Gold Cup final destroys Stanley Cup in ratings

I didn't make the comparison, the AP did. You asked why the AP would and I was trying to explain it. Maybe it's not the explanation you want but it's likely the reason it was made.

 

I have to say, on my cable system, Univision and Telefutura are available just as freely as NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX.

It's not like either station is way down the dial.

 

A few quick points...

-- More than anything this speaks to the fact that the Spanish-speaking TV audience is far larger than people realize. In a number of large TV markets -- and I believe this includes NYC and LA -- the Spanish language newscasts are frequently number one in the ratings.

-- One thing to keep in mind in the "Bettman must go" talk: he did EXACTLY what the owners demanded. I don't like the guy either, but his job is to do what the owners want, and they wanted him to shut it down until they got what they wanted. He succeeded. They lost me and a lot of other fans, but the owners are now protected from themselves, so they won... sort of.

-- The biggest thing killing hockey right now is the TV exile. They returned from an extensive lockout to a deal that (a) made it extremely hard to find a game on TV, and (b) guaranteed it would get frozen-out on Sportscenter. If you're not already a serious fan it's like the lockout never ended.

 

It's lazy reporting by an AP hack who made a comparison just to make one. There's sizzle, but little steak.

And it sure seems like you agree with the comparison.

 

Lockout, strike. Potato, po-tah-toe. Bottom line: Both sports willingly went over Niagara, then wondered why people didn't love them as much when they finally came back a year later.

 

Was just about to post that about the terminology of lockout vs. strike.

And I agree on the rest as well. The NHL really screwed up in the mid to late 1990s with expansion and franchise moves. Not sure how Bettman keeps his job, but then there was a time about right years ago when Bud Selig should have been canned as well.

That all said, I'm glad to know soccer is getting nice numbers of viewers. But hockey should be getting at least the same numbers here; there's plenty to go around.

 

And don't forget, the NHL probably reached its peak in 1994 when the Rangers (damn them) won the Cup. The NHL proceeded to shit away all momentum and buzz it gained by locking out the players.

That hurt more than the expansion.

 

Terminology?

Jesus, are you kidding me?

You don't know the difference between a lockout and a strike?

It's not about "terminology", it's about facts.

You can't possibly use the two interchangeably if you're actually writing about the story.

Unreal.

 

JR, I think he was agreeing with you.

 

Re: Television: If the NHL on NBC/Versus is bad now, and things have gotten screwed up, then how can the NHL on no three-letter network/SportsChannel America under John Ziegler have been better?

 

I haven't paid too much attention to this thread, but I was shocked Univision was available in the Seattle area, just because not a lot of Hispanics live in the greater-Seattle area. But me, and 10 other random folks in the restaurant, avidly watched the game on Sunday. The only reason I even watched any of the NHL playoffs was because my roommate likes the NHL, but he has told me he'd rather watch soccer.

 

Unreal, indeed.

It's important to get the terminology right when discussing things including - and maybe especially - sports: a lockout is not a strike. And a strike is certainly not a lockout, just as a "defender" in soccer should never be called a "defenseman" and "goaltender" and "goalkeeper" are certainly NOT interchangeable.