Winter Sports Season is almost over

Can it really be summer if there is still hockey going on? I say no. As much as I hate winter, I will sorely miss hockey, football and basketball seasons.
The Vancouver Canucks are playing at home against the Boston Bruins tonight in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Other than that, it's baseball all the way to October. That's not such a bad thing, because the weather will be nice, but it will sure be nice when there is some option on what to watch when the Twins bullpen blows another game.
As for the game tonight, I am taking Vancouver. The Canucks have been an entirely different team in Canada, and there has to be at least one game that the Creepy Sedins are able to break out. Why not game 7? Also, I don't know if I can handle every team in Boston getting a championship in the past 10 years. Wouldn't that be awful? Grantland would be insufferable.

It's Getting More Complicated

Last month, I wrote about how now that I live in a city that has a hockey team, I've taken a greater interest in watching hockey for the first time in about 9 years, but I was very confused on who exactly my favorite team should be. Well, if you happened to be watching NBC this afternoon, you can see how my internal conflict escalated even more.

I wrote the last post half jokingly, because at the end of the day, I'm still not that big of a hockey fan, not like I am with Baseball and Football, where the White Sox and 49ers are clearly my favorite teams. My hockey fandom was at its highest from about 1994-1999, and it was mostly because the NHL video games for the Super Nintendo and Playstation were just so awesome. I played those games so much that I learned pretty much every player in the league while playing either as the Blackhawks or Coyotes against the rest of the league. The spectacular bloody rivalry between the Avalanche and Red Wings also was going on around that time, so if anything, I was more of a fan of the sport itself than being completely invested in any team.

I was actually on a plane today flying into Phoenix and was lucky enough to have a newer 737 that had DirecTV installed on it so I watched the beginning of the game. Watching the rabid United Center crowd and the amazing singing of the national anthem gave me chills about the Blackhawks that I haven't felt in a while, and it brought back a lot of memories for me growing up and going to games with that same rabid crowd, who at that time were supporting a losing team (most of the NHL games I have attended in my life were from about 1997-2002...not a good time in Chicago).

So I'm happy for the Blackhawks, and excited for their chances in the Stanley Cup Finals. They will have my full support and I'll probably watch every game. Since the D-Backs, Cardinals, and Suns have no chance of ever becoming my favorite team in a sport, and I plan on living here for a while, the Coyotes can still be my favorite hockey team, but like I said in my last post, I'm going to root for the Blackhawks against everyone but Phoenix.

I don't talk about it much here, but I actually have a similar situation in the NFL where my clear-cut 2nd favorite team is the Raiders, because they have been my dad's favorite team every since the Cardinals (ironic, huh?) moved from Chicago in 1960 and the AFL started. I am well educated in Raiders, Blackhawks, and White Sox lore thanks to my dad, but only the White Sox stuck as my favorite team of those 3, while other factors led me to choose the 49ers and Coyotes as my favorite teams instead. My dad isn't that big of a hockey fan anymore either, but the stories I heard about Bobby Hull and the rest of the guys from his childhood as a kid showed me where his loyalties existed, and I know he's been watching this year...

So go Hawks, especially for my dad. I might have to head over to his house to watch the Stanley Cup clincher with him, and maybe even shell out $30 for a championship t-shirt....

The State Hockey tournament

It's tournament time here in Minnesota. Well, not for the Gophers. Their Tournament hopes look bleak. I'm talking about the state high school hockey tournament. It's like basketball in Indiana or football in Texas for many Minnesotans. In fact, I am even in a state hockey tournament pool. Incredible.
For many hockey fans, if you aren't cheering for your own team, you are cheering for an outstate team. In the Twin Cities metro area, it is too easy to build a powerhouse given the available population and the ability to go to a school that might have a better athletic program. Private schools compound the issue, because the best athletes can pay or get scholarships, and dynasties can be constructed. Who wants to root for those yuppie chumps anyways? Not when there is the pure hockey of rural Minnesota.
The funny thing is, of course, that most of the population lives in the Twin Cities. I went to a private school in the Twin Cities. I am one of the yuppie chumps who nowadays roots for Hermantown, even though my school beat them on the way to a state championship in 1999. The other funny thing is that power shifts regularly from suburb to suburb. It's Minnetonka and Edina that look good right now. When I was in high school, Elk River and Hastings. Before that, Bloomington was a strong hockey school. Warroad and Roseau, towns along the Canadian Border with a combined population of less than Victoria are in the state tournament every year. Roseau won it all just two seasons ago. Even Hermantown, a suburb of Duluth, is in the tournament annually, it seems.
I can't explain it. Something about hockey in Minnesota speaks to me. Many people here play, and you never know where the next great team is going to come from.

Coming up on the Gold Medal game

 

We're coming down to the end of the Olympics, and there is one final game left for the American fans. Is it possible that the Olympics are tilted towards the home continent? Using just a few isolated examples: In 2010,  either Canada or the US will win in Vancouver. 4 years ago in Torino, it was Sweden and Finland. Salt Lake City saw Canada - US. Even the Miracle on Ice was at Lake Placid... Just something to think about, I guess.

