Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

[Stauber1]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

The preseason coaches poll picks the Badgers to finish last in the Big Ten. Looks like the posters on this board aren't the only ones to see problems ahead.

Man it would be nice to have some good news about this program someday!

They somehow managed to get 5pts in the preseason USCHO poll...so at least 1 person out there sees something.....

 

[gwhinwi]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

The sad part is that I really wanted to see TV footage for the first game to see how poor the attendance turns out to be. Sad that is one of the things I'm most interested in thus far.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

The sad part is that I really wanted to see TV footage for the first game to see how poor the attendance turns out to be. Sad that is one of the things I'm most interested in thus far.

I want to see that as well, but I am genuinely interested to see how the lads play with a bunch of better players on the roster (except in goal) and to see the impact of the new coaches, which may not be that evident so early in the season. I know it CAN'T be as bad as last year or worse. No way.

 

[WiscDC]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

How much will it cost to bring in Mitch Korn?

 

[KaMiGo]

Subject: RE: UW Men's hockey on tv

Tim,

Thank you for taking the time to reach out to me about men’s hockey telecasts for this coming season.

Among Big Ten hockey-playing schools, our total of 14 telecasts currently scheduled is right in line with our peers. A few more than some and a couple fewer than some others.

We wanted to announce the TV games we have thus far because the season is quickly approaching. If we are able to schedule additional games for television, we will make that information public as soon as possible.

As a reminder, a selected number of our games that are not televised will be live-streamed. I would encourage you to explore that option as well.

Thanks for your interest in, and support of, the hockey program.

As a side note we have had positive discussions with the band about playing at selected women’s hockey games this year. I am sincerely hoping they will choose to play at more of our contests this season.

JK

Jason King

Senior Associate Athletic Director

University of Wisconsin Athletics

Office-608-262-7974

Cell-608-354-7112

JWK@athletics.wisc.ed

From: Tim
Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2015 6:23 PM
To: Jason W. King
Subject: UW Men's hockey on tv

Jason,

The TV schedule is just a complete joke. No games on TV until the 11th game of the year. 14 out of 34 on tv total. None on Fox Sports WI. None of Wisconsin Public tv. I cannot emphasize enough what a colossal disappointment this is. This isn’t 1978 when there was no cable and only antennas. And with Andy Baggott fired from the WSJ, there will be no objective reporting to tell us fans how the team is really performing, since we cannot see them. I just cannot believe in 2016 I am stuck listening to them on the radio for most of the games, and how many fans are going to listen to a broadcast? What an utter and complete fiasco. As a kid who would tape the games on WPT at night and watch the next morning in the 1980’s, I never imaged the coverage would be worse in 2016. I might as well crack open the vhs tapes out of the basement and watch those. So much for progress. I really feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest.

Tim

So you start your email in a hostile and aggressive tone and offer absolutely nothing of substance in terms of ideas or solutions, how did your expect him to respond?!?

Your email reminds me of almost any time that someone has challenged Donald Trump recently, he immediately replies with a comment about the person being a "loser" or "disaster" or something else to make him appear above the discussion, when in reality he hasn't addressed the subject at all.

You mention that you don't like how many games are currently scheduled for tv and he acknowledges the number, provides context in relation to the rest of the league add states that some games will be available through streaming options and that they are still working on other options. He even went out of his way to recognize you and the other concerns that you had raised and provided you with an update if that issue. That sounds like a pretty comprehensive and accurate response to me.

The state of Wisconsin is not the state of Minnesota, there simply isn't as much desire to watch hockey across the state. There is no arguing that fact. I believe that the school is doing what they can, but if people aren't tuning in (blame it on performance, blame it on anything else you want) the networks aren't going to run it when they can make more money airing something else. Free market economics; if there isn't demand, the supply doesn't matter. And you can't create demand as easily as you think.

 

[solovsfett]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

KaMiGo.

TimothyA obviously doesn't work for the administration and to be honest while he and I and others have plenty of ideas (just peruse the Wisconsin threads, you'll find them) it's not our JOBS to come with the ideas for the admin though we offer them up on here frequently. If you think his tone was hostile and aggressive I'd argue its an honest and forthright tone. Negative or pessimistic? Perhaps, yes. But this Wisconsin AD and the entire hockey admin has done nothing to allay the fears and concerns from the fanbase in recent seasons and again, go back through our threads, many of us have offered ideas and then followed through with respectful emails.

IMO JK and BA SHOULD be receiving negative and angry emails from the Hockey fanbase, they're a big part of the problem. What can you say really?

