Comments on Black Dog Hates Skunks: A Three Channel Universe

Buy hockey skates - but we want instant gratificat...

2009-01-09T14:54:00.000-05:00

Buy hockey skates - but we want instant gratification, man! its the 21st century

Plus except for 2006 its getting on a long drought here. Enough is enough. We're not Leaf fans here! ;)

Of course you are right. But ...

The Oilers and their fans just need to be patient....

2009-01-08T20:59:00.000-05:00

The Oilers and their fans just need to be patient. This team is so young and has so much speed, that after a couple more years of playing together (assuming they can keep them together and be under the cap) they're going to be a real tough team to play against.

Best decision I ever made when it comes to the gam...

2009-01-08T15:01:00.000-05:00

Best decision I ever made when it comes to the game is watching it on mute. The best Oilers broadcast out there is the 630 CHED - a freakin radio braodcast. And I wouldn't even say it's all that good. From what I've seen online, there are TONNES of competant, qualified men and women to do game analysis, but they are never the ones who are presenting the material on screen with the teleprompter.

My biggest problem with the people who are doing the reporting is how little they are involved in the game. As a fan, I want someone who loves the Oilers to do the reporting. I want someone who loves the team - not a player, not the organization, and certainly not the league, the owner, or a god damned pay check. For the reporter, its about the team. The idea that is the Oilers - the fast, skilled, gritty team that's full of people who LOVE to play hockey. They LIVE for it.

The reporter is dedicated to this idea, and as such he tells the truth about the players, the organization, the staff, the owner, the league, because recognizes that how all of these pieces fit together affects how close the actual pieces are to the Oilers as an idea.

That's news. That's what people want to know about. That's what the fan in me cares about. How close is Hemsky to comming back? Are there any trades being worked on? WHy? Why not? What does Katz really think about the on-ice performance of his team? Is this what he was expecting when he bought the team? Would the rule change about the PP faceoffs have affected the decision to keep reasoner and/or Stoll?

That's what links me to this team, and what tells me that Balckdog, Lowetide, Dennis, Hbomb, LMHF, and so many others are fans, and why their opinions resonate with me (other than the articulate and well reasoned arguments many fo the post). They love the Oilers. Is it really so hard to have someone who loves the team doing broadcasts?

Oh, fair enough. Unfortunately, you have to take ...

2009-01-08T06:23:00.000-05:00

Oh, fair enough. Unfortunately, you have to take some bad with the good. Or some good with the bad, if it's the bad old days.

I watched the game with mute on for a while tonight, not because DeBrusk drives me as crazy as he apparently does you (he's no Simpson but I don't mind him overly much) but because ye wife and stepchild were discussing something and ignoring my gritted teeth. I figured if they weren't trying to be quiet for the sake of the game, they might get it done faster. :) Didn't work. Anyway. I didn't miss the commentary much, although I'm not as familiar with Vancouver jerseys as I probably should be, so I kept missing who had the puck for the Nucks. You could try it some time though, maybe it would work for you.

mikep - oh don't get me wrong, while I write about...

2009-01-07T21:40:00.000-05:00

mikep - oh don't get me wrong, while I write about the old days I don't pine for what once was

I love the fact that I can watch any game I want and read near limitless amounts of commentary about the Oilers; I just think that the fragmentation of the media has led to some trying a little too hard to win eyeballs.

Someone shouting at me that throwing the puck at the net is pure magic irritates me to no end.

You describe some of the upside of limited broadca...

2009-01-07T19:31:00.000-05:00

You describe some of the upside of limited broadcasters: they had to fight harder to get their jobs and subsequently the quality was higher.

You missed some downsides though: it made it easier to hush things up. Graham James or David Frost would have had a field day in the 60s and 70s. Organizations pushed their players around and if they didn't like it, well, to hell with those unionist rabblerousing bastards, blackball 'em. Quality guys like Dave Hodge got the boot because they pissed off the wrong individual, yadda yadda.

I see your 3 channels and raise you 2: CBC and CTV, and CTV wasn't so shit hot. Not even any boobies until we got what became Global, and they'd show 70s biker and surfing movies after midnight in the summer.

I'll take today's fields of crap with some quality mixed in. Every damn time.

hbomb - I believe the term is 'pornanza'Brilliant....

