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NHL Off-Season 2016 |OT| My prospects are better than yours

Entropia

No One Remembers
Basketball is making baby steps in Canada.

From when I was a kid until now it has come a long way. More Canadians are making it to the NCAA, more Canadians are getting drafted to the NBA and this is all thanks to Vince Carter and the run he had with the Raps 15ish years ago.

The hope is now with this run we'll see another generation of Canadians grow up loving the sport as well but again it's going to take a decade or more to see the benefit from this.

As for ratings these playoffs was the first time the Raps had viewership over 1 million. They've outdrew a few playoff games this year in the same week.

Last I remember a Raps broadcast drew 1.5 million which was a new record. Regular season we're probably doing around 100-300k at most.

Canada has its own National Basketball League as well now.

I've been to a couple of London Lightning games, they taper off the upper bowl at the JLC, but the lower bowl is pretty fulled up.

One of the problems in the CFL is that it's an 8-team league and 6 of them make the playoffs. While it can make for some great comeback stories (the Lions went 0-5 or something and won it all one year) it really kills any regular season suspense. Make it 4 teams and do away with the bye.

Here in Vancouver the Lions are competing with the Canucks, Whitecaps, and even the Seahawks. The Whitecaps are more popular with young people, play a fast up-tempo game, and have seen success since entering MLS (finished 2nd in the conference last year). Meanwhile the Lions haven't won the Grey Cup since 2011 and have been an average team since, while most of their fans are older and from the suburbs.

EDIT: also the rules haven't helped. Only three downs will limit offensive opportunities.


I'm sure it would dilute the pool, but I think Canada could probably support another 2-3 teams in the league. It'd also be great for kids from the NCAA who don't make it to the NFL to come up here if they want to continue playing.

As a homer, I'd love for a team to be in London. It'd be good to have a team out on the east coast like Halifax, but that's too far away unless you had a second team out there as well.
 

Quick

Banned
The Blue Jays fucking nailed the merchandising. The blue hat with the red maple leaf is iconic now.

Argos have an ugly blue colour, and fairly lame logo. I don't see much Raptors stuff either where I am, but I have respect for anyone donning something with the purple colour scheme.

Argos colour scheme isn't really the worst, but their design isn't all that great.

Argos have a simple enough logo to pass the new retro wave sweeping North American sports, but it's still just very bland overall. No different enough complementary colour to break up all that blue.

At the same time, that's pretty much the Argos colour scheme since they first started in 1873.

Speaking of the Raptors purple colour scheme, I was really hoping the throwbacks from last season would be a permanent alternate for this season. But I don't completely hate the gold OVO jerseys - it breaks up the usual colour scheme of the team.

Jays must have made a killing last year. I saw so many new hats.

Summer means Jays gear are out in full force in Toronto. Gotta get that crisp new fitted hat.

I have the in-game hat and original BP hat (red maple leaf logo on the blue hat matching the Jays colour scheme) from the redesign, which is pretty awesome. The dark blue BP hats aren't all that great, though.
 

zroid

Banned
TFC Fans aren't really happy about it, I know they much. They're worried they'll ruin the pitch.

But, I do prefer the CFL to the NFL. I'm going to try to make it out to a Ti-Cats or Argos game sometime this year.
Yeah lol, I am a TFC supporter, but since I'm also a Jays fan, the fact they got finally got kicked out of the Rogers Centre is a bigger deal to me than their invasion of BMO. :D

I tend to think the TFC fans are mostly just being over dramatic about it. It's a nice stadium, share the love.

I think curling pulls in better numbers than the Raptors. (I like curling too :) ).

DESERVEDLY SO
 

SCHUEY F1

Unconfirmed Member
Argos colour scheme isn't really the worst, but their design isn't all that great.

Argos have a simple enough logo to pass the new retro wave sweeping North American sports, but it's still just very bland overall. No different enough complementary colour to break up all that blue.

At the same time, that's pretty much the Argos colour scheme since they first started in 1873.

Speaking of the Raptors purple colour scheme, I was really hoping the throwbacks from last season would be a permanent alternate for this season. But I don't completely hate the gold OVO jerseys - it breaks up the usual colour scheme of the team.



Summer means Jays gear are out in full force in Toronto. Gotta get that crisp new fitted hat.

I have the in-game hat and original BP hat (red maple leaf logo on the blue hat matching the Jays colour scheme) from the redesign, which is pretty awesome. The dark blue BP hats aren't all that great, though.

I could probably use a new Jays hat, it is getting pretty rough looking also #teamnoflatbrim
 

shadowkat

Unconfirmed Member
:(

When my Dads health started to decline he lost interest I'm going to games live. My brother still has season tickets which is nice. Takes his son to games now.

My dad didn't have enough time for that. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in May and died early June.

Anyway, enough of that. I'm enjoying the Raptors now and am going to a Jays game in July. Gonna wear my sparkly Jays logo shirt to go with my sequined Jays hat. :D
 

calder

Member
I could probably use a new Jays hat, it is getting pretty rough looking also #teamnoflatbrim

I wanted a red hat (have a couple of blue Jets caps, black Hockey Canada one), but I don't like the big red maple leaf ones. I was glad to find a red Jays cap with the normal logo on it.

