New AUS website looks great! But, is it just me or, does the menu bar at the top seem to take up more room than it should for anyone else? Seems like it takes up about a quarter of the page on my laptop and gets in the way of content... Maybe that's just me griping though!
Also, the record book page has disappeared, which makes me sad
Oh, and the AUS app isn't available for Blackberry
Too many designers think it is so cool to add every feature out there, whether or not it has any use for the site in question.
Sports sites need a handy menu that gets you where you want:
- stories
- stats
- standings
- links to other teams/leagues
Stats and roster pages can be the old-style plain type on a white background, i.e. printer-friendly.
No audio or video should play automatically when you enter the site.
And, there should always be an archive. If they use plain type on a white background they could store 100 years of stats in very little space.
This x10000000000000000
While the new AUS website 'looks' good, one can argue that the previous iteration was just as, if not more, functional.
Along with the other stuff I mentioned higher, gone are the archives from years gone by (old site had stats back to 2003-2004 I believe).
And the new mobile format is useless on anything mobile that isn't runing iOS (and Android I assume). Desktop version doesn't work great on my blackberry and loading the mobile version just gives me the news feed without any menu's to get anything further
I like parts of the new site...like the team profiles and how you can view their league ranks in certain categories....and how the game by game stats can be viewed on one page instead of clicking on each game...and the home and road splits...but the old website was easier to navigate and, like mentioned, probably more functional. I think they are on the right track but still need a few tweaks. I really, really wish they had kept all of the old boxscores...having access to that info came in handy quite often.
Speaking of the AUS...is there any way to contact them through email (re/ the SMU/UNB game)? Or do they even have anything to do with picking the refs for a game...or is that a Hockey Canada/NB thing?
The AUS don't pick/select the refs, but I certainly feel they should be able to evaluate the performance of the paid officials, and be able to fashion a list of "acceptable" referees for AUS hockey.
The AUS don't pick/select the refs, but I certainly feel they should be able to evaluate the performance of the paid officials, and be able to fashion a list of "acceptable" referees for AUS hockey.
I don't like Thayer Doyle's reffing as much as anyone on here but he is consistently bad but that is why he is doing AUS games. Get rid of him and beware of the replacement.
The better refs get called up to bigger and better venues if they are any good so we lose them in a short time anyway.
What is funny to me is that Doyle is UNB alum, so I get the STU bias which is obvious, but why pick on your brother rodents? Perhaps it lends credence to my early point that he is consistently bad.
I'm having a hard time feeling sorry for you guys. While he may or may not have ****ed up that game I know Thayer Doyle probably isn't one of the better referee's in the world but he's done some games here in Moncton (not involving UNB which weren't too bad and games elsewhere which I didn't find all that bad.
But quite a few of you guys used to harp on me for *****ing after a certain referee that may or may not have cost us a CIS championship and another certain referee that DID call us 'French Frogs' in a certain Fredericton arena. I won't name names but it's pretty easy to figure out.
So maybe Thayer has an issue with UNB, there are other (worse) terrible referee's out there and some referee's have had issues with other teams and nothing has been done about it. It's not about to change either.
I don't think emailing Phil Currie will make anything happen either has as was pointed out, he has nothing to do with the selection of referee's. Maybe emailing the referee's in chief of the respective association's would have more impact, but I doubt it.
At least if several fans send E-Mails to Mr. Currie, the AUS won't be able to say we weren't aware of a problem.
Also I just read a news article about the AUS's big campaign to protect the student athletes from concussions and other injuries that can interfere with their academic pursuits. I would think that having competent officiating in a contact sport like hockey would have to be part of that same campaign.
Here's the part of the AUS news conference that I mentioned.
“The health and wellness of our student-athletes is important to us,” said AUS executive director Phil Currie. “Concussion is a serious issue, and one that we haven’t put in the background.
“We’ve been working on it for the past year. We’ve been working with a number of people to develop an exceptional program.”
An AUS head injury committee made up of four medical professionals with plenty of experience in sport-related concussions, three AUS athletic directors and the conference executive director was put together last year. Because of the findings of the committee over that time, all instances of hits to the head resulting in injury will now be reviewed by the executive director.
Got an e-mail from John Keefe at the AUS. The old game stats will be back in some form before too long. Not enought time to get them done in time for the relaunch apparently.
All this talk about Thayer Doyle and his horrible game on Saturday night made me think about a game the Tommies had played against SMU 3 years ago. Josh Hurley called that game. It was horrible, it was the biggest cluster ****** I have ever seen. Fans at the LBR packed the end of the ice where the referees came off the ice and I think a few of them spit on Hurley. They certainly yelled a few choice words that is for sure.
Here is the write up I did at the time. You will notice that in my write up I didn't rant about Hurley. Oh, how I wanted to. I remember being so mad...I can hardly write on a good day, that night I was completely lost.