Shoot-out

The thing I learned today was that in the MLB All-Star game, the catcher is allowed limited re-entry to a game—if the current catcher is injured. Good idea, really, but I never knew that before. Of course, regular season, that’s part of the risk a manager takes, but the All-Star game, where managers want to get in as many players as possible, needs an exception. There is no reason to send a guy unfamiliar with the role in to catch.

The Canada/Switzerland Olympic hockey game went to a shoot-out of February 18, 2010. Canada, to the relief of the Canadians, won in the shoot-out. While I'm okay using the shoot-out in regular season NHL games (I don't think they use it in the playoffs), I think it's way too quirky of a format for important games.

It would be like a tie-breaker in football of kicking field goals--whoever can kick one from furthest away. Or a home run derby in baseball. Or a free-throw contest to break a tie in basketball. It's pitting one player on a team to represent the whole team...in a team sport! It’s a moment where you say “Wait…what?!”

I think in NHL playoffs, they just keep adding overtimes until one team scores. That seems reasonable. In the NFL, they’ll add one overtime in regular season (so the game may end in a tie) or keep adding overtimes until a team scores. I'm okay with sudden-death in over-time, because both teams have a fair chance at scoring. Maybe not so much in football, because your odds go up whether or not you win a coin toss, but with good defense, you should be able to prevent the other team from scoring. In the NCAA football, the rule is that each team gets the ball at the 25-yard line and they play until a winner is declared (at the 3rd OT possession, they must try for a two-point conversion rather than kicking for the extra point). Basketball keeps adding extra five-minute periods until at the end of a period, a team has won. Baseball keeps playing by the regular rules, adding extra innings, until a team wins (not fully sudden death, because of the clearly divided times for scoring; sudden death for the home team when they score, but they have a chance to make it up if the visitor scores). There are rules about how late a baseball game can be played, but it is never* put in the record book as finished until someone wins.

But the shoot-out makes no sense. You’re pitting one player to represent the team, which seems to me to go against the concept of a team. I’m okay with it deciding who gets the extra point in regular season. Fans like knowing who won and who didn’t. In the playoffs, of course, a tie won’t cut it, because you need to know who advances and who doesn’t. I don’t like leaving something like that up to the relative skills of a single player, without any help.

The shoot-out is a fun skills competition. It’s sometimes a fun change of pace during the regular season. But a team’s success in important games shouldn’t stand on the shoulders of one player.

* Unless it’s 2002, when the Commissioner declared the game a tie. Fans were not happy about that. Incidentally, it was not the first All-Star game to end in a tie. In 1961, the All-Star game ended in a tie—however, it ended because of rain, not because they ran out of players.

Timberwolves update: They have a 1-3 record since I last reported. They’re now at 14-45, or a 23.7% winning percentage. The have the worst record in the West, but New Jersey has the worst record in the NBA, 5-52, reportedly on pace for a record year.

Wild Update: The Wild have a 30-27-4 record, for a 49.2% winning percentage. The Wild Finnish representatives (Mikko Koivu, Antii Mietinen, and Niklas Backstrom) will be playing the USA for a chance to go to the Gold Medal game tomorrow at 2, because they beat the Czech team (Martin Havlat and Merek Zidlicky).

Why do the women ALWAYS win?

Pretty much everyone is fed up with the way that NBC is handling their Olympic coverage. Why wouldn't they be? Despite all the games and events being played during normal North American schedules, NBC can't be bothered to air as many live games as possible. The greatest offense comes on the 21st when the US men's hockey team takes on Canada. For most real North American sports fans, it's the premier event of the Olympics. It's a sport fans recognize and a rivalry we can all appreciate, given that the Canadians are superior to us in this event, all while sharing a long border with the United States. Obviously, the game will be on MSNBC.
Disgusting, especially for a network who has the Olympic package under the pretense that it is a sporting event. Of course, NBC will be airing something. Figure skating! GREAT! Why are they doing this?  Because the ladies like it! And of course, if NBC knows anything, it's pleasing the various demographics. They are also good at upsetting people they have contracts with, like the NHL, who I'm sure would have appreciated a litte more attention.
NBC sucks.

“What’s so exciting about hockey? It’s just like soccer!”

A while back, I read online a comment by someone who wasn’t a hockey fan but watched a hockey game. They were trying to get into hockey and just couldn’t find the enjoyment. As they said, it was just like soccer, a sport that’s just not a big spectator event in the United States.

Many people explained the skating as being the key factor. Once you know how hard it is to skate, it’s easy to appreciate what these guys can do. This is true. It’s easy to see guys running around on ice skates, and feel like they’re running. But those who have balanced on skates know that it’s not quite as easy as running (after time, I would assume it becomes like running to hockey players. As one becomes more comfortable on skates, one doesn’t have to think about what they’re doing.) If you want to stop, you don’t just quit moving your legs--skates still glide. Also, try controlling a little piece of hard rubber as it slithers around on ice--not with your hands or your feet, but with some extension added to your hands. It’s not easy to control.

