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Howard Bloom's Sports Business News says NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman deserves a pat on the back for a job well done.
The comments Bettman offered Monday night in his ‘state of the league’ were honest and straightforward. Leaders admit what’s wrong and look for solutions, and in reaching out to the New Media the NHL may have found a long-term solution to the overwhelming challenge the NHL continues to face in reaching their fans.
More on the NHL and media credentials.
Check out the Knob Hockey view of the Senators & Ducks. (Thanks to Off Wing Opinion for the pointer.)
Eric McErlain from Offwing Opinion has a good story about the ongoing debate over giving bloggers access to the press box, including a pointer to a Sports Media Journal poll on the issue.
Earlier this season, Hockeydirt contacted Phil Legault, the VP of Communications for the Ottawa Senators about the team's media credentials policy & bloggers. In doing so we drew his attention to the Capitals' decision to open the press box to Offwing Opinion.
Legault pointed out that there are significant differences between the Ottawa and Washington media markets, noting that "the Capitals seek a broader reach of media interest and coverage". The Senators, on the other hand, enjoy blanket coverage from the local and national media, as do all of the Canadian teams. Additionally, the Senators are the only major professional team in Ottawa, whereas the Caps compete for attention with the Redskins, Wizards & Nationals, and even the Georgetown Hoyas & DC United.
Legault also raised the issue of standards. "...regardless of number trained and professional media that attend Senators games and practices, our main concern revolves primarily around the standards set for bloggers. At present, there are none." He also noted that he has discussed this issue with Eklund who has reportedly met with the Professional Hockey Writers Association "to ask them to assist in setting standards for bloggers, i.e., number of visits/hits, years active, experience, journalism experience, insurance, liability, etc."
All of this seems fair & reasonable, but also very safe and even short-sighted. Teams in the Canadian markets where hockey is always the sports story and where the demand for press box access exceeds the available space, have little choice but to be highly selective when granting press box access. On the other hand, every team in every market is aiming to attract new fans. By opening themselves up to coverage by bloggers, vloggers & podcasters, teams like the Senators have an opportunity to generate coverage from unique perspectives that will attract and appeal to new audiences.
While it would be unfair to point to NBC's decision to abandon the Ottawa-Buffalo game as proof of the mainstream media's attitude toward the NHL, it certainly underscores the NHL's media coverage woes and the need for innovative approaches to generating coverage. Occasionally the NHL does something that gives the impression that the league "gets it" when it comes to the internet & new media. The NHL-Google Video deal announced late last year was a smart move. Giving a few bloggers access to the press box, even on a rotational, game-by-game basis would also be smart.
With the game between the San Antonio Spurs & Phoenix Suns out of reach, San Antonio's Robert Horry body-checks Sun star Steve Nash into the scorer's table. The NBA Commissioner David Stern suspends Horry for 2 games.
With the game between the anaheim Ducks & Detroit red Wings out of reach, Anaheim's Chris Pronger slams Wings star Tomas Holmstrom into the boards. Holmstrom's forehead is cut on the play.
What will the NHL do? Suspend Pronger? Don't hold your breath.
Update: As it turns out the NHL is "stern" about head shots. Chris Pronger has been suspended one game for the hit on Holmstrom.
Following last night's 1-0 Senators win over the Sabres, Senator's play-by-play announcer Dean Brown said he never thought he'd describe a 1-0 game as a rout, but the label fits game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final.
In every department except the scoreboard, the Senator's dominated the Sabres. How often is the winning goalie in a 1-0 game not among the 3 Stars while the losing goal is?
The Sabres, apart from Ryan Miller, simply did not show up. In period 1 Buffalo registered a paltry 4 shots. The Sabres didn't muster a single shot in the first 7 minutes or the last 6 minutes of the 1st period. The closest Buffalo shot was a 45 footer off the stick of Jason Pominville.
Lindy Ruff is probably wishing he could decline penalties. His team had 1 shot on 7 power plays and is now 0-18 in the series.
Near the end of the season, Ottawa re-signed defencemen Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov to new contracts that include significant pay increases. Phillips & Volchenkov have been consistently solid throughout the playoffs. Chris Drury & Daniel Briere will be unrestricted free agents when the season ends and both have been among the most disappointing (and distracted?) Sabres.
A big part of the reason the Sabres look so bad is that the Senators have played so well. Ottawa is playing supremely disciplined hockey, winning every battle and sticking to the system Bryan Murray is preaching.
Some disgruntled Bruin fans have put up a Please Sell the Bruins Website.
From the site: BRUINS OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT HAS COMBINED FOR JUST ONE PLAYOFF ROUND VICTORY IN THE PAST 14 YEARS...
The 2007 NHL playoffs have been Ray Emery's coming out party. Emery's sense of style has been noticed around Ottawa for a while, but now it seems others are taking notice. Toronto musician Lester McLean has put together Fashion Plate, a song celebrating Emery's stylings.
McLean isn't the only musician keen on Emery - check out the "vocals" on this tribute video.
The Good - The Fans. The easy availability of Devil's tickets, and the lure of a road trip to NYC, and the prospect of watching the Senators advance to the Conference final meant that a lot of Sens fans made the journey. On the bus ride to the game close to half the riders there wearing some kind of Senators' gear.
Outside the building the Ottawa fans were loud and very visible. The hometown crowd seemed to enjoy the company and the added energy. One well lubricated Devils supporter told me he loved seeing so many people who cared as much about hockey as he did regardless of their loyalty, and then proceeded to rip the locals for failing to support the Devils. On the concourse in the first intermission the Devils' fans were emboldened by the lead, frequently breaking out into "Let's Go Devils" and "USA-USA-USA" chants. I don't quite understand the nationalistic cheer since Jersey's best player is a Canadian and their captain is Czech.
Continue reading "Roadtrip to Jersey - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly" »
Quick takes from 
Ottawa fans are feeling it. In the first period the crowd broke into a spontaneous "Al-fie, Al-fie, Al-fie" chant. Ten seconds later Daniel Alfredsson rewarded the faithful with a goal to give Ottawa an early lead. Ottawa has a long way to go to match the intensity of the Calgary crowd but more & more Senators' fans are investing in team jerseys.
Memo to Lou Lamoriello: If it is broke, at least try fixin' it. The Devils insist on sticking with the matchup of Madden-Pandolfo-Brylin against Spezza-Heatley-Alfredsson. The Ottawa line is dominating the matchup, generating scoring chances on almost every shift. Lamoriello was quick to pull the trigger on a coaching change, but he's stubbornly sticking to this matchup.
Martin Brodeur is a human being - Part 1. Brodeur allowed 2 soft goals in last night's 3-2 loss, not supposed to happen with this guy.
Martin Brodeur is a human being - Part 2. Brodeur has a well-deserved reputation as one of the classiest, most-professional players in the game. After yesterday's loss he opted to toss a little trash in Emery's direction. "Today, he (Emery) was bobbling a lot of pucks," Martin Brodeur said. "We could have gotten a lot more [goals]. We exposed him a little bit with rebounds and we'll try to do that again."
On the 40th anniversary of the last Toronto Cup win, a delusional fan in a Leafs jersey stood up holding a historically accurate "Leafs Win Cup" sign.
Lindy Ruff after a Sabres win....
I'm hoping he wins the Jack Adams and uses his acceptance speech as an opportunity to rip into Commissioner Bettman & the members of the National Hockey League Broadcasters' Association who voted for him.
