Less to See than on NHL Center Ice®

[SlaveNoMore]

Hank Chinaski
that's not the problem

You don't need a football sized crowd- here they play in a basketball sized arena. I've never had "good seats" at Joe Louis but I can follow what's going on from the "way up" seats. basketball size ticket sales are fine- they play lots of games (or were supposed to).

I guess it might be the problem of people who never played not being able to appreciate the game. And tons of kids are playing now- but in very select cities. A big chunk of my kids classmates are in hockey families, and there are several levels of travel leagues- I know families who take their kids to tournaments around the country every other weekend most all year round.

But then, at the college game I was at a few weeks ago- sitting near us is a travel team up from Cleveland for a tournament. And the dad sitting next to me is telling me how he lives in Columbus (several hours from Cleveland) and drives his kid to practices a few times a week because the only travel team is this one up in Cleveland. So point is, the sport isn't taking over the country

As anyone who has sat high in the corner on an NBA knows - hockey sight lines at games are far, far better.

There are few bad seats at MSG for Rangers games

[Did you just call me Coltrane?]

Originally posted by ThurgreedMarshall
No. Schilling pitched like shit in the first game and pretty good in the other. Granted he gave his guys a lift pitching injured (although, how much his injury actually affected him I tend to question because he was throwing low to mid-nineties) and was clearly a leader, but Lowe won three games, I believe and Arroyo and Ortiz (with Lowe) were the guys who won you that Series.

Agree that Big Papi should get more credit. That guy is great. With a great nickname.

[Anne Elk]

Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
Speaking of Idol, the SXSW bands list is up and Billy Idol and Vanilla Ice look to be staging comebacks.

Shifty has a band: The Shapeshifters

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
But then, at the college game I was at a few weeks ago- sitting near us is a travel team up from Cleveland for a tournament. And the dad sitting next to me is telling me how he lives in Columbus (several hours from Cleveland) and drives his kid to practices a few times a week because the only travel team is this one up in Cleveland. So point is, the sport isn't taking over the country

Texas has a lot of hockey teams, and my understanding is that they do rather well in small markets where there are no other professional sports. A bunch of auto workers moved from Detroit to El Paso and they brought hockey with them. A little mini league sort of sprung up all over the state, and as far as I know their attendance is fairly good. I heard a stat once that Texas has more professional hockey teams than any other state in the union. http://www.gthl.org/index1.htm

[Tyrone Slothrop]

I can't believe Flinty's not involved in this.


Koko with A-Rod (or another pussy)

• "There's a history with this nipple thing," he said, leafing through the transcript and pointing out the word "nipple" -- which he'd highlighted in pink -- each time it appeared.
  
  The suit, in any case, says that Patterson would interpret hand movements by Koko as a demand to see exposed human nipples. She warned Alperin and Keller that their employment with the foundation would suffer, the suit says, if they "did not indulge Koko's nipple fetish."

[ThurgreedMarshall]

Originally posted by Anne Elk
Don't feel like it. My point was that the ARod bashing is not a big deal up here.

What a tremendously stupid thing to say.

1. I don't care if you feel like it, get the right quote before you say what they said was no big deal. Otherwise, don't feel like it in silence.

2. You are fucking joking about ARod bashing not being a big deal up there. Please kid yourself on your own time. I've read articles and articles about fan treatment of ARod whenever he plays up there. When you didn't get him last year and we did, you guys bitched and moaned and screamed unfair like you're the smallest-market team in the league. And It's your team that always has something to say about him. It's Jeter and Posada who say things like, "I don't get why they keep bringing it up, but I tend to handle things on the field." Jeter doesn't come out with quotes like, "Damon is a clown for saying the Angels were the best team we faced this year." (And Damon is a fucking clown) Idiots like Nixon and Schilling are incapable of exercising the appropriate self-control. And if it's not a big deal, please tell your radio show guys to shut up about it too. They didn't get your memo, I've heard.

Originally posted by Anne Elk
ARod's slap was pathetic. He should have taken Slave's advice. At least make it look like it is part of the natural flow of the game. It brought back memories of Dykstra's well-timed 'jump' going from 3rd to home. Dykstra got away with it.

Again, what is your fucking point? You just acknowledged that it didn't influence the game. I don't know why it bothers you so much, especially since nothing having anything to do with ARod is a big deal in Bean Town.

Originally posted by Anne Elk
Schilling is annoying. Great pitcher, but annoying. I admire his gutsy performance, but I'm sick of his PR antics. And wearing Tedy Bruschi's jersey yesterday? Ridiculous.

I agree. I admire him because he relishes the big game spotlight and who wouldn't want him on the mound in a game 7, but, jesus. Don't sprain your arm patting yourself on the back and stop acting like you pitched for Boston your whole life. You're as big a hired-gun as Clemens and ARod. I didn't see you sign with MN for less money, so give it a rest.

Originally posted by Anne Elk
The Sox won because the planets were aligned, hell was enduring a cold front, and for once everyone on the team was playing great ball at the same time. D Lowe had been anything but consistent over the last few years, but his post season was incredible.

The Sox won because they were the better team last year.

