Saturday, January 26, 2008
The All-Star Game Cometh (Sans Sid)
by snoopyjode (crossposted)
Well, it's that time of year again...
I know, I know... That preview is a little painful for us to watch because it was (quite obviously) shot prior to Sir Sidney's injury. And since he's going to be out for 6 to 8 weeks, Sid won't be playing in the All Star games (again, quite obviously).
However, if you tune in anyways, you'll get to see something new. This year the NHL YoungStars game will be part of the SuperSkills competition. A few Penguins will be participating in the events this year. Two of our young Pens were named to the YoungStars team:
While we'll miss the teaming of Sid and Alex this year, there are still plenty of reasons to watch. AOL Fanhouse contributer, Hockey Rants writer, and TSCS founder Jes gives us his thoughts on the All Star games:
Well, it's that time of year again...
I know, I know... That preview is a little painful for us to watch because it was (quite obviously) shot prior to Sir Sidney's injury. And since he's going to be out for 6 to 8 weeks, Sid won't be playing in the All Star games (again, quite obviously).
However, if you tune in anyways, you'll get to see something new. This year the NHL YoungStars game will be part of the SuperSkills competition. A few Penguins will be participating in the events this year. Two of our young Pens were named to the YoungStars team:
Kris Letang and Tyler Kennedy are NHL YoungStars.Unfortunately, Kennedy won't be heading to Atlanta. He has come down with a case of mononucleosis. But both of our Russian superstars are on the Eastern Conference team:
The Penguins teammates were selected to participate in the event, in which the eight-player Eastern and Western Conference YoungStar teams will face off in a new three-on-three event as part of the Dodge/NHL SuperSkills competition on Saturday, Jan. 26, at Philips Arena in Atlanta at 7 p.m. The YoungStars will be shooting against goaltenders named to participate in the NHL All-Star Game the following day.
Sergei Gonchar and Evgeni Malkin are from the same country and share the same mailing address.Malkin, of course, was chosen to take The Kid's place after he was forced to drop out because of his high ankle sprain. (FYI: Sid was the leading vote getter for the second year in a row.) Now I know not everyone thinks the All Star games are worth watching, but I do. The All Star games give the pros a chance to show off their fancy moves without worrying about getting two points. And not to rub salt in the wound, but just tell me where else are you ever going to get a chance to see Sidney Crosby playing on the same team as Alexander Ovechkin? It was certainly entertaining to see Sid and Alex put the "rivalry" aside and play for the same team last year. The two of them even carried a cake to birthday boy Brendan Shanahan during the All Star games weekend last year. Remember this? It was one of the first videos I posted when I started writing for TSCS:
They also have something else in common – they are All-Stars.
The two Russians head to Atlanta this weekend to take part in the NHL All-Star Game. The Penguins duo will represent the Eastern Conference All-Stars at Philips Arena. It will mark the first time the Penguins will have two players in the game since 2001, when Mario Lemieux and Alexei Kovalev faced each other in the North America vs. World format in Denver.
While we'll miss the teaming of Sid and Alex this year, there are still plenty of reasons to watch. AOL Fanhouse contributer, Hockey Rants writer, and TSCS founder Jes gives us his thoughts on the All Star games:
I think the shine has worn off of the All-Star Game, over time, because seeing the biggest stars is no longer as special as it once ways.The All Star games will be shown on the Versus network all weekend. Click the banner below for all the details. It's the only hockey fix you'll be able to get all weekend! :)
In the days before we had massive TV and internet exposure, seeing some of the biggest stars from the 'other' conference was a rare treat.
When I was a kid, I didn't get to see Mario Lemieux so much because only our local games were televised plus 1-2 Hockey Night in Canada matchups. Now? Even in Vancouver, I get to see lots of Sid and the Penguins.
Well, except Sid won't be at the All-Star Game this time :(
Still, I am looking forward to the re-vamped Skills Competition, as we'll get to see the new shootout competition that is similar to the NBA's Dunk competition. It'll be great to see what weird moves the NHLers can pull off when they aren't under pressure to win an actual game.
Labels: All-Star game, sidney crosby, versus
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Weekend Wayne's World: TV Ratings
by Jes
Our Southern correspondant is back with his thoughts and musings on recent TV ratings for the NHL, in reference to a recent article by The Globe and Mail.
To which Wayne remarks: "When your ratings were 0.0, 32% DOES seem impressive..."
Zing!
"On the downside, audiences for the Atlanta Thrashers have dropped 50 per cent. On the downside, audiences for the Atlanta Thrashers have dropped 50 per cent."
