Only if they can get Gene Hackman to coach...
Well, Gary Bettman is making it clear that he wants the NHL to start up again in the fall. With or without the players. When are the players and union head Bob Goodenow gonna realize that they have no leverage here? If the NHL comes back, using replacement players, do Goodenow and the player reps really think there will be the same kind of public outcry there was when scabs took the field during the 1987 NFL strike?
They really need to realize that, for the vast majority of Americans, hockey is a game of convenience. We watch it if it is on (and mostly, if nothing else is on), and we largely forget about it when it's not. This is not a strong, popular sport that the public will go to bat for; it's largely a time-waster, a substitute, an "I'll watch this 'til the Pistons game comes back on" kind of thing.
Because of this, A.) nobody gives a shit about the strike, and B.) the owners are clearly the ones with their heads screwed on right in all this, because they realize that the astronomical spending has got to stop. Several owners have come out and said that they'll probably make more this year with no hockey than they did last year with a team that pulled in a decent number of fans. The players need to wake the hell up, see that they haven't got a single friggin' chip left to bluff with, and agree to management's proposals. Or they'll be killing the golden goose that allows them to make the amount of money they do for playing a sport whose TV ratings rival those of arena football.
In other news, did anyone else watch Indiana take it up the ass from the refs at the end of last night's game at Wisconsin? Good lord. I mean, I hate Indiana, and generally want them to lose, but even I was quite literally speechless watching the end of that game last night. I haven't seen a home team get quite that much home cooking in a Big Ten game since Bob Knight was still in the league. I'm not entirely sure how the officials could make some of those calls on one end and comletely and utterly swallow their whistles at the other end and somehow manage to keep a straight face. What a blatant, blatant screw-job. It passed the point of being funny, and then it passed the point of being embarrassing, and then it just became ridiculous. I was actually, physically squirming in my chair as Hoosiers were getting fouls called on them left and right for looking at Mike Wilkinson funny. What a horrid, horrid display from that toupe-wearing SOB Hightower and his cronies...
posted by Jack @ 3/02/2005 11:05:00 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
The end of the IU-Wisc. game was just bizarre. I hate IU as well, so I wasn't disappointed, but the refs simply refused to give the Hoosiers any call whatsoever. The weird thing was, as IU was making their comeback, I was starting to convince myself that they still had a chance to get an at-large if they won. Late season wins against MSU and Wisconsin. An 11-5 Big Ten record. If the right teams (Vermont, Shockers, etc.) won their conference tourneys, there was still hope in Bloomington. Now...not so much. They're NIT-bound. End of story.
Or at least that's what I thought. Here's what ESPN.com's BubbleWatch had to say today: "Indiana [14-12 (9-6), RPI: 70, SOS: 12) So close to monster sweep of Mich. State and Wisconsin. Will buzzer-beater Ls vs. Charlotte and Badgers send IU to NIT? Definitely looks NCAA-worthy on recent form, and history shows 10 Big Ten wins is virtually a 100 percent lock for a bid. If they beat N'western and win a first-round tourney game in Chicago, are you keeping this team out?"
To answer their questions, I say, "Yes" and "Yes". Once again, this is shaping up to be the most interesting Selection Sunday in recent memory.
Back to the Kohl Center. Alando Tucker's flying put back to win it was a thing of beauty. I love a good buzzer beater. (Buzzer? Beater? I hardly KNOW her, so I shall do neither.) Last year's Big Dance was sadly lacking in the last-second shot category. Let's hope that isn't the case this year.
As good as Tucker's buzzer beater was, it paled in comparison to the one that my soccer team converted just about an hour and a half before that. We scored with literally less than a second left to win 9-8. It was a hell of a game. No team ever had a lead of more than a goal. The funniest part was the fact that we had to use our shitty 4th string goalie, who, in case you're wondering, is me. Of our top 3 goalies, 2 were out of town and one (my friend Damien) found out he was suspended a couple seconds before the game started. Damien was the starting goalkeeper for our high school's state championship soccer team. I was not. Imagine a retarded midget suddenly playing goalkeeper in the World Cup. This is what I think I looked like. Anyway, to make a long story not quite as long, my teammates bailed me out numerous times and the buzzer beater was unreal. So, 2 great buzzer beaters in one night, and it's only March 1st?! It's gonna be a good month.
- Nips
So here's my dilemma. The Pacifier, starring Vin Diesel opens tonight. But I still haven't seen The Man of the House, starring Tommy Lee Jones! Decisions. Decisions.
- Nips
The thing is, I might actually go see 'The Pacifier' once it hits dollar shows. After all, it IS written by Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant, two of the geniuses behind 'The State' and 'Reno 911'...
Did not know that. I must admit that I enjoy seeing Diesel taken down a peg (A WHOLE PEG!) by a duck.
On an entirely different note, has anyone seen the new Burger King commercial featuring Hootie? Todd? If you haven't, keep your eyes peeled. It's fantastic.
- Nips
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