If you were only watching college bowl games yesterday, you missed a pretty cool event on NBC. The Detroit Red Wings played the Chicago Blackhawks yesterday afternoon at Wrigley Field in Chicago. I got bored with watching Sparty and Georgia so I switched to watch most of the 2nd period.For those of us that learned to skate and play hockey outdoors, dealing with the harsh winter elements is normal process. But this is not something you see very often. It is only the 3rd outdoor game in NHL history -- and seems to have become a huge marketing success for the league. I expect to see more and more of these games.
As you would expect, the Wings won the contest after falling behind 3-1. They are simply the better team -- although the Blackhawks are not as bad as they normally are. It was interesting to hear the TV announcers talk about which team had "the wind in their favor" at a hockey game.In today's Free Press, Drew Sharp suggests that the Red Wings should host a game at Michigan Stadium on January 1st, 2011. Of course he takes a shot at the Wolverines "I mean, it's not like the Wolverines will be playing on New Year's Day anytime in the immediate future to compete for the local audience". I can't believe they pay this assclown to be a journalist.
Of course you all remember the Cold War ? This outdoor hockey fad started with Michigan and Michigan State played a game at Spartan Stadium in 2001.
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how about those uni's with ye olde English D???
crazy1
next time they decide to do this they should go with Super Bowl Sunday around 6:00....nothing else going on that day right?
I would have watched more of this game, but they decided to hold the thing on one of the biggest days there is in college football world.
is he wrong?
the reason these NHL outdoor games are on New Year's Day is a prime example on why NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettmen, is an "alpha-dog wannabe."
spectacles like this are AWESOME to attract new fans to the game, there are other "soft" spots during Jan and Feb in which the game should be scheduled.
completely agree that the timing could have been a lot better.
but, maybe it's like planning a wedding for Thanksgiving weekend...you know "everyone" will be home therefore more likely to attend????
Sru:
I DO expect Michigan to be in a NYD bowl game on 1/1/2011. I am not expecting a BCS team, but the Outback Bowl or CapOne Bowl are both B10 games.
but....
they are for the #2 and #3 big ten teams......
;)
Or the #3 (Sparty) and #4 (Iowa) B10 teams if #1 and #2 are in BCS games...
Seriously what's wrong with them playing this game on New Years? Were you really captivated by the Iowa game? Or the MSU game? I couldn't stand to watch more than 15 minutes of either but I could sit there and watch outdoor hockey and marvel at the people on top of the apt buildings in Chicago who probably couldn't even see the players but were there for the hell of it. These games are great and the NHL is great but it gets 0 TV time and no exposure so it will never be what it once was.
The greatest sporting event I have seen in a while was last year's NHL NY day game when it was played in Buffalo in front of 80k + people and they got like 7 inches of snow DURING the game. Thats was fantastic. I just wish Cleveland had a NHL team so they could have a game there.
BAH,
plenty of room on the Red Wings Bandwagon. just remember when visiting The Joe to not wander when going to The Joe or back to your car. a safe move is to park in Greektown and take Coleman Young's legacy (AKA "The People Mover) to and from JLA.
I know you said the area around Comerica Park and Ford Field was "scary" but believe me, those are the "nice" parts of Detroit proper. Same thing for Greektown and the immediate area around The Joe.
1967 is known in American lore as "the summer of love." in the Detroit metro area, it is known as "the year of the riots."
The game was a great watch, and a rematch in 2011 would be great at michigan stadium, 110,000 would be awesome, im a blackhwks fan and were not up to par yet but soon(i hope)
I concur the thoughts on the timing. As a penguins fan it was very hard to watch UM-Florida at the same time as the winter classic last year. Both were awesome games and it made a strong argument for me to get a DVR. Remarkable that Conklin has the last two wins.
Unfortunately there are only so many NHL cities that could host an event like this and, as my pals who went this year and last, the sightlines from the NFL/MLB seats are miserable. It is more about saying you were there and less about seeing the game. A few more years go by and it'll be worn out.
Off topic: Anybody feel a lot better about the loss to Utah in the opener? I do. Especially considering how the big ten is looking so weak in bowl play. A texas win tomorrow and its hard to say that the big ten deserves to have 2 teams in the BCS almost every year. (though, had Iowa lost, we could all at least 'brag' that UM was the last Big Ten team to win a bowl game.)
The Uniforms are a throwback (of sorts) to their first uniform as they became the Detroit Cougars (at the time).
But you'd think he'd pick a different day to do this. But I would imagine that January is the best time to guarantee that there will be ice.
Oh yeah....Was that a vaunted SEC team that lost to Utah? I thought the SEC was the end all be all to the conferences. I'm so glad to see Utah coming in to spoil the dance. As the only Undefeated team, they deserve to the be the champs....but they wont because the asshole Sagarin has spoken.
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