I think that their east coast bias is showing somewhat. It isn't terrible but having the Habs the Stars and the Devils ahead of us is pretty lame.
Also giving the reason for the Stars being ahead of us is lame because of our own record.
Meh, at this point of the season I would rather read negative articles about us than positive. I love the idea of proving people wrong, especially on big picture things like this.
LOL, it is pretty funny to read. Hawks drop three spots to 6th after being winless the past 3 games of their trip, and Kings stay in 13th after going undefeated the past three games of theirs. Not to mention the Kings are currently ahead in the standings.
You remember when we were universally ranked #1 in all the rankings when we got off to that 12-3 start? Yea, that didn't work out so well. I'd rather fly under the radar until the playoffs. Even Scuderi (on the NHL network) said the Kings read their press clippings and didn't handle that well, leading to their slump. Lets hope this keeps them hungry.
Not mad, just pointing out that his ranking really make no sense. Lebrun is much better when he does them.
Agree...look at Philly....he holds them at #5 from last week when they've lost 4 of 6 in March, and they've lost to #7, 8, 10, and 11 seeds, beating only a 10th and 15th seed.
Agreed, the main problem with ESPN is they have them switch off every week which is dumb in its own right.
ESPN doesn't even cover hockey unless it involves some utterly negative angle on the NHL, like a boorish play and hits to the head. If I need some NASCAR or NBA information, then I might bother going to ESPN.com (this will NEVER happen though). ESPN is the 'Worldwide Leader In Sports (That I Don't Care About)"
ESPN doesn't even cover hockey unless it involves some utterly negative angle on the NHL, like a boorish play and hits to the head. If I need some NASCAR or NBA information, then I might bother going to ESPN.com (this will NEVER happen though). ESPN is the 'Worldwide Leader In Sports (That I Don't Care About)"
Actually they employ Pierre Lebrun who is one of the best out there imo, Burnside on the other hand is meh.
ESPN has a staff, but until they start showing games again, it will be minimum and any exciting coverage will be limited to what can benefit the station. ESPN competes with other networks. No point advertising those networks with a sport they don't cover.
I think that their east coast bias is showing somewhat. It isn't terrible but having the Habs the Stars and the Devils ahead of us is pretty lame.
Also giving the reason for the Stars being ahead of us is lame because of our own record.
Meh, at this point of the season I would rather read negative articles about us than positive. I love the idea of proving people wrong, especially on big picture things like this.
TG nailed it. No way those three teams should be ranked ahead of the Kings.
Also true that it doesn't really matter, because when the playoffs start and teams are in or out, and playoff series are won and lost we will have the real rankings.
Oh yeah, ESPN doesn't know jack about hockey. I know it's Bettman's wet dream to get the NHL back on ESPN, but I never want them to be the exclusive provider of NHL hockey on cable. They suck at it.
TG nailed it. No way those three teams should be ranked ahead of the Kings.
Also true that it doesn't really matter, because when the playoffs start and teams are in or out, and playoff series are won and lost we will have the real rankings.
Oh yeah, ESPN doesn't know jack about hockey. I know it's Bettman's wet dream to get the NHL back on ESPN, but I never want them to be the exclusive provider of NHL hockey on cable. They suck at it.
In total agreement.
I think most of the analyst's main critique of the Kings (that I've read from many bloggers) is the fact that they're so streaky and less predictable than others teams which make them harder to rank on a weekly basis.
Which Kings are we going to see? The hot Kings with a sick win streak or the cold/nasty Kings that blow games?
After the two big cold streaks during the middle of the season, I think many people have their reservations (and rightly so).
I remember when ESPN was great with hockey. There were games on the deuce almost every night and they had a great team with Clement, Thorne, Mees, Engblom. Morganti, Pang, etc.
I loved it during the playoffs, there were games on both of their channels and I could watch for hours.
Coverage wasn't quite as good for the last couple years leading up to the lockout, but it still was better than the Vs. stuff we get today. The majority of their analysts now just aren't very good, IMO.
^ I completely disagree. Versus sucked when it was still OLN but they've improved their product every year they've been on the air. Their latest overhaul of adding NHL overtime and adjusting their personnel who covers games are great moves. My biggest beef with Versus is they are totally catered to the east coast. I'd like to see more games broadcasted that start later than 5pm and preferably after 6pm. They just need to add more Western Confernce home games.
I still wouldn't mind seeing ESPN pick up some games when the current TV deal as up. More hockey on TV and competition is a good thing.
