Tuesday, April 22, 2008

GREAT NIGHT FOR HOPS AND HOCKEY!!

Last night turned out to be a fantastic night. Between the dollar drafts (a given) and some intense hockey on the TV's, it was truly a fun night. A fun night that almost didn't happen, I might add.

For starters, there was some confusion as to what game would take place on TV. Since we have the NHL CENTER ICE package, we are entitled to carry ALL NHL games. However, because NHL has wisely chosen to team up with Versus (and I choose that term sarcastically), the playoff coverage has been spotty, at best. At first they were only going to allow one game to be aired, and "blacking out" the other. That, of course, would have been a stupid idea and would have caused a mini-mutiny on my hands by fans who were expecting to see their team play.

Throughout the afternoon, FIRE MARSHALL ED and myself kept burning up the phone lines, trying to find out what the status of the second game was, with panic setting in with each and every phone call. At first, one game would be shown, then the network flip-flopped and said they would show the other game. Direct TV wasn't making things any better by giving up almost no information at all to us.

FINALLY, at around 5:30pm, we were able to get both games up and running and not a moment too soon, as hockey fans began trickling in, excited to see their teams play.





The whole block could hear the fans cheer and chant throughout the games and I have to say, it really made for a festive atmosphere. Even though there were patrons who were fiercely loyal to their prospective teams, they were for the most part, pretty cordial to one another (I guess it's a Canadian thing).








By the way, BOSTON lost to MONTREAL, 5-0, while WASHINGTON beat PHILADELPHIA, 4-2.

Tonight, we're "dropping the puck" again with TWO MORE Game 7 matchups: WASHINGTON vs PHILADELPHIA (with audio)at 7pm; then CALGARY vs SAN JOSE at 10pm.

Yours truly will be making a rare weekday appearance behind the stick today, so if you are in the neighborhood, swing by and say HI!

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL: Liverpool vs Chelsea, 2:30pm

Dollar Draft Madness continues with $1.00 Bud/Bud Light mugs and $3.00 Molson Canadian pints!



Nuff Said