chicago WC was pretty much ideal for weather/ice and it showed in the scoreboard, but it's the exception rather than the rule for these outdoor games. Pittsburgh's weather just happened to be even worse than the norm.

 

[saskganesh]

Is this some kind of joke? This has been one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record. In fact, environmentalists have blamed the coldness on "global climate change" - the warming causes the cooling according to these goofs.

Expect many more freezing cold nights this winter (like tonight) and expect many more freezing cold winters in the coming decade.

no, not a joke. climate change includes greater climate variability, not just warming. greater peaks and valleys so to speak.

2010 was the warmest year on record, according to Environment Canada. on the whole, it seems weather is becoming more extreme and less predictable.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/12/30/2010-in-review-a-wild-weather-year-for-canada/

 

[Mwd711]

And the seating was just insane. Who would pay money for viewing angles like that? The fans in the first 50 rows couldn't have been able to see anything more than the players' helmets, and anyone up higher than that would need a live FoxTrax to see the puck.

I'm sorry but that's just inaccurate. Yeah, the seats down low suck. That's why they are the cheapest. But, the sight lines at Heinz Field were great. I sat in Section 506, the upper deck (near the scoreboard/footballs 20 yard line) all the way up in row U and saw everything perfectly. I had a better sight line then I've had in some NHL arenas! Baseball fields are another story entirely, but I had no problem seeing the action and I wasn't at center ice and I wasn't down low either.