Ducks and Hawks and Penguins

Ok, so "Hawks" is technically short for the Blackhawk tribe of Native Americans, but I'm sure the Anglicized tribe name comes from the bird.

Anyway, I write this blog post to inform everyone that my regular blogging will resume sometime next week. Just so this entire post doesn't turn into a non sequitur, I'm waiting for the conclusion of NHL playoffs and the three aforementioned avian species are also the mascots of the three most recent teams the Red Wings have faced in the playoffs.

Topics I hope to hit upon resumption of regular blogging: North Korea, Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Electronic Arts marketing division.

Edit:

Ok, maybe I will add something of substance, but it's more hockey, so forgive me.

Again, I hold the management of the NHL in utter contempt for the current state of the game. Hockey is an amazing sport and quite possibly the most dynamic and exciting, but the national respect for the game is at an all-time low.

It's very, very easy to criticize TV networks like NBC, Fox, and Versus for their questionable marketing choices, but the onus is on the league management to make deals that are best for the sport. The NHL front office has done a great disservice to hockey in its business dealings. Here's the situation: in 2005 the NHL is about to emerge from another lockout season and looks for television deals. ESPN and Outdoor Life Network place bids on broadcast rights. ESPN has a history of responsible and reliable NHL coverage/analysis - Outdoor Life Network is a cable channel dedicated to fringe sports like fishing, hunting and bull riding (probably competitive woodcutting, too). OLN submits a higher bid and the NHL bites and the writers at Disney/ABC/ESPN begin drafting subtle jabs at the NHL to fill the airtime usually dedicated to highlight shows.

As the article states, NBC (the Notre Dame Broadcasting Channel one part of the year, Nothing But Crosby channel at another) also holds broadcasting rights for occasional weekend and playoff games (supposedly the rights for EVERY game of the Stanley Cup Finals, article explains why not this time around). However, NBC doesn't pay the NHL for these broadcasting rights! What a deal!

So, games three and four of the Stanley Cup Finals will only be available on a fringe cable channel. You don't need to be a NHL fan to realize that games three and four in a series with one team up 2-0 are truly pivotal contests. It is a shame that another terrible reality series takes precedence over one of the greatest sporting events of the year and every quantum of that shame lies squarely on the NHL front office.