As a fellow Old Man, you can rest assured I put a good bend in it. When I was young some guys went for a full right angle peak, but I was old-school even then and maintained a classic "hardball" size slope.
 
In the late 80s, as a lil urchin, I loved a HARD bend in the brim. That look died hard and fast though.

My 2 older sons (8 and 6) rock the flat brim, sticker, and wristbands. :I
 
I'm sure it would dilute the pool, but I think Canada could probably support another 2-3 teams in the league. It'd also be great for kids from the NCAA who don't make it to the NFL to come up here if they want to continue playing.

As a homer, I'd love for a team to be in London. It'd be good to have a team out on the east coast like Halifax, but that's too far away unless you had a second team out there as well.

I don't know if the league can support another 2 teams. London would be the fourth team in Ontario. The costs of flying from BC to the Maritimes would be substantial, but they can probably do East Coast trips by including Montreal and the Ontario teams. It's too bad that Canada is so geographically isolated.

I wonder if Quebec city could support a team.
 
Some Shipachyov News:

Aivis Kalniņš‏@A_Kalnins
Hearing #Habs and Shipachov have moved closer to a deal. Both sides not miles apart but discussions ongoing.

Elliotte FriedmanVerified account
‏@FriedgeHNIC
There is word of a snag in Vadim Shipachyov's status. He may have to fulfill another year in Russia before coming to the NHL.

Elliotte Friedman ‏@FriedgeHNIC
Apparently, this came up yesterday and involves an option in his KHL contract

Hmmmm

C'mon Bergevin.
 

iLLmAtlc

Member
Is there somewhere that shows Canadian TV ratings? I'm curious. I've heard that NHL playoff ratings are way down, but I'm not going to assume that basketball ratings are better. Outside of Ontario, NBA ratings have always been piss poor.

Canada is hockey. There's been the Junior playoffs and the Worlds also competing for ratings. World Cup ratings will be very good. Logical that NHL playoffs would be getting major declines, but that's a decline from levels miles ahead of any other sport.

I usually find TV ratings by using google news. Just google "raptors TV ratings" and sometimes yahoo blog or a newspaper will have something.
 
Not really surprised considering he retired from international competition a couple of years ago.

Well Selänne retired from international competition first time after 2006 olympics lol so it wouldn't had suprised me if Jagr had decided to play after all despite retiring before.
 
He's a Good Russian Kid

*thumbs up*

Давай!

communist-diao-o.gif
 

iLLmAtlc

Member
So surely it's been pointed out that Toronto has been involved in 2 conference finals in the past year. Can't wait for the leafs to do it next year for all kinds of shenanigans to ensue.
 

Yawnier

Banned
apparently leafs needs to sign piccinich by the end of may or he goes back to the draft

He seems like a decent enough prospect...

Anyone know if they're near the max contract limit?
I think they are at 48/50 contracts. But there are contracts like Torres, Grabner, Stalock, Ben Smith that are off the books July 1st so there would be room for him if they really want to sign him.

I'm not really sure if he gets signed because there are so many wingers in the leafs organization already. But he could be a decent bottom 6 guy for the Marlies next year since a few of the Marlies wingers are probably going to graduate to the NHL next year.
 

Kuro Madoushi

Unconfirmed Member
Hey guys, I'm not braggin....seriously...

How many souls do you consume everyday for this....?

By the way, before anyone says it, this thread is no doubt a thread some people may consider bragging. But that doesn't mean it should just be about the really crazy things, as there's always someone who will have done something crazier, it could be anything you considered opulent that you've experienced. There will be people who post in here that have done my below stay casually.

We just finished a trip in Dubai where I had the most opulent experience of my life. It was absolutely ridiculous and to be honest, it's a little bit hard to "come back down". I hope that's not the last time I ever experience something like this, and it motivates me to work hard, but it may be.

There was a lot of amazing things like desert safari with dinner in an old arabian castle, sky tour at burj khalifa, swimming with dolphins, diving with sharks, atlantis, amazing michelin-level dinners, dubai mall, dubai fountain, ferrari world, abu dhabi tour, etc. All of it was opulent, but nothing was as opulent as staying at the Burj Al Arab.

We were picked up in a Phantom II Rolls Royce:



To the Burj Al Arab:



Our floor had our own reception, and we had our own personal butler who handled anything we needed. And the room was the nicest thing I've ever stayed in:



We had dinner at almost every restaurant in there, from dinner "below the sea" to lunch "in the sky". We got a couples body massage and scrub while looking at the world (the islands). Swam in an indoor pool with intricate marble while enjoying arabian coffee and dates. It was just absolutely ridiculous how opulent everything was.
 

zroid

Banned
my god the Warriors are getting REKT in the 1st quarter

Golden State just has no answer for the Thunder. It's insane
 
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