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Hockey addendum
May. 21st, 2008 08:56 amNo, not yet to the American Idol commentary. Rather, I just thought I'd point out something I hadn't realized earlier, that the other day, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman apparently confirmed what many people have long suspected -- he's trying his damnedest to utterly destroy hockey. It's already by far the least popular of the major American sports, so you'd think he'd capitalize on opportunities, right?
NO! That would be silly! Why would he do that?
Finals, as I mentioned this year, are Detroit and Pittsburgh. Absolutely perfect.
-- Both are very good teams that are a lot of fun to watch and have been playing at the top of their games (No, this does not always work out this way. Quirk of the struggles of the hockey playoffs.)
-- Both with lots of stars to promote and show off.
-- Both very popular teams.
-- Both American teams (it's kind of nicer to see the Canadian teams do well, but figure the Canadians will watch no matter who's playing).
-- Both teams with tradition behind them, not one of the dozen or so teams less than 20 years old.
-- Both teams in an actual hockey market - cities with ice, for instance. Not Florida, North Carolina, Texas, or southern California.
-- Both teams in industrial cities. That currently means struggling cities where people are really into sports because they need the emotional boost.
So, hockey and basketball playoffs always go on at the same time, with hockey being a little ahead, time-wise. With two teams left in hockey, there are four left in basketball, just starting their semifinals (and having scheduled that round earlier than the NHL finals). The two series are San Antonio-LA Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the Detroit Pistons. Cleveland, if you aren't familiar with American geography, is only two hours from Pittsburgh, which has no NBA team. In other words, the Cavaliers and the Penguins share lots of the same fans. The Pistons and the Red Wings share even more.
Why the rant? You guessed it! Games 1, 2, and 3 of the NHL Finals are scheduled for the same days as Games 3, 4, and 5 of of the Cavaliers-Pistons series! All the hockey games are at 8 PM, all the basketball games at 8:30. They couldn't even stagger the times. The even more stupid thing is that, with the semifinals still going on, the NHL announced that the Finals, whenever they started, would be played only on Saturdays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, which would have caused only one overlap, and that's a Saturday, when you can have afternoon games. Now it's all Saturdays, Mondays, and Wednesdays. I don't watch the NBA anyway, so I'm not in conflict. I just want to know what the hell Bettman was thinking, scheduling his most marketable final in years for the exact days that its most likely viewers are least likely to watch it.
NO! That would be silly! Why would he do that?
Finals, as I mentioned this year, are Detroit and Pittsburgh. Absolutely perfect.
-- Both are very good teams that are a lot of fun to watch and have been playing at the top of their games (No, this does not always work out this way. Quirk of the struggles of the hockey playoffs.)
-- Both with lots of stars to promote and show off.
-- Both very popular teams.
-- Both American teams (it's kind of nicer to see the Canadian teams do well, but figure the Canadians will watch no matter who's playing).
-- Both teams with tradition behind them, not one of the dozen or so teams less than 20 years old.
-- Both teams in an actual hockey market - cities with ice, for instance. Not Florida, North Carolina, Texas, or southern California.
-- Both teams in industrial cities. That currently means struggling cities where people are really into sports because they need the emotional boost.
So, hockey and basketball playoffs always go on at the same time, with hockey being a little ahead, time-wise. With two teams left in hockey, there are four left in basketball, just starting their semifinals (and having scheduled that round earlier than the NHL finals). The two series are San Antonio-LA Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the Detroit Pistons. Cleveland, if you aren't familiar with American geography, is only two hours from Pittsburgh, which has no NBA team. In other words, the Cavaliers and the Penguins share lots of the same fans. The Pistons and the Red Wings share even more.
Why the rant? You guessed it! Games 1, 2, and 3 of the NHL Finals are scheduled for the same days as Games 3, 4, and 5 of of the Cavaliers-Pistons series! All the hockey games are at 8 PM, all the basketball games at 8:30. They couldn't even stagger the times. The even more stupid thing is that, with the semifinals still going on, the NHL announced that the Finals, whenever they started, would be played only on Saturdays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, which would have caused only one overlap, and that's a Saturday, when you can have afternoon games. Now it's all Saturdays, Mondays, and Wednesdays. I don't watch the NBA anyway, so I'm not in conflict. I just want to know what the hell Bettman was thinking, scheduling his most marketable final in years for the exact days that its most likely viewers are least likely to watch it.
