My Newspaper
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October 2007
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Posted by: Ben Wright at 11:20AM EST on October 26, 2007
Best season ever for Kovy? Don’t know if you caught the Thrashers recent
shootout win over the Maple Leafs in Toronto, but in his six seasons with the
franchise, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ilya Kovalchuk play any better than he
did in that contest. He was absolutely on a different dimension the entire
evening, and it was truly fitting that he scored the shootout game winning goal
with an other-worldly move and a soft wrister that floated over the left
shoulder and catching glove of goaltender Vesa Toskala. Ilya will be the first
to tell you it doesn’t matter what’s on a player’s sweater, it’s the heart
underneath that makes the difference. I’m saying from up at press level it looks
as though he’s taken on a greater leadership role with the “A” on his sweater.
He’s been an absolute force in all zones, and don’t forget, he was the one to
drop the gloves in Buffalo earlier this season, when he thought the Sabres were
guilty of a cheap hit on Todd White. Ilya looks poised to have a monster year,
and it couldn’t come at a better time for the Thrashers.
*****
Best gauge that Toronto is an over-the-top hockey town? I happened to be
the last guy getting off the team bus when we pulled into the Air Canada Centre
before the same aforementioned game, and the TV cameras kept rolling. Only in
the big T-O do they have so much hockey air to fill that they get “B roll” of
the radio guy, just in case. Just in case of what? I have no idea.
*****
Best (and worst) stat of the road trip? Atlanta went into Nashville having
faced the Predators for only the ninth time in the eight-season history of the
Thrashers. Never in the history of pro sports have geography and common sense
been so blatantly disregarded. OK, maybe I’m waxing a little hyperbolic there,
but – geez – nine times in eight seasons, when fans from either team could drive
to the game? I just hope the Predators stay in the Music City long enough for a
real Nashville-Atlanta rivalry to build. As you can imagine, much of the talk in
Nashville focused on the political and business maneuverings surrounding the
pending sale of the team to a local group and the commitment of that group to
keeping the team in the country music capital.
*****
Best side trip of the road trip? Taking the 15-minute cab ride to the XM
Satellite Radio studios in Toronto. I don’t know about you, but for me the
hockey channel (XM 204) is a must-listen for game recaps and general hockey
news, and it was great seeing and meeting many of the people who make it happen.
The studio is small, but the news and information those fine folks crank out is
huge.
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Wednesday October 10, 2007
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Posted by: Ben Wright at 5:36PM EST on October 10, 2007
This and that…
I’m pretty sure the NHL schedule maker thought the Anaheim
Ducks were opening the season in London, Ontario, not London, England. I mean,
surely, that was the only way one could make sense of a game in London on a
Sunday and Detroit the following Wednesday, right? In reality, the Ducks did
end up playing five games in eight days on two continents. Wow, if they didn’t
have Stanley Cup hangover going into that stretch, it’s undoubtedly hit all of
the Ducks by now. And you thought Brian Burke was mad at Kevin Lowe.
*****
I was flipping around the dial the other night, back and
forth between hockey and baseball, and it dawned on me that there may not be any
better studio host than Ernie Johnson. In a business in which egos can tend to
take over entire sets, he seems always to defer graciously to the people around
him, making them – and the product – better in the process. And it doesn’t seem
to matter the sport; give him a show and some athletes to integrate into it, and
Johnson does it knowledgeably and seamlessly, with a healthy dose of humor and
entertainment along the way. I was just as sold on his baseball knowledge as I
have been with basketball, golf, etc.
*****
Speaking of TV, I was watching the ‘Canes recent blowout of
Toronto and came away even more impressed with how far Versus has come in its
production of NHL games. For all the flak the network has taken for its
programming history and relative lack of reach, to me it has become a vibrant
and eminently productive media partner for the league, especially if you
remember the early days. From a look in the inaugural year of 2005-06 that
included a set that appeared to be constructed in some producer’s garage, the
telecasts have grown into productions that say “major event” in every element,
from technical to talent. Wherever the NHL goes with its TV contract(s) moving
forward, I believe it’s time we gave Versus some credit for doing its part to
grow the sport.
*****
And kudos to you fans who made Philips Arena rock again
during the home opener. As this franchise has grown, so has the fan base, both
in numbers and in the electricity they bring to games. I had never felt this
building vibrate the way it did for games one and two of the playoff series
against the Rangers last year, but that same feel permeated the Thrashers nest
for the opener. Here’s hoping that electricity flows all season long.
*****
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