by rustedrobot | Apr 29, 2009 | Random
Last night I watched the Capitals and Rangers play a game 7 in the NHL hockey playoffs. A great back-and-forth game, complete with astounding saves, hard hitting and general excitement all the way through. I have had my problems with the NHL over the last 15 years, stating like a broken record that they need to get back to 20-22 teams in order for regular season hockey to really be compelling again. But I’ve never had a problem with the NHL playoffs. And not many would argue that things like sudden death, the bone-jarring hits and the frenetic pace make the NHL playoffs so much more compelling than basketball (see here, and this coming from a Los Angeles writer!)
So anyway, after the Caps-Rangers games, I was sure that Versus (the network that broadcasts the NHL) would switch us over to the other game 7 going on, down in New Jersey, where the Devils were heading into the 3rd period leading the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2. I was psyched! Another full period of a game 7! So Versus takes us there – but then after a minute switches back to the studio and says that due to contractual obligations, they can’t show any more of the game. Choke. Cough. What? Seriously? I wonder what the contractual restrictions are?
Alas, I had a plan. There’s a company out there called ZeeVee and they are located just a few towns over from me. Lucky for me, I have a friend who works there, too. So I got myself one of those ZeeVee boxes a while back. Basically what the ZeeVee box does is replicate your computer on your television. Really. Just look at your computer screen and picture it on your television. The ZeeVee remote has a little mouse pad on it so you can navigate through your computer. This means you can watch any video that you can find on the internet – and it’s optimized for your television. I love it. I can go to Hulu, CBS.com, ABC.com, CNN, etc, and watch all the video they offer.
So there you have it. I was able to, ahem, find the game on the internet and enjoy what turned out to be one of the most compelling last five minutes of a hockey game that I’ve seen in many years. I would have completely missed it if I had been reliant on Versus. You see? That’s why the internet is so great.
Note: the ZeeVee box is great, but very difficult to setup, an issue the company readily admits. Referring back to my earlier comment, I was lucky to have a friend that worked there, so he came over and made it all happen. BOO to Versus, YAY to ZeeVee.
by rustedrobot | Apr 1, 2008 | Random
The combination of the writers strike and the arrival of twins has caused me to be watching far less television. I wasn’t a TV junkie by any stretch, but I did have shows I watched. What I’ve found with the strike is that I don’t miss it as much as I thought I would. One thing I do miss is movies. No time for those anymore. An hour-and-a-half to watch a movie feels impossible to accomplish right about now.
I’ve never been so glad that we’re on the cusp of spring. A new house has benefitted us greatly because we have a shorter driveway and a two-car garage, but for some reason this winter I felt way more stir-crazy than I ever have. I think it’s partially because I am dying to get the kids outside and introduce them to outside. I mean, REALLY introduce them to stuff, not just carrying them from car-to-house. Can’t wait! Also can’t wait to be using our new enclosed porch!
Feeling less attached to MLB this year and more attached to the NHL again. Odd. Is it the steroids thing, the fact that the Bruins are, at least, competitive, or is it both? I’m sad I can’t really watch west coast baseball games anymore.
My Dell computer at home is on the fritz after two years. TWO years! WTF? I run ad-aware quite often and always have Norton running, yet still something is gumming up the computer and causing glitches. It may not be ad-ware, it might be the guts of the machine itself, but it’s annoying to have to even think about another computer. It is, however, exciting to think about what’s next – maybe Apple. Maybe not. I dunno.
I’m hearing the Extreme Makeover Maynard, MA episode runs May 11
The new REM is out and I bought it. Haven’t listened yet, but their new single is the best song they’ve done since the mid-1980s. The Black Keys new album also came out today. They are becoming one of my favorite bands of this decade. It’s unfortunate that they constantly get classified as “bluesy” because it’s an unfair categorization. There’s some of that in their foundation, sure, but blues? Not even close, really. What I’ve heard of their new record is fantastic.
I don’t like this site design. It’s going away soon.
by rustedrobot | Jan 4, 2008 | Sports
This past weekend the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres hooked up for what most people probably thought was yet another game in a sea of relatively meaningless regular season National Hockey League games. But when they turned on their televisions and saw that the game was being played outside, in Buffalo, in snow and 20 MPH winds, well maybe it caught their attention? Who knows.
The NHL has become so watered down, so boring to watch, so irrelevant. It makes me so sad, given that when the league had between 16-21 teams, it was more or less electrifying to watch. It just isn’t anymore. With talk of the league further expanding soon, I’ll just become less interested. Oh, the “new” NHL is certainly a little better, but let’s be realistic. The NHL needs to realize it’s a niche and nothing more. The only way to truly enjoy it (unless your team is in the playoffs) is to attend a game.
So staging games outside, in the elements, is a great idea! 73,000 people showed up in Buffalo! The first period had swirling winds, heavy snowfall and the whole thing just felt festive and reminded me of skating on the ponds near my house as a wee boy. The game itself wasn’t terribly captivating, but shit, who cares? The game isn’t good indoors, either.
My idea: have like HALF the games during the season in football stadiums! Why the hell not? If not football stadiums, then somewhere where they can freeze some water and let them have at it. I told a friend how insane it would be to see the Bruins play on the Charles River, with fans sitting and watching along Storrow and Memorial Drive. Oh come on, they can do it, the technology is there. If they can’t make the game better, then make the venues the reason why people come!
By the way, the Penguins ought to scrap their horrible black-and-yellow for those powder-blue uniforms full time. WAY better!
—————-
Now playing: Sufjan Stevens – Casimir Pulaski Day
via FoxyTunes
