Off Wing Opinion

Here's a question from Mark Cuban that I'll be chewing on for a little while:

I was trying to remember the last time I heard a question from a sports reporter before or after a game or event when i thought to myself "What a great question". Why ?

I'm struggling with this one.

From Sportsnet.ca:

The City of Hamilton has re-activated an agreement with Waterloo billionaire Jim Balsillie giving him exclusive rights to bring an NHL team to Copps Coliseum, the Hamilton Spectator reported Thursday.

As part of the deal, the city is also negotiating to give Balsillie the right to run Hamilton Place and the Convention Centre -- if he brings a team to town.

The next step of a long sad march continues...

Be sure to check out the following posts from my NHL Fanhouse friends:

Ron Wilson Passes the Test (Greg Wyshynski)
Stanley Cup Ratings Cold in Canada (Jes Golbez)
Chris Chelios Wins NHL Leadership Award (Jes Golbez)
Hockey Rookies for the Web Generation (Greg Wyshynski)
Game 2: Post Game Blogger Presser (Tom Luongo)

Stop by tomorrow for more.

* For the blow-by-blow, check out the live blog I did with Tom Luongo tonight.

* Bryan Murray is being completely out coached. His top line has been shut down, and he doesn't seem to have any answers. I'm watching the postgame presser now, and he doesn't seem all that concerned. Perhaps that's a key for him not to look too down when he walks back into that locker room.

* 21 turnovers for Ottawa, 11 from their top line. That's not bleeding, that's a gushing wound.

* The Ducks never miss a chance to punish somebody. Turn your back to go in deep and chip the puck out, take a hit. Skate up the boards to take a chance on a 50/50 puck, get a shot to the chops. Get in close, get face washed by Pronger. It never stops.

This sort of game takes a toll one hit at a time and incrementally. While the Sens stayed disciplined tonight, I wonder how much longer that can last with the frustration building.

* Tonight's 2nd period might have set the NHL back 15 years. After it was over I had to take a nap that lasted a full minute into the third period, and I was live blogging the game.

* Ray Emery is the only Senator playing worth a damn. He's showing me something. If he ever gets some support, he can steal a game. As for his teammates, they've regressed over two games. All is lost.

Stop by the NHL Fanhouse around game time for some live blogging from me and Tom Luongo.

A couple of days back, I dedicated my column at NBC Sports.com to a look at the series of video shorts put together by the Knob Hockey gang.

But after kicking around YouTube this morning, I think I might have found the ultimate expression of the game Richard D'Alessio and the Jokers Hockey Club tried to parody:

The game in question costs an actual $495. Be sure to take a close look at the goalie. Back when I played table/knob hockey, there was no way the goalie had that much freedom of movement.

Think of it as a gift for the hockey fan who has everything. And while I'm sure plenty of folks would love to have their own electric bubble hockey set up, I can't help but love the old school vibe I'm getting this is giving off.

Here's a rundown on what appeared on NHL Fanhouse on the off day between Games One and Two of the Stanley Cup Finals:

What Gary Bettman Really Said About Nashville (Greg Wyshynski)
Teemu Selanne is a Great Friend (Jes Golbez)
Hockey Nerd Tuesday (Greg Wyshynski)
NHL Prospect Dating Game: Angelo Esposito (J.P.)
Schwarzenegger does Hockey Night in Canada (Jes Golbez)

Tomorrow night, Tom Luongo and I will be live blogging Game Two.

As has been previously noted by Mike Vogel and On Frozen Blog, the Hockey Hall of Fame has announced that Caps beat writer Dave Fay of the Washington Times has been designated as this year's recipient of the Elmer Ferguson Award.

Fay will get the award during a November luncheon that's part of Hall of Fame Induction Weekend from November 9-12, 2007.

Over this past season, I got a chance to rub elbows with Dave, and it's clear just how much the players and the organization respect his work and dedication to the Caps beat. Congratulations to Dave on some well deserved recognition that's been a long time coming.

Steve Klein at Poynter dives into the blogger press credential issue this morning, telling the story of how my friend Martin Thornell of Hockey Dirt got the big brush off from the Ottawa Senators.

Looks like that's happening a lot lately up in Ottawa.

What's most disappointing about this whole story is how the folks with the Senators seem to be unaware of what's been happening elsewhere in the league, especially here in D.C., where bloggers and MSM types co-exist peacefully in the press box, locker room and postgame press conference. There's no reason why it can't work elsewhere, especially when the blueprint is already in place.

Thanks to Ted Leonsis and J.P. for the pointer, or "poynter" as it were...

Earl Sleek took a look at the 5-on-5 ice time in last night's game, and using Vic Ferrari's online application (another incredible innovation of the hockey blogosphere) determined that Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle supplemented the efforts of the best checking line in the game (R. Niedermayer-Pahlsson-Moen) to blunt the best scoring line in the game (Heatley-Spezza-Alfredsson) with a pair of Norris Trophy winners (R. Niedermayer-Pronger).