But there’s a second level to hockey. A hockey rink is approximately 200 feet long by 85-100 feet wide (depending on which rules are used: international and North American). A soccer field is 300 feet by 180 feet. Professional hockey players can reach speeds of 20 miles/hour. I’m not entirely certain how fast soccer players can run (the internet has failed me on that), but I’m feeling confident that it’s not quite as fast. Based on the playing field of soccer being approximately two (international) to three (North American) times as big as the soccer field, and the soccer players moving more slowly than the hockey players, the action in hockey is more compacted than soccer. The physical play of hockey (with checking and such) adds to the excitement. There is more adrenaline in the game. Plays need to be set up that much quicker.

I personally don’t find soccer that exciting because it’s slower paced. (And, yet, I love the slowest-paced “real” sport out there, baseball, but that’s for the poetry and precision of the game. But baseball is two days away, and that’s for-ev-er!) Watching guys run from one end of the field to the other, over the large field, doesn’t hold my interest. I like playing the game, being part of the action, but I’ll pass on watching if possible. I love the fast pace of hockey. Just because the puck is at one end of the arena is no reason why two seconds from now the other team will score. There’s uncertainty. It takes longer for a soccer ball to get down the field.

In awesome news: Twins Pitchers and Catchers must report to Spring Training on Saturday! Spring is almost here!

Timberwolves update: 17-34 (0-3 since last time, 13-19 since McHale). They’re winning 1/3 of their games, which is quite a bit to ask for, when you think about it. But save your sanity and don’t.

Marian Gaborik Injury Status: I think I’m getting a cold. I have no idea if Marian Gaborik is.

Hockeytown...state

In December, in an event possibly mentioned here at the Victoria Times—or possibly ignored, St. Paul, Minnesota was named by Sports Illustrated as Hockeytown taking the title away from Detroit.

The Wild acknowledged the honor, but have stuck to their slogan, “State of Hockey”. It seems the legislature is in on the act. They had added to an education bill to make hockey the official state sport. It was removed because there are some parts of the state where hockey isn’t popular. Well, the Walleye is our state fish, and I don’t like fish, therefore, the walleye should be taken away. There are many people in the state who are lactose intolerant, and milk is still the official state drink (link). I’m not here to argue that legislature should get the bill back on the table.

I grew up in Minnesota, and had pretty much no exposure to hockey as a kid. I followed baseball exclusively, as can no doubt be noted in my posts. But I can’t deny the sheer number of children who are on the rinks playing hockey. I like to ice skate, which I’ve done since I was a wee child. No hockey was played on the outdoor rink down the block, so I was never tempted to try it. However, now whenever I got to local parks, it amazes me the number of kids with sticks and pucks who are out there. It doesn’t matter if there are only two kids, they’ll find a way to play a game. If there are 20 people of all ages, games still go on (although a distinct lack of goalies; the costs of equipment is prohibitive—once I saw the goals turned over, making a smaller target, and other times).

Maybe Minnesota is the State of Hockey. Why not? We can play it cheaper than some states (find a frozen pond, and your only expense is a snow shovel, skates, a punk, and a stick). In winter, outdoor choices are limited, and skating gives kids something to do that’s simply fun—but challenging. The number of schools—high school and college—with strong hockey programs is likely unmatched (Massachusetts and Michigan are up there). It’s not a pastime to hockey families, it’s a part of their lives.

Is It a Blog?: Quick Hits #4

Originally posted on "Is It Sports?" Ryan and I discuss minor league hockey...

Ryan: stupid stars
Steve: but they provide light and heat
Ryan: Yeah... not the celestial bodies or hollywood big shots... th Dallas Stars
Ryan: particularly Johan Hedberg
Steve: I spent new years in the home city of their AHL affiliate
Ryan: how exciting
Steve: http://www.iowastarshockey.com/
Steve: their rival is the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights
Ryan: the... ak-sar-ben?
Steve: yeah
Steve: I went to their site just now to figure it out
Steve: they were founded by a community group in Omaha in in the 1930s called the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben
Steve: Ak-Sar-Ben is Nebraska backwards
Ryan: how did we NOT notice that
Steve: I don't know
Steve: I went to a sorta AHL game once when it was the IHL
Ryan: awesome
Steve: Chicago Wolves vs. Peoria Rivermen
Steve: looks like they're both in the AHL now
Ryan: Kid I went to HS with plays for the Rivermen
Ryan: Blues farm team
Steve: this was like in 1994 or something probably
Steve: I remember the Wolves won and it was their first ever shutout win
Steve: I think it was their first season
Steve: and I remember when the Manitoba Moose was the Minnesota Moose
Ryan: yep
Ryan: they also had the fightin' pike
Steve: yeah the AFL team
Steve: awesome name
Steve: still not as good as the Miami Hooters but close
Ryan: oh yeah.. afl
Steve: the Wolves don't have an affiliation listed on their site
Steve: I think its the Thrashers
Ryan: it is
Steve: makes perfect sense of course
Steve: so the Wild have the Houston Aeros
Steve: the Lowell Lock Monsters are the Avalanche and the Hurricanes
Ryan: hockey is just so fun