Another note, check out the comments at the bottom. A few STU fans are complaining then a Squirrel pops in with their fan bomb and changes the whole dynamic. We complain then get blamed for bringing up UNB,...... you f**kers. That happened so often. I love you guys though. ha ha
But quite a few of you guys used to harp on me for *****ing after a certain referee that may or may not have cost us a CIS championship and another certain referee that DID call us 'French Frogs' in a certain Fredericton arena. I won't name names but it's pretty easy to figure out.
It is unfortunate the Daily Gleaner is behind a paywall, because sports editor Bruce Hallihan had a clip-save-copy-forward column yesterday from a UNB perspective (and maybe for other fans disheartened by the refereeing in some games as well).
Some excerpts:
Quote:
I’ve been on the sports beat in this city for 24 years, but I’ve never seen Fredericton fans riled up like they were at Saturday’s Atlantic University Sport men’s hockey conference game between the Saint Mary’s Huskies and the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds.
Quote:
Well, I went back and forth over my notes and scrutinized the scoresheet and remembered what I saw with my own four eyes. In Doyle’s defence, I think eight of the 12 penalties he called against the Reds were warranted. UNB has shown a penchant for taking more penalties, and more untimely penalties, this season than any in recent memory. This night was no exception.
But four of the penalties were borderline or bogus, and Doyle let the Huskies get away with a minimum of three blatant infractions.
Antoine Houde-Caron was head-butted in front of his own bench but went to the penalty box alone. Chris Culligan was mugged after releasing a quick shot in the slot, and Travis Fullerton was run into while the goalie and three teammates were trying to kill off one of those aforementioned 5-on-3s.
So subtract four penalties from UNB’s total and add three to SMU’s and the power-play chances become 8-7, which is far more reasonable and, more importantly, far more representative of what was happening on the ice.
That would be fair, in other words.
Quote:
I’m all in favour of sportsmanship, which is why the gag order exists in the first place, but at what point does protecting paid officials from criticism become pure hogwash?
Everyone should be held accountable for his or her actions. That’s why NFL replacement refs didn’t give up their day jobs.
It is worth reading Bruce's entire column if you can get a copy of it.
The OUA isn't immune to the showboat style of officiating either. The stripes come in and expect that the fans want to see them put on a show not the players. They constantly call borderline penalties that don't affect the play or taps that don't result in injury. I'm all for calling penalties that result from an infraction that takes away a goal scoring opportunity or injures a player but the zebra clowns need to take into consideration that people pay to watch a hockey game played by the players not be driven in emotional fits out of frustration with ego based referring. Last week's GG's - Gryphon game was another example of out of control refereeing. A call was made on a borerline infraction behind the play in OT while Guelph already had possession in the GG's zone. Guelph goes up 4 players to 3 in OT and scores, a game whose outcome was ultimately decided by a bad call. If these guys are so determined to be in show business I would prefer to see them on stage a Yuk Yuk's.
UNB defeated STU 6-1 tonight at Grant-Harvey Ctr. Shots were 43-7 for UNB. STU had 1 shot heading into 3rd period. Tommies look slow and small. To make matters worse, Groenheyde limped off the ice early in the 3rd and didn't look to be in good shape at all....I believe he pulled a muscle on a pad save on the first shot of the 3rd period. He was the best player on the ice for either team tonight or it could have been even uglier. It's going to be a long year for STU.
Last edited by Schooner Guy: 11-09-2012 at 08:37 PM.
Dominating performance by UNB tonight...for much of the game they had more goals than STU had shots. I can't remember the Tommies having anything resembling offensive zone pressure the entire game...the shots they did get were one and done. They just couldn't get the puck and when they did gain control all they could do was skate it up to centre and dump it in, since they were too tired from chasing UNB and had to change.
One gripe I have with UNB is that there was absolutely no reason to have guys like Culligan/Carroll, or 4 forwards/1 defenceman, out there on the power play in a 5-1 game with 6 or 7 minutes left. I can't imagine that going over well in the STU room.
Unrelated....just looking at the other boxscores from around the AUS one thing that stood out was the attendance at the games tonight....1200 for Acadia at SMU (which really surprises me), 972 for Dal at X, 1313 for UPEI at Moncton, and 1772 for UNB at STU. Very nice to see.
STU had just scored the last goal to make it 5-1 and with 6 or 7 minutes left they could have made it even closer.
If I'm not mistaken that PP with Culligan on the point was new this game and used all game long so I'm sure the coaches were trying to develop some confidence in that unit and not trying to run the score up.
It also sure isn't going to hurt UNB down the road if Culligan and Carroll start lighting it up again.
UNB has been putting 4 forwards out on the power play quite often this year...maybe not necessarily Culligan, but Braes has seen a lot of action back there.
