... best rating since 1996... which is probably about when either the IRL or CART got a non-Indy rating that high as well!
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...RSQ&refer=home
Sidney Crosby potting the winner in the shoot-out was a pretty cool touch...
CCWS or the IRL should do the opposite - bring a race indoors.
jono
"They are actually paying me to race. What a concept."
-- Andrew Ranger talking about his NASCAR Canada team
YES... it was a "Gimmick" game... But at this point in time, ANYTHING that brings viewers to the NHL is fair game. And it did work...
Obviously, Crosby got "the call".Originally Posted by jonovision_man
Sidney Crosby potting the winner in the shoot-out was a pretty cool touch...
Maybe you could say it was a gimmick, but honestly, so is the very concept of a college bowl game, right? Everyone from the fans to the players to the coaches and waterboys had the time of their lives. The facilities people might have another opinion I guess
Sort-of a gimmick... but another way of looking at it is that playing outside was where the sport was born, it'd be like going back to the "run what you brung" days of racing.
I remember playing with a toque over or under my helmet... freezing your toes, having to clean the snow off the ice (and off yourself!). Good times, good times...
jono
I heard it went so well that the NHL is exploring have a whole slate of outdoor games next New Years Day including Tampa Bay at Miami, San Jose at Phoenix and Carolina at Atlanta.
Couldn't watch it in Indy if you were a DirectTV customer. Local Indy NBC affiliate WTHR kicked it to SkyTrack weather station, while NBC showed a re-run of Montel.
Keep in mind this was a NBC Sports exclusive shown in HD... can you imagine what would happen to this site if ABC kicked a HD IndyCar exclusive to the curb for a re-run talk show?
Whoever heads up programming at WTHR goofed up big time. Maybe hockey ratings in Indy are historically soft, but they elected to not air the highest rated hockey game in decades? ABC isn't the only network out there with idiots running the affiliates.
rant over
"The mayfly lives only one day, and sometimes it rains"
- George Carlin
Don't get me wrong... I'm not complaining one bit. Here's some additional info...:
The overnight rating surpassed Wayne Gretzky's last game, which was broadcast on Fox (April 18, 1999, 2.5/6).
Top Ten Metered Markets:
1. Buffalo 38.2/58
2. Pittsburgh 17.7/30
3. Minneapolis 5.1/11
4. Denver 3.7/7
T5. Providence 3.5/7
T5. Las Vegas 3.5/6
7. St. Louis 3.3/5
8. Boston 3.2/6
9. Sacramento 2.9/6
T10. Richmond 2.8/5
T10. Hartford 2.8/5
Eddie Olczyk, NBC's NHL game analyst said: "This was one of the best events I've ever been a part of as a player, coach or broadcaster. It truly was a memorable experience and a great day for the sport of hockey."
This should be a fun season... For the first time, the NHL will offer flexible scheduling for NBC's nine regular season dates. NBC will be able to select from up to four games on Sunday afternoons. Thirteen days prior to the scheduled games (on Mondays), NBC, in conjunction with the NHL, will select one of those games as the "Game of the Week" to be broadcast during NBC's exclusive Sunday afternoon window. The other games will remain available to the teams' regional carrier but will not be televised during NBC's broadcast window.
2008 NHL ON NBC REGULAR SEASON FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE
(All Games Announced 13 Days Prior)
Sunday, Jan. 20, 1:30 p.m. ET
Boston @ New York Rangers
Sunday, Feb. 3, 2 p.m. ET
New York Rangers @ Montreal
Sunday, Feb. 10, 3:30 p.m. ET
Anaheim @ Detroit or
Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh or
New York Rangers @ Washington
Sunday, Feb. 17, 3:30 p.m. ET
Detroit @ Dallas or
Pittsburgh @ Buffalo or
San Jose @ New York Rangers or
Colorado @ Chicago
Sunday, March 2, 12:30 p.m. ET
Detroit @ Buffalo or
Philadelphia @ New York Rangers or
Atlanta @ Pittsburgh
Sunday, March 9, 12:30 p.m. ET
Pittsburgh @ Washington or
Boston @ New York Rangers or
Nashville @ Detroit
Sunday, March 16, Noon ET
Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh or
Detroit @ Columbus or
Boston @ Washington
Sunday, March 30, 12:30 p.m. ET
New York Rangers @ Pittsburgh or
Nashville @ Detroit or
Boston @ Buffalo
Sunday, April 6, 12:30 p.m. ET
Chicago @ Detroit or
New York Rangers @ New Jersey or
Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia
I think this shows clearly that it is time for an indoor IndyCar race.
That was one of the best games I've seen lately.
Isn't it about time for the usual suspects to come and whiz on our Wheaties and tell us all that the game sucked because of all the no-name foreigners and a 2.6 is a crappy number?
No, an outdoor race in the snow...
...but with tiny cars that you can't see from the nosebleed seats.
"The number of threads by one poster in the OT is getting a little out of hand, IMHO. "
"In the land of freedom we are held hostage by the tyranny of political correctness...If we speak..we say it the wrong way; if we do not speak we are cowards…."
I watched every bit of it, and enjoyed it thoroughly.
"Hey, I respect Humpy Wheeler, he’s a great promoter, but this is 400,000 people and more tradition and more of a spectacle than the Coca Cola 600 will ever have."
