Worst Frozen Four Ever

[gdart_s]

Start with ESPN. Not so much their fault, they just don't care. Doesn't push the meter. Gary Thorne sounds like he's about to fall asleep and if I hear Melrose call another school a "franchise" I'll stick a pencil in my ear. These guys try to half-*** this on the fly in March and it just doesn't work. It's like the NFL guys at Fox trying to do BCS games. They don't know what they are talking about. Further, where was the coverage of the event? Every timeout promoted the NBA. Every intermission was Tiger. I understand that you are in the business to make money, but do the event that you bid on a service and cover it.

Ford Field? ***? Ice makes players look like they are playing hockey in slow-motion. Ridiculous skips of the puck. Saw it get stuck in the ice once. Even Comotose Thorne thought venue dumb. No fan was within 15 feet of the glass. Last row of the make-shift risers looked 50 yards away and 10 feet off the ground. Let hockey games be played in hockey arenas.

The games. Those reading these boards, regardless of affiliation, are fans of college hockey. We want greater exposure and recognition of this sport and these games sucked. 20-2. That was the total margin for winner/loser for these three games. I love college hockey and I could barely watch. Other than the 1st two periods of the final, it wasn't even fun.

Personal bias. This whole weekend was framed, for me, within the context of the Sioux situation. A group of 8 people was above the process and killed the logo I love.

For these reasons, this was the worst frozen four ever. I need another drink.

 

[BeaverFan]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

Sioux lost, get over it.

 

[The Rube]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

1. ESPN doesn't care, you are correct. They show this tourney, because it's paired with other contracts of sports that they want. It's reality.

2. So, they assign sorta good (maybe) announcers who half-arse their duties to produce a call-able game at best, which fails.

3. Why do they do this? They know hockey fans will do anything to see their sport on tv, no matter how crappy the production/research/etc. Win-win for the tv stations. Fans don't watch? Low ratings, leverage for channels. High ratings won't top women's basketball and such, so justified secondary coverage at best.

 

[sterlippo1]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

Start with ESPN. Not so much their fault, they just don't care. Doesn't push the meter. Gary Thorne sounds like he's about to fall asleep and if I hear Melrose call another school a "franchise" I'll stick a pencil in my ear. These guys try to half-*** this on the fly in March and it just doesn't work. It's like the NFL guys at Fox trying to do BCS games. They don't know what they are talking about. Further, where was the coverage of the event? Every timeout promoted the NBA. Every intermission was Tiger. I understand that you are in the business to make money, but do the event that you bid on a service and cover it.

Ford Field? ***? Ice makes players look like they are playing hockey in slow-motion. Ridiculous skips of the puck. Saw it get stuck in the ice once. Even Comotose Thorne thought venue dumb. No fan was within 15 feet of the glass. Last row of the make-shift risers looked 50 yards away and 10 feet off the ground. Let hockey games be played in hockey arenas.

The games. Those reading these boards, regardless of affiliation, are fans of college hockey. We want greater exposure and recognition of this sport and these games sucked. 20-2. That was the total margin for winner/loser for these three games. I love college hockey and I could barely watch. Other than the 1st two periods of the final, it wasn't even fun.

Personal bias. This whole weekend was framed, for me, within the context of the Sioux situation. A group of 8 people was above the process and killed the logo I love.

For these reasons, this was the worst frozen four ever. I need another drink.

agree about the Sioux situation, what a joke that they have to change the name and logo..........

 

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

Start with ESPN... ... I understand that you are in the business to make money, but do the event that you bid on a service and cover it.

The idea that ESPN "bids" on things like the NCAA Frozen Four needs to be put to rest once and for all. It is becoming something like conspiracy theory 101. No matter how many times people are told what actually happens, many seem to not get the message.

Once again, ESPN does not BID on this event. The NCAA basically FORCES them to take it in return for maintaining their TV rights to things that people actually want to watch, like big time college football and basketball. They spend as little as possible covering it, and while the people performing the various tasks do it in as professional a manner as possible, its like anything else. You get what you pay for.

ESPN is not going to pay for slick production for before and after the event. They are not going to pay for features on college hockey for between period consumption. They are not going to pay on-air personalities enough or give them enough time to prepare for the event like Joe Buck prepares to call a World Series or the Super Bowl. So we get a way down the line reporter in Clay Matvick and two guys with long time connections to hockey on ESPN in Thorne and Melrose that are given next to no time to prepare and little production help. For every Joe Buck or Al Michaels you hear calling an NFL game, there are plenty of people you don't hear helping them out with all sorts of things. When ESPN covers something like college hockey, these guys are on their own to a much greater extent.

