Kukla's Korner

30,000 Greet Hurricanes

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/21/06 at 12:41 AM ET | Comments (0)

from the AP via Sports Illustrated,

The Carolina Hurricanes and their fans celebrated the first major pro title in the state's history Tuesday, with the 114-year-old Stanley Cup signifying that hockey has found a home in North Carolina. Less than a day after beating the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 in Game 7 of the finals, the Hurricanes took a victory lap around the RBC Center before taking the stage to thank about 30,000 fans who waited through a hot June afternoon to greet the first post-lockout NHL champions.

Filed in: | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

No Buzz In Nashville

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 07:29 PM ET | Comments (0)

from the Nashville City Paper,

Feeling like a social misfit these days, like you’re a square peg trying to fit into a round-peg world? Then like me, you were probably a devoted follower of the National Hockey League playoffs. Loving the Stanley Cup was not a popular pastime the past two months. The NBA is hot and the NHL is not. Want to scatter a crowded street corner? Just bring up hockey. Discussing the game is a lot like talking about Big Foot. It’s just a rumor you hear about secondhand because nobody’s actually seen it in person. Welcome to Must Flee TV. These days in the professional sporting world, NASCAR has replaced the NHL in that elite big four group with MLB, the NFL and the NBA. Nationally, you never hear hockey brought up anymore. On ESPN Radio, it has become a joke and a punch line. On my radio show, other than its cult followers, hockey talk doesn’t generate a real buzz.

Filed in: | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

The Blues Can Do It Too

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 06:52 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Jeff Gordon of St. Louis Today,

The Hurricanes now reign supreme over the NHL. Down in ACC basketball country, the hockey newbies get to stage their parade with the treasured chalice. Many Blues fans view this as an atrocity, another punch to their heart.... Now Blues fans hope Dave Checketts can do for them what Karmanos did for Waffle House Nation. In the new NHL, all things are possible. Advancing age and the new salary cap have derailed traditional Western Conference powers Colorado, Detroit and Dallas. If Raleigh can get a Cup, St. Louis can get a Cup. Blues fans should just keep telling themselves that -– and perhaps what happened Monday night will be easier to digest.

Filed in: | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Tough As They Come

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 06:21 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Sports Illustrated,

Athletes all claim they play for the love of the game. They say they'd gladly suit up even if their salaries were paid in discarded peanut shells. But hockey players, judging by the way they smile demonically after unloading a round of haymakers or taking a high stick that sends their front teeth skidding across the ice like Skittles, seem to actual mean it. Whenever there's a television cutaway to the Cup, Lord Stanley's handlers, with their Hamburger Helper gloves, are always shown polishing the silver chalice. Perhaps because of this, when the Hurricanes hoisted the old layered trophy above their shoulders, there was no residue, no scum from last season's lockout. And though almost no one was watching, the game looked as good as ever.

Filed in: | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Party Time

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 06:02 PM ET | Comments (0)

You may recall I planned to host a SCF party last night. How did it turn out, well, read on... Like most hockey fans would, I jumped at the chance to share my thoughts with the readers of NHL.com. I appreciate Phil Coffey asking me to participate.

Filed in: | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Still Learning

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 04:29 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Terry Frei of ESPN,

It was the NHL's fourth finals Game 7 in five seasons, and all four have ended with the home team hoisting the Stanley Cup, so this should have been familiar. But there just seemed to be something a little different about it this time, including the strangely convivial atmosphere among the tailgating before the game. The many Edmonton fans -- advertising their loyalties on their backs -- were far more likely to end up being offered a Carolina Pale Ale out of a cooler than to hear taunts, whether from the folks whose kids attend school with Rod Brind'Amour's children at the Montessori School of Raleigh or anyone else. One of the things missing in the finals, given the other-planet nature of the conferences, and now more so than ever, is a bitter rivalry. In that sense, the conference finals or even the first two rounds can be more testy, and I'm talking about the fans, too.... The NHL still has problems, and I'm among the many who aren't shy about pointing out what I believe them to be. " The league was too hard to find on television this season and lost the chance to draw in fans who stumbled across a game on a familiar network. " The NHL still doesn't sufficiently promote its stars, bowing to the entrenched culture of the sport rather than entering the 21st century, a step that wouldn't necessarily have to embrace the "me, me, me" attitude more common to other sports.

