| Oct. - Dec. 2007 Archives |
milwaukeehockey.com |
| 26 December 2007 |
Shootout frenzy
The writer of the article, Jessica Hopp, emailed me about a week ago asking for feedback about the controversial tie-breaking procedure. I gave a lengthy response, knowing that little, if any, of my reply would make it to newsprint. To my surprise, I saw that she not only quoted me in the article, but mentioned the web site. And you can say I'm jazzed at seeing my thoughts printed alongside those of people like Mike Keenan, Colin Campbell, Marc Crawford, Bob Miller, and others. A copy of this article will go up on my wall. While I have the opportunity, I want to share some of my thoughts that were not featured in the article. NHL shootouts are often criticized as being "crapshoots"... that they do not reward the better team. Because the NHL uses a best-of-three shootout format, that tends to be true. I think the NHL should go with the best-of-five format that we have seen for 18 of the last 21 seasons in Milwaukee. The five round format is more of a "team" game. Five skaters and a goaltender. Teams that rely on a pair of sharpshooters can excel in NHL shootouts. Two rounds and it might be over. Add a few more teammates, and it rewards a more well-rounded team. Also, the extra few rounds gives a better indication of the better goaltender. In my opinion, the article gives too much credit to that NHL preseason game in 1998 for creating a buzz that led to the introduction of the shootout in the regular season years later. As most of you realize, the shootout has been used in the minors since the late 80's, and it has always excited the crowd for as long as I can remember. You can bet every GM in the league was aware of how shootouts worked prior to 1998. People will continue to bash the shootout format. They are in the minority. For the price of an NHL ticket, fans deserve to see a winner and a loser. Ties suck. And because of time restraints for travel, multiple OTs are not practical in the regular season. The best part of shootouts - the tension in the air. The weight of knowing that the game is on the line. Every sport has those moments, and it's why we are fans. The last second hail mary pass... bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th... the crucial putt on the 18th green... a boxer in trouble against the ropes... the jump shot at the buzzer. Moments where we all hold our breath and prepare to scream or groan. Other than a last minute attempt to tie a game in regulation, hockey doesn't have many drawn out moments that have so much tension in the air. Instead, we get short blasts of excitement at random moments in a game when a player unloads a nice shot on goal. Thrilling, but in a different way. ------- While whipping up this column, I am watching the Predators playing in Chicago on Comcast SportsNet. Another shaky start, but this time by Dan Ellis, who was replaced by Chris Mason late in the first period. Quite frankly, it has been a boring game until the Preds began getting some decent opportunities in the third period. An empty netter gives Chicago a 5-2 win. With each passing game, I'm becoming less and less of a fan of Dan Hamhuis. Nice guy... Ok defenseman... but over hyped. All too often, I see laziness in his own zone and overcommitment in the offensive zone. Why he leads the team in ice time (by more than 2 minutes per game) is beyond me. ------- I've had several people ask why I am not keeping a Fight Card page on the site this season. I could pat myself on the back by saying that I knew this team had less muscle than in past seasons and would not provide much of a list (yeah, I said it), but I've got a few other reasons... The main reason... I was criticized too often for my description of the fights. Because I'm usually taking pictures of the fights, I do not see everything that happens. In addition, my view differs from someone sitting across the rink who might see a few rabbit punches that are not visible from my angle. So, blame the anonymous complainers if it's something you enjoyed in the past. Other reasons... knowing I would have less free time to work on the site this season, I felt it was something I could eliminate. Also, my new menu layout allows for 8 pages, meaning that I would have to remove one of the 9 links I previously listed. ------- And yes, it's been awhile since I've posted here. Work for me gets crazy during the holiday season, leaving me with less free time and less mental energy to work on the site. Those who have visited my site over the years know that I go through spells like this from time to time. I simply do what I have time for. Happy New Year. Drive Safely. |
| 30 November 2007 |
Streaming audio
