Buffalo and Ottawa, the East's two best offenses were locked up in a close Game 5, with Ottawa seemingly controlling the tempo through the first two periods and earning themselves a 2 - 1 lead heading into the third. Desperation and the home crowd kicked in all at once, and the Sabres went on an offensive flurry and tied the game up on a power play goal with just under 10 minutes left to play. Both goalies were outstanding and kept the puck out of the net for the last 9 minutes and change of play; this baby was heading into overtime.
You know how I feel about overtime playoff hockey. There just isn't anything better.
Would Buffalo be eliminated, or would the Senators be forced to fly back to Ottawa for a Game 6?
Who would be the hero? Who would be the goat? How long would it take to decide a winner?
"The Preakness is coming up next here on NBC. If you'd like continued coverage of this game, check your local provider for the Versus network"
But post time isn't until 3:00 pm, so we could see an overtime period without missing the actual race. Maybe they just meant after...
"What a sunny day it is here where Street Sense will try and take the next step towards immortality and the triple crown!"
Hmm. So, seeing as I don't have Versus, I now have to miss the game so I can see the leadup to the Preakness?
Believe it or not, unlike 99% of my hockey fan friends who were absolutely irate and sent hateful letters and emails to NBC, I don't blame them for the move at all.
The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness, and Belmont Stakes are a bigger deal than the NHL conference finals.
Monetarily, anyways.
People paid great money to get their commercial spots during the hour leading up to the Preakness. Commercials that wouldn't be seen if you kept the hockey game on; there are no commercials in overtime of a playoff hockey game. Besides, the commercials were catered to people who would be tuning into the race, not keeping it on for the hockey game.
So NBC had a choice; refund all those advertisers their money and upset horse racing fans, or upset a bunch of loyal hockey fans.
Easy call.
Because hockey fans love their sport. We can't threaten to boycott a network for pulling stunts like this because quite frankly we are lucky when we get to see hockey at all. After all, NBC can offend me all it wants, because I don't get Versus here at my apartment. I have to watch internet feeds when games aren't televised. So what if we all get piping mad? What does NBC care? You think it needs hockey ratings to survive?
Besides, those of you that work, how many of you heard people bringing up the race on Saturday? Who they had? Whether or not Street Sense would win? Bets? Side bets?
Ever hear that talk surrounding hockey in your workplace?
NBC made the right move. I refuse to criticize them, and I also refuse to criticize horse racing. Its awesome. Does it hold a candle to playoff hockey? No, but what does?
All this emphasized was what an idiot Gary Bettman was for not signing a deal with ESPN. ESPN offered Bettman a contract to cover hockey; granted, it was not very lucrative, but why should it have been? The league was coming off a lock-out and its already small fan base was shaken and there were whispers the NHL might not recover. Signing with ESPN may not have paid the most upfront but it would have given the league the two things it needs the most; advertisements and coverage.
Ever watch Sportscenter or ESPNews and see commercials for arena football? Sure you do. Why? Because ESPN actually gets to cover arena football.
Ever watch Versus and see commercials for the NHL? No. Why? Because you AREN'T WATCHING VERSUS.
You may not even get it!
Bettman's shortsightedness has solidified hockey's spot outside of major sports. Hockey used to be one of the 4 major sports. Well, those are now NASCAR, NFL, MLB, and NBA.
Hockey stays with tennis, golf, boxing, and all the other sports that don't get any respect.
But at least I got to see an awesome horse race available in high definition right after the grainy image of the Senators winning the East on my computer screen came to a close.
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5 comments:
true stuff man... like i said, not being an avid hockey fan doesn't mean i wouldn't watch playoff hockey. I don't give a shit about the ducks or wings, but I watched game 5 because it went to OT and it was exciting stuff. The NHL should make some adjustments next year in terms of where games will be televised.
Golf and Tennis get way more respect than boxing. And higher ratings. So does bowling.
Maybe it's time for a better slogan than "the coolest game on ice."
For sports that aren't named Football, I really don't care about anything leading up to the event. Had I been watching NBC that afternoon, I would have been upset about the move to cover Preakness pregame. Then again, perhaps that's the problem: I wasn't watching anyway. I don't want to watch Ottawa and Buffalo. I don't feel like watching hockey. Sure, I'll watch the Stanley Cup Finals because - hey - I love sports and it's a league championship.
Horse racing is big for three days out of the year. The Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont are all horse racing has left. I completely agree that NBC should have switched over their coverage. It was the right move for all the reasons you mentioned about the advertisers and the big bucks. But is an hour of pre-race coverage really necessary?
I don't know if I'm a hypocrite because I watch every minute of NFL pregame shows on ESPN, Fox & CBS, but for horse racing? Eh. I don't know. I'm just not feeling it. I guess NBC was though, and that's what matters.
Any time I see a game get cut off though, I have to think back to the Jets and Raiders in the Heidi game. I never like to see any televised sporting events get cut short. I guess I'll just have to find a way to get the Versus network, or perhaps - perhaps - with all these new HD channels that stations have, I wonder if there's a way for NBC to put on two broadcasts at once? Maybe that's too much to ask for right, now, but give it time that may just be what's next. You can already watch NBC on channel 4 or 4.1 for HD. Why not a channel 4.2 for the hockey game to continue on?
Sorry. I meant that Golf and Tennis get way more respect than hockey. That should be obvious. But even in my error I was right. They get higher ratings than boxing too.
And also...you have to watch the horse racing pregame. The whole sport is defined by sissy pageantry and excessive drinking and gambling followed by 2 minutes of excitement. Without a taste for the pageantry, booze, and gambling, the 2 minutes just aren't as exciting.
do I sense a little sarcasm here. Rightly so. Bettman will be gone soon.
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