Why Isnt the Hawks' Record Start a Bigger Story!?!?!

[Bear_Assed]

If this was an NBA, NFL or MLB team who had a comparable record-setting start to a season, it would be by far the biggest story in national sports after each win. However, since the Hawks do not reside in New York or play in another major pro sports league, it continues to be second page news and it PISSES ME OFF!

I like to follow all sports across the country to get a national perspective and not pigeonhole myself into Chicago-only sports, but when I'm watching and listening to the national media outlets, it's shocking to hear anything about this incredible feat.

Again, could you imagine if the Heat, Yankees or Pats had this kind of start (actually the Pats did and it was non-stop coverage, 24/7 even after they lost the super bowl)??

I know the NHL and Bettman are partially to blame here, but its frustrating knowing what an accomplishment this has been and how minor it is in the sports world at a national level. :rage:

 

[nwfisch]

Because not losing a game in regulation, but losing in OT isn't that big of a deal to me IMO.

As a Chicago fan, I'm waiting for this team to kick me in the nuts.

 

[Anno Catuli]

Maybe because hockey is not a popular sport. At least not compared to baseball, basketball or football. I love hockey, but news coverage of the sport in the US is always lacking.

 

[Bear_Assed]

Because not losing a game in regulation, but losing in OT isn't that big of a deal to me IMO.

As a Chicago fan, I'm waiting for this team to kick me in the nuts.

The three loses came in a Shoot out. Either way, this is one record that may never get matched in a long time, if forever. Its a big deal

 

[DMelt36]

Because ESPN doesn't broadcast hockey games, so it doesn't cover hockey in its programming.

On a related note, and I don't mean this as a shot at the OP, but I really don't give a **** if they're not getting any coverage for this. It's happening, it's fantastic, and I'm loving every second of it. I don't need ESPN to tell me how great this team is to watch.

 

[CuttyMarsh2012forOffice]

I dont give a damn what anyone else thinks of my sports except myself and the fans that feel the same way. Hockey is too complicated to learn for most people in America. All we want is fast instant gratification with BIG numbers. Basketball and football are easy to play, baseball racks up big numbers. Most people in this country lack the dedication it would take to become good at a sport like hockey. Aka why we are fatties

 

[Gunzaan]

Hockey isn't complicated at all.. and the most popular "sport" in the world is soccer, which is lucky to have a single goal per game and ends up in ties all the time. Hockey WAS gaining popularity, and then they go on strike. Then it WAS again, but Bettman makes a horrible, horrible mistake in going with Versus/NBC instead of ESPN. I hate ESPN as much as the next guy, but in this country they are a sports monopoly, from a television standpoint. So the casual fan never gets to see games and they don't show highlights on Sportscenter, etc. That was a horrible blunder by Bettman.

 

[CuttyMarsh2012forOffice]

Aka anyone can go to a park and learn how to compete in basketball or football in 3 to 4 weeks tops. Hockey takes YEARS to be on a decent level. Anyone who has skated under 5 years does not have good form on skating, dekes, or shooting. Unless you work your butt off for 3 to 5 hours a day like I did when I was younger

 

[DMelt36]

Hockey isn't complicated at all.. and the most popular "sport" in the world is soccer, which is lucky to have a single goal per game and ends up in ties all the time. Hockey WAS gaining popularity, and then they go on strike. Then it WAS again, but Bettman makes a horrible, horrible mistake in going with Versus/NBC instead of ESPN. I hate ESPN as much as the next guy, but in this country they are a sports monopoly, from a television standpoint. So the casual fan never gets to see games and they don't show highlights on Sportscenter, etc. That was a horrible blunder by Bettman.

I disagree with this. I really don't think the NHL needs ESPN. What's the point of joining a network where your sport will be, at best, the 4th most important programming? No, I think the NHL's decision to go with NBC Sports was great. You have a network that's fully committed to the sport of hockey, advertises the hell out of it on other shows, and has made it the focal point of its entire channel. NBC Sports is hockey. That would've never come close to happening at ESPN.

 

[Gunzaan]

I see your point, Dmelt, and would completely agree with you, if NBC sports wasn't such a joke. In the US, ESPN has a television sports monopoly, unless you consider local comcast coverage.

 

[Crystallas]

I was curious, so I did the quick math. The magic number for the Hawks is 20.5(41pts) right now. I don't like magic numbers, because they don't factor in matchups(ie seed 6,7,8, 9 all playing each other quite a few times still). So I went through the list of teams to see how many more wins are needed to clinch a playoff berth. It's 13wins or 26 points. So in theory, the Hawks could go 12-15-1 for the rest of the season and miss the playoffs(which requires a perfect storm scenario to boot).

Of course, the more other teams lose, the easier it is. Unfortunately doing the numbers this early means you have to factor everyone else getting 1 point, and the Hawks losing in regulation against those matchups. Still, that is insane that the Hawks could also see a perfect storm in their favor, and clinch in as little as 8 games.

 

[Globetrotter]

Crystallis, is that the blood code for MK? lol

 

[Franko725]

I was curious, so I did the quick math. The magic number for the Hawks is 20.5(41pts) right now. I don't like magic numbers, because they don't factor in matchups(ie seed 6,7,8, 9 all playing each other quite a few times still). So I went through the list of teams to see how many more wins are needed to clinch a playoff berth. It's 13wins or 26 points. So in theory, the Hawks could go 12-15-1 for the rest of the season and miss the playoffs(which requires a perfect storm scenario to boot).

