Hey Phibes, about the Olympics...

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

Did you know that if the Chinese teams don't go home with at least gold, they will be executed upon their repatriation?

It's true. An American told me.

... ...
.... ....

^^^^^^^^^
olympic "rolleyes"

[Dr_Phibes]

Well, they have their enduring qualities. They've got this wonderful enthusiasm, it's like children trapped in oversized, novelty adult bodies.

I just had a peek in the hockey forum and their 'hockey talk' focus is Bettman, the IOC, who owes who compensation for use of players and how to make the best of television rights.

Strange people :? but nothing compared to Chinese, they're just big meanies.

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

...and Stalin's crimes are worse than a billion suns exploding all at the same time.





...and being a communist means you hate eating and breathing...and you want to deny medicine to orphans...


:scs:

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

Last night's game:

I haven't seen Germans tremble like this at Canada's might since the Falaise Gap.

[Screw_Michigan]

I just had a peek in the hockey forum and their 'hockey talk' focus is Bettman, the IOC, who owes who compensation for use of players and how to make the best of television rights.

You do understand the IOC is a business and the NHL's decision to loan its players to the Olympics for free is a business decision, right?

[Screw_Michigan]

[Dr_Phibes]

You do understand the IOC is a business and the NHL's decision to loan its players to the Olympics for free is a business decision, right?

Yeah. And it's an excess of this thinking and everyone who follows it, that's dragged a good league into the gutter. You'd never hear that talk from fans when Ziegler was running the show, thanks for trashing it.

[Goober McTuber]

My guess is that the NHL gains new viewers because of the Olympics. What ruined that league was when they ditched ESPN for a few extra dollars.

[Screw_Michigan]

You do understand the IOC is a business and the NHL's decision to loan its players to the Olympics for free is a business decision, right?

Yeah. And it's an excess of this thinking and everyone who follows it, that's dragged a good league into the gutter. You'd never hear that talk from fans when Ziegler was running the show, thanks for trashing it.

No. I want the NHL in the Olympics and I feel it is better for the league to be involved as such, but let's be real here. The IOC is a multi-billion dollar organization and they should compensate the league for its players. The IOC is a criminal cabal that feels the world show bow down and do everything it says for FREE because it says so. I want the League involved with the Olympics but I will also RACK Bettman for telling the IOC to go fuck itself.

And for Gobbles, I don't believe ditching ESPN has been as a big of a problem as perceived. Hockey ratings, which drive every decision the League makes, will always be minuscule. Networks just don't care. Versus does a good job, although they could always show one more game a week.

[Goober McTuber]

Screwball, Versus isn't even available on DirecTV because Comcast (which owns Versus) wants to squeeze their competitor. NHL hockey enjoyed its best ratings (and was most watchable) when ESPN had the rights. Period.

[Dr_Phibes]

As long as there are internationals with pros, who cares if it's Canada Cup, World or Olympics? If the NHL and IOC get into a pissing contest over nickels and dimes, it's done.

NHL views internationals as a threat in Canada - it's seen as a higher standard than the Stanley Cup, NHL is the only sport where viewership declines in playoffs.
There's no other time to play, no other competition, the league doesn't finish till June forfucksake. NBC doesn't care - they've lost 2 mil in television.
Clearly the league started going tits up when players started getting more than $200 a week and quit their side jobs loading trucks.

[Screw_Michigan]

Screwball, Versus isn't even available on DirecTV because Comcast (which owns Versus) wants to squeeze their competitor. NHL hockey enjoyed its best ratings (and was most watchable) when ESPN had the rights. Period.

So why did ESPN dump the NHL if it was enjoying its best ratings? Also, I can't imagine this DirecTV/Comcast feud going on forever.

[Screw_Michigan]

As long as there are internationals with pros, who cares if it's Canada Cup, World or Olympics? If the NHL and IOC get into a pissing contest over nickels and dimes, it's done.

I'm with you on that. I would rather have an international tournament in September on North American ice anyway. As long as they commit to having one every four years, I'm fine with that.

[Goober McTuber]

Screwball, Versus isn't even available on DirecTV because Comcast (which owns Versus) wants to squeeze their competitor. NHL hockey enjoyed its best ratings (and was most watchable) when ESPN had the rights. Period.

So why did ESPN dump the NHL if it was enjoying its best ratings? Also, I can't imagine this DirecTV/Comcast feud going on forever.

ESPN didn't dump the NHL. They got marginally outbid. The NHL made a mistake by taking a few more dollars and losing a network that had built a decent team to cover the sport.

[Screw_Michigan]

Are you talking about Versus? Because it's on the record that NBC didn't pay the NHL a cent for its broadcast TV contract.

[Goober McTuber]

The NBC deal involved revenue sharing, but NBC never provided the quantity or quality of coverage ESPN had for the previous 11 years. What really killed the NHL was when it went to OLN in 2005, and as I recall, ESPN put in a respectable bid for those rights. And OLN became Versus.