Kukla's Korner

ESPN, why?

Blog: On the Forecheck By Forechecker

11/19/08 at 11:15 PM ET | Comments (1)

For all those clamoring to get the NHL back on ESPN, consider the following in light of the deal announced this week that adds college football’s Bowl Championship Series to the ESPN/ABC lineup from 2011 to 2014:

With this deal ESPN/ABC will now televise 29 of the 34 match-ups. Check it out for yourself at this year’s bowl television schedule. Go ahead and plug in ESPN for every Fox telecast except the Cotton Bowl. Bowl season monopoly—thy name is ESPN.

That from Deadspin writer Clay Travis.

With all that college football programming in December and early January, when exactly would they find time to feature the NHL, beyond late-night slots on ESPN2?  And once pitchers and catchers report for spring training, baseball will rule the airwaves at the self-proclaimed World Wide Leader.

I’ve long thought that a better way for the NHL to creep back into relevance is to get the Blackhawks on WGN, a channel that’s already included in most basic cable packages.  The fact that they’re an exciting young team doesn’t hurt, either.

As I understand it the Hawks are on local WGN in the Chicago area, so what would it take to get them on nationally, like the Chicago Bulls?

Filed in: NHL Commentary | On the Forecheck | Permalink
  Tags: ESPN,

Evening Line

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/19/08 at 09:35 PM ET | Comments (0)

“I was sitting in the [penalty] box and I was asking the guy if they actually gave me five minutes, I didn’t even know if they called that a fight. I couldn’t get my left glove off so I was more worried about just making sure he wasn’t throwing at me. Next time I’m in that situation I’ll be a little bit more confident on how to protect myself and do the right things.

“Sometimes things like that happen and you can’t back down from it. You just have to step up and protect yourself and do what you have to do. ”

-Jonathan Toews after his first NHL fight last night.  More on the Blackhawks from Chris Kuc of Icing at the Chicago Tribune.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Jonathan+Toews,

Mike Chen vs. Spector: Part Deux

Blog: Mike Chen's Hockey Blog By Mike Chen

11/19/08 at 08:01 PM ET | Comments (0)

This is short notice, but I’ll be on Ottawa’s Team 1200 tonight doing another hockey panel with Lyle “Spector” Richardson. Tune in online here at 11 PM EST/8 PM PST.

Filed in: | Mike Chen's Hockey Blog | Permalink
  Tags: Team+1200,

Modern Day Worsley

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/19/08 at 07:07 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Kevin Allen of Mucking and Grinding,

If someone asked me to describe Tim Thomas’ goaltending style I would probably say he reminds me of a 34-year-old insurance salesman who plays once a week in the Friday night midnight recreation league.

The man looks frightfully awkward at times.

But Boston Bruins fans need to just close their eyes and utter the phrase “I do believe. I do believe. I do believe.”

Thomas might have a body like Gump Worsley, but he is leading the NHL with a 1.78 goals-against average and .944 save percentage.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Boston Bruins | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Tim+Thomas,

‘Best’ Early Season ‘Lines’

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/19/08 at 05:40 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Damien Cox at ESPN,

The world of quotes. Yes, indeed, they do make the world go ‘round, even the NHL, which isn’t exactly the sassiest of pro sports leagues when it comes to lipping off....

“Every single day, you ask the same questions. You know the amazing thing? You’ve never asked me once about what we’re doing in practice. ‘What was that drill?’ No one’s ever asked that. It’s always, ‘What’s Jason Blake going to do tomorrow? Where’s Brian Burke having dinner tonight?’ You don’t really talk about the actual X’s and O’s of the game. I find that kind of strange. So, then I wonder, maybe you don’t ask those questions because maybe you don’t understand.”

-- Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson sparring with the media

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Sounds Familiar

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/19/08 at 05:34 PM ET | Comments (3)

from Japers’ Rink,

To recap - these were not her questions and there’s no disclosure anywhere that the Q&A was a conference call via the NHL. This is no different than if a political reporter published portions of a Presidential press conference under her byline with the headline “A quick chat with George W. Bush.”

And the PHWA is worried about bloggers lowering journalistic standards?

read on to see what the issue is…

Filed in: NHL Media, Hockey Bloggers | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Bring Back The Old Twine

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/19/08 at 05:23 PM ET | Comments (1)

from Daryl Reaugh of Razor With An Edge,

Here to suggest the NHL reconsider the goal nets they currently utilize in the great frozen game.

Simmer down goalies, I’m not pushing for larger dimensions. What I want is a return to the less taut, more cascading netting of yesteryear. A return to that once upon a time when goals were accentuated by the billowing of diamond shaped nylon as the vulcanized rubber disk sailed agonizingly past the guardian of the twine, and dramatically popped the netting from its lifeless, drape-like state. (I tried to catch the flavor of the memory)

Nowadays, like most things in society, we want it over with as soon as possible so we can move on to the next “moment”, so they’ve created a scenario where the puck trampolines out of the net like a tennis ball off a racket.

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, Hockey Equipment | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Patrick Roy Conference Call Transcript

Blog: KK Hockey By Alanah McGinley

11/19/08 at 04:55 PM ET | Comments (1)

On Saturday night, prior to their game with the Boston Bruins, the Montreal Canadiens will honor Patrick Roy by retiring his No. 33 at the Bell Centre.  The following is the transcript from the Q&A session Roy had with the NHL media today.

Q&A

Q. Can you just talk about what it means to you, and did you think this day would come given your departure from Montreal?

PATRICK ROY: Well, you have no control on if they will retire my jersey or not, but I surely hope that that would happen one day. I knew they had a lot of guys to do before me. You know, the Canadiens haven’t done that for a long time, and I felt that the Savards, the Robinsons, Gainey, Dryden, they’ve been a big part of the history of the Canadiens, and I think they deserve that.

Continue Reading »

Filed in: NHL Teams, Montreal Canadiens | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: interview, patrick+roy,

Weakening Dollar A Sign Of Trouble

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/19/08 at 04:46 PM ET | Comments (0)

from the CP via TSN,

Montreal Canadiens president Pierre Boivin fears that the sagging loonie could send Canadian NHL teams spiralling back into the dark economic days that preceded the lockout.

Boivin says the league’s six Canadian clubs are thriving at the gate and bring in more than a third of the total revenue for the 30-team NHL.

But he identified the tumbling dollar as one of three threats to the continued viability of Canadian clubs.

continued

added 6:01pm, from Frederic Tomesco at Bloomberg,

More declines in the Canadian currency would recreate the situation that existed before the lockout, when most Canadian clubs were unprofitable, Boivin said. The Canadiens paid out $18 million last season to other NHL clubs as part of the revenue- sharing system, he said.

more if you are interested in the business side of the NHL…

Filed in: NHL Teams, NHL Talk, NHL Business of Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Top 10 Duos in the NHL

Blog: KK Hockey By Alanah McGinley

11/19/08 at 04:01 PM ET | Comments (6)

John Grigg at The Hockey News lists out his top-10 favorite NHL duos he enjoys watching play:

10. Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley
• These guys aren’t having the best start to the year, but there’s few purer snipers in the league than Heatley and even fewer set-up men as slick as Spezza.

9. Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen
• This is a relatively new duo, especially with ‘The Mule’ having been hurt most of the year. But Zetterberg is magic with the puck and Franzen is a bull with hands. Together the two are dangerous whenever they’re on the ice.

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

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