It isn't perfect, and I wish it was better as well. But 10 or 12 years ago we got nothing but the Frozen Four live. And if you didn't have ESPN2 you got less than that even, as millions of people still did not have it. And you only need to go back to pre-ESPN2 days when there was just ONE college hockey game shown live.

 

[Carmine Scarpaglia]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

The only thing that would have made it better is if BC could have played another game and curbstomped the Sue again. That BC team sure looked fast on that ice you are talking about.

 

[sm2pk]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

Nice thing about the Frozen Four this year was for two of the three games you didn't have to wait very long to know who was going to win and that freed you up to get out and do other things. Last nights final was over early in the third and took the excitement out of the game. Told a friend of mine to watch the Final Four ,as he never has, and he will see some great hockey. He said it was the most lopsided hockey games he ever watched and was bored with the lack of excitement. Great win for BC but a total lack of excitement for the fans.

 

[glazewsr]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

Ford Field = "where sound goes to die."
RIT fans = pretty darn good (see other thread)

I saw a lot of people taking pictures of the 56 jerseys hanging on display. I was anal enough to count, and to notice that there are *58* D-1 teams. It took me about 10 minutes of going conference-by-conference in my head (starting with Atlantic Hockey, and doing it twice because I couldn't believe that the two missing teams weren't from AH.) to discover that Harvard and Providence weren't there. I wonder why.

Best jersey I saw: guy in a Wayne State jersey. I talked to him, and he clearly was a fan of the program - when they had a program.

I tried to find out who was responsible for the 56-jersey display so I could (a) point out they missed two and (b) try to buy the AIC jersey. I think I harassed 20 people with official FF badges and nobody had a clue - couldn't even point me towards someone who had a clue. Best I could do was stop by the customer service center and fill out a form (meant for complaints), on which I asked that they forward it to whomever did the decorating. We'll see if anyone contacts me.

I was disappointed that the only food available at Cheli's and that place right outside Ford Field's doors was from a warmer/roaster instead of real food.

But I'm looking forward to next year - hockey at a hockey venue!

 

[Got 6 Want More]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

It would have been nice to have a game decided by less than a 5 goal margin played on ice that wasn't like roller hockey in sand....but hey, maybe next season several teams won't wait until the NCAA Tourney to throw out the biggest clunkers of the season.

Awful Frozen Four regardless of who won.

 

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

This is the first FF I've missed since 1991. It was a conscious decision based on the fact that the games would be played in a football stadium. I have spoken to others who have been at the Ice War game at MSU and the games at Fenway this past January. I also spoke to a couple of guys who had attended basketball FF in New Orleans and Indianapolis. All of them said the same thing, "you won't be able to see the puck, you'll wind up watching the game on the jumbotron." Based on what I have read on USCHO and what I saw on TV (the ice was an embarrassment, shades of Cincinnati), I know I made the right decision.

I will be looking forward to St. Paul next year and Tampa/St. Pete the year after. However I am predicting right now that the NCAA will describe this "experiment" as a huge success (largest crowd ever to see an indoor hockey game, blah, blah, blah) and when they announce the next round of sites this spring, you will see the Metrodome on the list. In fact, I'll bet right now that Ford Field and the Carrier Dome will become fixtures in the rotation. Pathetic I know, but its all about the money, the sport be ****ed.

 

[JMSF#1]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

It's nobody's fault when there's one team that's just head and shoulder's better than everyone else.

 

[bruno]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

This is the first FF I've missed since 1991. It was a conscious decision based on the fact that the games would be played in a football stadium. I know I made the right decision.

Me, too. This was the first Frozen Four I've missed since 1976 for the same reason; I'm also looking forward to going back to the Xcel Energy Center next year -- one of the best hockey arenas/walkable cities on the NCAA itinerary.

 

[satyking]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

On thursday a friend had horrid seats and asked to see a rep of the NC$$ and was told by people in charge that the NC$$ people would arrive late friday afternoon and on saturday.......that is how important this tourney is to them

 

[kdiff77]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

This was a terrible representation of the sport. Huge football stadium, no atmosphere (or so it seemed on TV), the worst ice I have ever seen, boring games that turned into blowouts (the final was exciting at times, but then BC made it lopsided), terrible commentators... there was a lot of crapping the bed, on many accounts.

