NHL Hockey: If the Playoffs Started today (Western Conference)

If the playoffs were to start today here's what it would look like. #NHLonNBC pic.twitter.com/sqWrTTaF4p
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) March 10, 2014

After watching the Blue shred the Wild tonight, I hope they can move up.

Women's Olympic Hockey: a game of Inches... So Close

I guess it's not really cliche' Hockey is a game of inches....

#TeamUSA was THIS close: pic.twitter.com/vPFGO1U94a
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 20, 2014

NBC & NBC SPORTS NETWORK TO TELEVISE 32 COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAMES IN 2012

This season the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs have been exclusively on NBCSN and NBC… This fall NBC Sports Net has inked a college Football deal. The evolution of Versus to NBCSN is beginning to take shape.

This brings up the question – who needs ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU anymore when you have NBC Sports Networks and NBC? The Peacock is passing ESPN in my opinion and becoming a better option sports as each day passes.

NBC SPORTS GROUP COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE (all times ET)

3:30 p.m. Sat, Sept. 8 Purdue at Notre Dame NBC

3:30 p.m. Sat., Sept. 8 Delaware State at Delaware NBC Sports Network

7:30 p.m. Sat., Sept. 8 Army at San Diego State NBC Sports Network

12:00 p.m. Sat., Sept. 15 William & Mary at Towson NBC Sports Network

4:00 p.m. Sat., Sept. 15 Miami (Ohio) at Boise State NBC Sports Network

1:00 p.m. Sat., Sept. 22 Yale at Cornell NBC Sports Network

4:30 p.m. Sat., Sept. 22 Harvard at Brown NBC Sports Network

7:30 p.m. Sat., Sept. 22 Michigan at Notre Dame NBC

10:30 p.m. Sat., Sept. 22 Nevada at Hawaii NBC Sports Network

12:00 p.m. Sat., Sept. 29 Penn at Dartmouth NBC Sports Network

3:30 p.m. Sat., Sept. 29 Atlanta Football Classic: Florida A&M vs. Southern (Georgia Dome) NBC Sports Network

1:00 p.m. Sat., Oct. 6 Towson at James Madison NBC Sports Network

7:30 p.m. Sat., Oct. 6 Miami at Notre Dame (Soldier Field) NBC

12:00 p.m. Sat., Oct. 13 Brown at Princeton NBC Sports Network

3:30 p.m. Sat., Oct. 13 Stanford at Notre Dame NBC

3:30 p.m. Sat., Oct. 13 Fresno State at Boise State NBC Sports Network

12:00 p.m. Sat., Oct. 20 Penn at Yale NBC Sports Network

3:30 p.m. Sat., Oct. 20 BYU at Notre Dame NBC

3:30 p.m. Sat., Oct. 20 UNLV at Boise State NBC Sports Network

12:00 p.m. Sat., Oct. 27 Delaware at Old Dominion NBC Sports Network

12:00 p.m. Sat., Nov. 3 Towson at Delaware NBC Sports Network

3:30 p.m. Sat., Nov. 3 Pittsburgh at Notre Dame NBC

12:00 p.m. Sat., Nov. 10 Harvard at Penn NBC Sports Network

3:30 p.m. Sat., Nov. 10 Air Force at San Diego State NBC Sports Network

7:00 p.m. Sat., Nov. 10 Boise State at Hawaii NBC Sports Network

10:30 p.m. Sat., Nov. 10 Fresno State at Nevada NBC Sports Network

12:00 p.m. Sat., Nov. 17 Yale at Harvard NBC Sports Network

3:30 p.m. Sat., Nov. 17 Wake Forest at Notre Dame NBC

3:30 p.m. Sat., Nov. 17 Colorado State at Boise State NBC Sports Network

7:00 p.m. Sat., Nov. 17 Old Dominion at James Madison NBC Sports Network

2:30 p.m. Sat., Nov. 24 Bayou Classic: Grambling State vs. Southern (Mercedes-Benz Superdome) NBC

3:30 p.m. Sat., Nov. 24 Air Force at Fresno State NBC Sports Network

--NBC SPORTS GROUP--

Because It's the Cup - Boston Bruins

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are here. I have to admit that NBC Sports has come a long ways from the early days of Versus. This is the best time of year in my opinion, there is no other sport like NHL Hockey. Of Course I will be cheering on the defending Stanley Cup Champions the Boston Bruins.

