Hockey

[Habanero]

YEAH! HOCKEY! HOCKEY! HOCKEY! James just told me I have a "hot date" on Sunday for a preseason game- Phoenix vs San Jose. WOOO HOOOOO! It's starting! And, not only that, but he's got his first game with his new team out here on Saturday night. I can hardly get enough!

Upon further thought, we're going to the hockey shop and we're going to get our dog, Hatcher, a large Hatcher jersey (Dallas).

Not to brag, but has anyone heard about Dallas lately? I think they're going to be pretty strong this year, and physical. Thank God! I need to see Hatcher get into fights more.. like the one with San Jose last season. I loved that fight, center ice!

So is anyone else psyched about the upcoming season?

[Jeff]

Hockey and Texas do not belong togehter

GO FLYERS!!

[Habanero]

Hey now, they've been there for 10 years and won the Stanley cup-

they don't seem to be doing that bad in Texas! Besides, I liked being able to have a team other than baseball or football.

[Chet]

I'm waiting for the Womens Professional Football League to open thier franchise in Kenosha WI - I heard its a 2004 expansion...

It beats Dutch Womens Rugby any day!

http://www.nwflcentral.com/

[Habanero]

oh, I forgot one thing.. if you could be so kind as to give Ken my regards I would love it.. You do know who he is right?


He was the coach that led the TEXAS TEAM to win a STANLEY CUP... who to my knowledge is now the Flyer's coach? Is that right?

[Bucky alum]

Hockey should not be in Phoenix! nor Dallas! or especially Atlanta (they already failed once, you know the Flames. Hockey should be in Winnipeg, Duluth, Anchorage. Somewhere that if there is ice on the ground outside of the arena the city doesn't shut down.

BTW, I was in Dallas a few years back, (i believe the year before they won the stanley cup) and the fans were absolutely clueless about the game. They wanted fights nothing more. A guy told me about the minor league they have in Texas and that there is about 10 fights a game and he loved it. I couldn't wait for it to end.

[Habanero]

Well, I'll make sure next time I go to a Stars game, and enjoy it, and keep up, and don't just go for the fights, I'll tell Arnott you and said "hello". I think everyone should be happy hockey is getting more mainstream, it's a great sport. I'm glad I'm able to watch it no matter what state I live in. I love hockey, being begrugged for that because of what state I'm in is infintile. IMO.

[Jeff]

Oh we got Ken allright, now he's with a REAL team. He'll probably be out of a job in a year or so though the way we go through coaches around here. The Flyers are never going to go anywhere until the get rid of Bob Clarke (General Manager).

[Tranplanner]

Dallas didn't even make the playoffs last year, right? I guess they got a couple of good free-agents...but who do they have in goal this year?

I don't think the Leafs will do much this year, but I can hope, right?

[giff57]

Originally posted by bturk
I'm waiting for the Womens Professional Football League to open thier franchise in Kenosha WI - I heard its a 2004 expansion...

It beats Dutch Womens Rugby any day!

http://www.nwflcentral.com/

One of the ladies was in Playboy a couple of months back. Nice

[Joe Iliff]

Bucky alum

Hockey should not be in Phoenix! nor Dallas! or especially Atlanta (they already failed once, you know the Flames. Hockey should be in Winnipeg, Duluth, Anchorage. Somewhere that if there is ice on the ground outside of the arena the city doesn't shut down.

What, do they not play hockey in Winnipeg, Duluth, or Anchorage anymore? What about the Manitoba Moose (last I heard, in the IHL), and I think both Duluth and Anchorage still have hockey teams?

Why is it that we associate "hockey" with the NHL, and say a work stoppage in Major League Basebal is the "end of baseball." These are just one league or level of these sports. I'd say in terms of number of people playing or watching organized hockey, Canada is still number one. How can 1 major league teams and a dozen minor league teams in Texas take away from that?

We need to remember that just because it isn't on ESPN or CBC Sportsnight (am I saying that rights, Canucks?), doesn't mean it isn't hockey.

Some sportsfans, including myself, prefer the minor leagues, or college or amatuer outlets. Often times it's more of the pure sport and less of the celebrity and overblown hype of the major leagues.

[Habanero]

Originally posted by Tranplanner
Dallas didn't even make the playoffs last year, right? I guess they got a couple of good free-agents...but who do they have in goal this year?

I don't think the Leafs will do much this year, but I can hope, right?

You can alway hope, they took Belfour didn't they?
And no, Dallas didn't make it.

In goal Stars have Turco and Tugnutt, both have fairly good GAAs (2.09 and 3.03 respectively). But we also picked up Guerin, who obviously isn't afraid of making shots (made 355 shots in the 2001-2002 season).

And as far as the Fort Worth Brahmas, I liked going to the games. I never saw one fight, even when they played their biggest rival. I especially liked that they would let local teams play and I got to see my boyfriend's team scrimmage during intermission.

[Mastiff]

Originally posted by Mike DeVuono
Oh we got Ken allright, now he's with a REAL team. He'll probably be out of a job in a year or so though the way we go through coaches around here. The Flyers are never going to go anywhere until the get rid of Bob Clarke (General Manager).

