Iced Down

Was it with the whip appeal or my baby face?

Did you watch the Gold Medal Hockey Game!? Oooooh, how fun! It had me on the edge of my seat! So exciting and fast, so wide open, so much drama! If only there was a daily version of that game played so that I could watch it all the time!

This is what the media talking heads/keyboards will be attempting to figure out in the wake of the US silver medal, the typical "how can we take that excitement into the rest of the NHL season?"

Last night was a perfect example of how not to do it. Red Wings at the Avs, about 24 hours after the medal ceremony. A healthy number of Olympians, including US and Av player Paul Stasny. a decade later, Avs-Wings might still pique the interest of those who remember the heydey of Patrick Roy's cracked grill from treating Wing goalies like doors at his house.

During the day leading up to the game, no ads in the paper or online hyping the game. Nothing along they lines of "check out Team USA stalwart Brian Rafalski!" Sports talk radio? Nary a mention of the game. Spam email didn't even get a sniff, and I know the Avs have my address, being the big puckhead that I am. Hell, send Craig Anderson to the intersection near my house twirling one of those arrow signs.

Even if I wanted to check the game, I couldn't. The NHL and their main broadcast partner, Versus are in a pissing match with DirecTV and we don't get the channel. ESPN has six channels and yet the NHL is relegated to the rodeo and bike riding channel? (I wasn't too broke up about missing the Av game, as you all know I check the weirdoes on A&E's "Hoarders" every Monday. Holy crap, last night's couple were straight looney.)

I know, alot of these are old complaints about the NHL, but they this isn't hockey 101, it's marketing 101. The simple fact is you can't ride the Olympic hockey momentum, it isn't possible with a early March Predators-Panthers game. (Want to capture the excitement of the Gold Medal Game? Then just play Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals the very next day.)

RELATED: EPMD - "The Big Payback" - ("So saddle up MC's, and off we go, it's not a rodeo...")