sayjann Posted June 21, 2006 Report Share Posted June 21, 2006 is this a Competition which classes the Winners as WORLD CHAMPIONS.............. anyone else apart from N.America allowed to enter?. it may surprise some Americans but life does exist beyond you 12 block radius.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dean Posted June 21, 2006 Report Share Posted June 21, 2006 Sayjann, we North Americans can't wait three years to have a tournement to determine a champion. We have to have champions in Football (American Football for the purists), baseball, basketball (you can still follow the NBA championship which has a game #6 tonight) and Hockey. Even the North America Soccor League has a champion every year. I'm sure that any of the four major leagues would welcome a European owner and award a franchise to his city, for the right price. If you send me your application and a cashier's cheque for $25,000,000 (as a deposit), I'll make sure that the application and cheque gets to the proper authorities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McBif Posted June 21, 2006 Report Share Posted June 21, 2006 sayjann said:is this a Competition which classes the Winners as WORLD CHAMPIONS.............. anyone else apart from N.America allowed to enter?. it may surprise some Americans but life does exist beyond you 12 block radius.............. Nice of you to join in, sayjann. The answer to your first question is No. The Stanley Cup (instituted in 1893) goes to the NHL playoff series championship team. Now you know. I admire a man with your goodwill and insatiable curiosity, by the way. The answer to your second question is Yes, probably. The NHL has kicked around the idea of inviting European clubs to join, but the idea sounds a little unwieldy to most North American hockey fans, I think. A conservative bunch that way, we are. Regarding your complimentary words to us North Americans - about 1/64th of one of our blocks would cover your entire country with some to spare, if it comes to that. But that doesn't mean we hate your country and its inhabitants. Far from it. Why, we don't even THINK about your country... But what probably inspired you to send your best wishes is the baseball World Series... Funny, but I'm just reading a collection of Ring Lardner's baseball stories written before WWI. In the story I was reading tonight, the Chicago White Sox (despite being a bunch of xenophobic palookas unaware "that life does exist beyond you (sic) 12 block radius") are about to go off and play a series of exhibition games in Europe and Asia. The idea is to popularize the game abroad. Regarding the "World Series" tag, in 1887 "Spalding's Baseball Guide" (Spalding being one of the world's biggest sports equipment companies) thought they needed to think up something snazzy to describe the winner of the showdown between the National League and the American Association champions, both of which called themselves "Champions of America". You can see what Spalding was getting at. Vested interest and so on. Throw in American pizzazz and you've got the "World Series". But, as you kindly and knowledgeably imply, every last baseball fan thinks that the World Series champ has licked all them ill-natured foreigners. Thanks again for your input. This poor post sat for a bit with no takers until a few of us (mostly Canadians I would guess) decided to get off our humps and throw in a cheer or two. Have a nice day, sayjann. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_numbers Posted June 21, 2006 Report Share Posted June 21, 2006 The 12 block radius comment just shows you are being a prick sayjann. Why not say something constructive or just keep quiet? Oh, and stop blagging on Americans BTW, I am not from the states, but the old gripe about US Sports pronouncing world champions is a standard one and people know it is tripe. Even in the states they do.. I mean the US National baseball team crashed out of the last competition that was actually international before Japan did, but the World Series is just the World Series for example. Take it for what it is and lighten up. Nice to see the Hartford Whalers I mean... Carolina Hurricanes have triumphed in a nice long series. Cheers, the_numbers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damen Posted June 22, 2006 Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 dean said:The Blackhawks aren't an NHL team? Any fan of an NHL team that isn't doing very well or bitches about their arena should be concerned because Kansas City is building a new arena (due to be open in 2008) and first on their wish list is an NHL tean to move into it. Looking forward to a good game tonight. The Blackhawks are one of the original six. They haven't put together a competitive team in 10 years, all the while raising their ticket prices, trading away any good player as soon as they are up for a new contract and alienating the most loyal fan base in Chicago sports (yes, even