Kukla's Korner Hockey
Entries with the tag: winter+classic
NBC Gets Burned with NFL Championship Games
by Steve on 01/14/08 at 12:04 PM ET
Comments (0)
Do you hear that sound, that faint beeping noise that sounds like a heart monitor at a hospital? The pulse was flowing pretty steady, but now it’s basically in that last moment between life and death? That’s the buzz that NBC had gotten for it’s coverage of the NHL’s Winter Classic, and it’s dying. Fast. And the NFL is to blame.
Filed in: | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: media, nbc, nfl, winter+classic,
Hockey TV Schedule
by Alanah McGinley on 01/03/08 at 04:11 PM ET
Comments (0)
In case you missed it, NHL Network U.S. will air two encore presentations of the AMP Energy / NHL Winter Classic game in HD this weekend. NBC’s broadcast of the historic game will re-air Saturday, Jan. 5 at 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT, immediately following NHL Network’s live broadcast of the World Junior Championship Gold Medal game. The second airing will be Sunday, Jan. 6 at 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT.
About that World Junior Championship, here’s a complete schedule listing (below) for remaining games to be broadcast on the the NHL Network U.S. (note: for Canadians, TSN broadcast schedule is here).
Filed in: NHL Media | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: media, tv+schedule, winter+classic, world+junior+championships,
Winter Classic Does Well In Canada Too
by Paul on 01/03/08 at 02:30 PM ET
Comments (0)
from CNews,
The Winter Classic was a hit in Canada as well.
A day after NBC reported the largest hockey viewing audience in more than a decade watched the outdoor game south of the border, CBC announced Thursday it drew its second-largest audience ever for an afternoon NHL game.
Filed in: NHL Media, Hockey Broadcasting, CBC HNIC | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
Winter Classic On NBC Draws 2.4 Overnight Rating
by Paul on 01/02/08 at 01:07 PM ET
Comments (0)
via William Houston of the Globe and Mail,
NBC exceeded audience expectations for its coverage of the Buffalo outdoor game on New Year’s Day by earning a 2.4 overnight rating (percentage of the potential U.S. audience tuned in).
Sources said an American network has not produced an audience of that size for an NHL regular season game since the Fox Sports telecasts in the 1990s.
added 3:27pm, from NBC Universal Media Village,
NEW YORK – January 2, 2008 – The NHL Winter Classic, broadcast New Year’s Day on NBC, earned a 2.6 overnight rating and a 5 share (1-4:45 p.m. ET), the best overnight NHL regular season rating in more than a decade (Feb. 3, 1996 on Fox, six-game regional, 3.0/7).
read on for more plus the top 10 markets…
Filed in: NHL Media | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nbc+hockey, Winter+Classic,
Watching the Winter Classic
by Steve on 01/02/08 at 12:41 PM ET
Comments (0)
Images, if they resonate with you enough, can stick in your brain for quite some time. They stop being just vivid clips running through your brainwaves and become an indelible imprint on your memory. Folks, that image of the 20-year old “Hockey Savior” beating the Michigan State-trained goaltender in a skills competition, sarcasm aside, will be in my brain for many days and months, perhaps years, to come.
Often, when my mind is so aware something is coming, it becomes my mere focus, and I can do little but ponder it. It makes it very difficult to sleep. Perhaps you know the feeling, hockey fans. It’s the first or last day of school. For puckheads, opening night of the playoffs, or perhaps game one or two or three or six or seven of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: winter+classic,
How Did NBC & CBC Handle The Winter Classic
by Paul on 01/01/08 at 08:07 PM ET
Comments (0)
from William Houston of the Globe and Mail,
But for television, the outdoor game is a tough sell unless it’s framed brilliantly within the context of its surroundings.
In that respect, the CBC and NBC did fine jobs of bringing the enormousness of the spectacle into our homes.
Both networks conveyed the larger-than-life aspect of the game by giving us high overhead shots from an aircraft above the stadium as well as scenes in and around the game.
But the CBC should have given us more crowd shots. The mood and reaction of the spectators, after all, is a large part of the show.
Update 8:34pm ET: Reviews of the game all being added to this post, and game video available here.
