2019/20 NHL Season

Rob Davidson had a medical episode in the team locker room. Wasn't he a former Shark?

Keeler: Hey, Stan Kroenke, you’re losing the Cold War for Denver sports fans — badly

As the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets dominate in television darkness, it isn’t about the principle of a hard business bargain anymore. It’s about hubris


You’re blowing it, Stan.



The Broncos can’t stop bouncing between story arcs from “Game of Thrones” and “Better Call Saul.” The Rockies somehow spent themselves into having to shop the best third baseman of his generation.



This town wants — desperately wants — to watch a winner. A winner that has its act together. And here you are, sitting on two of them, young rosters on the climb, dominating in darkness.



If the Stanley Cup Playoffs started Thursday, the Avalanche would’ve been the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. The Nuggets would’ve been the No. 2 seed in the NBA’s Western bracket.





Meanwhile, the Front Range Broadcasting Cold War — Kroenke Sports & Entertainment and Altitude Sports in one corner, Comcast and Dish Networks in the other — is on its fifth month now. And there’s no signs of any serious thaw.



“Yeah, I’ve had a lot of people say (things) to me,” said Avs defenseman Ryan Graves, who’s had the best season of his young career — the kid was leading the NHL in plus-minus (+30) as of Friday morning — trapped in television limbo.



“I mean, my neighbor, for example, (Thursday), he says, ‘Like, that TV thing (stinks), eh?’”



You’re blowing it, Stan.



This isn’t about you.


This isn’t about KSE.



This isn’t about the principle of the hard bargain, whatever the heck that means.



This is about neighbors. Ryan’s. Yours.



This is about kids.



The ones who should be watching Mikko Rantanen thread needles from their living rooms. The ones who chat up their pals at school the next morning about some moves on Fortnite instead of the ones just rocked by Michael Porter Jr. The ones who have to skirt the law to get their fix.



When Connor McDavid takes the ice in Edmonton, the locals chant “M-V-P! M-V-P!”



When Nathan MacKinnon takes the ice here, we chant “V-P-N! V-P-N!”



It’s civic malpractice, a middle finger to the masses: The two best teams in town, and almost no one can watch them. With the Broncos in hibernation, the Avs and Nuggs pretty much have center stage to themselves for the next four months. Maybe five or six, if the playoff fates are kind.



This is about leverage. And how you’re losing yours.



This is about eyeballs lost. Eyeballs and generations.



This is about presumption that the sheep will come crawling back.



This is about hubris.



“Ideally, Altitude and Comcast would work out a limited — likely, a 1-year — deal as they work on larger issues,” offered Daniel Durbin, director of USC’s Annenberg Institute of Sports, Media and Society in Los Angeles, ground zero for the Dodgers’ ongoing rhubarbs with DirecTV and Charter cable.



“The one thing I would warn Stan about is that Denver, lovely as it is, isn’t the size market that New York or even San Francisco are. He may be challenged finding sufficient volume in user numbers to create the level of support he seeks. Though, given his financial streams, I’m not sure that worries him a lot.”



No kidding.



“There are rabid sports fans in this town, and our fan base is so knowledgeable and so smart, so in tune with what’s going on with the team,” Avs defenseman Ian Cole said. “But, unfortunately, we have so little influence and say in the matter.”



Oh, we’ve heard the stories. And the spin. You’ve tried to play ball. Comcast won’t budge. We’re the little guys here.



Little guys?



On a clear night, you can almost hear the laughter from London, where Arsenal fans have watched a worldwide brand wither and die under your watch.



We can’t print what they’re saying in St. Louis.



“Sports bars and restaurants may be their only option for seeing all the games they want,” Durbin said of Nuggets and Avs faithful. “And they will have to scope out those venues to see if they carry Altitude. Streaming local sports is really challenging online.”



If you’re not going to cut the cord, cut the crapola.



Or drop the price, if only for a year. Do it for the neighbors. For the kids. Throw the little guys — the real little guys — a bone for once.



“This is challenging because, ultimately, the biggest money for Kroenke is getting Altitude launched as a major provider, something that would cost Comcast and their viewers money,” Durbin said.