Of course, the more other teams lose, the easier it is. Unfortunately doing the numbers this early means you have to factor everyone else getting 1 point, and the Hawks losing in regulation against those matchups. Still, that is insane that the Hawks could also see a perfect storm in their favor, and clinch in as little as 8 games.

Since you are just speculating, I will throw out a few numbers. Based on a normal season, where 100 points pretty much guarantees a playoff berth, the Hawks would need to get 59 points this season to get to the same percentage. So, they would need any combination of wins and OTL's to get the remaining 22 points needed to get to that point.

Other than the schedule being so condensed the next few weeks, it isn't overly stacked with tough competition for awhile either. I hate to say it, but if they can make it through this trap game tonight, and beat the Scum on Sunday, this streak could go on for quite some time.

 

[Diehardfan]

I disagree with this. I really don't think the NHL needs ESPN. What's the point of joining a network where your sport will be, at best, the 4th most important programming? No, I think the NHL's decision to go with NBC Sports was great. You have a network that's fully committed to the sport of hockey, advertises the hell out of it on other shows, and has made it the focal point of its entire channel. NBC Sports is hockey. That would've never come close to happening at ESPN.

I totally agree. Hockey was always a second class citizen at ESPN when they had it. Im the last guy to give that dunderhead Bettman any props but this NBC deal he made might just turn out to be a bonanza for the NHL. Whether he had any inside knowledge is doubtful, but the Comcast purchase of NBC is a pretty obvious move to go nose to nose with the "worldwide leader in sports" with the NHL being their centerpiece. Will it work? Tough competition from the NBA makes it a bit of a stretch at this juncture but Im guessing that Comcast will be a player in the future when other major sports broadcasting rights go up for auction.

 

[FirstTimer]

I totally agree. Hockey was always a second class citizen at ESPN when they had it. Im the last guy to give that dunderhead Bettman any props but this NBC deal he made might just turn out to be a bonanza for the NHL. Whether he had any inside knowledge is doubtful, but the Comcast purchase of NBC is a pretty obvious move to go nose to nose with the "worldwide leader in sports" with the NHL being their centerpiece. Will it work? Tough competition from the NBA makes it a bit of a stretch at this juncture but Im guessing that Comcast will be a player in the future when other major sports broadcasting rights go up for auction.

That's not really that true. When ESPN had hockey they promoted it really well. They did some great commercials for it and always had premier games on. Did they plug it as much as football or baseball(this is before they had the NBA)? No. But that would have been a stupid waste of marketing dollars seeing as the NHL isn't as big a ratings draw compared to those two.

 

[Jntg4]

NBC was the right way to go for NHL I think, and an even wiser decision for MLS (they still have ESPN but replaced Fox Soccer Channel with it).

Believe NBC now has NHL, MLS, and now EPL, and they've promoted both the NHL and MLS a lot more than I would have expected.

 

[FirstTimer]

NBC was the right way to go for NHL I think, and an even wiser decision for MLS (they still have ESPN but replaced Fox Soccer Channel with it).

Believe NBC now has NHL, MLS, and now EPL, and they've promoted both the NHL and MLS a lot more than I would have expected.

I'd expect to see more college games too. They recently did a merger with Yahoo Sports for college coverage. Interesting to see how that plays out long term. I'm personally a big fan of NBC Sports Network. The Lights is my go to show in the AM.

 

[Crystallas]

Since you are just speculating, I will throw out a few numbers. Based on a normal season, where 100 points pretty much guarantees a playoff berth, the Hawks would need to get 59 points this season to get to the same percentage. So, they would need any combination of wins and OTL's to get the remaining 22 points needed to get to that point.

Other than the schedule being so condensed the next few weeks, it isn't overly stacked with tough competition for awhile either. I hate to say it, but if they can make it through this trap game tonight, and beat the Scum on Sunday, this streak could go on for quite some time.

Yeah, I think it's just interesting, considering how short this season is and how well the Hawks have started. If we had the standard season, 37 points would be way too early for any speculation. If it weren't for this start from the Hawks, it too, would seem way too early for speculation. Combine the two things, and curiosity spikes. LOL

Crystallis, is that the blood code for MK? lol

Maybe. It's called the Konami Code, found in loads of games. Also called the Contra code.

 

[Heisenberg]

It's hockey, that's why. People don't care much about hockey in this country in comparison to the other 3 major sports.

 

[CuttyMarsh2012forOffice]

Going back to the subject of hockey not being popular in America. So Dmelt, when you said soccer was the most popular sport in the world and they only score 1 to 2 goals, did you realize that backs my statement completely about big numbers and the feeling of instant gratification here in the states? Soccer is the LEAST popular sport here because they do not put up big number and we don't see 60+ points a game and 7 different kind of goal dances to go along with it. Hockey is not far behind in the goal category. If hockey had bigger nets and 20+ goals a game instead of 3 to 6, then America would be all into the sport. And it goes back to my sayings that most United States American (estadounidense no americano, por mi mexicaño amigos!) citizens play basketball and football since it is easy to play. Big American egos and testosterone are elevated when they look at the hundreds of yards or dozens of points they put up in a game in comparison to the 1 goal they have to work 60 minutes or 90 minutes for. The appreciation for teamwork is not as heavily rewarded like it is everywhere else in the world. And since we are a country where we "want to be the best NOW NOW NOW," having to work hard for years just so you can put up 3 points a game is not as savvy as spending a couple months on the field to put up hundreds of points. Get it?