Sad to See AFL Go

AFL spokesman: Demise appears 'inevitable'

I got my start in the sports industry with the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League. I saw it as a way to work my way up to a position with the Islanders and for me it worked. Along my journey with the AFL, I made many friends and memories along with way.

The AFL had something good going, but in my estimation their failure was their own fault.

The NFL, NHL, MLB and NBA took decades to grow into the national and continent-wide powerhouses they are now. The AFL wanted to do that in 20 years. They wanted to rush their growth and the league thought of themselves as equals to the big-four North American leagues.

It seemed that when Kurt Warner jumped from the AFL to NFL Super Bowl MVP that the Arena League gained respect. At that moment, the League and its football operations department started to think of themselves as equals to the giant of the National Football League. And from that moment they began to throw away their milk before it spoiled.

Instead of continuing to embrace their small-market success, they jumped ahead of the curve to try to find big-market success. Along the way they gained some notoriety, but in the end bite off more then they could chew. They forgot about what they had in exchange for trying to find something more popular.

The moral of the AFL’s story is that growth takes times. The NFL did not become the NFL overnight and the fall downward comes a lot faster then the climb.

The NHL can learn from the AFL’s failure. There is still plenty of growth ahead for the NHL and they mustn’t rush it. Let success happen and if it takes time, so be it. Rushing to success often leads to failure in the end.

And while we think of the AFL’s demise, ask the Arena League how ESPN helped them? Even ESPN doesn’t bring automatic success.

Don’t Adjust Your TV Set

Part 1

Some internet banter on Islander Mania is correct. There is a different center ice logo at the Coliseum for the second half of the season.

The logo (left) is the third jersey logo… royal blue and with a fourth stripe on the stick of the “NY”. The new NHL logos are also new. A few teams in the NHL have incorporated the League’s shield in their center ice logo and the rumor is that the NHL will make it mandatory next season.

It’s a nice touch for the ice at the Coliseum.


Part 2

From this Sportsnet.ca report:

Altitude Sports & Entertainment announced that it will broadcast the second period of the Montreal Canadiens' visit to Pepsi Center on February 13th in black and white with an "old time" coverage style. The telecast changes are in celebration of the Canadiens’ 100th season playing in the NHL and will give viewers a flashback to what it was like when hockey was first shown on TV.

"Friday night’s old time hockey coverage is a way for us to celebrate the rich history of the NHL and to remind fans of the evolution of live sports television coverage," said Matt Hutchings, Altitude’s EVP/COO. "We hope that fans will enjoy the special broadcast and celebrate this history with us."

Also, a very cool idea.


Conclusion: Retro is “in” these days. From the NBA to the NFL and certainly to the NHL.

NHL Anthems

Watching Jennifer Hudson’s wonderful rendition of the US National Anthem last night before the Super Bowl got me thinking about the best anthems in NHL rinks.

Only a handful of teams have one anthem singer who regular sings on an every-game basis. And three of them just so happen to be the tops in the league. Here they are:

Lauren Hart – Philadelphia Flyers
Lyndon Slewidge – Ottawa Senators
John Amarante – NY Rangers

There hasn’t been a better anthem sung in the Coliseum since Carl Dixon did it for the 2002 playoff games versus Toronto. Did the amazing atmosphere help? Yeah, but I also think his anthem added to the atmosphere of that series even more.

It’s all up for debate because everyone has their own taste and opinion.

If you ask hockey fans what there greatest hockey memory is, some will say it was the 1991 NHL All-Star Game in Chicago when Wayne Messmer sang the Anthem at Chicago Stadium. It occurred just a few days after the United States went into Iraq at the start of the Gulf War. The crowd reaction was so great, his voice was nearly drowned out by the fans.

Anthems are always great when the crowd really gets into by themselves and can carry the song by themselves. Alanis Morissette sang ‘O Canada in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007 with crowd support. Edmonton did the same thing the year before and it was just as amazing. (6:50 into the clip)

Lauren Hart’s rendition is my favorite because not only is it spectacular, but she sings it for almost every game. Consistency has a large part to do with it. It’s something I always wished the Islanders had. Fans really get behind an anthem singer they hear every game. Flyers fans often think of Lauren as just as important piece of the team as the starting goaltender that there's booing.

I really like what we’re doing with the Organist (and no vocals) at the Coliseum. I think it can catch on and if the fans get behind it, it would have the potential to be tops in the league.

But again, an anthem is all about personal taste. Someone in the office just said they though Whitney Houston sounded horrible at Super Bowl 25.

How does a PR guy pick a team to root for in the playoffs

The truth is, when you get so emotional invested in your team, when you’re around them for over seven months it’s hard to start rooting for another team in the playoffs. That is, unless they’re playing the Rangers. Then it’s really easy.