The result: S. Niedermayer and Pronger play more even-strength minutes together than in any previous playoff round:

This is really a huge change in strategy to introduce in the Stanley Cup Finals, but sure enough, late in a tied game with the Spezza line out, who

Linda Cohn teased features on LeBron James, Roger Clemens and Joe Torre, but not a single word about Game One of the Stanley Cup Finals.

If it doesn't happen on ESPN, it just doesn't happen. But you knew that already.

UPDATE: ESPN just mentioned hockey in the latest tease after the Jazz-Spurs playoff game.

* First, check out the NHL Fan House live blog with J.P. and G-Dub. There's insight, analysis and plenty of humor. Great job, guys.

* For the Ducks, the game was the story of four power plays: The first two where Ottawa cashed in, and then the 5-on-3 in the second period and the 6-on-4 late in the third where the Ducks looked like a completely different team.

If Anaheim can stay out of the box and Sami Pahlsson can resist the urge of trying to use his own stick to flip J.S. Giguere's back to him, Ottawa will be in real trouble 5-on-5.

* Moen-Pahlsson-Niedermayer erased Heatley-Spezza-Alfredsson. Bad news for Ottawa. Start playing with a mean streak and finish some checks. Spezza especially was practically invisible.

* Don't blame Ray Emery or Anton Volchenkov. Emery made a number of third period saves that kept the game tied, while Volchenkov, as J.P. pointed out, blocked 10 shots.

* As great as Anaheim played 5-on-5, they were worthless with the man advantage, going 0-for-4. Ottawa was 2-for-7, and played with confidence and command early on.

* You could see Anaheim has confidence in their game plan, as they didn't look any different 5-on-5 at any point during the game, even when they were down a goal, something we saw a couple of times in previous rounds.

* Both teams played this game in fifth gear from the opening faceoff. There was speed, there was physicality, there was emotion, everything you could possibly want in a hockey game.

* Though I'm not sure these two teams can stand the pounding, please, please, please give us seven games of this sort of hockey.

This is not good news: An Ottawa-based blogger/freelancer who has been a regular in the press box all season long has been denied a press pass to cover the Stanley Cup Finals:

Picture it: The NHL -- the high school boy, out of step with the rest of the cliques but desperate to seek validation, hungers for the attention of the most popular girl in school (the American media). She ignores him and regularly mocks him in front of anyone who will listen. Meanwhile, the girl with genuine interest (the Canadian media) might be plain and a bit of an oddball. But she legitimately cares about him, and yet he delivers the cold shoulder. This argument was solidified most recently by the league's incessant kowtowing to NBC during the playoffs -- who infamously demonstrated their gratitude by cutting the Sens-Sabres OT coverage in favour of the Preakness Stakes.

It sounds like original outline for Dawson's Creek -- except our Dawson in this case seems to forget that Joey Potter finally threw in the towel after chasing him for years, and ended up with Pacey Witter in the end...who could be represented by, I dunno... Mixed Martial Arts?

Sounds like as good an explanation as any I've heard. Looks like I better check twice on those Draft credentials I applied for.

Thanks to Neate Sager for the pointer.

As promised last week, my interview with one of the minds behind Knob Hockey, Richard D'Alessio, has been posted over at NBC Sports.com.

Here's one of the latest, Chris Pronger's rant against Canada:

I've been promised there's more to come.

The gang at the NHL Fanhouse was working overtime this weekend to help preview the Stanley Cup Finals. Here's the lineup:

5 Reasons Why Anaheim Will Skate the Cup (Greg Wyshynski)
5 Reasons Why Ottawa Will Skate the Cup (Tom Luongo)
Like a Rock: Chris Pronger (James Mirtle)
Like a Rock: Daniel Alfredsson (J.P. Press)
Quacking the Praises of Sean O'Donnell (Jes Golbez)
Singing the Praises of Dean McAmmond (That McErlain Guy)

Be sure to stop by the NHL Fanhouse tonight as J.P. G-Dub live blog Game One of the Finals.

Now if you'd excuse me, I've just remembered that this is actually a Holiday here in the States.

It's been a busy weekend. For my look at the Stanley Cup Finals, please visit Deadspin.

Because like one of their commenters wrote, "when you think Memorial Day, you think hockey".

EA has run the video game sim, and they say it's Ottawa in 6.

Back in Nashville, a lot of folks are concerned about the Predators leaving town. The main hope to keep the team in town rests with a clause in their lease agreement:

Even if the Predators choose to exercise an exit clause in their contract with Metro next month, the team could still be held to its lease here

Mark at Andrew's Dallas Stars Page was watching a Memorial Cup game online the other day, and saw a feature that the NHL has got to figure out a way to implement in time for next season:

Towards the end of the 2nd period the referee went to the phone for a review upstairs and you were allowed to hear the discussion. In this case it was no big deal. They were just adjusting the time on the clock. But it would be interesting on a goal review. I am not sure if this something they just started tonight or not, but I haven't seen it any of the Memorial Cup games I have watched so far this year. I just thought that it was a pretty neat addition to the broadcast.