A few months later, my positive thoughts about the new station have tamed a bit. A few issues have touched a nerve, but I'm still in favor of the new station... just not as much as I thought I would be. To be honest, I haven't listened to every road game this season... probably 8 of the 12 games so far this season. When I listen, it's always online. I do not have an AM radio in my "Cave of Entertainment" (my bedroom). Internet, XM radio, TV/DVD/CD, and PS2. No need for an old fashioned radio in that environment as long as I can get the hockey games online. Unfortunately, the webcasts of the games are a bit disappointing. Aaron Sims is doing everything the same as before. I have no complaints with his work. He does a fine job. My issues deal with technical issues with the radio station and webcasts. - When going to commercial, Sims is usually cut off in mid-syllable... as if whoever presses 'play' on the commercial machine jumps the gun by a half second or so. Minor irritant. - The webcasts do not air the commercials heard on the air, instead we hear 15-30 second promos for other shows on the station. I really dislike a few of those clips. I'd rather listen to the ads of those businesses who choose to support the Admirals. Medium irritant. - One of the annoying station promos has background music of an early-80s rap song in the background (wicky wicky wicky wicky... from "Jam On It"). I hated that song then, I still hate it now. Medium irritant. - I also can not stand Jim Rome, whose nationally syndicated show is advertised several times during a session of listening to a game. Medium irritant. - And on some occasions, like tonight, I lose the webcast connection completely. Dead air. Not sure if it's an issue on my end, or from the source. I have no problems accessing other web sites with streaming audio or video, and since it's an intermittent problem, I'm leaning towards a problem with the source. **Update** - as I type this, the feed magically reappeared on it's own, about a half hour of dead air. Definitely not a problem on my end. Huge irritant. |
| 28 November 2007 |
Hockey in Hi-Def
I had a strong urge to go shopping for an HDTV on Black Friday, with a bigger screen of course. As brothers, we have always been competitive, and this will be no exception. If I'm going to do it, I'm getting at least a 40" model. But after sleeping on it, I came to the realization that it's not quite in my budget, so the experience will have to wait awhile. Yes, I have seen hi-def television a few times in the last few years. Mostly at sports bars. Usually just football or baseball. But until last week, I have never enjoyed a hockey game in glorious HD. Hockey was made for watching in wide screen HD. The super crisp video makes the puck come alive. I could write a few more paragraphs trying to describe how many more details you can see in HD, but it would not do the experience justice. The wide screen format is also a big plus, as you see more action behind the play. When the puck is deep in the zone, you can still see what's happening in front of the benches. As expected, Time Warner's HD lineup is anemic. 19 channels, most of them duplicates of what is already available in standard-definition (over-the-air channels, ESPN, ESPN2). Over time, that number will surely grow. Unfortunately, the NHL Centre Ice package and the Versus channel are not yet available in HD from Time Warner. Hockey fans can see two games each week on the HDNET channel. Former Chicago Wolves radio/TV guy Judd Sirott does the play-by-play along with former NHL goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck. On Thanksgiving, HDNET featured the Predators hosting the Red Wings, in a game that Nashville came from behind to win 3-2. Sirott did a decent job, although at times he seemed biased towards Detroit. He seemed especially surprised at the shot-blocking abilities of Greg Zanon, which made me question why he didn't remember that from the dozens of games Zanon played against Chicago from 2003-2006. Vanbiesbrouck also did well, making several notable observations. I was surprised to see him working for HDNET, as he was driven away from the sport after using a racial slur on Trevor Daley (now with Dallas), when coaching him in juniors four years ago. How many years before the Admirals TV outlet, Time Warner Sports, is available in HD? 3? 5? 15? I will wait patiently, making sure not to hold my breath. |
| 11 November 2007 |
Coverage like it ought to be
On an average day, I find a few articles mentioning the Admirals through a Google News search. Some of the articles I find are local, sometimes they are from an opponent's newspaper, and occasionally I come across miscellaneous pieces about former Admirals. With the Admirals playing a pair of games this past weekend against the Manitoba Moose in Winnipeg, I found several articles from the Winnipeg media, most notably from the Winnipeg Sun and the Winnipeg Free Press. Both of those papers truly put the Milwaukee Journal to shame. Game preview articles (not just an abbreviated paragraph), decent game reviews, and even an article about Manitoba's morning practice between the two games! Let me repeat. An article on the team's morning practice!! The Sun even had an article about the Vigilante brothers playing against each other (also covered this week by nhl.com). When was the last time the MJS wrote a human interest story about an Admirals opponent? The city of Winnipeg is roughly the same size as Milwaukee (both in the 600,000+ population range). Last season, the Moose averaged about 2,000 more tickets sold than Milwaukee... very good, but only about half of their arena's capacity. Am I comparing apples to apples? No. I'm not stupid. I realize Canadians love hockey, and Americans largely ignore it. The Milwaukee media will never compare to any news outlet in the Great White North. However, I could bring up several examples of American news outlets who put the MJS to shame, even at lower levels of hockey. The lack of local coverage is nothing new, but I will bring it up any chance I get in hopes that it makes someone who can do something about it budge a little. Before I end this entry, I'd like to acknowledge Veteran's Day. This day is for us to recognize those who have proudly served our country and to think of those who remain in harm's way overseas. It's easy to live our lives without giving much thought to the sacrifices made by those men and women who have fought to defend our freedom. Make every day Veteran's Day and keep them in your thoughts. |
