The shootout. Some don’t like it in the NHL and many don’t like it in the Olympics.
It made the game exciting last night. It humbled everyone I am sure on team Russia. Slovakia played inspired team defense and shut down the top two lines on team Russia. Alex Ovechkin scored once in the shootout and missed twice and now Russia falls back in the standings. But is still one of the teams to contend for the ultimate prize along with Canada that won in its shootout as well as Sweden. Some experts top pick to win gold based on play to date and the USA.
Slovakia has a very good team as well. Kudos to Peter Bondra as their GM for putting together a tough team to play against with lots of NHL talent.
Another great game. Another 1500 or so tickets unused and empty at the game which is sad because so many people in this great city are dying to attend an Olympic event.
Ted, as a follow-up to my previous posting, here is NBC’s rationale for not showing the US vs Canada hockey game in prime time Sunday night. I know you are a marketing guru and I am sure this makes great business sense. But my gripe is that they should have put it on CNBC which is HD, versus MSNBC which is not, at least on DirecTV.
From NBC’s website:
“According to the network, there are three major sporting events that have more female viewers than male viewers: the Kentucky Derby, the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics. Turning three hours of prime-time coverage on the East Coast over to a hockey game isn’t exactly catnip to those casual female viewers.
Ice dancing, like figure skating, is a demographic draw; it’s the hook for a night of coverage that appeals to a broader audience than hockey does.”