- John Barnes
I have watched football from the endzone lodge level. And sometimes I felt like we were outside the reasonable distance for watcing. I wonder how it is when watching Hockey from there. One other thing I wonder is. What did it cost to enter the stadium yesterday?
what he sez.I watched every bit of it, and enjoyed it thoroughly.
saw 75% of it and havent been that thrilled about hockey on TV since game 7 in 1994.
I would guess that while the fans there had a great day, Im guessing the fans watching on TV saw more. Hockey is better in an intimate arena... a college barn, the local rink with 2 club teams hacking away. A place where you can hear them grunt and see the snot on the glass.
Rich Stadium where the good (?) seats are 40 yards away from the glass isnt exactly imtimate
But My God if someone offered me a ticket Id be there in a NY minute
Faster than a bullet from a gun
He is faster than everyone
Quicker than the blinking of an eye
Like a flash you could miss him going by
No one knows quite how he does it but it's true they say
He's the master of going faster. -George Harrison
It would be nice if ABC could become innovative and the IRL take some risk on creating at least one race within the regular season that captures the interest of ordinary sport/race fans.
Here is an innovative/through back idea: Three heat races with one main feature race at the Milwaukee Mile....oh never mind no one would be interested at the gate or on tv
I think what we need is a race on an inverted track.
Oh what a feeling...
When you're racing on the ceiling...
I am confused what does Newman/Haas/Lanigan have to do with hockey?
Game looked great in HD....too bad it wasn't at Soldier Field....
The transformation is complete. The Indy 500 is the only IndyCar race that matters.
All I know is that, with three other college bowl games on at the same time, we watched every minute of the hockey game. First time I have watched a non-Stars game from start to finish in a very long time. Very enjoyable.
I did wonder, expecially during the times of the heavy snow, how the folks in the upper deck ever were able to follow the puck.
Don't forget
I remember playing with a toque over or under my helmet... freezing your toes, having to clean the snow off the ice (and off yourself!). Good times, good times...
jono
Freezing Snot
Icicles hanging off of your hair..
Eyes frosting over
All of which has happened to me playing outdoor hockey in Chicagoland.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security
That was a ton of fun to watch - not terribly graceful but that was what made it cool. The snow, the wind, the crappy ice, the incredible roar of 70,000 plus - man was that neat!
I still can't fathom how we've been graced with Mario and now Crosby in this town - "the puck doesn't want to slide I'll just tap it in the air and then flip it over the guys shoulder"..... the kid is so much fun to watch.
Kris Letang is something special too - he is the next Brian Leetch type of player that can control the game from the blueline. I hope they can keep these kids together for a long time.
Dan Schlosser
Go fast, turn left !
www.tracksideonline.com
"Count all your blessings, just don't keep score...."
Mark "Hoot" Marchetti
The 'lucky dog' and 'green-white-checkered' rules, those are gimmicks. The NHL didn't change the rules for the audience, only the venue. It was an exciting games what with the elements playing a part. I hope they do it more often.
Gee, I wonder if the NHL and NBC are focusing on just three teams?
Don't get me wrong, I understand why they chose these three teams, but there are other teams in the league and continually shutting out the others does a disservice to the league. By this schedule, you would hardly know there is any teams in the South, West, or Canada.
If you break a vase and then glue it back together and the vase loses it's value, you do not get credit for fixing it. You get the blame for damaging it....
I'm only a casual hockey fan, and I loved it. They have a winner on their hands.
That was a great game (not well-played, but great atmosphere), but I wish we would've been able to see it with a clear picture in Indy. The NBC affiliate shuffled it off to the low-power weather station so it could show reruns of Montel, Dr. Phil & Oprah.
So, fittingly, I got to watch with a snowy picture.
WTHR's indifference to hockey (to the point where they've even been semi-hostile about it) is very, very noticeable, especially compared with the (local) hockey coverage WXIN-59 gives in its sportscasts.
Check out IndyCar news at crimsonrace.blogspot.com
Maybe, just maybe, WTHR got screwed on this one. I fired off an e-mail when I found it wasn't on Channel 13, and they finally responded today. Here is what they said...
Still looking for Carmen San Diego....
I emailed WTHR as well and have yet to hear back. I was surprised they admitted their mistake but I am sure they only call it a mistake because it probably got double the ratings that they thought it would pull. Hence, they are not really sorry for the customers who watch their station but more so sorry for themselves for making a bad programming decision that could cost them money.
I'm gonna wiggle it at 'em, you cheap b@st@rd. Be prepared, because when I yank it out, everybody in that audience except my wife is gonna be runnin' for the exits.
Cool!Don't forget
Freezing Snot
Icicles hanging off of your hair..
Eyes frosting over
All of which has happened to me playing outdoor hockey in Chicagoland.
The players all looked giddy... like kids again. All they needed was the goalies to use phone books for pads and it'd have been perfect.
jono
That wasn't a snowy picture, it was actual snow!
It would be nice if ABC could become innovative and the IRL take some risk on creating at least one race within the regular season that captures the interest of ordinary sport/race fans.
Here is an innovative/through back idea: Three heat races with one main feature race at the Milwaukee Mile....oh never mind no one would be interested at the gate or on tv
how about some sort of unification race....at least for one weekend...between the CCWS and the IRL..
ah...nevermind...what was i thinking
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