NHL 2004

[SuckaInA3Piece]

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atomicpunk5151 said:
This lockout Fu#$@n sucks. I don't think we are going to even have a NHL season this year. I say slam a salary cap on them, contract a few dead teams, kill all the clutching and grabbing, KILL the Instigator penalty(worse rule in hockey) and lets have a season.

Until then I will continue to rock old guys in the local ice hockey beer leagues to take out my fustration.

I also agree that the US national media doesn't give a crap about the lockout or the NHL, bad sign for the NHL & the NHLPA.

WAR Hockey coming back
Jeff

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with all that, but Bettman wants the NHL to be as big as the NFL and NBA. It just aint gonna happen. Get rid of some teams and change that fucking instigator rule and let's play.

[mikemellow]

[ QUOTE ]
SuckaIn3Piece said:
I MISS HOCKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [img]images/smilies/icon_ball.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

I haven't really watched since Cam Neely retired. Loved his game.. [img]images/smilies/icon16.gif[/img]

[SuckaInA3Piece]

So did I. Cam was one of my favorite hockey players when I was younger. I loved the grit he bought to the rink every night. I'm wearing my Canucks #8 Brashear jersey right now, and one of my favorite Neely moments involved Donald. Brash basically beat the fuck out of him in Boston when Donald was with Montreal. The Bruins really needed a tough guy at that time cause he they did have one, and Cam was the guy that stepped up and took on Brashear. BAD MOVE! LOL But I always respected him for it [img]images/smilies/icon_thumb.gif[/img]

[atomicpunk5151]

Cam Neely was the MAN back in the 80's and early 90's. He could score and fight. Ulf Samuleson ruined Cam's career with a few well placed chep shots to the knee. Cam later destroyed Ulf in a fight, Ulfie could only turtle and take a beat down. Cam was at his best shooting one-timers from Janney and later Oates.

As for Brashear or "Huggy Bear" as he is known in fight circles. The guy can flat out fight. I would rate him #1 or #2 in the NHL right now. He does have a bit of a rep as a hugger that won't open up and throw. He is so strong he just holds on and throws a few. Hardley ever loses. In that fight with Cam & Brash, that was a bit of a mismatch. Cam was more of a tough guy who could score, like Tocchet, Shanny & Wendel Clark. BUT I did see Brash lose his share in the early days in Montreal. I know Tony Twist, Jim McKensie & Chris Simon all gave him a beat down.

Ah the good old days, Hockey was the best 1986-1994 scoring, hitting & fighting.

WAR Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques & Winnipeg Jets!

[SuckaInA3Piece]

[ QUOTE ]
atomicpunk5151 said:
Cam Neely was the MAN back in the 80's and early 90's. He could score and fight. Ulf Samuleson ruined Cam's career with a few well placed chep shots to the knee. Cam later destroyed Ulf in a fight, Ulfie could only turtle and take a beat down. Cam was at his best shooting one-timers from Janney and later Oates.

As for Brashear or "Huggy Bear" as he is known in fight circles. The guy can flat out fight. I would rate him #1 or #2 in the NHL right now. He does have a bit of a rep as a hugger that won't open up and throw. He is so strong he just holds on and throws a few. Hardley ever loses. In that fight with Cam & Brash, that was a bit of a mismatch. Cam was more of a tough guy who could score, like Tocchet, Shanny & Wendel Clark. BUT I did see Brash lose his share in the early days in Montreal. I know Tony Twist, Jim McKensie & Chris Simon all gave him a beat down.

Ah the good old days, Hockey was the best 1986-1994 scoring, hitting & fighting.

WAR Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques & Winnipeg Jets!

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea he was hardly a polished fighter when he was in Montreal. I've seen Darren Langdon give him some runs for his money too. When he got traded to Vancouver he really just came into his own as a fighter. He does use the hug technique, but I challenge anyone to stand there and go toe to toe with somebody. That's the one thing that irks me about young fighters. You don't have to take punches in the face just to proove your tough. Boxers hug all the time in fights, and I don't blame them. So when I see Brash do it I don't mind it. He uses the hug and tug technique. He'll grab you and then shake the fuck outta you cause he's so strong, and then he just unloads on you so quickly that it's usually over very quickly. I flat out love that guy. I've got his Vancouver Jersey and two Flyer Brashear jerseys. Just flat out admire him. I also have a Tony Twist jersey as well. There's a guy right there that was one of the best in his time. The guy that I love and wish would come back is Grimson, but he's like 37yrs old now.

[atomicpunk5151]

Sucka,

Man you are bringing back some memories talking about the TWISTER Tony Twist the the GRIM REAPER Stu Grimson. I also have a St Louis #18 Twist jersey. That guy was the flat out king from 95-99, devestating right hand. He would just throw bombs. I remember when he broke Rob Rays face. Stu was great also, solid Top 5 guy during his days in Anh.