Wayne: As a Thrasher die-hard, I must admit the Thrash have been hard to watch this season; this may dovetail with Tim Tucker's column in the AJC after the Thrashers were eliminated after the playoffs about the miniscule TV audiences they got...
Jes: I'd figure the Thrash would be a fairly good draw because they play an offensive style of game and have exciting players like Hossa and Kovalchuk. Sure, the Thrash don't win a LOT of games, but at least they don't trap and trap and trap
"Why are the numbers up? The absence of prime-time content, as a result of the Hollywood writers' strike, is driving audiences to sports programming. Versus showcases Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby at every opportunity."
Wayne: Is anyone else sick and tired of the Pittsburgh Crosbys? Besides, we've seen every rerun of "CSI", "CSI: Miami", "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit", etc...
Jes: Who would ever get sick of Sidney Crosby? yeesh. Well, it's good to see the NHL capitalize on someone else's suffering. Any break the NHL can get ...
Wayne: One day, when I get the time (and a new computer), I'll write WHY Versus sucks, but I think you can probably figure it out on your own...
Jes: Fortunately, Canadian coverage will always be far superior and easily accessible. From what I've ever seen VERSUS gives the NHL great coverage, and respects the sport, but just can't get through to enough eyeballs.
Our Southern correspondant is back with his thoughts and musings on recent TV ratings for the NHL, in reference to a recent article by The Globe and Mail.
At the midway point of this season, national audiences on Versus are up 32 per cent from this time last year.
Versus is drawing numbers comparable with ESPN2's viewership in 2003-04, which was the last year of its deal with the NHL.
To which Wayne remarks: "When your ratings were 0.0, 32% DOES seem impressive..."
Zing!
"On the downside, audiences for the Atlanta Thrashers have dropped 50 per cent. On the downside, audiences for the Atlanta Thrashers have dropped 50 per cent."
Wayne: As a Thrasher die-hard, I must admit the Thrash have been hard to watch this season; this may dovetail with Tim Tucker's column in the AJC after the Thrashers were eliminated after the playoffs about the miniscule TV audiences they got...
Jes: I'd figure the Thrash would be a fairly good draw because they play an offensive style of game and have exciting players like Hossa and Kovalchuk. Sure, the Thrash don't win a LOT of games, but at least they don't trap and trap and trap
"Why are the numbers up? The absence of prime-time content, as a result of the Hollywood writers' strike, is driving audiences to sports programming. Versus showcases Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby at every opportunity."
Wayne: Is anyone else sick and tired of the Pittsburgh Crosbys? Besides, we've seen every rerun of "CSI", "CSI: Miami", "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit", etc...
Jes: Who would ever get sick of Sidney Crosby? yeesh. Well, it's good to see the NHL capitalize on someone else's suffering. Any break the NHL can get ...
Wayne: One day, when I get the time (and a new computer), I'll write WHY Versus sucks, but I think you can probably figure it out on your own...
Jes: Fortunately, Canadian coverage will always be far superior and easily accessible. From what I've ever seen VERSUS gives the NHL great coverage, and respects the sport, but just can't get through to enough eyeballs.
Labels: tv, versus, Wayne's World
Monday, October 22, 2007
Sidney Crosby, Revealed!
Cross-posted from The Sidney Crosby Show, by Snoopyjode:
It's been mentioned in the comments section that Sidney has a new show debuting on the Versus network on Tuesday, October 23. The people at Versus were nice enough to contact us to give us an exclusive sneak preview of the "Sidney Crosby Revealed." Check it out:
Wow. What a show that is going to be! It will air on Versus on 10-23-07 at 6:30pm Eastern. Immediately following the program, the Pens face the Rangers. WHAT A NIGHT!!! That's DEFINITELY must see TV. (Just as a reminder, I'm going to put a banner at the bottom of the page. Click it to go to the Versus website.) It's going to be AWESOME!!! BE SURE TO TUNE IN!!!
It's been mentioned in the comments section that Sidney has a new show debuting on the Versus network on Tuesday, October 23. The people at Versus were nice enough to contact us to give us an exclusive sneak preview of the "Sidney Crosby Revealed." Check it out:
Wow. What a show that is going to be! It will air on Versus on 10-23-07 at 6:30pm Eastern. Immediately following the program, the Pens face the Rangers. WHAT A NIGHT!!! That's DEFINITELY must see TV. (Just as a reminder, I'm going to put a banner at the bottom of the page. Click it to go to the Versus website.) It's going to be AWESOME!!! BE SURE TO TUNE IN!!!
Labels: sidney crosby, versus, video