Filed in: NHL Media, Hockey Broadcasting | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
Watch The Winter Classic Again
by Paul on 01/01/08 at 07:47 PM ET
Comments (0)
You can watch highlights of the game again or for the first time if you were busy watching football.
Enjoy!...
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nbc+hockey, Winter+Classic,
A Roaring Success
by Paul on 01/01/08 at 05:20 PM ET
Comments (0)
from David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail,
The delirious 71,217 fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium, almost all of whom stayed in their seats until the NHL’s brightest star, Sidney Crosby, scored the last goal of the shootout to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 2-1 win, made it official - the league’s second outdoor game, dubbed the Winter Classic, was a roaring success.
There was snow, which ranged from light to heavy, but it was never heavy enough to present a serious problem. There were winds, but not as strong as the weather forecasters predicted. And the temperatures stayed around freezing, making conditions for the game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Penguins as close to perfect as possible for an outdoor game.
Update 6:28pm ET: From NHL.com’s Frozen Moment today:
Update 8:16pm ET: From Scott Burnside at ESPN, grading the Winter Classic on the crowd, the weather, the warm ups, and so on.
Update 8:32pm ET: Adam Proteau at The Hockey News, pronounces the Winter Classic a success.
Update 10:33pm ET: The “Perfect Snowstorm” says the NY Times.
__________________
note: photo credit belongs to Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
Winter Classic- Open Post
by Paul on 01/01/08 at 12:58 PM ET
Comments (0)
Comments, remarks, questions, or just want to talk about the game today between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres.
Enjoy the game and stay warm!
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
Winter Classic Pre-Game Show
by Paul on 01/01/08 at 10:55 AM ET
Comments (0)
Sam Rosen and Bill Clement bring you the pre-game show from Buffalo. Show starts streaming at 11:00am ET.
Watch now…
update 11:29am, Show is over but the NHL may archive it just like they did the previous show, so you may want to check back later.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
Buffalo Views Of The Winter Classic
by Paul on 01/01/08 at 10:38 AM ET
Comments (0)
BfloBlog has their game day, open post up and I am sure it will become very active in a few hours.
Stop by throughout the day to get the feel of the game from the Buffalo perspective.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
Kids On Ice
by Paul on 12/31/07 at 06:55 PM ET
Comments (0)
from the CP,
The Buffalo Sabres were halfway through their practice on the rink in Ralph Wilson Stadium on Monday afternoon when coach Lindy Ruff canned the monotonous drills and let his players play shinny.
“I wanted them to get back the feeling of playing pond hockey,” Ruff explained. “It felt like the right thing to do, and they had a great time.” Millionaire pros were acting like kids.
“That was awesome, it really was,” Ruff said of the unique outdoor experience. “It kind of gets you back to your roots.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
The Ice Is Ready In Buffalo
by Paul on 12/30/07 at 05:45 PM ET
Comments (0)
from the CP,
“There’s no relaxing for the next 48 hours - none, zero,” Craig said emphatically Sunday afternoon.
The NHL’s magic man when it comes to ice is up to his old tricks. People in and around hockey had serious concerns about a hockey rink going up at Ralph Wilson Stadium in less than half the allotted time the league had to build the ice surface at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton four years ago for the Heritage Classic - the NHL’s first outdoor foray for a regular-season game.
So far so good. Craig had his staff split up and work 12-hour shifts so that it was nearly non-stop 24/7 since last Sunday night at 7 p.m. The result? As of Sunday afternoon, they were pretty much right on par with where things stood in Edmonton 48 hours out from game time.
“The rink itself looks fairly well ready to go,” Craig allowed himself to say. “We’re ready to go, let’s drop the puck and play hockey.”
Filed in: | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
Let’s Be Fair
by Paul on 12/29/07 at 02:33 PM ET
Comments (0)
BUFFALO (Dec. 29, 2007) – To ify any advantages or adversities created by weather conditions at Ralph Wilson Stadium during Tuesday’s AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic, the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins will switch ends halfway through the third period – ensuring each team would spend the equivalent number of minutes attacking or defending each goal, the National Hockey League announced today.
If necessary, a five-minute overtime period also would be divided in half, with the teams switching ends after 2:30 of play.
