So over the weekend sports fans were forced to endure two just simply awful all star games. Let's start with the NHL All Star game. First and foremost it was held in Raleigh, North Carolina, so that is problem number one, no hockey culture there are all! Screw you Eric Staal. But seriously, I was only able to watch this game in 5 - 10 minute segments as I found the PGA's Farmer's Insurance Open more exciting. The players were not skating, no one was taking any liberties trying to make a fancy move or try to undress the goalies. At least three times I saw odd man rushes, one of which included a 3 on 0! They passed, passed again, passed again, oh then another pass and at the last second Kopitar shot the puck and Carey Price let in the goal like the vegetable strainer he is...YOU SUCK PRICE! What this game was missing was any intensity, player desire to showcase their skills. No one was rushing back down ice to stop these odd man rushes, so set up something pretty, make a fancy move, flip the puck in the air and try to bat it our of mid air and score, DO SOMETHING! People in Raleigh probably had to remortgage their homes in order to be able to afford to go to this game and all they got was half ass'd defense, less than stellar goal tending and "superstars", who were less than super. I understand that most of these guys have never played together and that no one wants to over do anything and risk injury, but what the NHL put on the ice on Sunday afternoon was nothing more than pick up hockey. Eric Staal was out taking shifts that lasted anywhere from 3 - 4 minutes, which after about 2 of those minutes he was just waving his stick around and making funny noises, in all likelihood because he was mic'd up for HNIC. I would have like to have seen some more "razzel dazzel" and creative puck movement, perhaps a face wash or two, even some over exaggerated goal celebrations. This is a showcase for the fans, put on a show. I caught about 10 minutes of the AHL all star game last night, and in that 10 minutes I saw some physical play, a guy went hard to the net as the goalie went to smother the puck and poked it into the net and best of all I saw a guy flip the puck (from behind the net) over top to a guy who was in front of the net, who then tried to bat the puck out of the air and into the net. The play failed but at least they tried, which is more than can be said about the NHL all stars. You are voted in by the fans because you are exciting, talented players and then you go out and basically throw shit in the faces of the fans like dirty zoo monkeys. The NHL needs to reevaluate the all star game and it's purpose. You'd see more action and creative hockey in any team practice then you saw in all of the game Sunday. Perhaps the NHL needs to adopt a system similar to Major League Baseball, where the winner of the mid summer classic gets home field advantage during the World Series. We all know that in the NHL just because you finish 1st in the conference doesn't mean you will find your self in the Stanley Cup final. In recent years the team to finish in the 6th threw 8th spots in the conference have made it to the Stanley Cup final. So perhaps by making the game worth something such as home ice advantage in the final round you would get a more intense, hockey like game and not just a bunch of over paid monkeys skating around like a bunch of beer leaguers. NHL all stars always say that it's an honor to play in the All Star game, they sure as hell didn't act like it the other night.
As for the NFL pro bowl, well it has always notoriously sucked donkey ass, so I don't have a lot to say about it. At least it was high scoring and the players were trying to compete. When they tried a risky play it was to entertain the fans, it led to a lot of turn overs, but at least they tried! Still wasn't much of a game, but they tried.
Dear NHL,
You tried the fantasy draft format, you made NHL players look like fools as they waited to be picked, until it was down to two guys, how small do you think they felt? Give up that format and go back to East vs. West and make this game about home ice advantage. Maybe then the players will actually play and fans can enjoy the game, like a real hockey game. Perhaps a score of 3 - 2 or 5 - 4 not 11 - 10. You feel you need to compete with other major sports in America to get ratings, well perhaps if you didn't hold your All Star game in Raleigh, North Carolina and in a market where hockey belongs you'd get better ratings. Hockey doesn't belong in Carolina, Florida, Dallas, Los Angeles or San Jose, those place need football, basketball and monster truck, but that is whole other blog...you suck Gary Bettman and your wife's fat!
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