During the season, some people see the opponent as the enemy. But when the Islanders visit Pittsburgh or Detroit visits the Islanders, the staffs of both teams get to know each other on a business and personal. And then they become simply the opponent. You want to beat them and you get pissed off if you lose. But a working relationship or friendship develops.

So often times when I find myself watching playoff hockey and I find myself wanting to root for one team over the other I decide this way: Which PR staff do I like better? Yeah, I know that sounds dumb.

Most teams have great people working in their media departments. I was asked the other day who I thought had the best PR staff in the NHL. The answer was easy for me: Minnesota. Billy Robertson has assembled a staff that works hard for their team and treats visitors as one of their own. Granted, some teams are just filled with jerks. But the vast majority of the PR staffs around the league get along great.

So sometimes it’s tough. Do I root for Tom McMillan and his Penguins or Zach Hill and his Flyers? Or Jason Rademan and the Stars or Tom Holy and the Sharks?

Unfortunately I don’t know John Hahn from the Red Wings that well. But Tom McMillan is as solid as they come in the NHL PR world. So...

Go Pens Go.

From the NHL: 2008 NHL DRAFT DRAWING

2008 NHL DRAFT DRAWING TO BE TELEVISED LIVE ON MONDAY, APRIL 7 AT 8 P.M. ET FOR ONLY SECOND TIME IN EVENT’S HISTORY

NEW YORK/TORONTO (April 2, 2008) – The National Hockey League Draft Drawing, a weighted system to determine the order of selection for the first 14 picks of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, will take place Monday, April 7, at 8 p.m. ET at the NHL’s New York City office.

The League, in cooperation with TSN, further announced that the results of the Draft Drawing will be televised live by TSN in Canada; VERSUS in the U.S.; and NHL Network in the U.S. and Canada. Furthermore, the results will be streamed live on NHL.com and TSN.ca and broadcast live on XM Satellite Radio. It will be only the second time the Draft Drawing results will be televised live, and the first time since 2005, when the Pittsburgh Penguins won the right to select first overall and drafted Sidney Crosby.

The 30-minute, live program – titled “Scotiabank NHL Draft Lottery” – will begin at 8 p.m. ET and will originate from the NHL on TSN studios in Toronto. TSN’s James Duthie will host the program, with Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie and analyst Mike Milbury.

The Draft Drawing involves Clubs that do not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, or the Clubs that acquired the first-round drafting positions of those non-playoff clubs.

Per NHL rules, the club selected in the Draft Drawing may not move up more than four positions in the draft order. Thus, the only Clubs with the opportunity to receive the first overall selection are the five teams with the lowest regular-season point totals, or the Clubs that acquired an eligible Club’s first-round draft pick. No club will move down more than one position as a result of the Draft Drawing.

Under the weighted system, the club with the fewest regular-season points will have the greatest chance (25%) of winning the Draft Drawing and will pick no lower than second. Based on team finish, the percentage chance of being selected in the Draft Drawing is:

30th place team - 25.0% 23rd place team - 3.6%
29th place team - 18.8% 22nd place team - 2.7%
28th place team - 14.2% 21st place team - 2.1%
27th place team - 10.7% 20th place team - 1.5%
26th place team - 8.1% 19th place team - 1.1%
25th place team - 6.2% 18th place team - 0.8%
24th place team - 4.7% 17th place team - 0.5%

The 2008 NHL Entry Draft will take place at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario. The first round will take place on Friday, June 20 commencing at 7 p.m. (local time) and the subsequent rounds (two through seven) will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 21.

Results of Previous Draft Drawings

Year Selected Effect On Draft Order Player Selected
1995 Los Angeles Moved from 7th to 3rd D Aki Berg
1996 Ottawa Retained 1st selection D Chris Phillips
1997 Boston Retained 1st selection C Joe Thornton
1998 Tampa Bay Moved from 3rd to 1st via trades C Vincent Lecavalier
1999 Chicago Moved from 8th to 4th RW Pavel Brendl *
2000 NY Islanders Moved from 5th to 1st G Rick DiPietro
2001 Atlanta Moved from 3rd to 1st LW Ilya Kovalchuk
2002 Florida Moved from 3rd to 1st LW Rick Nash **
2003 Florida Moved from 4th to 1st G Marc-Andre Fleury ***
2004 Washington Moved from 3rd to 1st LW Alex Ovechkin
2005 Pittsburgh n/a C Sidney Crosby
2006 St. Louis Retained 1st selection D Erik Johnson
2007 Chicago Moved from 5th to 1st RW Patrick Kane

* NY Rangers obtained Chicago's pick in a trade (via Vancouver and Tampa Bay). The Rangers selected RW Pavel Brendl fourth overall.
** Columbus obtained Florida's pick in a trade. The Blue Jackets selected LW Rick Nash first overall.
*** Pittsburgh obtained Florida's pick in a trade. The Penguins selected G Marc-Andre Fleury first overall.