I'll second that emotion. Take that audio and put it on the air next season, Mr. Commissioner.

My buddy, Jon Swensen of Sharkspage, writes in about his own take on the sale of the Nashville Predators:

Eric, it is tough to hear about Nashville. They were probably one of the easiest NHL teams to work with.

I actually tried to talk to Leipold a couple of weeks after all of the bad news broke, I think in early March. They told me he was not talking with the media, but there were a lot of positive things about Nashville that were not being reported.

And I have to give Leipold credit, he answered a lot of the pointed questions asked by blogger Jason Kirk during the lockout. I talked to a lot of the media before the Sharks-Nashville series, and a lot of them did not even think that Nashville would sell out their playoff games.

They did, which none of them bothered to report, and the Nashville pre-game tv host told me ratings were very high in the Nashville market. That does not mean any of the problems are any less worse, but a lot of positive news was pushed to the wayside so some people could pile on.

Unfortunately, piling on, along with following the crowd, is simply the nature of this business sometimes.

I just got off the phone with David Uk and Richard Dalessio, two of the brain behind the creation of one of the greatest viral hockey videos of all-time: Knob Hockey. Click here for the latest.

Look for some new stuff later today, including Daniel Alfredsson crank calling Mats Sundin on the golf course.

This is great stuff. Stay tuned.

The Nashville Post, the publication that originally broke the news that Craig Leipold had completed an agreement to sell the Nashville Predators to RIM founder Jim Balsillie, has gotten hold of the letter that Leipold sent to season ticket holders, suite owners and sponsors explaining the "why" behind the sale.

It makes interesting reading:

Unfortunately, the success on the ice has not translated to success for me as business owner. Here are just a few facts as to why:

From the Nashville Post:

The Nashville Predators are being sold.

NashvillePost.com has learned that Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of Research In Motion (makers of the Blackberry electronic communication device) is purchasing the Predators from Wisconsin businessman Craig Leipold. Leipold has owned the club since it first took to the ice in 1998.

The sale of the Predators, Nashville's first major league sporting franchise, was apparently discussed today in New York at a meeting of the National Hockey League's Board of Governors. It is believed as of now that the team will remain in Nashville for the forseeable future.

According to NashvillePost.com sources, a press conference has been scheduled for tomorrow to announce the sale of the team. At the time of publication of this article, officials from Predators could not be reached for comment.

Looks like Leipold was serious about not wanting to lose any more money. And of course, Balsillie wouldn't be putting up that kind of money unless he was sure he could move this team wherever he wanted -- including Ontario.

More later.

UPDATE: Here's a question that was in John Buccigross' mailbag earlier today.

Assuming Peter Forsberg does not play next season, the Predators are potentially going to lose a bunch of their top players. What do you see happening with these four regulars?

Scott Hartnell
Paul Kariya
Scott Nichol
Kimmo Timonen

It's terrible to think that a team with the third-best record in the NHL is potentially going to crumple. Everyone seems to think that Hartnell is gone to Edmonton and Timonen to Philadelphia to join his brother. Chris Mason and Marek Zidlicky are being thrown around as possible trade bait. Thoughts? Comments? Trade proposals?

Will Balsillie keep the team together and competitive, even if the fans in Nashville may stop coming if they know the team is leaving town? Interesting times...

With all the commotion of NBC dumping out of Game Five of the the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday, it's important to remember that it's always been tough for hockey fans in the U.S. when it comes to watching their favorite teams on television.

Case in point: I'm watching archival footage of Game Six of the 1979 Stanley Cup Semifinals series between the Rangers and Islanders, a game that was played at Madison Square Garden on May 8, 1979, courtesy of MSG Vault.

In the midst of the broadcast, Rangers play-by-play voice Jim Gordon noted that a number of fans were watching the game inside the MSG complex at the Felt Forum on closed-circuit television. When he asked Rangers color man Bill Chadwick -- yes, that Bill Chadwick -- to say hello to everyone watching, he also made a point to say hello to everyone watching at Roosevelt Raceway on Long Island.

For this series, all of the Rangers home games were carried on MSG Network on cable. Unfortunately, back in the day, cable penetration wasn't anywhere near 100% in the country, even in the metro New York area. So if you didn't have cable, you were out of luck -- unless of course you wanted to schlep into Manhattan or out to Nassau County to watch on closed circuit.

So when we complain about situations like Saturday, and it's understandable why people do, try not to forget that it used to be a whole lot worse. Thanks to Newsday's Neil Best for the heads-up.

With Detroit eliminated, we're down to the final two, and I wanted to take a moment to honor the folks in the Off Wing Stanley Cup Challenge who remain in our pool:

Ottawa:

Martin Thornell
Luc Comeau
George Guillemette
Ken Berard

Anaheim:

Jeffrey Schlesinger
Kartikeya Sinha
Signal2Noise
Gregg Simon (2004 Winner)

Please note, that while Joe Dumas and I picked Anaheim, we're ineligible for the grand prize due to blog affiliation.

Now we have to wait six days for Game One of the Finals. Somehow that doesn't seem right.