In what universe does a coach with Eaves' resume (played for Badger Bob, won an NCAA title as a player then coach) begin to flounder on the recruiting trail, develop negative relationships with HS coaches and parents ensuring further recruiting obstacles and perceptions of negativity, stumble on the ice, lose recruits and on and combine that with the lousy administrative decisions to ax the Blue Line Club, to sanitize the Kohl Center and render it bereft of atmosphere (no banners from kids, fewer band members, stupid championship ring replacing winning banners, no gophers on a stick et al), in what universe does this coach survive? In what other big money school would this be allowed to happen?

People have a right to be ****ed off and I hope for **** sure the Rafalski's and Richter's, Granato's and Chelios', Andringa's and Tancill's and Zent's are calling Madison and giving Barry what's for. It's well deserved.

If we didn't object to the program falling so far from national prominence we'd be like Cubs fans. Who cares in Chicago if the Cubs win or lose? Virtually no-one, but they go to the games anyway, and that's how that team can pay lip service to turning the corner, they'll rake in the money regardless.

Wisconsin Hockey is better than that. Or it very well should be.

I've sent JK two emails, both respectful in tone. Rest assured if Eaves stumbles even further I'll be contacting the admin in a very foul mood. Enough is enough. This team hasn't been a real national power (for more than a 1 or 2-year spurt) since the end of the 1994. 21 years is far too long to be stuck in limbo.

 

[WiscTJK]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

KaMiGo.

TimothyA obviously doesn't work for the administration and to be honest while he and I and others have plenty of ideas (just peruse the Wisconsin threads, you'll find them) it's not our JOBS to come with the ideas for the admin though we offer them up on here frequently. If you think his tone was hostile and aggressive I'd argue its an honest and forthright tone. Negative or pessimistic? Perhaps, yes. But this Wisconsin AD and the entire hockey admin has done nothing to allay the fears and concerns from the fanbase in recent seasons and again, go back through our threads, many of us have offered ideas and then followed through with respectful emails.

IMO JK and BA SHOULD be receiving negative and angry emails from the Hockey fanbase, they're a big part of the problem. What can you say really?

In what universe does a coach with Eaves' resume (played for Badger Bob, won an NCAA title as a player then coach) begin to flounder on the recruiting trail, develop negative relationships with HS coaches and parents ensuring further recruiting obstacles and perceptions of negativity, stumble on the ice, lose recruits and on and combine that with the lousy administrative decisions to ax the Blue Line Club, to sanitize the Kohl Center and render it bereft of atmosphere (no banners from kids, fewer band members, stupid championship ring replacing winning banners, no gophers on a stick et al), in what universe does this coach survive? In what other big money school would this be allowed to happen?

People have a right to be ****ed off and I hope for **** sure the Rafalski's and Richter's, Granato's and Chelios', Andringa's and Tancill's and Zent's are calling Madison and giving Barry what's for. It's well deserved.

If we didn't object to the program falling so far from national prominence we'd be like Cubs fans. Who cares in Chicago if the Cubs win or lose? Virtually no-one, but they go to the games anyway, and that's how that team can pay lip service to turning the corner, they'll rake in the money regardless.

Wisconsin Hockey is better than that. Or it very well should be.

I've sent JK two emails, both respectful in tone. Rest assured if Eaves stumbles even further I'll be contacting the admin in a very foul mood. Enough is enough. This team hasn't been a real national power (for more than a 1 or 2-year spurt) since the end of the 1994. 21 years is far too long to be stuck in limbo.

Such a great post, it needs to be reposted again...

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

So you start your email in a hostile and aggressive tone and offer absolutely nothing of substance in terms of ideas or solutions, how did your expect him to respond?!?

As a dad, a son, a brother, an employee, a husband, a leader and a fan, different situations require different approaches. I am generally a person who is calculated in what I type or say. In this case I thought the best approach was to be brutally and unfilteredly honest. Sometimes a person needs an arm around their shoulder, a couple quietly spoken words and a gentle kiss or hug. Other times a person needs an eye to eye, intense “come to Jesus” talk, and in this case I chose the latter. I hope in your life whatever approach you use works for you. What I do works for me. I honestly found it rather discouraging and inpersonalble that he sent Solo and I the SAME response. That was from the heart, eh?

 

[Red_Rob]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

So other than the "Eaves avoids 20 questions" on facebook/twitter Has there been any sort of hype for this upcoming season? I have been listening to satellite radio lately so I don't hear radio ads, but have there been any? Have there been any TV spots either?

I have emailed JK twice. The first time he responded to me in under 2 hours. He toed the company line, which I expected him to. But I think it's important that they know people are upset.