Agree! Agree!

[nerudite]

I got my Edmonton Oilers tickets today... there is a program at work that lets you purchase tickets through payroll deduction over a 9 month period. Gotta love livin' in a hockey town!

[nerudite]

Originally posted by Mike DeVuono
Oh we got Ken allright, now he's with a REAL team.

Yeah, it's a good thing he quit his gig on Captain Kangaroo.

[gkmo62u]

Sorry Guys, I can't talk hockey or pro hoops until January.

[Downtown]

This morning on the Today show they had the Jump the Shark guy on. He said NHL jumped the shark when it closed down so many of the Canadian Teams in order to open franchises in Florida.

Has the NHL "jumped the shark"?

[Tranplanner]

I dunno if it's "jumped the shark" - the expansion did bring in a new crowd of hockey fans (right, Tex?), but I really do miss the Nordiques and the Jets.

Like all sports these days, it's all about the Bling Bling, and not about the game. If it was, we'd be playing Olympic-style hockey (only with more contact) all the time.

My biggest pet peeve - The Anaheim Mighty Ducks. I'm sorry, selling a team to Disney to use as a vehicle for their horrid "Mighty Duck" movies is just sad. So sad. I'm hoping that Disney will sell real soon, the team will move to Hamilton, Ontario, and be renamed something a little better. Not bloody likely though, is it?

Get rid of the centre line and introduce no-touch icing!

[nerudite]

Originally posted by Tranplanner
Get rid of the centre line and introduce no-touch icing!

I second the motion... all in favor?

[Jeff]

Originally posted by Tranplanner
I

My biggest pet peeve - The Anaheim Mighty Ducks. I'm sorry, selling a team to Disney to use as a vehicle for their horrid "Mighty Duck" movies is just sad.

OMG!!! Is that team and those jerseys just a disgrace to every toothless hockey player in the world or what??

[NHPlanner]

Originally posted by nerudite


I second the motion... all in favor?

YES!

[Dan]

No pro sports in Orlando, with the exception of the Orlando Magic basketball team.

Considering the region's grwth, its central location in the state, and the sheer number of tourists, I always believed that it would be more efficient to have teams in Orlando, instead of Tampa and Jacksonville. Tampa's an hour away; J-ville's an hour and a half if you drive really, really fast.

One thing about the southern cities, though ... because the population is more transient, thee doesn't seem to be as close of a bond between the sports teams and the citizenry as there is in northern US and Canadian cities.

[Bucky alum]

Joe- the people have spoken what was my true problem with the southern hockey fans. In my opinion hockey has been succesful recently in Dallas and Phoenix as the teams have been successful. What happens when they suck? They have no traditional backing in the community to help support it. i mean there are not massive hockey leagues in Dallas and phoenix. I believe there are some and they are growing due to the NHL but indoor hockey is a rich kids sport.
My concern would be what if the tables were turned. If the Canadian dollars was worth $1.50 US would you see all the teams move back north and more MLB or NFL football move into Canada. It would be an outrage.

(end of incoherant rant)

[nerudite]

That's the only thing that is really keeping hockey out of Canada... and I find that so sad. I never really sympathized with Canadians losing their teams until I moved here to Edmonton and see such a dedicated following to their team. The Oilers didn't even make the playoffs last year, and they have already sold 15,000 season tickets so far this year. Five games sold out before they went on sale to the public due to people buying pre-sale fan packs. I really respect that kind of fervor in supporting the home team.

And despite all these sell outs, the teams are struggling due to the peso del norte. Who knows how long we'll have the NHL here in Alberta... But in the meantime, I'll bemoan the high ticket prices and cherish all the games I get to go to.

And, by the way, I scored tickets to the sold out Leafs game... GO LEAFS GO!

(Hey, I said I respected Edmonton's support, but I still love the Leafs best!)

Let's play hockey!

[Habanero]

Originally posted by Bucky alum
I believe there are some and they are growing due to the NHL but indoor hockey is a rich kids sport

I don't know, hockey is now played in public schools in the Dallas area and many of my friends are playing on leagues at the local ice rinks. No, it's not cheap, but those guys love the sport. We just paid an upwards of $400 for this season for James to play, but when you really want something you make the sacrifices. Even back in the early 80s when Prestonwood Mall was still up and running they were playing hockey on the ice rink in the mall, there is a big misconception that hockey was never around until the Stars did well.

I also know that even though the Panthers might as well stop playing, they still have fan base, but in every sport you have those that jump on the band wagon. How many people like the AZ D-backs now that they won a World Series? The Stars did not do well that well last season, but Stars fans still showed up and cheered our "new" team on (this is their 10th season in Dallas). How many Stars were on the Olympic teams?

Beyond that, you have to admit, even begrudgingly, there are a few of those "cold cities" that traded for a few Stars players to help bolster their team (I think the Devils have Nieuwendyk and Langenbrunner now and the Leafs picked up Eddie).