Thursday's notes: Where's the love, NBC?

by Dirk Hoag on Feb 18, 2010 10:53 AM EST

Hockey fans all over North America are pulling their hair out these days over the Olympic Games - not because of thrilling action or insufferable defeats, but the fact that major portions of some games are being left off TV. So when we look ahead to today's schedule, don't expect that you'll actually see a game in its entirety:

USA vs. Norway (2:00 p.m. Central, USA): The American team hopes to build on Tuesday's win over Switzerland.

Canada vs. Switzerland (6:30 p.m., CNBC): The TV listing says that coverage of this game doesn't start until 7:00. Hopefully the game won't be out of hand by then.

Slovakia vs. Russia (11:00 p.m., CNBC): Again, the TV listing indicates that this will be picked up 30 minutes late.

And now, on to your morning hockey news...

Predators News

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Buddy opens up on NBC for their ridiculous handling of hockey games, while also giving credit to WZTV (Fox 17 here in Nashville) for their coverage of the public skate held at the Sommet Center yesterday.

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Ryan Suter, like his relatives, feels at home on Olympic ice - USATODAY.com
Kevin Allen presents the definitive portrait of the Suter family, an Olympic presence on the American blueline for 30 years now.

There's a lot of energy and optimism surrounding Nashville's inaugural SportsFest, but will it score with fans? - Nashville Scene
104.5 is hosting a "SportsFest" this weekend, which appears to be mostly football-related, but does feature Tom Callahan and Stu Grimson speaking from 3:15-4:00.

Patric Hornqvist: From Mr Irrelevant to Team Sweden - View From My Seats
Matt Reitz gives props to the development of our super soph as a legitimate goal-scorer at the elite level.

The View from 111: Scenes From the Road
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The Hockey News: Headlines: Small market Shea Weber steps onto big stage with Canada at the Olympics
Robin Short takes Shea Weber's Olympic debut as an opportunity to trash Nashville as the NHL's "Witness Protection Program". Stay Classy, Robin.

Around the NHL

Where's The Promotion, NBC? - From The Rink
NBC's ham-handed treatment of Olympic hockey is especially given the fact they're the NHL's broadcast partner, writes Mike Chen.

The playoff push: 90+ points or bust - The Globe and Mail
In the latest look at what it will take to make the playoffs, the Preds are likely to need an 11-9-1 record down the stretch.

The Perfect Ending? - Nightmare On Helm Street
In Detroit, they're looking ahead to the winding down of Nick Lidstrom's incredible NHL career. With his contract expiring this summer, should he still be the Red Wings' highest-paid player?

The Great Blackhawk Goalie Controversy | Hockey Independent
The presumption heading into this season was that Chicago could use an upgrade in goal - will that be their focus at the trade deadline?

Cullen: Comparing preseason and current NHL rankings
The Kings, Avalanche and Coyotes stand out as the major surprise teams of the season so far in Scott Cullen's rankings.

On Frozen Blog › A Lesson in Supply and Demand
The price of hockey for a Washington Capitals fan is going up. Way, way up...

Canes Country Q&A: Interview With Charlotte Checkers Owner Michael Kahn, Part 1 - Canes Country
The Carolina Hurricanes' AHL affiliate is moving from Albany, New York to Charlotte, North Carolina, and Canes Country spoke with the team's owner about what this will mean for the entire organization.

My one and only live Olympic experience - The Copper & Blue
Bruce McCurdy shares his story of taking in Olympic hockey, back when Calgary hosted the Games in 1988. I'm still bummed that there was no "Eddie the Eagle" in Vancouver's opening ceremonies.

james mirtle: A proposal for Olympic hockey reform
Some guy on an old Blogspot site thinks he has a better way to run the Olympic hockey tournament...

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Comments

NBC

This whole business of leaving curling on and missing entire first periods is total BS.

They are completely alienating viewers. I’d be completely shocked if women’s curling ratings are actually higher than Crosby and Team Canada.

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by Chris Burton on Feb 18, 2010 10:56 AM EST reply actions

Don’t get me wrong, I love watching curling; growing up in Detroit, we picked up the CBC coverage of the Winter Games, and it’s great stuff. But given all the tape-delay we’ve seen for their prime-time coverage, surely they could package up the curling and women’s hockey (especially the preliminary games which have featured plenty of blowouts) to make things fit better.

Heck, the Finland-China womens game was a good one to watch the other day, but I doubt very many people would object to having that on tape-delay as opposed to the Russian mens team.

More fun than a stick to the face!
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by Dirk Hoag on Feb 18, 2010 11:05 AM EST up reply actions

…meaning, joining the Russian mens game late.

More fun than a stick to the face!
On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators.

by Dirk Hoag on Feb 18, 2010 11:06 AM EST up reply actions

I like curling too. Just not in place of hockey.

You’re right, it doesn’t seem like it would be that difficult to delay women’s hockey or curling and show complete men’s games live. I haven’t seen numbers, but I’d be stunned if those things bumping the men’s games are more watched.

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by Chris Burton on Feb 18, 2010 12:01 PM EST up reply actions