Should a shootout be needed, each goaltender would be given the option of determining which goal to defend. Thus it is possible that both teams would shoot at the same goal. Once a goaltender has chosen the goal he wants to defend, he must defend that goal for every round of the shootout.
The League also announced that length of intermissions between – and timeouts during – periods may be subject to modification depending on weather and ice conditions, as may be determined by the Game Officials and/or Commissioner Gary Bettman, in consultation with representatives of the National Hockey League Players’ Association.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
The Unknown Factor Of The Winter Classic
by Paul on 12/29/07 at 10:09 AM ET
Comments (0)
from the Toronto Star,
The icemaker is worried. The trainers are worried. The equipment managers are worried.
This business of playing hockey outdoors in the cold piles worry on top of worry for the people behind the scenes, whose job it is to make Tuesday’s Buffalo-Pittsburgh game at Ralph Wilson Stadium seem seamlessly magical.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Chris Stewart, the Penguins’ head trainer.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
NHL Preview Show Of The Winter Classic
by Paul on 12/28/07 at 03:03 PM ET
Comments (0)
Check out the live NHL Preview Show…
Watch now!
update 3:26pm, Show over, looked great though, nice job by the NHL on the streaming aspect.
update 5:49pm, The NHL has archived the show so you can see the video if you missed the live presentation…
Filed in: NHL Media | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
Sidney Crosby Conference Call Transcript
by Alanah McGinley on 12/28/07 at 02:50 PM ET
Comments (0)
On Tuesday, January 1st, at 1 p.m. ET, Sidney will lead the Penguins onto the ice at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, where they will take on the hometown Sabres in the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic.
Sidney leads the Penguins and is tied for second in overall NHL scoring with 16 goals and 34 assists for 50 points in 37 games played. The Penguins will host the Sabres at Mellon Arena tomorrow in the first of the back-to-back encounters that will culminate with Tuesday’s outdoor game.
Q. How often have you actually skated outdoors when you were growing up in Nova Scotia?
SIDNEY CROSBY: A lot. I mean, probably not as much as other kids in Ontario and Quebec. Our weather wasn’t always consistently cold. But I’ve certainly done it enough. Always had fun doing it. Certainly looking forward to this time.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: sidney+crosby, winter+classic,
Streaming Alert- Winter Classic Preview Show
by Paul on 12/28/07 at 12:37 PM ET
Comments (0)
The NHL Digital Studio officially launches into original programming today with the airing of the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic Preview Show at 3 p.m., ET, on NHL.com. The program, hosted from the XM Digital Studio in the Reebok NHL Store in New York, will feature a flashback profile of the Heritage Classic in Edmonton, interviews with NHL Senior Executive VP Business & Media John Collins and Senior VP Events & Entertainment Don Renzulli, and game insight from hosts E.J. Hradek, Don LaGreca and guest Billy Jaffe.
Filed in: NHL Media | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
Fast Ice
by Paul on 12/26/07 at 07:20 PM ET
Comments (0)
Speeding up the conversion in Buffalo from football field to ice rink!
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
The Ice Doctor Is In The House
by Paul on 12/24/07 at 12:26 PM ET
Comments (0)
from Dan Rosen of NHL.com,
Dan Craig also once created a rink on top of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
Needless to say, he has this rink-building thing down to—pardon the pun—a science. And you don’t need to remind him how much his ice matters to the event.
“You’re going to have 70,000 people there, and seven million watching on the tube,” Craig said. “You know CBC and NBC have corporate partners they have to keep pleased. I’m very conscious of that.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
Did You Expect Anything Different
by Paul on 12/21/07 at 02:04 PM ET
Comments (0)
from ESPN,
In our “Friday Faceoff,” ESPN.com NHL writer Scott Burnside (based in Atlanta) and Toronto Star columnist and frequent ESPN.com contributor Damien Cox (based in Toronto) duke it out over any given hockey topic. Let the games begin!
This week’s topic: Is this season’s outdoor game a good or bad thing?