| 29 October 2007 |
Hot Juicy Burger
It's too early to predict a fantastic season, but it's certainly a great way to start. While I'm in a good mood, I'd like to take the time to acknowledge the great work by the team on their web site. It's no longer something to be ashamed of. Speedy updates, great photos, expanded content, and video highlight clips. When I first dabbled with creating a web site almost 10 years ago, I chose to make one on the Admirals, as there was very little on the net about the team, and the official site was a bit of a joke... even by 1998 standards. For several seasons, it was neglected and was obviously a low priority for the team. Over the years, I've been told countless times, "your site is so much better than the official site". I'd usually just shrug and mention that I do what I do because I love the team. Recently those comments have tapered off because the team has taken their site seriously, and I'm certainly OK with that. I'm looking forward to seeing how it will continue to grow. And as happy as I am in this column today, I do have one thing bothering me (two things if I include the annoying cheer sticks on Saturday). Like a fun day at the beach, it sucks to have sand in your shoes on the way home, and that's how I felt the day after the Admirals 8-1 win over Quad City last week. The Admirals have a new promotion this season in which fans can bring their ticket stub to Wendy's to get a free Frosty the day after the team scores 5 or more goals. Still buzzing from the previous night's awesome victory, I brought my appetite to my neighborhood Wendy's location (I-94 & Hwy 50 in Kenosha). I was set to buy a couple of Hot Juicy Burgers to preface my free treat. After a long wait in line, I asked if they were aware of the Admirals promotion. The manager had no idea what I was talking about. Instead of enjoying a cold sweet treat, I left with a sour taste in my mouth. Later that day, I went to wendys.com's feedback page to inform them of this broken promotion, but instead, I was greeted with "Our feedback system is currently under construction and we hope to get it up and running very soon." Next time I have the urge to go to Wendy's, I'll head to Culver's instead. |
| 22 October 2007 |
What's in a Name?
17. Niko Dimitrakos (Binghamton). Just rolls off the tongue. 16. Kyle Greentree (Philly). Filthydelphia could use some more green trees. 15. Codey Burki (Lake Erie). Hockey players often add a 'y' to turn a players name into a nickname. His names come already equipped. 14. Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre (Lowell). Two hyphens! He could shorten it to J-L G-P. 13. Cam Cunning (Quad City). Like a Canadian fox. 12. Jay Beagle (Hershey). Just call him Snoopy. 11. Rosario Ruggeri (Lowell). Another one to give announcers a fit. 10. Johan Ryno (Grand Rapids). He could get piss-drunk without spending a dime at Wrigley Field. 9. Mitch Love (Lake Erie). I laughed when Matt Moore overemphasized his last name on the BC PA last year. 8. Rob Klinkhammer (Norfolk). Fun to say with a harsh German accent. 7. Kris Chucko (Quad City). "Chuck-o-puck". 6. Maxime Fortunus (Manitoba). That's Latin for "billionaire". 5. Ryan Dingle (Portland). Hope he fights Rick Berry. 4. Jon Insana (Grand Rapids). He's not quite right in the head. 3. Wacey Rabbit (Providence). Does he have a brother named Waskly? 2. John Vigilante (Milwaukee). Couldn't leave him off this list! 1. Cal Clutterbuck (Houston). An omen for the Aeros season?... a total Clusterfu... I mean Clutterbuck. |
| 17 October 2007 |
Simon Says
 A former Admiral is making a good impression in the NHL so far in this young season. After being sent to the AHL at the conclusion of training camp, Simon Gamache was called up to the Maple Leafs after one game with the Marlies.After three games, he has two goals and two assists, with a point in every game. Monday night, he scored against Buffalo's Jocelyn TeaBag in a nationally televised game on Versus. Those of you who watched that game, or saw him mentioned on a sports highlights show (yeah, right), you may notice the announcers pronouncing his first name "Sigh-mon" instead of "Sih-moan". At first, I thought it was a mistake by the announcers, but they are right. Gamache decided last month to change how his name is pronounced. After a blistering season in the Swiss league last year (20 goals and 46 assists in 44 games), he decided to give it another shot at earning an NHL paycheck. After getting called up last week, he told the Canadian press that he did not come back to North America to play in the minors. I wish the quirky little dude luck at sticking with the Leafs. It's always great to see former Admirals perform well in the NHL. In other former Admirals updates... Sheldon Brookbank has yet to play for the Devils, as the team has eight defenseman on it's roster. Randy Robitaille was signed by Ottawa this week. Philadelphia's Scottie Upshall broke his wrist in preseason and is expected back in a few weeks. |