Filed in: | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Report- Four NHL Officials Let Go

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 04:17 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Hockey Refs,

“There were four officials let go,” a referee speaking on condition of anonymity told HockeyRefs.com on Monday. He was unwilling to disclose the names of sacked officials because they are “close friends” – though he expects the firings to be finalized shortly. Under the NHL-NHLOA collective bargaining agreement, no more than four full-time officials can be fired each year.

Filed in: | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

The Business Side

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 02:59 PM ET | Comments (0)

from the Toronto Star,

Fresh off one of the most exciting Stanley Cup finals in years, officials with the NHL and its players' union are scheduled to meet today in New York with several investment banks and insurance companies to discuss how the league's 30 teams might bolster their ties to Wall Street, sources have told the Toronto Star. Under consideration is a proposal that could possibly see NHL teams open their own referral business to act as a liaison between high net-worth individuals and their companies, and financial services companies looking to sell both insurance products, and retail and investment-banking services.

Filed in: | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Report- Malkin Signs

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 02:42 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Metallurg.ru(link not translated),

19-year napadayushchiy team Russia Yevgeny Malkin, which became in the past season the best bombardier of Magnitogorsk "metallurgist", signed contract for three years with the club NKHL "Pittsburgh Pingvinz", which zadraftoval of player in 2004 under the total second number. According to the agent Of malkina of Sergey isakov, Yevgeny concluded agreement for the sum maximum for the novice. To be prepared for the new season Of malkin is assembled to begin in Magnitogorsk with the "metallurgist". "for the ocean it is intended to leave in the first days of August", said Malkin.

The Penguins shouldn't have any trouble working out a contract with center Evgeni Malkin. But contrary to reports out of Russia yesterday, they haven't done it yet. Mostly because they are not allowed to, and won't be until all parties -- the NHL, the International Ice Hockey Federation and the Russian Hockey Federation -- formally sign the transfer agreement that clears the way for Malkin, and other Russian players, to come to North America.

Filed in: | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Game 7 Ratings

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 02:13 PM ET | Comments (0)

from zap2it,

Despite an exciting Stanley Cup Game 7, NBC could do little to challenge CBS' Monday night dominance. The Tiffany Network crushed the competition overall, though FOX was able to eke out a slim demographic win. For the night, CBS averaged a 5.8 rating/10 share, far ahead of the 3.9/7 for FOX. ABC was right behind in third with a 3.6/6, nipping the 3.5/6 for NBC (though NBC averaged more viewers). The WB and UPN continued to play out the string with matching totals of 1.3/2 on the night.

Last night’s Game Seven averaged a 2.3 adults 18-49 overnight rating from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., according to Nielsen fast nationals. Those numbers measure only timeslot data, not program data, so the final number may jump when the bit airing after 11 p.m. is factored in to final ratings. Regardless, this will be the highest-rated game of the series by far. It was up 92 percent over the 1.2 final average earned by Saturday’s Game Six. It also bettered Game Five’s 1.6 average and Game Four’s 1.3 average while becoming NBC’s first game to break 4 million total viewers. In fact, it broke that barrier by a great deal, averaging 5.45 million total viewers.

Game 7 of The Stanley Cup Finals on NBC (Edmonton vs. Carolina) concluded with a typically lackluster 4.0/ 7 in the overnights from 8-11:15 p.m., with an approximate 5.45 million viewers and a 2.3/ 7 among adults 18-49 in primetime. Comparably, the 2004 metered market average for The Stanley Cup Finals was a more potent 5.4/ 9.

The Carolina Hurricanes’ win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals had a 3.3 rating and 6 share on NBC on Monday night, down 21 percent from Game 7 in 2004 — the last season before the lockout. In 2004, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Game 7 victory over the Calgary Flames had a 4.2 rating and a 7 share on ABC. “The ratings are in line with our projections,” Brian Walker, director of communications for NBC Sports, said Tuesday.

Filed in: | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

« Previous       ‹ First  < 6495 6496 6497 6498 6499 >  Last ›      Next »