As a guy who grew up in the 80's my favorite hockey fighter is still Bob Probert. The Best there is, there best there was, the best there ever will be. I have a tape of Probert's fights from 85-89, great stuff. He was coked out of his mind, scoring goals and bustin heads. Nobody messed with Yzerman when Probert was around.

Back to BRASH, The guy rarely loses now. I just want to see him open up and try to destroy some people. He still needs to fight the ROCK up in Edmonton, he avoided that one last year. I would also like to see him take on Parker in SJ, Worrell, Cairns, Langdon or Shelly. Brash fight card last year was average at best. Last year he was 7-0-5, but he didn't take on many super Heavyweights, but he did have wins over McCarthy & Roy. The hug and tug does kinda suck, it's pretty cheap, just grab and throw'em. Overall I would say that until some one beats Brash he is the man. If this season ever starts we may see a new Champ.

[vh resurrected]

Even though we don't have current hockey, Pittsburgh's doing something cool. Every Wednesday for the next 10 weeks Fox Sports Pittsburgh is showing a different "classic" Pens game including commentary by some of those who were involved. Here's the line-up (I know some of you may remember some of these):

Nov. 3
Game 1 of 1992 SCF against Chicago
Nov. 10
Game 7 of 2001 ECF against Buffalo (Kasparaitis scored the game winner in OT against Hasek)
Nov. 17
Lemieux 5 goal game vs. St. Louis (when Gretzky was there)
Nov. 24
1989 Pens win in Philly for first time in 15 years (Thank God the Spectrum is gone [img]images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif[/img])
Dec. 1
"The Save" game 6 of 1991 Patrick Division Semis vs. Devils (Frank Pieterangelo made an insane glove save)
Dec. 8
Game 2 of 1991 Patrick Division Semis vs. Caps
Dec. 15
Lemieux 6 point night vs. Blackhawks
Dec. 22
1996 4-OT game vs. Capitals
Dec. 30
Game 4 of 1991 SCF vs. North Stars (8-0 I think... And damn Norm Green for taking hockey out of Minnesota.)
Jan. 6
Lemieux 4 goal game vs. Flyers [img]images/smilies/icon16.gif[/img]

Anybody else's area doing anything like this?

[SuckaInA3Piece]

Yea, not only is Comcast Sportsnet broadcasting some Philadelphia Phantoms games this year, they're also having a special every tuesday night called evening with the Flyers or somethin like that. It's hosted by Al Morganti, and former Flyer Keith Jones, and they have special guests on there all the time. Tonight they're showing an old Flyers/Bruins game from the 79 playoffs. Very cool.

[SuckaInA3Piece]

Associated Press

DALLAS -- Dallas Stars fans finally had a reason to go to the arena Wednesday night. Only it wasn't for the scheduled game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Instead, about 500 people -- several wearing green and gold jerseys and other Stars gear -- spent about 90 minutes grilling the NHL's top negotiator, Bill Daly, and team president Jim Lites about the lockout that has shut down the league, wiped out the All-Star Game and is threatening to cancel the season.

Their stance was simple -- forget specifics, just get a deal.

The first big cheers came when a woman said, "Both sides declined an arbitrator and I think that's a foolish thing," prompting someone a few sections over to wave a sign that read, "Mediate Damnit." Later, another fan suggested that "Gordie Howe or Billy Graham" be brought in to settle things.

"You are robbing our children of something they really love and respect. There's your urgency," said the fan, Ernie Horn, who works with Stars players and team officials on a program called Score a Goal in the Classroom.

The league is holding firm that it must slash the percentage of revenue going to players, preferably through a salary cap -- something players insist they'll never accept.

The sides last met Sept. 9, six days before the labor stoppage officially began. They have no plans for their next get-together.

With the season's first 22 days already gone and the All-Star Game shelved earlier Wednesday, it was no surprise that the first question was about when the league would pull the plug on this season.

"We have intentionally not set deadlines and we don't intend to," Daly said.

It also wasn't surprising that the second question was about whether the league might employ replacement players. (Not even an option, Daly said.) The surprise was that the question came from a 7-year-old boy.

If the ice had been down, Daly would've been standing on top of the goal the Stars shoot at twice. Fittingly, he faced more than his share of slap shots.

He deflected most pointed challenges by saying, "That's a very fair question." The most heated attack came from a fan who suggested Daly and commissioner Gary Bettman were the problem.

"You haven't really convinced me that you are with the good guys," the fan said. "Your message has been kind of somber and a little bit morose."

Daly's defense was that the NHL has worked hard to develop a working relationship with the NHLPA. He also noted the growth of players' salaries under Bettman.

Another heated topic was that the owners are to blame for creating this problem, both by agreeing to the last contract and by spending wildly under it.