more loyal than the Wrigley Field saps). Their owner refuses to show home games on TV even when the venue is sold out, thereby missing an excellent opportunity to grow/market the game to new generations. Sellouts and standing room only was the order of the day when I was a youngster. Dollar Bill Wirtz has single handedly turned a prestigious organization into the laughingstock of the league. It has taken many years but his arrogance has finally caught up with him. The Chicago Wolves, an AHL team, frequently outdraw the Hawks when they play in town on the same days. It's not uncommon to see the UC with 6000 people even though the facility holds more than 20,000. Hasek, Chelios, Roenick, Larmer, Belfour and most recently Pat Foley, the great voice of the Blackhawks for over 25 years are just a few who were forced out due to Dollar Bill's ineptitude and arrogance. 2 years ago, ESPN rated the Chicago Blackhawks as the worst franchise in pro sports. Chicago will always have a hockey team because they are the 3rd largest market in the US and it's a great hockey town. The sickening thing is that the non-existent hockey team from Kansas City will probably will win a Stanley Cup before the once great Chicago Blackhawks :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McBif Posted June 22, 2006 Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 Damen, You can't watch your home games on TV? That's a pain. Old Man Wirtz sounds a bit like Toronto's Harold Ballard who did his best to destroy the Leafs, but even he couldn't pull that one off. Is Pulford still managing? Not very well if he is. Oh well, you're getting the draft picks I guess... Hey, we last won in '67, you in '61 (Hull, Hall, Mikita) I think. We feel your pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damen Posted June 22, 2006 Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 Tallon is now the general manager but if you look close enough, you'll see Pulford's hand up is ass. I used to keep my hope up by thinking that Wirtz and Pully cant live forever but now I'm convinced that if you shaved Bill's head, you would find a 666 birthmark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Partyguy Posted June 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 True, we did lose game 7 but it was an unbelievable playoff run and one of the greatest playoffs in recent history.. A true Canadian hockey fan always cheers for the Canadian team no matter where you reside. Its good for the game HOCKEY but more importantly for the country , the province and the city...and mostly important for a small market team trying to survive monetarily in the league...nuf said GO OILERS GO oh and I was in the heart of party central whyte ave. in Edmonton after every game the arrests/violence/etc. was blown out of proportion buy the good old media, makes for great news..... true a few bad apples but mainly tens of thousands of true hockey fans supporting there team in the streets... GO OILERS GO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McBif Posted June 22, 2006 Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 Partyguy, Here's a scenario: suppose the Oilers go broke and move to, say, Seattle next year. And the Seattle Oilers go to the Final against, say, a Leafs team which is filled with guys like Barnaby and Avery and Tucker and Bertuzzi plus 20 diving Europeans coached by Mike Keenan and owned by a guy like Wirtz. :: Who you gonna cheer for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Partyguy Posted June 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 My point was that a fan in Calgary being outta the playoffs already ,will usually cheer on Edmonton being located in the same province, (even being major rivals) this is good for our provincial economy in so many ways, and just good for Alberta Hockey for both teams. I see your point about franchises going under and in tow basically removing your entire team maybe south of the border.. I feel for places like Winnepeg, truly heartbreaking to lose your team,and I couldnt imagine living in a city with no hockey team , for this reason I hope more people support small market teams and this will never happen to Edmonton or other Canadian cities trying to survive. For the first season maybe I would cheer for these Seattle Oilers but my hockey wounds would still be fresh and the team possibly still in tact. After trades and contract disputes etc. teams tend to break up and then this new Seattle team wouldnt really be the Edmonton Olier team I miss so hence turn my pride back onto a Canadian team eg. Toronto Me a Hockey fan in general, love the sport and only wish the best for my team and Canadian teams in general. I grew up around hockey have many friends who play in the NHL on teams in US and Canada....so at the end of the day just a hockey fan in general.. hope to never face a reality of no Edmonton hockey club GO OILERS GO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.