stackiii
Nov 30, 2009 May 29, 2012 10 106
Part Nashvillian, part Washingtonian. Predators fan.
website: The Dangerous Servant
email:
a fan of
New York Yankees
Nashville Predators
RSSUser Blog
Why the NHL Needs the Sunbelt
Good stuff here from Slate blogger Matt Yglesias:
The issue is the bifurcated cable television markets in North America. Right now, hockey has a national broadcast deal in Canada and it has another one in the United States. Losing the national deal in the USA would be very costly to the entire enterprise. But to maintain that national deal, the NHL has to present itself as offering a true nationwide sports league which means you need teams in the sunbelt. Atlanta's departure didn't leave too much of a hole in the map since there are teams in North Carolina and Tennessee. Probably any one of the remaining non-Dallas sunbelt teams is expendable, but if you lost more than one to colder climes you might start imperiling the League's claim to be a real major sports across the length and breadth of the United States.
Offered in response to The Economist.
Update: In case you missed it, more of my thoughts on the future of national television broadcasts for the NHL from March 30.
Will the Predators Lose if the Legislature Punishes Scalpers?
by stackiii on Apr 10, 2012 10:32 AM EDT
on On the Forecheck
The Fairness in Ticketing Act of 2012, introduced in the Tennessee House and Senate by Rep. Ryan Haynes (R-14th) and Sen. Mike Faulk (R-4th), is currently weaving its way through the legislature in downtown Nashville. The bill is the second of its kind in as many years to emerge in the State House, as Rep. Mike Stewart (D-52nd) attempted (and failed) to pass a similar measure last year.
Designed to curb price gouging by ticket scalpers, the bill's proponents (including Ticketmaster, Bridgestone Arena, the Ryman Auditorium, the Nashville Predators, and country superstars Kenny Chesney and Garth Brooks -- according to The Tennessean) argue that forcing scalpers and online resellers like StubHub to "register with the state, post their refund policies and disclose the a ticket's face value to would-be buyers" would "protect consumers from unscrupulous scalpers who use automated methods to scoop up tickets in bulk, then offer entrance to 'sold-out' events at inflated prices."
Music City, USA is no stranger to protecting the performance rights of entertainers, so it's not surprising to see this issue come up in sequential legislative sessions. Follow after the jump to find out if the Preds would actually benefit from the new law....
39 comments
|
1 recs |
Tweet
Revisiting Preseason Predictions: 9 of 15 (So Far) Ain't Bad...
by stackiii on Apr 4, 2012 6:26 PM EDT
on On the Forecheck
I started my hockey blogging this season at The Hockey Writers -- and while I'm thankful to Dirk to now be contributing here at On the Forecheck, I owe a debt of gratitude to Preds fan Jas Faulkner and THW editor Bruce Hollingdrake for giving me a platform to write about the greatest sport on earth. I spend too much of my day job focused on politics and public policy, so it was great this year to follow my other passion.
You can check out my short THW archive here, but I wanted to revisit some preseason predictions I made in my "Top 10 Things to Look Forward to in the Nashville Predators 2011-2012 Season" post (I wound up weaving fifteen actual predictions into my list). Follow after the jump to see how I'm stacking up...
More Nationally-Televised NHL in the U.S. in the Future?
by stackiii on Mar 30, 2012 1:05 PM EDT
on On the Forecheck
A few details about plans for a new national sports television network, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which intends to compete with Walt Disney Company's ESPN, surfaced this week in a Bloomberg News story.
According to the story, talks are still private, but early speculation leaves us to wonder: what impact will this have on nationally-televised NHL games in the U.S.?
Follow after the jump for some free-wheeling Friday speculation....
How does iTunes know I'm a Preds fan?!
Carrie Underwood is, of course, Preds first line center Mike Fisher's wife, and the team has celebrated wins this season by playing Lionel Richie's "All Night Long" in the locker room, a tradition begun by recently-traded journeyman (and iPod virtuoso) Jerred Smithson.
I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but it was pretty awesome to see these items juxtaposed in an iTunes marketing email this morning!
2 months ago
stackiii
1 comment
1 recs
Zamboni operator arrested for allegedly driving drunk at Minnesota rink
Today's hockey-related News of the Weird and Tragic:
While Dornstreich was working with a referee, a parent ran over to say that the rink attendant was "weaving all over, slurring his words."
By the time that conversation was done, Dornstreich said, the man was already backing the Zamboni onto the ice. And not very well, Dornstreich said.... People have been arrested in Minnesota for driving under the influence on everything from a souped-up motorized recliner to a farm tractor. State law says a DWI can result from driving any kind of a motorized vehicle, pretty much anywhere -- a forklift driver at work, a Bobcat driver plowing city sidewalks, a riding lawn mower in a yard.
Stick tap: Neatorama
Nashville Predators Promotion Allows First 500 Fans to Feed Players
"For a few dollars, children and adults will be given a handful of player feed they can drop over the glass—like this—and watch the Predators eat," said general manager David Poile, tossing food on the ice as hungry players glided by, slapping their sticks and drooling. "Don't try to feed them from your hand, though. They may not have many teeth, but the ones they do have are needle-sharp. Also, don't tap on the glass. They'll fight."
Little do the folks at The Onion know that Shea Weber is actually a real-life bearded beast....
In light of Dirk awarding Kevin Klein the OTF Hero of the Week, and since Pete and Terry mentioned it in last night's broadcast when Klein beat Corey Crawford from the red line, here's a video of Nick Lidstrom putting a strange one-bounce goal past Dan Ellis in Game 6 the 2008 Western Conference Quarterfinal in Nashville. The Preds would lose the game 3-0, with a shutout sending them to the links...
Does Defense Really Win Championships?
University of Chicago economist Tobias J. Moskowitz and Sports Illustrated's L. Jon Wertheim offer a scientific analysis of NFL games to challenge the conventional wisdom that "defense wins championships." Their empirical analysis examines only the NFL, but Joshua Cooper woud probably agree that offense and defense should receive equal weight when making predictions -- at least when it comes to making the NHL postseason.
Lock up the Big Three if you want, Mr. Poile -- but at some point you're going to have to pay for some help up front!
Puck Daddy Asks: "Do NHL Players, Alumni Deserve Larger Slice of Winter Classic Revenue?"
by stackiii on Jan 19, 2012 8:00 PM EST
on On the Forecheck
We're glad to welcome George Scoville, who will contribute occasional articles here at OTF. - Dirk
As it appeared on Puck Daddy this morning:
Next year, the Winter Classic is going to shatter records. The alumni game between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs will be an essential part of that celebration. Based on the Star story, it's a fairly easy fix for the NHL: Take ownership of the alumni event, seeing how dramatically its grown, and ensure that either the players themselves are better compensated or that the money goes into a fund to help ex-players.
But what about the current players in the Winter Classic?
The Winter Classic revenue is shared between the players and the NHL through their collectively bargained percentages. The bigger the Classic, the more the rest of the NHL's players benefit.
But again: What about the current players in the Winter Classic?
This poses an interesting question for Nashville Predators fans, the organization, and any other team in a non-traditional market. Follow after the jump for some thoughts...
Showing 1 - 10 of 10