2009-01-07T15:33:00.000-05:00

hbomb - I believe the term is 'pornanza'

Brilliant. Filing it next to "garnage" in the Oilogosphere dictionary.

The actual abilities of the organisation to cope w...

2009-01-07T14:06:00.000-05:00

The actual abilities of the organisation to cope with today's media environnement is a defining factor I think. Seen from here (Montréal), what you say about the Oilers applied pretty much to the Habs. Then they got André Savard as a GM; something almost happened. Then they got Gainey. It really seems to me that it all stems from the GM, more precisely from his ability to build a good organisation (not just a good team). Once you have that, the number of channels you have access to, the rumors guys carp about on teh internets (OMG! Carey Price is sick! No! He is *PREAGNANT!*) just become white noise.

About Souray: the dude is special. Came in here at 23, not very good at anything, but over a given period of 20-30 games, he would improve, always. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but always his game would creep upward. Then the coaching staff decided that, you know, he did had a pretty good shot, so why not ask him to sit on the blue line during PP. Just sit there and wait for Markov to feed you the puck. If you ain't sure about the shot being blocked, give it back to Markov. Keep it simple big guy.

The biggest result, for the Habs, was a lesson well learned (and, as of today, still applied with zeal): these guys are talented; give em a shot once in a while, you never know. Once the organisation starts learning that kind of lessons, as I said, teh internets doesn't matter as much anymore.

I remember ITV's sportsnight with Dutchy as the fi...

2009-01-07T12:57:00.000-05:00

I remember ITV's sportsnight with Dutchy as the first TV program where you could actually hear some Oilers talk. Boy, those were the days.

BDHS:I don't think it was an accident he almost pu...

2009-01-07T12:27:00.000-05:00

BDHS:

I don't think it was an accident he almost put "boner" in there ;)

hbomb - I believe the term is 'pornanza'

2009-01-07T11:12:00.000-05:00

hbomb - I believe the term is 'pornanza'

Ah, being an adolescent in the 1990's was great, t...

2009-01-07T10:15:00.000-05:00

Ah, being an adolescent in the 1990's was great, thanks to the existence of a little thing called "Showcase"...then, when the internet came along, bam, porno-bonanza.

But I am old enough to remember that, even in Edmonton in the mid-1980's, anyone without a satellite dish and only "basic" cable got channels 2-13: CBC, CTV, ITV (aka Global), Access, PBS, CBC french, NBC, ABC and CBS (all three US networks plus PBS were out of Spokane), and three "Various" information channels.

We got "real cable" around 1988 or so....and the world of such things as YTV, TSN, and the Weather Network (not to mention Fox!) all became more than just an urban myth.

Now, I've got 200-some channels, including more HD channels than we once had total channels available to us. Life is glorious.

Yo Hunter, do you think the mindset has changed in...

2009-01-07T10:07:00.000-05:00

Yo Hunter, do you think the mindset has changed in the 20 years since that statement is or was true. I remember when the NBA was team sport not about this player that player. The league has changed. Peoples minds has changed they want instant gratification they want instant cups. It just does not work that way you can try and buy the thing does usually winds up in failure. Just look at the real world if people did not take shortcuts or want instant stuff do you think the economy would be in the tank.
The young players need time to develop. I have some real questions about Pouliot some days but you can see it is coming. MacT this and that this team is just getting used to all the parts. Hell Penner rag dolled someone, Cole is flying, the 4th line is looking good with Struds back there. The team misses Pies bad on the PK. But it would appear that it is all coming together.
What MacT is looking for is chemistry and I am staring to see it.
Slats was lucky and he rode 7 players. Everyone is happy when they get shot at a cup. Did Slats make it happen when the players left? Uh no... The Dynasty years were magic... has it been a struggle yes. The thing is the Oilers have never finished dead last so the choices we get are always on the fringe of greatness.

Heck 3 channels what the heck it was 2 channels and AM radio for me BD.
I hear that Sundin kid is good

One of my abiding memories from the dark recesses ...

2009-01-07T05:21:00.000-05:00

One of my abiding memories from the dark recesses of my own particular past is how the Oilers(Sather) used to be able to get washed up players and put them straight into high pressure situations and as often as not they would produce.

Compared to today, with a feeble thinking franchise who are terrified of letting their talented players develop naturally, because the old woman coaching the team prefers his "pets".

And that's one of the biggest if not the biggest differences between the past and the present.