Is Krieder gone right after the Eagles are eliminated?

Wow, this isn't going to be a distraction in the Eagles dressing room. Well probably not, because Jerry York is a great college coach and I am sure he has seen this drill before.  

I would bet even money that Chris Krieder is most definitely is going to play in the NHL and be a decent player, but what the rush? Doe Krieder really need to sign on the dotted line the minute his team is eliminated from the NCAA tourney?

Snyrangersblog.com --- On the NBC Sports Pre game show, Bob McKenzie of TSN talked about Chris Krieder and his current situation.

Kreider, who is playing this weekend in the NCAA tournament against Air Force, is expected to sign immediately with the Rangers if BC is to lose and be eliminated.

Kind of reminds me of the situation with Jason Zucker and the questions that Bruce Brothers of the Pioneer Press asked George Gwozdecky last week at the Final Five press conference on Thursday afternoon. 

Lastly, the Rangers better be prepared to wait because there is a good chance that his team is going to be in the Frozen Four in Tampa Bay, Florida on April 5th-7th, 2012.

Related articles

• NCAA Northeast Regional Capsules (insidehockey.com)
• NCAA Midwest Regional Capsules (insidehockey.com)

Versus to become NBC Sports Network.

Here is an update about the Versus Television Deal and according to Ken Schotts NBC Sports Network would be interested in airing a weekly college hockey package starting in January, which is very good news for College Hockey and the promotion of the game of college hockey.

Ken Schott; Parting Schotts --- The NBC Sports Group officially announced today that it will re-brand the Versus cable channel as NBC Sports Network. Word leaked about that shortly after midnight this morning.

The change will take place Jan. 2. NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus talked about the change.

"This effort is a major step towards a complete strategic alignment of all our platforms and businesses," Lazarus said in a statement. "This is more than just a name change for Versus. It's a complete repositioning of the brand to provide value for marketers, consumers as well as all our affiliates and distributors. We want anyone who comes into contact with any of our assets to immediately connect with the NBC Sports brand promise."

Comcast, the owner of Versus, took over the NBC Universal earlier this year. NBC Sports' production and programming have already been appearing on Versus.

Versus, which started as the Outdoor Life Network, televises the NHL, the Tour de France, The "Summer at Saratoga" horse racing series, college football and college basketball. It could also be interested in airing a weekly college hockey package starting in January.

Related articles

• Versus to be Re-branded as "NBC Sports Network" (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)
• Goodbye Versus, Hello "NBC Sports Network" (blogs.wsj.com)
• SBJ: Exit Versus, enter the NBC Sports Network (aol.sportingnews.com)
• Versus may be interested in college hockey TV package (mvn.com)
• Versus to be renamed NBC Sports Network in January (ctv.ca)

More on the NCHC...

Image via WikipediaThe NCHC had their first press conference in Colorado Springs today and I found a couple of interesting things in a newspaper article written by Fighting Sioux Hockey beat writer Brad Schlossman that caught my attention. There has been a lot of stuff thrown out there this past week and Brad's article put things in perspective. 

Brad Schlossman; Grand Forks Herald --- The new league, which has taken considerable flak from the national media since its formation was reported last week, de-bunked several myths.

The most notable: These schools did not vote to stay together at April’s WCHA meetings in Florida, which had been previously reported.

Wow!!! We were told that all of the WCHA members voted to stay with the WCHA during the annual American Hockey Coaches Association convention that was held last May in Florida. As you can see now that claim has been refuted with these comments from UND athletic director Brad Faison. So there seems to be a schism among the members of the WCHA.

Brad Schlossman; Grand Forks Herald ---In fact, the idea of the new conference was brought up and was met by a proposal by one athletic director to mandate a six-figure fine for those leaving the league. That proposal was never voted on.

Clearly, though, there were concerns from a few schools. And the more they talked, the closer they moved to starting a new conference.

“The more we talked, the more we recognized what we had in common,” Omaha athletic director Trev Alberts said. “I can’t tell you that there was any specific athletic director or head coach leading the charge. It just happened naturally out of the course of informal conversations.”

Both Faison and Ralph said the talks between the athletic directors have been very productive.