On the other hand, as much as I hate BC (and I am a serious BC hater), this proves ONCE AGAIN how the East is at least on par with the West. Three years in a row, the championship has gone to a Boston team from HE. So get over the "Eastern bias;" in most cases, it's warranted.

 

[SiouxTechie]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

Sioux lost, get over it.

The only thing that would have made it better is if BC could have played another game and curbstomped the Sue again. That BC team sure looked fast on that ice you are talking about.

It's nobody's fault when there's one team that's just head and shoulder's better than everyone else.

1) Most Sioux fans are also BSU fans, so how about you get off your high horse now.
2) BC has a great team, but how about if we not be sore winners, it's worse than being a sore loser.
3) It is spelled "SIOUX" and once you learn that and learn to respect the name, I will have no respect for people who make fun of it. (I certainly do not like the University of Illinois, but I do not make fun of any Native American names by altering them or saying "______ sucks" or "F the _____".)

This is the first FF I've missed since 1991. It was a conscious decision based on the fact that the games would be played in a football stadium. I have spoken to others who have been at the Ice War game at MSU and the games at Fenway this past January. I also spoke to a couple of guys who had attended basketball FF in New Orleans and Indianapolis. All of them said the same thing, "you won't be able to see the puck, you'll wind up watching the game on the jumbotron." Based on what I have read on USCHO and what I saw on TV (the ice was an embarrassment, shades of Cincinnati), I know I made the right decision.

I will be looking forward to St. Paul next year and Tampa/St. Pete the year after. However I am predicting right now that the NCAA will describe this "experiment" as a huge success (largest crowd ever to see an indoor hockey game, blah, blah, blah) and when they announce the next round of sites this spring, you will see the Metrodome on the list. In fact, I'll bet right now that Ford Field and the Carrier Dome will become fixtures in the rotation. Pathetic I know, but its all about the money, the sport be ****ed.

QFT

 

[glazewsr]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

On the other hand, as much as I hate BC (and I am a serious BC hater), this proves ONCE AGAIN how the East is at least on par with the West. Three years in a row, the championship has gone to a Boston team from HE. So get over the "Eastern bias;" in most cases, it's warranted.

Child, please.

That's like some Tampa Rays fan talking smack about how great the AL East is.

AL East = Yankees, Red Sox, usually sucky teams
Hockey East = BC, BU, usually sucky teams

And don't give me "Maine" this or "UNH" that. Maine has been irrelevant since Shawn Walsh stopped coaching and we all know what UNH stands for (hint: H = "Hardware").

Every now and then a Lowell or a Providence steps up to near-greatness when they get a few truly talented players, but they revert to also-rans quickly. BC and BU get the pick of the New England litter just like Minnesota did with Minnesota HS talent until SCSU, UM-D, and MSU-M started siphoning off some (*some*) of the talent. If the current WCHA and current HEA were to play round-robin home-and-home series, I seriously doubt HEA's overall winning percentage would be close to 0.500. And without BC and BU's record it would probably be closer to 0.333.

 

[Cross Check]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

And don't give me "Maine" this or "UNH" that. Maine has been irrelevant since Shawn Walsh stopped coaching and we all know what UNH stands for (hint: H = "Hardware").

If memory serves me correctly, Maine has made 3 Frozen Fours under Whitehead. Hardly irrelevant and I would venture to say the vast majority of WCHA and CCHA teams would gladly trade with Maine over that time frame.

 

[VarsityWisconsin]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

I have 2 words for the person who started this thread: "Sour Grapes".

 

[Bill]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

On thursday a friend had horrid seats and asked to see a rep of the NC$$ and was told by people in charge that the NC$$ people would arrive late friday afternoon and on saturday.......that is how important this tourney is to them

We found someone in Guest Services about the start of the first semifinal and managed to get moved from row 8 of the risers to the handicapped area at the top of the lower bowl (both game days). I don't know if they worked for the NCAA or not. I did see a guy from the NCAA prior to Saturday's game (up by Guest Services and the inside ticket window) and told him what a terrible fiasco the riser seats were. I also told him that they should never hold the Frozen Four in a football arena again. There were many other irate fans there, trying to arrange for better seats, telling him the same thing.

 

[steven22]

Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever

On thursday a friend had horrid seats and asked to see a rep of the NC$$ and was told by people in charge that the NC$$ people would arrive late friday afternoon and on saturday.......that is how important this tourney is to them

Customer Service was giving out relocation seats both days. I was sitting in RS1 and relocated to section 134 both days. You had to fill out a form , state a reason and then bring the form to the box office. I had new seats within 5 minutes.