The National Hockey League is gearing up for another season. This year, we’ve reached the fifth season since the lockout destroyed chances that the NHL could become a mainstream sport in America. That doesn’t mean that we can’t put together a big preview. Last year, we were going to use a song to preview each team’s season on the radio show but there were some small copyrights issues that would have cost us a lot of money. Doesn’t mean that we can’t do it online. Since, I want this to be a challenge, Carolina fans won’t see “Rock You Like A Hurricane” or any other play on words songs. Continue reading
NHL
The Lowdown Radio: September 29, 2009
Season three of The Lowdown rolled on with the annual NHL preview. On tonight’s show, Steve and Jackie give campus radio’s most thorough preview of the 2009-2010 NHL season. They start with a fantasy preview by picking the best players at each position and some sleepers to put you over the top. In the news, the guys talk about women’s habits including gossiping and hunting. In entertainment, there’s Jackie’s new single, It Came From YouTube, and a discussion of The CW’s poor ratings. After the break, the guys go back to the rink to pick each division winner, both conference champions, and the Stanley Cup Champion.
Click here to download the 10 MB podcast version.
Click here to download the 26 MB high-quality version.
On Lowdown Extra, the guys have even more fantasy hockey insight for you. They also do an in-depth breakdown of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. There are two more stories in the news, another entertainment story, and a disagreement over the Worst in Music. There’s a more in-depth look at division winners, including a look at if the President’s Trophy is a real trophy worth winning. They cap off the show by predicting the year-end award winners and add in a few more questions to their game of Over/Under. It’s the biggest Lowdown Extra ever at 1 hour and 9 minutes. It’s also CHRW’s longest ever podcast by three minutes over the three-year-old record set by Steve with Jackie making his first CHRW appearance as an interview guest. All the action comes to uncut and uncensored.
Lowdown Radio Preview: September 29, 2009
The second episode of The Lowdown on 94.9FM CHRW hits the airwaves tomorrow night. The show is all about the 2009-2010 NHL season. Two nights after the show airs, the season kicks off so Steve and Jackie dedicate the majority of the show to previewing the season. They break down the best fantasy players in each division and the sleeper fantasy players. They also predict each division winner and the Stanley Cup champion. Jackie also previews a single that hit #1 in the UK while Steve introduces the It Came From YouTube segment on the radio show.
The show goes live at around 6:30 PM Eastern. If you’re in the London, ON, listening area, you can listen live on 94.9 FM. You can also listen online at CHRWradio.com/listen.
Gretzky Resigns From Phoenix Coyotes
In a move that has been anticipated since he went MIA at the start of the Phoenix Coyotes’ training camp, Wayne Gretzky resigned from his position of head coach of the team.
Gretzky’s departure was a near certainty given the ongoing court case over the future ownership of the franchise. Neither Jim Balsillie nor the NHL has included Gretzky in their bids for the team. Gretzky’s current contract is rumoured to be worth up to $8.5 Million per season and neither party wanted to take on Gretzky’s contract going forward. In Balsillie’s case, Gretzky did not want to move from the Phoenix area to Hamilton under Balsillie’s proposed plan.
It’s interesting to note that only the proposed bid of Ice Edge Holdings included keeping Gretzky on board in any capacity. Jerry Reinsdorf didn’t get far enough in the process to indicate whether he would keep Gretzky on board or not.
There is a historical irony that will come out of this, though. The greatest player in hockey history has been forced out of the NHL by the worst franchise in hockey history. You think that a smart business man like Balsillie or someone in the NHL would try to keep Gretzky on as an ambassador. I guess the NHL isn’t that forward thinking.
Ulf Samuelsson was originally rumoured to be getting promoted from associate coach to head coach. However, recent rumours have former Dallas Stars coach Dave Tippett stepping into the hot seat.
The NHL Clearance Price Is Right
Inspired by this quiz about merchandise from the NBA, I decided to put an NHL spin on that Price is Right quiz. Most of the questions are about discounted merch for players that left during this off-season and the NHL is trying to clear the inventory. But you never know what might turn up. Not even all items are discounted. There are 20 different pieces of swag to try your skills on. Continue reading
Wednesday Link-Off: Happy Canada Day
Our regular schedule just happens to bring us to Canada Day. In honour of it, here’s Canadian hero Shania Twain.
Keeping with the theme, an appropriately timed piece on the Canadian identity. (Globe & Mail)
Wine is one of those things that Canada does exceptionally well. Now scientists have developed an electronic nose that can figure out where a glass of wine is made. (Daily Telegraph)
In the run up to the release of its latest iteration, IGN looks at the history of the Final Fantasy franchise. (IGN)
After the jump, Andy Roddick shouldn’t tweet that, Super Dave jumps from the C.N. Tower, and more great Canadians. Continue reading
The Frenzy Before The NHL Free Agent Frenzy (UPDATE)
In the couple of days since the NHL Draft, teams have been hard at work to hold on to key pieces before they hit the open market. There are some big stars that could hit the market and demand a huge price in a bidding war. So who has been re-signed before they hit the market? Find out after the jump. Continue reading
Hockey (Last) Night In Canada: Drafting A Winner
The hopes and dreams of every franchise start with the NHL draft. Whether you draft #1 or #30, you’re always looking for the next big star that can carry your team to the next level. The New York Islanders have the first pick in this year’s draft and are desperate to rebound from an embarrassing 2008-09 campaign. Heading into the draft, no one by Isles management knew who the #1 pick would be. Would they take scoring machine John Tavares, defensive giant Victor Hedman, or character player Matt Duchesne? Continue reading
Steve’s Ridiculous NHL Mock Draft
I’ve read at least a half-dozen mock drafts for tomorrow’s NHL Entry Draft. All of them are very clean and neat. No one will make any trades. No owners are going to meddle in draft choices and leave everyone scratching their heads. Well, let’s face it, we don’t live in the utopian world that most mock drafts exist in. That’s why I’ve decided to do a mock draft based not on the best players or who would fit best with a team but based on who is doing the drafting.
Since I know very little about the players in the draft, I’ll cap this at the top ten. That doesn’t mean there won’t be some interesting results. Continue reading
2009 NHL Awards Roundup
With the most important trophy in the NHL decided last Friday’s game seven, the hockey world donned their suits for the NHL awards. For the first time, the awards ceremony has left Toronto for the warm weather and legalized brothels of Las Vegas. However, the new location didn’t necessarily mean new faces picking up hardware. Continue reading
The Lowdown 