| 13 October 2007 |
Home sweet home
 It was great to get back to the BC last night, as the Admirals skated to a 4-2 victory in the home opener against Quad City. This was the first ever game between Milwaukee and Quad City, but the Flames had a familiar lineup with 15 players returning from last season, when the team was in Omaha. Considering how well Omaha manhandled Milwaukee last season, last night's impressive performance carries even more weight. The Admirals showed plenty of speed in the offensive zone, and effectively kept the Flames from having many quality scoring opportunities in the first two periods. Sure, there were some awkward passes and clumsy moments, but that happens in the beginning of every season. These guys have the potential to be friggin awesome as they get familiar with each other. And off the ice, I have a list of things I liked... - The roster handout at the turnstile has been expanded to include player stats. Very nice. - The intro music. Saliva's "Ladies and Gentlemen". Great choice, can't believe I didn't think of that one myself. It was followed up by another hard rock song that I didn't file to memory. Hockey and rock music are a perfect marriage. - Jumbotron sponsor ads featuring Roscoe (eating at Subway, seeing a movie at a Marcus theater). That shows that the Admirals marketing team isn't satisfied with just selling a place to display a corporate logo on the sideboards. Those ads give the sponsors more bang for their buck, while providing something different on the jumbotron for the fans to soak in. - Change of colors for the numbers on the jersey sleeves. Last year, it was black on black and next to impossible to read. This season, the black sleeves feature white numbers that are easy on the eyes. - Late in the second intermission, the lights in the arena were turned off to excite the crowd as the final period was about to get underway. That was unexpected, although the presentation could use a little work. The jumbotron and graphics ring showed a pulsating #3 for about two minutes. Nice idea, but it needs more than just a 3 graphic to be effective. - And although I was initially disappointed by the small size of the opening night crowd (5,882), it was about a 1,000 more than what last year's home opener achieved. In fact, it took until mid-December (and a $2 ticket promo) to get a crowd over 5,000 last year, so this year appears to be off to a good start. And two things I didn't like about last night... - The new electronic parking meter on State Street wouldn't take my quarter. I felt like giving the new ATM-like machine the Hanson Brothers treatment, but instead I swiped my credit card for the 40 cent transaction and walked away muttering under my breath. - I'm not a fan of the socks worn by the Admirals. Normally, I pay little attention to the design of a hockey sock, but these are so different than any I've ever seen. White socks with vertical black stripes along the sides. Admirals radio announcer Aaron Sims describes them as resembling a baseball player's stirrup sock. With the 'culture shock' of the new Edge jerseys for the fans to absorb this year, it's not the best time to roll out an experimental look like that, in my opinion. Last night was the first real 'test drive' for my new camera. I used it in preseason, but the lighting is much better at the BC, so I was anxious to see how the first batch of pics would turn out. I experimented with the settings, and will continue to fine-tune them in future games, but I was happy with the outcome. |
| 4 October 2007 |
Touch of grey
 Oh well a touch of grey, kinda suits you anyway,That's all I had to say, but it's all right. I will get by, I will get by, I will get by, I will survive. ~ Grateful Dead I've got to point out a correction to something I wrote in an earlier entry. After seeing the new Admirals RBK Edge jerseys in person for the first time, it appears as if the Admirals road colors feature the same shade of grey they used last season. In an earlier entry, I displayed a screenshot of the new uniforms as seen in EA's NHL 08 video game, in which the grey appears to be a lighter shade. Well, that was either an optical illusion, or a mistake by EA. Honestly, I was hoping for a tweak of the road look. My first impressions of the new jerseys are a little mixed. I'm not a fan of the vertical blue stripes. I like the idea of adding more blue to the color scheme, but those stripes appear awkward. The RBK design itself is growing on me. After seeing a handful of NHL games using them, I have accepted them. The fights seem to be 'cleaner'... less jersey pulling, which may lead to more punches thrown. And although he hasn't suited up for a game yet, kudos have to go out to Brandon Segal. He made the opening night roster for Anaheim... the defending Cup champs. Mark Mowers is another former Admiral to play for the Ducks this season. And Sheldon Brookbank was claimed off waivers by the New Jersey Devils, of all teams. As an offensive defenseman, I wonder how he'll adapt to the dull Devils defensive scheme. I wish him and Segal luck towards sticking with their new NHL teams. The Admirals made what is probably their last roster move before the first game by assigning goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris to the team's affiliate in Cincinnati. That leaves Maxime Daigneault