 

[markwojo]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

Sorry, but we are way beyond civilities. Capt Cliché just ran the ship aground into a 4 win season where any talented player (besides Hughes and Beese) has either bailed before enrolling or pulled the eject cord and gone to the nearest other option they could. This administration instead of starting to rebuild the program in earnest has decided to retain the guy that in a dozen years and 3 full cycles of grossly unbalanced classes hasn't figured out how to get even remotely close to a balanced roster. The hockey community is REAL small, and I have heard the same story from enough people to realize where the problem lies...yet our administrators are clueless as attendance has dropped in half (that is my prediction for this coming season....instead of average 12k+ it will be under 6K). Eaves staying has only dug a deeper hole that will be harder to work your way out of.

 

[WiscDC]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

As a dad, a son, a brother, an employee, a husband, a leader and a fan, different situations require different approaches. I am generally a person who is calculated in what I type or say. In this case I thought the best approach was to be brutally and unfilteredly honest. Sometimes a person needs an arm around their shoulder, a couple quietly spoken words and a gentle kiss or hug. Other times a person needs an eye to eye, intense “come to Jesus” talk, and in this case I chose the latter. I hope in your life whatever approach you use works for you. What I do works for me. I honestly found it rather discouraging and inpersonalble that he sent Solo and I the SAME response. That was from the heart, eh?

I don't disagree with the things you've posted, but I think it is fair to expect that he sends two different people responses that are more or less the same, considering the initial messages were addressing the same topics. It's not like he's sending replies with the purpose of having them published in the newspaper.

 

[bucky15]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXV: A Season without Chuck

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXV: A Season without Chuck

Let's be honest.

What do you think Jason King is going to say?
We are going to fire Eaves if the season goes the same as last.
We didn't want to fire Eaves, because economically we feel it doesn't make sense.
We feel Eaves has earned the right to have 1-2 more seasons since he has taken teams to the championship 2 times in 10 years.
We have tried to get more games on TV, but the TV stations are in the business of making money and UW hockey doesn't make any money for them.

Jason has a job to do with his employers interests in mind. He is going to give a canned reply just like any other company would. UW Athletics has turned into a big business and unfortunately UW hockey seems to currently not be in their top priority.

Jason King has no control over what programs the TV stations put on their channels.

Why on earth would FSNWI put UW hockey over a professional NBA game or any other sport for that matter. It wasn't that long ago that bowling had more viewership than NHL hockey on ESPN. We are a fraction of a fraction of the population.

My suggestion is if you are unhappy take your money and time somewhere else. I myself can not wait for Oct 7th when the NHL begins.

UW hockey will be back, it just looks like it may be 3-5 years out. We are currently in the dark days.

For the time being, don't throw away your helmet hat.

 

[WiscDC]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

So other than the "Eaves avoids 20 questions" on facebook/twitter Has there been any sort of hype for this upcoming season? I have been listening to satellite radio lately so I don't hear radio ads, but have there been any? Have there been any TV spots either?

Nothing major. I haven't seen or heard anything beyond the usual messages at football games (the team took their turn on the field this past week). The student shootout was pretty nice (not sure what the numbers were compared to last year, which was a big jump from the prior year) - highlight and hype videos were being played on the big screen rather than the continuous cycle of tweets. That's pretty small on the large scale, but it was nice to see that within that event (also got to talk with one of the marketing directors, whom I'd met back in the spring, about it, which was nice).

There were a couple of the more recent "20 questions" that I actually liked. No vague sportuguese and metaphors. Nothing super specific, but the way he said "we have different people and will do things very differently" seemed a bit more straightforward than it might've been. Also, it's nice to see some kind of build-up to the season coming from the Athletic Department, considering how little they decided to let people know that they had one of the top teams in the country in 2013-14.

(This paragraph has nothing to do with hype for the season coming from UW Athletics, but I thought I'd mention it.) One morning, when driving to my Friday morning job, I briefly flipped to 106.7 The Zone (they broadcast the Capitols), and was pleasantly surprised to hear the hosts give updates for volleyball and cross-country. It was the day after the "regular" student ticket sale for men's basketball, so they mentioned how quickly it sold out, and continued to read the blurb on UWBadgers.com reminding students that men's hockey tickets are still available. Then they made a couple comments about the tough times last year on the ice and in the stands. It's probably a bad thing that I was pleasantly surprised that local sports hosts acknowledged more than 2 UW sports, and were at least decently aware of what was up with the men's hockey team (without having it be on the script).

I have emailed JK twice. The first time he responded to me in under 2 hours. He toed the company line, which I expected him to. But I think it's important that they know people are upset.

^ This is key.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXV: A Season without Chuck

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXV: A Season without Chuck

Let's be honest.