Damien: Actually, it’s endeavour. Not that you were born here in Canada or anything. The outdoor event? Oh sure, great idea. Well, great old idea. Or just old idea. Look, if people want to sit in a Buffalo snowdrift and “watch” an NHL game from 300 feet away, God bless ‘em. But don’t tell me this game should count in the standings. It makes a mockery of the game. You’ll have guys out there in toques playing on crappy ice hoping to get the wind for the third period.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
NBC Plans For The Winter Classic
by Paul on 12/19/07 at 12:13 PM ET
Comments (0)
from John McGourty at NHL.com,
Costas said that while he hasn’t covered hockey recently, his job on the broadcast will be similar to the role he performs at the Kentucky Derby and golf tournaments.
“Other guys have more expertise in these sports than I do, not that I don’t enjoy them,” Costas said. “It’s my job to provide overview and set the scene. That’s how I’ll approach it here. I’m not going to analyze the game. I’ll present the concept. It really is an event.”
An event that has clearly captured the imagination of Costas.
“It’s unique,” Costas said. “I’m looking forward to it. I’m excited.”
The other three broadcasters and NBC Sports producer Sam Flood were in agreement that they’re really excited about the game, which could set a North American record for attendance at a hockey game.
Filed in: NHL Media, Hockey Broadcasting | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
Best Entertainment On New Year’s Day
by Paul on 12/04/07 at 01:14 PM ET
Comments (0)
from Eye Weekly,
At least, on Jan. 1, the NHL’s televising that outdoor hockey game in Buffalo, that “Winter Classic” between the Penguins and Sabres — because, the way it stands right now, watching Syd the Kid skate through a snowstorm is looking like superior New Year’s Day entertainment than anything college football’s gonna provide.
you can read on, but it is all NCAA Football talk & we give them a pass on “Syd”.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: winter+classic,
Winter Classic News
by Alanah McGinley on 11/09/07 at 11:59 AM ET
Comments (0)
The Sabres announced today that more tickets will be made available:
Larry Quinn, Managing Partner of the Buffalo Sabres today announced the organization has secured 4,500 obstructed-view seats from the NHL for the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic that will be sold for $10 each through a random selection process at Sabres.com.
Also, info on the retro jerseys to be worn at the game:
Buffalo will wear the white version of the jersey worn by the club from 1978-79 through 1995-96, which features the familiar circular logo of the charging buffalo over crossed sabers. Pittsburgh will return to the powder blue version worn from 1968-69 through 1972-73. This marks the first time the Penguins will wear powder blue since switching to black and gold in 1980.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: buffalo+sabres, jerseys, pittsburgh+penguins, tickets, winter+classic,
Trademarking the Ice Bowl
by Alanah McGinley on 10/29/07 at 01:22 PM ET
Comments (0)
From Sharon Linstedt at The Buffalo News,
“It was 90 degrees and everybody was talking about the Ice Bowl,” Corsi recalled about the rumors that starting swirling in July that the Buffalo Sabres would play the Pittsburgh Penguins outdoors in Ralph Wilson Stadium on New Year’s Day.
“And nobody was calling it the NHL Winter Classic, it was Ice Bowl, Ice Bowl, Ice Bowl,” he said.
When many hours of Internet research turned up no evidence that anyone, including the National Hockey League and the Buffalo Sabres, had registered “Ice Bowl” as a protected trademark, Corsi phoned his lawyer and filled out a federal trademark application.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: merchandising, winter+classic,
Looking At The Big Picture
by Paul on 09/24/07 at 12:26 PM ET
Comments (0)
from Scott Burnside of ESPN,
But let’s look at the bigger picture. This is the third post-lockout NHL season. Would it not be logical to expect the league itself to turn some kind of corner, to make some sort of statement about its future, its health?
Here are some story lines that might answer some of those questions.
The Outdoor Game
Fair or not, the dispute shows the NHL has a winner in terms of marketing. Buffalo was a terrific choice given its proximity to hockey markets in Southern Ontario, New York state and Pennsylvania.
Filed in: NHL Talk, NHL Business of Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: winter+classic,
Line Of The Day
by Paul on 09/23/07 at 10:49 AM ET
Comments (0)
from John Steigerwald at the Observer-Reporter,
At 1 p.m. New Year’s Day, given the choice, of watching two 7-5 teams playing each other in the Papajohns.com Bowl or watching an outdoor hockey game being played in front of 75,000 people in a football stadium, it’s a slam dunk - or maybe an empty netter. I’m watching hockey.
