nm

and as a Jet fan who is at wit's end... please keep the god damn giants out!!

I'm not big on hockey, but I have a lot of respect for the sport. Their playoffs are about as exciting as the rest, in some cases MORE exciting and their fans are loyal and passionate
And when you get the Canadian fanbase saying they really don't care if the NHL comes back or not, that's a huge blow. I still can't understand how they've had THIS many work stoppages

Just bad all around

Almost eveything is Gary Bettmans fault.

For years. This is his third work stoppage.

I was going to do a cursory Google search before asking, but yeah

Teams are being safer. Players who suffer multiple concussions are held out longer. They are trying to legislate head shots though they're not doing a consistent job of it.

you see a lot more care being taken with them and the players who have experienced both sides of that are praising the more cautious approach.

soon enough, any hit that targets the head will be gone. because of the instances where guys get slammed from behind into the boards, there will continue to be rule changes there. i think a little more accountability from the offensive player is needed. but the league is going to protect the puck carriers and make it hard to get any kind of force moving in to hit a player along the boards.

obviously concussions and facial injuries from blocking shots are also a concern. they will eventually make face protection a must. i would wear a college helmet, i don't care how weird it looks. but some kind of visor, which is not something players are required to wear yet.

and for the first time this year I was really missing it. NHL and NBA I usually don't get real into until football is over. Unfortunately as an Eagle fan football has been over since September.

NFL playoffs are about to start

mostly based on last year's playoffs being awesome.

and also probably partially based on having not given hockey a fair chance since the advent of HD.

i went to my first live hockey game (not NHL) a little over a year ago.

reminded me i didn't hate the sport at all. made me wonder why i didn't give NHL much of a chance. gave it a chance and liked it. saw it on at some bar in SD and remembered why i didn't give it much of a chance.

IMO, the action is a little hard to follow until you get used to it.

there's a lot of crazy shit happening in a small area.

In the other major sports, even if you don't understand the rules, you can at least follow the focus of action.

HD really helps hockey.

seeing everyone on the ice. The shift changes, positioning, play on the boards, setting up plays. So much is lost on TV. Half the time you miss big hits or penalties because they happen away from the puck.

and we get cheated out of even having a season with which to see the results play out, I'm going to be pissed.




*that doesn't involve signing old pervs from Mississippi

locks in two big time players with stupid contracts then wants to b able to rework those contracts.

guys like him and ed snider that tried to get in their last swings before the lockout were just being greedy about talent and what they could get away with beforehand. i am sure neither was thrilled about the result of the lockout, really.

parise and suter's deals were both loaded with bonuses, that money is protected. i bet they see a huge percentage of the total sums.

last season was my 3rd season as a fan. We won the fucking cup. Not to mention my son who was 2 at the time was all the way in with me. We probably only missed 5 games all season. We went to like 6 games and 1 playoff game. He knows all the players and hockey is all he talks about. I have been a life long Dodgers and Raiders fan. I could easily say last season was the most fun I ever had following a sports team in my life. He asks me every day if the lock out is over. This is fucking ridiculous.

really enjoy the live NHL experience. I usually watch a few playoff games too. they never had me as a true "fan" to lose, but I can guarantee I won't be supporting the NHL whenever they come back. the arrogance annoys me -- I boycotted MLB for a decade when Selig and the owners had a "fuck you, be glad we came back" attitude after the strike.

lots of "salutes" and hot dogs and t shirts.

off of giving drunk girls free t-shirts.

but, having not played any hockey video games since 2k days, and not being that great even back then, I expect an ass handing.



BUT NOW YOU KNOW HOW THE 10k OF US THAT CARED IN ATLANTA FEEL!

LETS GO THRASHERS!!

Then found out there was a lockout (I haven't followed anything NHL related since the Thrashers left) and my interest for the sport it's totally gone. I wonder if the Gwinnett team is playing this year.....



<---- Downtown Kansas City, Missouri 5/24/2011

I wore my scarf over Christmas, but the jersey still sits in the closet, looking at me every day. And I still got the commemorative pennant of the division championship and my all star game ticket up in my cube.

I started following loosely the Predators with the goal of this year my wife and I going up for a long weekend when they had a home stand, but this lockout threw that out the window.

i have a couple, i got a white savard one back in the day (mainly because it was dirt cheap, $40 with the fight strap and all) and i have game-issued (not worn) light blue Evander Kane one from their last season in atlanta.

i thought they had a pretty cool style, the red alternates were hideous though.

it's too bad the 2k series died off but the nhl series surpassed it a couple years before that anyway

can someone give me a flyers preview?

But I will finally get my dream of a 40 game season.

Not a very physically tough team who beats you through pure speed and skill. Cut the season in half and it favors them a lot as long as they avoid any big injuries since there is no time to recover.

it's a "stop the bleeding" mess to throw a season together this quick and late. Hope the quality gets up to snuff quickly. They should drop a round of playoffs too.

Will there be a random team or two that make the playoffs? Yea

Will a team that should be in the playoffs miss? Most likely

But when the playoffs are under way, everything will be perfect.