Hockey in 3-D? I'll give it a shot.

Talks about 3-D TV have been popping up here and there as television companies are planning to churn out TVs that allow you to watch programs in 3-D. My initial reaction was: eh. I don't necessarily want to watch every show in 3-D. It's cool, and I think it's incredible that TV's are evolving into that, but my eyes would hurt after awhile.

That being said, I think hockey can really benefit from 3-D. It's simple: I've met very few people that don't enjoy a live game, but hockey does not translate well on TV. It just doesn't. I can watch it because I practically live and breathe the sport, but for the casual fan or someone just sitting at home channel surfing, hockey is not very enjoyable to watch. The game is fast, and it can be hard to keep up with -- not to mention the majority of people I watch with who aren't solid hockey fans can barely find the puck. Games in 3-D can add more dimension (literally) and make it easier and more fun to watch.

Of course I haven't seen a hockey game in 3-D yet, so I can't say for certain that it will be better. But others can. The MSG Network provided the first ever 3-D broadcast last night for the Rangers and Islanders game. 2,000 people sat in the MSG Theater to watch it -- including Chloe Sevigny, NFL & NBA players and NHL greats like Mark Messier and Adam Graves. Knicks forward, David Lee, echoed exactly what I said in the NY Daily News: "There's nothing more fun than to go watch a hockey game live, but one of the question marks about hockey is that sometimes the speed of the game doesn't translate that well on television. [3-D], I think definitely gives a better perspective of the game, as if you're watching it live."


We'll see what happens. Obviously it will be a long time before everyone can watch any game in 3-D, but there is definitely an opportunity for the hockey here.

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600.

Amazing. 

One of the best scored his 600th goal last night. 

Congrats buddy.

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Hockey East Semis: Do or Die for BU

Big game for Boston University tonight - then again, every game from here on out will be a big game for the Terriers.

Tonight kicks off the Hockey East Tournament -- a tournament that BU has to win to make the NCAA tourney. They face off against Maine at 8 p.m. The Black Bears won the first match-up back in November, 3-2, only to fall to BU twice in a back-to-back series at Agganis, 7-4 and 5-2.

The game really could go either way. Both teams are pretty even record-wise as well. I think the game boils down to whether or not Kieran Millan decides to show up ... and that's always debatable.

Get Crosby for Cooke's Hit? Give me a break.

I waited to get tickets to see my Pens play the Bruins because in the fall I had no problem getting cheap seats off of StubHub close to the game date. This time was different. This time there's a bounty on Matt Cooke's head, and everyone is getting into it. I understand why Bruins fans are angry. They have a right to be. But there's one thing that is really, really making me mad: the calls to go after Crosby. NESN's Jack Edwards called for this -- although no one is surprised about this because Edwards is out of his mind. The Herald also called for it.

Are. You. Kidding. Me.

Because that will really get you revenge!!  Um, no.  It will look sad, pathetic and immature. Like a spoiled brat who didn't get its way. Handle it like a man. Cooke knows what he has to do tonight. He will stand up to whoever wants to drop 'em, and he'll do the dance. Then everyone can move on, and the Bruins can focus on trying to make the playoffs after becoming pretty darn bad in the second half of the season.

I'm very protective of my boys. This game just got taken to a whole other level for me. Go Pens.

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Don't Leave Early To Beat Traffic

The Bruins have had the best hockey commercials going for a little while now. They just released another one with a new warning. Take a look:

Dany Heatley Uncensored

Meet OttawaGh0st. My new favorite YouTube Channel. These guys take interview clips - mostly of hockey players - and do their own voice-overs. I have seen a bunch of them probably five times each, and I burst out laughing every time. Can't even hold it in. It's pretty easy to tell they're all parodies, but one of my friends really thought Dany Heatley was giving the most obscene interview ever.

My favorite videos deal with Dany Heatley. They're not big Dany fans, so they really rail on him. I'm pretty anti-Heatley myself, but I have to imagine that his fans could have a good laugh at it too. The Brian  Burke videos aren't bad either. Check them out. Here's one to get you started (Warning: the language is not PG): 

Ron Wilson: No gold, no positives

I realize I haven’t had the chance to talk about the gold medal game here. As a loyal USA fan, it hurt. A lot. I had a bad feeling going into it, but the tying goal with 20 seconds left gave me some false hope ... only to be crushed in overtime by one of my own: Sidney Crosby.

I finally knew what it felt like to be anyone who is not a Penguins fan. I understand why people dislike Crosby. He's really, really good. He is also a little bit of a bitch, but he’s MY bitch. I felt a sting of betrayal when he put in the OT game-winner. But what a story this kid is, hey? He’s won just about everything, and he’s only 22 years-old. It’s disgusting and awesome all at the same time. I’m glad he’s back on my side.

I pouted when the game was over. I'll admit it. I whined a little about how it would have been a much better story if the US won (I blame it on my PR side). But I recognized that Canada was an unbelievable team just like they were supposed to be. I also recognized that what the US managed to do throughout the tournament was unexpected and amazing. They were inspirational to watch. This young squad wasn't expected to be undefeated until the very last game in the Olympics. They surprised everyone and won people over. A silver for them is still an incredible feat.

So today when I came across a headline on my THN newsfeed that said, “Ron Wilson says there is no positive in gold medal loss for US” a giant record scratched somewhere in my head.

No positive in the U.S.’s gold medal loss?

Okay, I agree with Teemu Selanne when he says that the bronze medal is an easier emotional win because you actually win the game to get the medal. When you get bronze, it’s because you won. When you get silver, it’s because you lost.

But honestly Ron Wilson, how do you get zero positives out of coming up just short of the gold?? I can think of a few:

1.       Um, you won the silver medal. This is pretty obvious. You could have finished dead last in the tournament or pulled a Russia and embarrassed yourself.

2.       Your little underdog team turned out to be pretty darn good. So good that they went undefeated up until the very end. They worked hard and played well. They weren’t really supposed to be as good as they were.

3.       The USA team captivated America. I had friends who could care less about hockey but were all fired up for the gold medal game and publicly displaying their support. By ‘publicly displaying’ I mean putting it as their Facebook status, but that’s a pretty big deal these days.

4.       Ryan Miller. Zach Parise. Chris Drury. Brian Rafalski. Ryan Kesler. And so on…

5.       The hockey was great. The first USA-Canada game was one of the best hockey games I’ve ever seen. Ryan Kesler’s empty net goal? Yes, please. Six goals in, like, ten minutes against Finland? Wow. Not to mention the gold medal game.

6.       Millions of people tuned in to watch. 27.6 million to be exact. That’s just the NBC broadcast. Numbers haven’t been this good since the 1980 miracle. And the ratings weren’t only good for that game – 8.2 million people watched the first US-Canada game on MSNBC (second highest for the network ever). As an American hockey fan, I’m proud of that. I’m not saying there is going to be a huge new following of hockey fans in the States (because there wont’ be), but the ratings are something to speak of.

Those are just a few that come to mind. I know it’s hard to come that far, tie a game with 20 seconds left and lose the gold medal in overtime. I was heartbroken too. But that’s hockey. That’s what we love. As far as I can see, the positives outweigh the negatives. 

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