as the backup to Pekka Rinne. Milwaukee's jersey numbers have also been released (see my players page). Alexander Sulzer will be possibly the first Admiral to ever wear #52. My historical records of the team are incomplete for uniform numbers, but I'm willing to bet he's the first. And as promised, here's a brief opinion of some of the new players based on what I've seen in preseason play... Mike Santorelli - a real play maker. Hard to say what line he'll be on as we have 5 great centers (along with Peverley, O'Reilly, Ellison, and Guerriero) Richard Stehlik - scored twice from the blue line in the third preseason game with a heckuva slap shot. He didn't seem too physical for his size (6'4" 248 lbs.), but that's hard to judge as players sometimes take it easy in preseason. Shane Willis - savvy veteran looked good. I expect a consistently solid game from him. Cody Franson - reminds me of Shea Weber in his rookie year. But I won't be disappointed if it takes him a little while to get accustomed to this level of play. Andreas Thuresson - hard worker with some speed and willing to throw his weight around a little bit. Antti Pihlström - speedy blond kid will be easy to spot on the ice. He'll have to adapt to the North American style of game, as he seemed a little 'disconnected' in exhibition games. He could become a gem by midseason if he finds his game. Maxime Daigneault - had a rocky game in Hartland, as he wasn't tested often, but allowed a few goals. He looked better in the next game against Chicago, so my opinion of him is undecided. My thoughts on Alexander Sulzer and Oliver Setzinger are fuzzy. They played in the first game, but I didn't focus on their game enough to judge. Not to mention their names are a little too similar. I also liked what I saw from relative newcomers Ryan Maki and Mark Matheson, both of whom joined the Admirals late last season. But as enthusiastic as I am about this team, I have to remain cautious against high expectations, as Milwaukee is now in an 8 team division. Admiral fans are accustomed to being in 6 or 7 team divisions, and hoping for a division title is a lofty goal. You have to look all the way back to when the IHL was a 9 team league in 1984-85 when the Admirals played in a division this large. And a reminder as we approach the first road game of the season. The Admirals are on a new radio station. SportsRadio 1250AM. But no worries... Aaron Sims returns as the voice of the team, and the new station has a stronger signal than previous Admirals radio outlets. I'll leave you with a three part documentary on the 2006-07 season I found on YouTube. Made by two high school students. A job well done, worth saving to your hard drive. Total run time is about a half hour. Part One Part Two Part Three |
| 1 October 2007 |
Preseason recap
 Work and computer issues have kept me busy this week, so this entry is overdue, I know.I made it to every preseason game last week, and I am feeling very good about our team. Granted, these exhibition games use a bunch of UHL and ECHL guys hoping to impress the coaches for a future call up, but I liked what I saw from the guys who will begin the season in Milwaukee. The trip to the game in Vernon Hills, IL, on Wednesday was a short one for me, as I live near the state line. I enjoyed an easy drive down Highway 41 (avoiding the toll road), but I ended up in a frustrating traffic jam on Kennedy/Townline Road. It took me 20 minutes to go two miles. I honestly don't know how people can live like that... sitting in traffic morning, noon, and night. No wonder why Chicagoans can be so testy. Once there, I grabbed a seat in the top row, and later realized I was sitting next to Admirals goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris' family. Dov was born in the northern Chicago burbs, so this exhibition was a homecoming of sorts for him. His younger brother kept track of the shot/save totals on a pad of paper, and kept me entertained with his enthusiastic conversation with his friend about all things hockey. The Admirals won that game 8-4, but the score didn't matter much for me. I went into the evening with three purposes. 1. Enjoy a hockey game. 2. Learn the tendencies of the new prospects. 3. Experiment with my new camera. The pictures I took at the first game weren't the best, as I this camera has many more settings than my last one, and learned a lot of what not to do at a hockey game. Not to mention, the lighting in the building was poor. The picture quality improved greatly in the final two preseason games, and I cannot wait to see how well it performs at the BC. And I gotta say, I feel for Pekka Rinne. I really thought his chance at the NHL had come. It must be a let down for him to lose the job in Nashville to Dan Ellis. Nothing against Ellis, mind you. I'm jazzed to have either one of those guys in Milwaukee, but I think I can speak for most Milwaukee fans who want to see Pekka succeed at the next level. Unfortunately, I will not be at the season opener at Peoria. Saturday's are a long day for me at work, and I would have trouble making it to the Carver Arena in time, so I will have to wait until the home opener on October 12 to see the entire team in action. If I can find the time, I'll give my first impressions of the new guys on the team in another entry later this week or after the weekend. |
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