Comments on: When the Numbers Do Lie

By: Norm

Norm — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:01:38 +0000

FYI
WSJ Numbers Guy is not convinced:
http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/

By: National Hockey League Digest » Blog Archive » Stanley Cup News Roundup

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 14:07:43 +0000

By: pucksandbooks

pucksandbooks — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 23:32:44 +0000

Junior: Thank you for responding thoughtfully about our beautiful game. When I referenced hockey’s televising “poorly” it was with the macro American viewer, and his/her superficial attention spans, in mind, and not faithful puck parishoners like you and me. Like you, I could remain chained to a recliner and watch ‘Hockey Day in Canada’ (or Minnesota) for the remainder of my days. If Washington had the equivalent of “LeafsTV” here I’d petition my boss to work from home, then be fired a month later.
I also share your yawns with televised pro football here: eleven parts commercials, seven parts inter-snap analysis, and one part action.
I am aware of the magnificent improvement that high definition is bringing to hockey today. And 5 or 10 years from now, when presumably every TV broadcast will be in hi-def, I think it’s fair to suggest that hockey will enjoy considerably broader appreciation. Let’s hope, anyway.
Thanks again for your kind words.

By: junior

junior — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 23:10:35 +0000

Some very thoughtful posts here, in particular this entry.
I am curious, however, to know more about what you mean when you say that the sport does not televise well. As you may be able to tell from the “u” in my “curious”, I am a Canadian who stumbled upon this blog while doing some reading about the current Calder Cup final (Go ‘Dogs Go! – sorry, Pennsylvania, had to get one in there for the Hammer) and I find that I can easily watch two hockey games back to back, basically spellbound, when they are broadcast by the CBC or TSN (basically a Canadian ESPN) – two networks with vast experience televising the game.
By contrast, I can’t make it all the way through a single American football game without switching channels, piddling about on the computer in the next room, etc. In short, I am wondering whether the quality of the broadcast coverage Stateside plays any role in this analysis?
Thanks for writing thoughtfully about a beautiful game.

By: pepper

pepper — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 22:49:57 +0000

That’s a worthy research pursuit there my friend, in your last paragraph. The other cliche we always hear, though true, is that hockey is a gate-driven league. And most everyone I’ve known that was a non-believer and then became one, through my or other’s efforts, made this magical transition by watching a live game first, and TV watching followed later.