I don’t think there will be many people in Tuscaloosa, Ala., making that same choice, but those people wouldn’t watch the hockey game if it were played on their front porch.
Filed in: NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
Just Dabbling
by Paul on 09/20/07 at 05:49 AM ET
Comments (0)
from Damien Cox of the Toronto Star,
In 15 years of watching the Bettman administration at work, the hockey world has learned that these fellows love to dabble.
They’ve dabbled in an unbalanced schedule, but now appear set to change back. They’ve dabbled in third jerseys and uniform “systems” and streamlining goalie equipment. They’ve dabbled in glowing TV pucks and neutral-site games and regular-season contests in Europe, not to mention the World Cup and the Winter Olympics, never fully committing to any of them….
Oh yes, and they’ve dabbled, curiously, in playing their games outdoors….
That the NHL will try to make this happen in a lakeside city that offers a winter climate that’s both unpredictable and often violently inhospitable is one interesting part of the equation.
That it’s willing to essentially undermine the competitive legitimacy of its own product by permitting such a novelty event to go forward is another.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
Line Of The Day
by Paul on 09/19/07 at 01:56 PM ET
Comments (0)
via Adam Proteau of the Hockey News,
Speaking of the Sabres/Penguins “Winter Classic,” I’m having a hard time agreeing with some prominent hockey scribes who wonder whether another outdoor game is a case of the league going to the well one too many times.
Fellas, this is only the second one. In four freakin’ years. Another Rolling Stones tour this is not.
In Adam’s blog today, there is now a reason for me to attempt to get media credentials for a Kings game in LA.
Filed in: NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: media, winter+classic,
Who’s Got Tickets
by Paul on 09/18/07 at 07:32 PM ET
Comments (0)
Empty Netters tries to find out what happened to all the tickets for the Winter Classic.
Latest story and earlier today.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic,
The Winter Classic Sells Out in 40 Minutes
by Alanah McGinley on 09/18/07 at 11:37 AM ET
Comments (0)
From WBEN in Buffalo,
The Buffalo Sabres outdoor game at Ralph Wilson Stadium—officially called AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic New Year’s Day- sold out 74,000 tickets in under 1 hour Tuesday morning.
The game, against the Pittsburgh Penguins, began offering tickets at 10:00 am at the Bills Ticket Office outside the stadium and online at Ticketmaster.com. None were available by 10:40 am
It is not known how many tickets went to individual buyers and how many went to brokers, but there are indications that the secondary market is already skyrocketing. There were no limits on the number of tickets any individual could buy, and immediately after the sell out tickets were being offered on E-bay, at typical prices of $2,000 for six, or roughly $300 each.
continued… (*you can also read more details about the game here)
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL Talk, NHL Business of Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: buffalo+sabres, pittsburgh+penguins, winter+classic,
No More Outdoor Games
by Paul on 09/17/07 at 04:13 PM ET
Comments (0)
from David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail,
Dear Gary Bettman,
Please accept this as a formal plea to cease and desist with these outdoor hockey games in football stadiums. The first one in Edmonton left me cold, to employ a pun as painful as your comparison between these games and the players playing on backyard rinks and ponds when they were children, and the rest even colder. Well, if I had lost my mind and actually attended the one in Hamilton last year, it would have left me wet, since it rained like crazy.
Filed in: NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: winter+classic,
NHL Officially Announces The Winter Classic
by Alanah McGinley on 09/17/07 at 01:56 PM ET
Comments (0)
The worst-kept secret in hockey is finally coming out in the open as the NHL makes its announcement about the January 1st, 2008 outdoor game to be played between the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Press conference is scheduled for 2pm ET today. This link will open up your WMP to watch a live feed of the conference. (Or go to the NHL.com home page to pick up the broadcast there).
Update 2:09pm ET:
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL Talk, NHL Business of Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: buffalo+sabres, pittsburgh+penguins, winter+classic,
« Previous 1 2 3