From the NHL: NHL CONTENT NOW AVAILABLE ON HULU.COM

NEW YORK (March 21, 2008) – National Hockey League (NHL) content is now available on-demand for free through www.Hulu.com. A partnership between the NHL and the new online video service known as Hulu was announced last week. Under the agreement, the NHL is providing full-length “Games of the Week,” full-length classic games, “Best of the Week” highlights and all-access features focused on NHL players and events.

The Hulu.com website brings together the widest selection of premium video from across 50 content providers with an elegant, easy-to-use interface. With a focus on the video viewing experience, Hulu.com streams videos in high-quality while offering additional tools to enhance the viewing experience, including full-screen view, a pop-out window, a ‘lower lights’ feature and much more.

“NHL fans are early adopters who consume New Media more than fans of other sports,” said Troy Ewanchyna, NHL Director Business Development.
“Partnering with Hulu is an important next step in our commitment to delivering NHL content our fans want, when and where they want it.”

In addition to NHL content, U.S. consumers can go to Hulu.com to watch a large selection of hit TV shows, movies, clips and more in high-quality – any time, for free. Hulu’s extensive distribution network includes Hulu’s partner sites (AOL, Comcast's Fancast.com, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo!) and other websites where users have embedded Hulu videos.

NHL: Attendance Up in 07-08

From the NHL:

NHL POSTS BEST-EVER NOVEMBER ATTENDANCE

NEW YORK (December 4, 2007) -- The National Hockey League posted record attendance for the month of November, attracting 3,367,547 fans to 199 games for a per-game average of 16,922. The per-game figure eclipsed the previous November high of 16,818 set during the League's successful re-launch season in 2005 and was 2.3% ahead of last season's 16,538.

Season-to-date, the total NHL attendance of 6,603,908 and per-game average of 16,890 through 391 games are 1.9% ahead of the corresponding figures from the record-setting 2006-07 campaign.

NHL NOVEMBER ATTENDANCE SINCE 1987
Year GP Avg.
2007 199 16,922
2006 202 16,538
2005 199 16,818
2003 206 16,244
2002 207 16,378
2001 200 16,490
2000 199 16,200
1999 172 15,880
1998 165 15,819
1997 176 15,951
1996 172 16,197
1995 172 15,297
1993 165 15,245
1992 155 14,789
1991 144 15,330
1990 141 15,270
1989 140 15,630
1988 142 15,142
1987 138 15,137

OPINION: Send them to the Olympics!

A recent report out of Canada states that the NHL is considering pulling NHL player participation from the Olympics following the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

That’s a mistake.

First off, I’ve spoken to a lot players about this subject since the 2006 Olympics and they want the chance to play for their country on the international stage. And they should be able to play if they want too.

Secondly, the NHL would be stupid not to let the players go. The Olympics are always a big deal. Granted, Ice Hockey doesn’t get the mega headlines as Figure Skating at the Olympics, but it is put on the international stage. And why wouldn’t the NHL want their star players to be on the big international stage? After all, the league is planning to host regular-season games in Europe again next season. So wouldn’t this fall into line with their plan to grow the game internationally?

Now the chances of another Miracle on Ice coming along are slim, but the Olympics have a way of turning a few stories every time around into one of those feel-good attention grabbers. If it involved hockey, it would do wonders for the games – again, both internationally and here in the United States.

So what if the season gets shutdown for two weeks every four years. It gives some players a chance to heal injuries, rest and get better for the stretch run. If you think it will kill momentum, just think of the momentum there is to be gained from an incredible Olympic tourney?

Lastly, as a throw-a-way point, how many times have you caught yourself watching an Olympic sport that you never watched before. Probably just because it’s on and you’re feeling patriotic and want that American to win. Sometimes you get hooked onto the sport and when the Olympics are over, you’re watching it on ESPN Ocho. The point is the Olympics also have a way of turning people onto sports they didn’t follow before. And the last time I checked, the NHL could never have enough fans.

In 2014, the NHL should go to Olympics. It’s the smart and right thing to do.

NHL: Ted to Wear Pink

Neat initiative the NHL is doing this season. October is Hockey Fights Cancer (HFC) Month and not only will you see every player in the NHL where a sticker on their helmets for HFC, you’ll see Ted wear pink.

Every team will host a HFC night and on that night, every head coach (including Ted Nolan) in the NHL will wear commemorative pink Hockey Fights Cancer ties. The pink ties will be on-sale at shop.nhl.com with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Hockey Fights Cancer.

For more details, click here.

Good job by the folks at the NHL.