“Don’t look for either side to suddenly get religion and start fighting for the fans. This is about money. First, last and always.”



You’re blowing it, Stan. Big-time.

Didn’t he have a heart condition or something? I feel I remember reading that sometime ago.

Taylor Hall’s having a good game against the Pen’s in the desert. 2-2 half way through the second period.

Jesus, That might change the whole perception of what the media told all of us Hockey fans at the time

from Scott Burnside of The Athletic,



Unless you’re a true devotee of the New Jersey Devils or a devotee of the corporate machinery of professional sports teams, you could be excused for not knowing who Josh Harris was until the managing partner and chairman of the Devils stepped up to a microphone Sunday and announced the team fired GM Ray Shero.



That’s generally how owners like it. Out of the limelight unless they’re on hand for some celebratory event, like say the awarding of the Stanley Cup.



That’s not going to happen for the Devils anytime soon.



And now Harris and David Blitzer, who purchased the team in the summer of 2013, have emerged from the shadows in a most awkward fashion, making themselves a very big part of the story of a franchise that went in an instant from disappointing underachievers to curiosity.



That’s what happens when out of nowhere you fire a respected GM on a Sunday afternoon hours before a game in the middle of an already lost season.



continued (paid)

from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,

Oh boy, how we’ve missed you, Battle of Alberta.

Fast, crisp, 4-3 hockey.

Big, edgy hits, with great quotes post-game.

And a hell of a fight… Oh, wait.

“He’s just a young punk that has to figure that aspect out in the game,” Edmonton’s Zack Kassian said of Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk, after another Flames-Oilers game where Tkachuk played uber-physical yet refused an invitation to fight. “It’s sad because he’s a pretty good player but he’s a (expletive).”

The truth is, Tkachuk is exactly what this latent rivalry has lacked for so long — a skating, hitting, turtling stick of dynamite that ignited the Battle of Alberta once again on Saturday. He tracked down Kassian in the first period and labelled him, sending Kassian’s helmet flying.

continued

Women's national team players representing the United States and Canada will compete in a 3-on-3 event at the NHL All-Star game in St. Louis in two weeks, a person with direct knowledge of the plan said Monday.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the NHL isn't scheduled to make an announcement until later this week. ESPN.com first reported the development Sunday night.

It's unclear when the scrimmage will be held during the weekend of festivities. The All-Star game, featuring a series of 3-on-3 games, is Jan. 25, a day after the skills competition.

The addition of a women's 3-on-3 game is seen as the latest step in the league's bid to promote women's hockey.

Last year, four women were invited to take part in All-Star weekend events in San Jose, California. American forward Kendall Coyne Schofield became the first woman to participate in the skills competition. She replaced injured Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon and finished seventh of eight in the fastest-skater competition.

“IF” is the key word there. I don’t know either way, but I find it highly suspicious that this is coming out now. People can’t keep secrets well. Someone would have talked earlier then this if Moore was cavorting in a pool two weeks later. What is May’s motivation for doing this, why didn’t he say something earlier if this is true, etc?

Also, IMO, what Bertuzzi did could easily permanently injure someone...whether or not they ended up permanently injured or not is less important to me. Its like shooting someone...just cause they get lucky and live shouldn’t effect the shooters punishment. 

from Etan Viessing of The Hollywood Reporter,

3ICE, to begin play in June 2021, is the latest TV sport to take on a faster, cut-down format to stay relevant in the digital age.
CBS Sports has picked up the U.S. TV rights to 3ICE, a three-on-three professional ice hockey league in North America set to launch in June 2021.

The new league, created by E.J. Johnston, son of former pro hockey goalie and coach Ed Johnston and NHL veteran Craig Patrick, will also air on Canada's TSN sports channel and its Quebec counterpart RDS. And the 3ICE championship game will air on the CBS TV network.

3ICE is the latest TV sport after football, cricket and Formula One to adopt a faster, cut-down format to remain relevant amid changing demographics in the digital age. Fewer players playing hockey tends to produce more open ice and goal scoring.