TM

[Not Bob]

Originally posted by ThurgreedMarshall
No. Schilling pitched like shit in the first game and pretty good in the other.

"Pretty good"? Dude, whatever.

Anyway, I agree with you that Ortiz and Lowe were the prime heroes in that series. Not shocking that Ortiz did what he did, but Lowe pitched on a completely different level than he did in the regular season. The Sox will miss him. (And Pedro.)

But Matt Clement and David Wells aren't bad replacements. If the Boomer can stay healthy, and Clement can learn to pitch in the AL, Sox pitching should be ok.

eta And Wakefield burned up a lot of innings, too. One of these days, I will master the knuckleball, and kiss this law gig goodbye. The Niekros both pitched while collecting Social Security -- why can't I?

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by ThurgreedMarshall
Again, what is your fucking point? You just acknowledged that it didn't influence the game.

Perhaps that's because with one on and one out in the eighth inning of a close playoff game, A-Rod hit a squibber to the pitcher.

I'm just saying.

[Not Bob]

Originally posted by ThurgreedMarshall
Again, what is your fucking point? You just acknowledged that it didn't influence the game. I don't know why it bothers you so much, especially since nothing having anything to do with ARod is a big deal in Bean Town.

It would have made a difference if they didn't reverse the call.

Personally, the act itself bothers me less than his reaction ("look! see me make a running motion with my arms! that's how cornrow boy dropped the ball!") after he was called out.

[ThurgreedMarshall]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
A-Rod is incredibly talented. He's also a pussy. Trot Nixon may not have his skills, but he'd run through a wall to catch a fly ball, and baseball players respect that. I don't know why Nixon et al. are stirring the pot, but what they're saying obviously resonates with a lot of NYers.

I'm not defending ARod because I like him. I am defending him because he is a Yankee. I agree that he is a fucking pussy. Hell, in that game where Jeter all but broke his nose diving into the stands for a foul ball, ARod pulled up 5 feet short on a fly ball he could have had 3 innings later. He got booed by me and everyone else in the Stadium. The point is, why the fuck is Trot Nixon talking shit? Why is Schilling? It's not like Schilling is a long suffering Boston player who finally won and can talk some shit. And Trot Nixon? Whatever.

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
Schilling shouldn't have been walking around, so naturally we give him credit

This is such a load of crap, built up because everyone thought he was done when clearly he wasn't. He took the mound and was healthy enough to throw in the low-mid nineties. And now he's playing it up for all it's worth.

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
for the two games he won after Game 1 of the ALCS. (Two, not one -- recall that the Sox played in the World Series.)

Good point, if we were talking about the World Series, which we weren't.

TM

[SlaveNoMore]

Not Bob
But Matt Clement and David Wells aren't bad replacements. If the Boomer can stay healthy, and Clement can learn to pitch in the AL, Sox pitching should be ok.

The best pickup they made was Wade Miller. Clement is a sub-.500 hack and Wells has an awful career record in Fenway.

[SlaveNoMore]

ThurgreedMarshall
Good point, if we were talking about the World Series, which we weren't.

Did anyone even bother watching that Series? Did another team even bother to show up?

[ThurgreedMarshall]

Originally posted by Not Bob
"Pretty good"? Dude, whatever.

Pretty good for Schilling, which was good enough to win, so it doesn't really matter.

Originally posted by Not Bob
Anyway, I agree with you that Ortiz and Lowe were the prime heroes in that series. Not shocking that Ortiz did what he did, but Lowe pitched on a completely different level than he did in the regular season. The Sox will miss him. (And Pedro.)

But Matt Clement and David Wells aren't bad replacements. If the Boomer can stay healthy, and Clement can learn to pitch in the AL, Sox pitching should be ok.

eta And Wakefield burned up a lot of innings, too. One of these days, I will master the knuckleball, and kiss this law gig goodbye. The Niekros both pitched while collecting Social Security -- why can't I?

Except for your budding career as a knuckleballer, I agree with you. But like your warning about Brown (which turned out to be way too sound), you better hope Wells decides he wants to be in some kind of workable shape. It sucks when you need him in a pinch and he can't play because he sprained some of his fat picking up beers at 5:30am the night before.

TM

[ThurgreedMarshall]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
Perhaps that's because with one on and one out in the eighth inning of a close playoff game, A-Rod hit a squibber to the pitcher.

I'm just saying.

I think you think this type of quote bothers me somehow. It doesn't. He is unclutch. A fraud. Makes his money and gets his numbers off of the mediocre pitchers in the league. Strikes out too much. Can't sacrifice when we need him to. Shitty average with runners in scoring position. Etc.

But the glove-smacking thing is the dumbest thing to bring up because it doesn't mean anything.

TM

[SlaveNoMore]

ThurgreedMarshall
Except for your budding career as a knuckleballer, I agree with you. But like your warning about Brown (which turned out to be way too sound), you better hope Wells decides he wants to be in some kind of workable shape. It sucks when you need him in a pinch and he can't play because he sprained some of his fat picking up beers at 5:30am the night before.

It's great too, how the Sox ran Lowe out of town on a rail for being a partying slob - and then they roll in a keg...I mean Boomer...to replace him.