What do you think Jason King is going to say?
We are going to fire Eaves if the season goes the same as last.
We didn't want to fire Eaves, because economically we feel it doesn't make sense.
We feel Eaves has earned the right to have 1-2 more seasons since he has taken teams to the championship 2 times in 10 years.
We have tried to get more games on TV, but the TV stations are in the business of making money and UW hockey doesn't make any money for them.

Jason has a job to do with his employers interests in mind. He is going to give a canned reply just like any other company would. UW Athletics has turned into a big business and unfortunately UW hockey seems to currently not be in their top priority.

Jason King has no control over what programs the TV stations put on their channels.

Why on earth would FSNWI put UW hockey over a professional NBA game or any other sport for that matter. It wasn't that long ago that bowling had more viewership than NHL hockey on ESPN. We are a fraction of a fraction of the population.

FSNWI does show Wild games, and some Wild fans are surely UW fans, so there is plenty of opportunity to cross-pollinate the viewership. Maybe FSNWI could have a weekly half hour or hour show about the local hockey scene, HS, the Caps & UW. You show that leading up to or after Wild games. The UW could partner with the wiaa and the Caps to bring this together. This could be a starting point. And let's be honest, the UW Athletic Dept is flush with $$$$, if they really wanted to they could dump money into the UW hockey programS in the web or internet. They could pay for the production of the home games to be on PBS. The B6 is woefully low on the hockey telecasts. JK and BA and the rest of the hockey AD's could pressure the B6 into showing more hockey, especially early in the season, even it it's at 1 am, st least you could dvr it.

 

[bucky15]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXV: A Season without Chuck

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXV: A Season without Chuck

Cross promoting with the Wild is a pipe dream.

BA most likely looks at it as he just dumped a ton of money into Labahn and the hockey programs should be set for a while. In terms of marketing, yes it would be nice to inform the public that they are at least attempting to field a team this year.

Putting the games back on PBS would be a great start. I wonder what the copyright terms are with the B1G network. I would think that is what is holding this back.

Hockey games on the BIG network don't affect half of the conference members. I assume viewership for games that don't involve the Gophs are quite low. That is why the BIG hockey league was/is a disaster from the start.

 

[bucky15]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

Back to the season at hand.

What would the over/under on wins be set at this year? 7?

I think UW is going to win more than 4 games this year, but I have a bad feeling some of the loses are going to get real ugly. 7-1(if lucky to score) beatings...

Remember when Tech rolled into town in 2010 and we put a beating on them both nights...I think some series are going to go like that for us on the opposite end.

Tech won 5 games that year and that was possibly the worst college hockey team I have seen. I think UW is on par for that type of season.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

Back to the season at hand.

What would the over/under on wins be set at this year? 7?

.

Prepare for your mind to be blown.........ready?.........are you sure?...........ok then...........here it comes...........12 wins...........you heard it here first.

 

[markwojo]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

Prepare for your mind to be blown.........ready?.........are you sure?...........ok then...........here it comes...........12 wins...........you heard it here first.

I'll take the under and feel guilty like I am stealing from you. ASU on the schedule at home for a pair is one of the only saving graces....but even those will not necessarily be gimmies with as bad as this team is (remember PSU in their inaugural season beating a much better Eaves coached team?). Realistic win total will be 6-8. 12 I would be stunned and Eaves should be a coach of the year finalist.

 

[bucky15]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

Prepare for your mind to be blown.........ready?.........are you sure?...........ok then...........here it comes...........12 wins...........you heard it here first.

Sad day, when my mind is blown that someone thinks the UW hockey team is capable of a 12 win season.

I think they have no more than 6 wins in them. Toss in 3 ties.

 

[solovsfett]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

Prepare for your mind to be blown.........ready?.........are you sure?...........ok then...........here it comes...........12 wins...........you heard it here first.

I'm going to go out on a limb here. 9-10 wins. Reason being they can't get worse than last year, right? They won't get 3 wins or less. 9 or 10 may be possible if: Kunin and Malone pot 10-12 goals each. Freytag and Wagner have 8-10 each. Soleway and Ustaski score 6-7 each, Besse gets 15ish and the defense plays solid, if unspectacular which I think they're capable of.

Goaltending will probably be the achilles heel along with the fact they don't have proven 20-goal scorers. Hell, they barely have 20-point players on the team. Oh, and the other achilles heel is Eaves who teaches the most boring and easily defended brand of offense in NCAA hockey.

having said that, I'd still fire Eaves whether it's 8 wins, 10, or 12. Program trend is down and there are not nearly enough good recruits on the horizon.

If they get 20 wins then the admin can look ok retaining him