The Caps to play the Pens in the 2011 Winter Classic

No, but it's all about star power and TV. It's like the NBA only shows 5 or 6 teams on national TV as well.

If you are going to go to the effort to stage something like this, wouldn't you want the most dynamic and marketable players involved to be showcased. Many people might only watch 1-2 games per year and this goes up against college football bowl games as well. Why wouldn't you want to showcase the top stars and two teams that figure to be pretty good? (Yes, I know there is always the chance of injury, but that's the case with any team.)

Truth be told, you could fold about half the teams in the league right now and a large percentage of sports fans would neither know nor care. That goes for all the pro leagues.

 

Minnesota may get an outdoor game eventually, but the team has to get better and they have to get some marketable stars first that people will actually tune in to watch. The novelty of playing a game outdoors will soon start to wear off, if it hasn't already.

 

"Screw those bowl games, I'm watching RICK NASH!"

 

If Rick Nash were playing for a high profile team, he'd be one of the most marketable players in the league.

The Crosby/OV storyline is tired and dull. It's like the league or NBC just got fucking lazy and thought, "Oh, let's throw those two guys out there".

I mean, if those are the only two players that Joe from Arkansas has ever heard of, he's not a casual fan at all. He's not even worth pursuing.

 

JR, Crosby/OV is the NHL's gift from the Bird/Magic Gods.

You want Joe from Arkansas to become a bigger fan, so you give him what he wants.

 

Crosby/Ovechkin is not tired and dull to the average U.S. sports fan. It's not even tired and dull to hockey fans in Pittsburgh and Washington.

 

Growing up around 1983 or so, I remember when CBS would televise the Celtics, the Sixers and the Lakers nearly every week. It always felt like it was Celtics/Sixers, Sixers/Lakers and Celtics/Lakers nearly every week. Sometimes the Pistons and the Rockets would get thrown in the rotation with Isiah and Sampson, and one in a great while, they would show some other team.

With the NHL, it seems like they're doing the same thing. Every week is a combination of Penguins/Capitals/Rangers/Flyers/Red Wings/Bruins. But what they don't do is throw in the other teams on occasion. A Penguins/Blue Jackets game or a Capitals/Canadiens game. They don't try to use the star power of Crosby and Ovechkin to get people to watch and learn about the opponents.

 

Everybody is missing the real rivalry in the Caps/Pens showdown -- The battle of the Brooks: Orpik vs. Laich.

 

From the Pittsburgh sports end of it, there is a chance of a real sports dilemma on that day:
There are six bowl games that day; four involving the Big Ten and two other BCS games.

While it is an outside shot, the Pens could be playing the same day Pitt and Penn State are in bowl games....while it won't impact it greatly, it will have some impact if that, in fact, happens.

 

Don't forget Garth.

 

Actually, the Coyotes (2) and Predators (2) had more playoff games on NBC than the Penguins (1) and Caps (0). I think the NHL is simply taking advantage of the Crosby-Ovechkin games when they come along, which is four times out of 82 games during the regular season.

Oh, and throw the Blackhawks in with your Penguins/Capitals/Rangers/Flyers/Red Wings/Bruins group.

 

Crosby v. Ovechkin - simple yet smart marketing, no matter the location. Joe Sports Fan is going to care about this matchup. With the leagues two marquee names, I'm surprised it didn't come earlier. If this was Atlanta and Colorado at the Georgia Dome or at Invesco Field, I don't think as many people would tune in or care, other than for the novelty of watching a hockey game in a non-NHL facility.

Outdoor hockey games at the college and pro level should be kept to one a season, as I find the product is starting to lose a bit of its luster - keep it to the Winter Classic and ONE outdoor college game. But that's another argument for another day.

JR, agreed on Rick Nash. If he played for any other team within a 350-mile radius of Columbus, he'd be a superstar.