HBO Gives Viewers Unique Look Into NHL
For this past month, HBO has been doing something that no other network or cable television station has ever done before: they have given viewers an uncensored look into the lives of professional hockey players.
Hockey is something that, unless you are a die-hard fan, many of us know little about. Hockey is unlike mainstream American sports such as basketball and football. Few people play hockey as children and most of us don't spend our Saturdays watching hockey on television.
But hockey is a fun, fascinating sport and should be shared with the American public on a more intimate basis. HBO gave viewers the rare opportunity to learn more about this sport and more about the real lives of hockey players in their four-part series '24/7 Penguins/Capitals: The Road to the NHL Winter Classic'
The all-access series aired on HBO on four separate nights and gave viewers a well-rounded view of the rivalry between the Washington Capitals, led by Alexander Overchkin, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, led by Sidney Crosby. During the series we saw the two teams during their regular season, at home and during practices. From the mundane to the exciting, we saw and experienced every event leading up to the ultimate hockey showdown, the NHL Winter Classic.
Now that the all-access series is over, the consensus is in: it was a hit. Many people, including myself, believe that the series was good for the sport. I don't think it will change every American's attitude towards hockey, but it did give people a look into hockey that is rarely seen.
It also made hockey superstars like Sydney Crosby seem a little bit more relatable. It made me care about the players and their struggles. And, if viewers are emotionally invested, it always means a good thing in terms of ratings.
Hopefully HBO will do it again. You can catch hockey on ESPN on DISH Network satellite television.
The NHL All-Star Game Will Be Awesome This Year!
In case you've missed the news about how the NHL is going to handle its All-Star game this year, here's the rundown: The captains will choose their teammates! Of course anyone who's ever played a pick-up game on the frozen pond knows there's only one question that really matters: Do you choose your best friend or the best player?
Six players have been announced so far, and are the leading vote-getters in fan balloting. They are, incredibly, only from two teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks. Pittsburgh will send Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Marc-Andre Fleury; Chicago will send Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith. On January 11th the NHL will announce the remaining 36 players to complete the list of all 42 All-Stars.
From there, all of the players will nominate 2 captains and 4 alternates. Once decided, the captains will select their teams from the remaining pool of players whose conference affiliations will mean nothing for the purpose of this game. Personally, I think it's an awesome way to put together two competing All-Star teams, and the mixture of Eastern and Western conference players on each team will be a pure treat for the fans. It has an Olympic feel to it.
The All-Star game will be held at the NHL Fan Fair at the Raleigh Convention Center and will be televised Friday, January 28th, on Versus on DISH Network.The 2011 NHL All-Star Game will air on the same channel two days later from the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Follow all the NHL All- Star Game buildup right here!
The Winter Classic Was, Well, Classic!
The NHL Winter Classic, played at an outside venue on the first day of the year for the 4th year in a row, featured the Washington Capitals at the Pittsburgh Penguins. Played at Heinz Field, it was a Penguins home game and was played in front of 68,111 fans. In case Heinz Field as a familiar ring to it, it's where the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers play their home football games.
There was a little bit of everything in this year's annual event, including power plays, short-handed shots on goal, several fights, rain and soft ice which causes the puck to roll instead of slide. This event also caused NHL scoring leader Sidney Crosby to be held scoreless for the 2nd game in a row (after scoring at least 1 point in 25 consecutive games)!
The best part of the game, however, is that it is a total fan event, both live and on DISH Network satellite TV. Sports fans looking for something unique and interesting are always treated to a great show, and neither the Caps nor the Pens disappointed.
Scoring first, it looked like the home team was going to get the job done. However, the odds in the Winter Classic were against them, with only one home team winning the outdoor event. Sadly, for Penguins' fans, it was their only goal. The Capitals went on to score 3 goals for a decisive victory in the NHL's Eastern Conference.
Everything is back to normal in the NHL, and the remainder of the games this year will be played indoors, in front of much smaller crowds and on pristine ice. I'll follow all the action between now and the day the Stanley Cup is hosted in June. Until then, only 362 days until next year's Winter Classic!
You Can Own A Piece Of The 1980 Winter Olympics
Sports Illustrated called it the greatest moment in sports of the 20th century. Deemed "The Miracle on Ice", the 1980 US men's hockey team shocked the vaunted Soviet Union's men's hockey team, allowing them to move on to defeat Finland to win the gold medal.
Mark Wells, who was the last player named to the 1980 team and scored goals in wins over Norway and Romania in those Olympic games, will now see his gold medal put up for auction.
Wells, who has a genetic disease that has taken its toll on his spinal cord and discs, was forced to sell his Olympic gold medal to a Connecticut sports memorabilia collector a few years ago. That collector has now decided to put the medal up for auction.
Considered one of the rarest sports memorabilia items ever put to auction—after all, there are only twenty of them—it is estimated that it could sell for as much as $125,000. The medal will come with a letter of authenticity from Wells, verifying it as the genuine article.
It's inconceivable that finding willing buyers will be much of a challenge. For anyone old enough to have seen the game live on cable television—I'm one of those people—possession of a men's hockey gold medal from the XIII Olympic Winter Games from Lake Placid, New York would be the prize of a lifetime. Perhaps I can coax my editor into a really (really) big raise. John? Bueller? Anyone?
Stories From The Penalty Box, Also Known As Summer
The best day of the year is when the NHL season starts. The next best day—which is also a bad day in its own way—is the last game of the Stanley Cup Finals. The champion is crowned, 2nd place is forgotten a week later, and the long, hot days of summer are enough to cause some of us to want to cross-check that annoying guy in the office right into the water cooler. Better not do that, however, as most companies generally hand out more than a 2-minute minor for such infractions.
A couple of days ago the temps vaulted over one hundred degrees, and my mood sank when I walked outside and thought I'd walked into an oven. Something had to give. I went back inside and opened the freezer and stuck my head inside. It was time for serious thinking and I had to come up with something soon or I was going to go mad.
That's when it hit me. I'd watched the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals on DISH Network, and still had Games 5 & 6 on my DVR. I was positively beaming when I remembered I had those games saved. I had to hurry and close the freezer so I didn't melt the Otter Pops.
I busted out my fan gear—jersey, hat, hockey pants, hockey stick—and turned on Game 6, the final game of the Cup series. I said it back in June and I'm gonna say it again, If you missed Game 6 in Philadelphia you'd better have a damn good reason.
Enough time had passed since the final game that a lot of the action felt new. I mean I knew the Blackhawks beat the Flyers in Philly to grab their first cup since 1961! That's like 50 years ago! (Okay, 49, but who's counting?) About halfway through Game 6 on my DVR I remembered that the game had gone into overtime, and since it was the last game, and I already knew who won, I just skipped ahead and watched from the beginning of the OT period until Patrick Kane dumped in the Cup-winning goal at the 4:06 mark.
I rewound it a few times, played it frame-by-frame, and then reset the DVR to the beginning of the OT period and watched those four minutes and six seconds again. By then my wife had had enough of my much-needed off-season constitutional, but by then I didn't care. I'd gotten my NHL fix, and it'll probably be enough to hold me until September, when goalies and rookies report to camp.
See you next month, and remember to keep your stick on the ice!