"Nobody is running away from the responsibility that the last (labor deal) didn't work," Daly said. "But we don't have to live with it any more. We get to make a new one."

Lites later added, "We're in the ditch. Now how do we get out of it?"

Daly was very clear that this is the league's only chance and they'll take as long as necessary to get it right.

"We can't do a deal just to do a deal and save the season," he said. "We have no margin for error. All our focus is on doing the right deal."

More than 70 players met with union leaders Tuesday in Toronto to solidify their stance after a handful of players began speaking out about wanting to return.

Daly noted that the players have missed only one full paycheck and a partial one, hinting that the more money they miss, the more they may be willing to cut a deal.

"I believe we will be playing hockey this season," Daly said. "I'll be the most disappointed person in this building if we're not."

While Daly didn't seem concerned about losing fans, Lites was. However, he said that without a change fans would be driven away by already-high ticket prices going up further.

"You're going to be gone anyway if we continue to pay 15, 20, 25 percent increases," he said.

This was Daly's third trip to an NHL market to spread the league's view but his first before an open forum. Lites did a similar town-hall meeting in August and various team officials have spoken to smaller groups.

In hoping to keep the fan base built during their 11 seasons in Dallas, the Stars called every season-ticket account holder to invite them to this event. E-mails were sent to their entire distribution list and the word was spread for more than a week in local media.

[wip5150]

I read that article in the Dallas Morning News and just shook my head. If the NFL was locking out the players, Texas Stadium would be filled. I can't believe only 250 fans showed up - just another nail in the coffin for hockey in the US and that REALLY pisses me off.

[SuckaInA3Piece]

It really is ashame, but the fact is that the majority of ppl in america would rather watch Texas Hold Em, then sit through three periods of NHL hockey. What's even worse is that the NHL does not realize this and continues to try and expand the game, which is one of the major reasons they're losing so much money. Thank God for the AHL cause atleast I get to see guys that are playing for more then a pay check and endorsements.

[atomicpunk5151]

Your right that the majority of people in the US don't care about hockey. During the Stanley Cup FINALS, the ratings were very low. They were beat by Sponge Bob and Trading Spaces in the cable ratings. On sports radio/tv here in California there is not one word about the hockey lockout, it's all NFL, NBA and college sports.

I have accepted the hockey is not a major sport anymore, it is more of a niche sport for hardcore fans and I'm ok with that. The owners and players need to realize where they stand and accepted it.

Make the deal and get back on the ice or even the hardcore fans will be gone.

Jeff
Sacramento

[SuckaInA3Piece]

I heard about this last night but forgot to bring it up. Rest In Peace, Sergei

Nashville Predators Center Sergei Zholtok Dies at 31 in Latvia

Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Nashville Predators center Sergei Zholtok died at age 31 after becoming ill during a hockey game in his hometown of Riga, Latvia.

A cause of death wasn't immediately disclosed by the Predators in a statement. Several media reports in Europe said he died from cardiac arrhythmia.

``We are all saddened and shocked to hear of Sergei's sudden passing,'' General Manager David Poile said in the statement. ``He was a hard-working player who was well-liked by his teammates and coaches.''

Zholtok was traded to the Predators from the Minnesota Wild on March 5. He had one goal and one assist in 11 games with Nashville, finishing the season with 14 goals and 17 assists.

Zholtok had 111 goals and 147 assists during 10 National Hockey League seasons. The NHL is in the middle of a labor dispute between the league and players' union that is threatening to wipe out the entire season.

Zholtok is survived by his wife, Anna, and sons Edgar and Nikita.

[POD GOD]

RIP Sergei Zholtok [img]images/smilies/icon_cry.gif[/img]

[POD GOD]

[img]images/smilies/jot.gif[/img]
Well, up here in Canada...the lockout is the top story every day. We live and breathe hockey and when the lockout was announced, it was like someone reached in, ripped out my heart and stomped on it [img]images/smilies/mad1.gif[/img] Besides family, there are two things I love...guitars and hockey! Thank God I still have this place, lol.

So, I'm curious what you guys think is the reason why hockey is losing popularity in the US. Just 15-20 years ago, hockey was taking off down there...expansion teams, big TV contracts, etc...what the hell happened? [img]images/smilies/dunno.gif[/img]

IMO, here's a few things...

- there's just too many teams...I hate saying it, but some small market teams have to go.

- the trap! In my opinion, this has ruined hockey. Watching the Devils and other teams fall back behind the blueline when they get a lead is about as boring as watching my toenails grow!

- the instigator rule...jeez. Hockey is a rough sport...there's no way around it. Gimme a break, if you refuse to let them use their fists, they find more dangerous ways to get even (hitting from behind, high-sticking, etc).

- the schedule needs to be changed. The NHL playoffs can't compete with the NBA playoffs which go on at the same time. This has to change if they ever want the Stanley Cup finals on US network TV again.