“The level of professionalism in these meetings has been astronomical, it has been through the roof,” Ralph said. “It’s so exciting, so invigorating to be in these meetings. The quality of administrators is second to none. I’m really proud to be part of it.”

The athletic directors confirmed that multiple national outlets have contacted them about broadcasting games. Sources say that Versus, which will soon be re-branded NBC Sports, is one of them.

Faison said the goal is for all games — home and road — to be televised.

“We’ve already had preliminary interest from some national media,” Faison said. “For Fighting Sioux fans, I expect that we’ll find ourselves in position where every game we play will be on TV, which is huge. Television certainly brings some revenue, but the reality is that the exposure, whether it be for recruiting or projecting back to our alumni, is important. We have a good TV platform. This will just enhance that in a dramatic fashion.”

From reading the comments of the article above you can see that the league was not just slapped together  haphazardly,  it looks like a lot of thought has been put into the formation of this college hockey conference. It will be interesting to see what kind of a TV deal the new league can get. I like most Fighting Sioux Hockey fans would love to be able to watch every single game home and away on television, that would be a major accomplishment. Not many Division I college hockey teams can make that claim.

Lastly, I also want to know how a league that is set up by the member schools, who hire the commissioner would allow that league commissioner to fine their member schools six figures for leaving a league? That seems odd to me. 

Related articles

• National Collegiate Hockey Conference is new home for DU, Colorado College (denverpost.com)
• Powerhouse programs form new college hockey league (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Hockey analyst Pierre McGuire to focus work on NBC, Versus

I guess this is one more reason to not watch the NHL on NBC, good God! I have to ask NBC, what the hell were they thinking? Why would you want this buffoon to be one of the faces of your organization? McGuire has already alienated a fair share of your viewing audience. I think this is just another reason to watch the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs on CBC. I guess in this situation, Canada's loss isn't our gain. I wonder if the means we won't have to listen to him during the World Junior Championship anymore? That would be a great trade off that I could accept.

Pat Hickey, The Gazette - Canadian hockey fans will be seeing a lot less of Pierre McGuire in the future.

The ubiquitous analyst, who has been dividing his time between Canada and the United States since NBC regained the U.S. rights for National Hockey League games in 2006, has decided to concentrate on his duties south of the border.

“It’s a chance to spend more time with my family,” said the 50-year-old McGuire, who has an 11-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old. “I’ll be doing two games a week for Versus or NBC and spend one night in the Versus studio.”

McGuire, his wife Melanie and the kids will move in August from Westmount to New Canaan, Conn., which is a hop, step and a jump from the Versus studios in Stamford, Conn.

McGuire said he will continue to appear on TSN’s network of radio stations across Canada, and that includes his daily hit with Mitch Melnick on the Team 990. There have also been suggestions that McGuire may be involved in some special projects for TSN such as contributing to its draft coverage.

“I’ve enjoyed my time with both networks and I’m grateful for the opportunities TSN and NBC have provided for me,” McGuire said. “Concentrating my efforts on the NBC and Versus gives me more family time and there are some interesting professional opportunities.”

McGuire is referring to the fact that NBC recently renewed its contract to cover the Olympic Games.

“I’ll get a chance to work on the next three summer Games and two winter Games,” McGuire said.

NBC and McGuire have been working on a deal for several months and the final negotiations were delayed by the sudden departure of NBC Sports boss Dick Ebersol.

I found this paragraph to be puzzling. If this is the case why does Pierre McQuire come off on TSN as being so anti-Division One College Hockey and so pro Major Junior Hockey, it’s almost as if he is a mouth piece for the CHL? I am not anti Major Junior by any stretch of the imagination and college hockey has a fair share of their top players playing in the NHL and I get it that good share of the best players in the NHL are from the CHL, that being said the Major Junior hockey isn't for everyone but I don't get this guy and his abrasiveness and lack of respect towards Division One College Hockey. Is it because McGuire never played Division One hockey?

McGuire was born in New Jersey and grew up there and in Montreal. He played hockey at a Division III school in the U.S. and later played in Europe. He has his name on the Stanley Cup as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992, had a brief head coaching stint with a very bad Hartford Whalers team and was in the Ottawa Senators’ head office before he began his broadcasting career.