Rangers Game on Channel 9 on Sunday

The NYR home game vs. the Dallas Stars this Sunday at 1PM will air on WOR, Channel 9.

Throwback. Cool idea for the Rangers. A December game against Phoenix, and two additional Knicks games will also air on what is now MyNetworkTV 9.

I would've tuned in if I weren't working the Giants on Sunday. Should be an interesting watch for Rangers fans.

Matvichuk to VANcity?

According to Al Strachan on HNIC's Hockey Hotstove, as reported by Paul Kukla:

"Strachan mentioned the Canucks would claim Richard Matvichuk if the Devils tried to bring him back up. Devils may just let him sit and hope the Canucks try to make a deal with them."

http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hockey/comments/about_time_hnic/

More nuggets including an Outdoor ASG, Glenn Healy in Toronto and more.

Recap tomorrow...sigh.

Hockey Tonight!

Finally.

Here's VERSUS' schedule for tonight:

5:30 Lord Stanley's Summer - Trivails and Trips over the Ducks' Cup Winning Summer..
6:30 Hockey Central - Pre-Game Show, New Studio, New Host, In HD.
7:00 Anaheim vs. Detroit - Doc Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Chris Simpson
9:30 Dallas vs. Colorado - Joe Beninati, Daryl Reaugh, Bob Harwood
12:00 Hockey Central

Predictions later today.

Jiggs McDonald to Re-return

Hall of Famer Jiggs McDonald will be calling Icelander games with Howie Rose working for that other New York team during October. Should be fun.

Billy Jaffe will unfortunately return from the start.

Versus Exclusive Games Schedule

Here are the games where the NHL has Exclusive Treatment for VERSUS.

Oct. 3, 7:00 - Ducks vs. Red Wings
Oct. 3, 9:30 - Stars vs. Avalanche
Oct. 9, 7:00 - Hurricanes vs. Maple Leafs
Oct. 16, 7:00 - Thrashers vs. Flyers
Oct. 23, 7:00 - Rangers vs. Penguins
Oct. 30, 7:00 - Penguins vs. Wild
Nov. 6, 7:00 - Rangers vs. Islanders
Nov. 13, 8:00 - Red Wings vs. Blues
Nov. 20, 8:00 - Bruins vs. Maple Leafs
Nov. 27, 7:00 - Flames vs. Red Wings
Dec. 4, 7:00 - Red Wings vs. Canadiens
Dec. 11, 7:00 - Penguins vs. Flyers
Dec. 17, 7:00 - Capitals vs. Red Wings
Dec. 31, 7:00 - BLues vs. Red Wings
Jan. 14, 7:00 - Rangers vs. Penguins
Jan. 21, 7:30 - Capitals vs. Penguins
Feb. 4, 7:00 - Penguins vs. Devils
Feb. 11, 7:00 - Coyotes vs. Stars
Feb. 18, 8:00 - Red Wings vs. Avalanche
Feb. 25, 7:00 - Flyers vs. Sabres
Mar. 3, 7:00 - Bruins vs. Capitals
Mar. 10, 7:00 - Rangers vs. Sabres
Mar. 17, 7:00 - Avalanche vs. Wild
Mar. 24, 7:00 - Penguins vs. Islanders
Mar. 31, 7:00 - Penguins vs. Rangers

NBC Thoughts

-Really, Montreal? Well, I guess it's a start. But I guess their appearence over 8 NHL teams in the US is ok, I suppose.

-The schedule's fine with me, as long as NBC's willing to select the right game. I mean there are a few obvious choices (Sid vs. Alex, Rangers-Devs on the season's last day) but many of the choices WILL likely hinge on the team's performances this year.

-3 selections for the Philly-Pittsburgh rivalry, 2 Boston-Rangers games, 2 Nashville-Detroit games.

-Carolina, Florida, Los Angeles, Minnesota, the Isles, Phoenix, St. Louis and Tampa Bay will make no appearences on NBC regardless of flex scheduling.

-The Rangers are on the potential schedule 8 times, Detroit and Pittsburgh 7, Boston and Philadelphia 4, Washington and Buffalo 3, Anaheim, Chicago, Dallas and Nashville twice, and Atlanta, Colorado, Columbus, New Jersey and San Jose once.

-The real judgement will have to be made down the road on what games are selected. NBC's courage to take the better game over the big markets will mean a lot.

NHL On NBC Flex Schedule 07-08

Enjoy:

January 20th, 1:30 PM
Boston vs. NY Rangers OR
Anaheim vs. Dallas

February 3rd, 2:00 PM
NY Rangers vs. Montreal

February 10th, 3:30 PM
Anaheim vs. Detroit OR
Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh OR
NY Rangers vs. Washington

February 17th, 3:30 PM
Detroit vs. Dallas OR
Pittsburgh vs. Buffalo OR
San Jose vs. NY Rangers OR
Colorado vs. Chicago

March 2nd, 12:30 PM
Detroit vs. Buffalo OR
Philadelphia vs. NY Rangers OR
Atlanta vs. Pittsburgh

March 9th, 12:30 PM
Pittsburgh vs. Washington OR
Boston vs. NY Rangers OR
Nashville vs. Detroit

March 16th, 12:00 PM
Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh OR
Detroit vs. Columbus OR
Boston vs. Washington

March 30th, 12:30 PM
NY Rangers vs. Pittsburgh OR
Nashville vs. Detroit OR
Boston vs. Buffalo

April 6th, 12:30 PM
Chicago vs. Detroit OR
NY Rangers vs. New Jersey OR
Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia

Thoughts on the VERSUS PR

- Well, Bill Clement's firing from NBC looks less ambiguous now. It's clear he's prepping for a return to ESPN when they bid for a piece of the NHL rights, so he may re-join Gary Thorne.

- For a small profile of Bill Patrick, not to be confused with William Patrick Hitler (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Patrick_Hitler), check this USA Network profile, since he heads up their PGA coverage as a play-by-play man: http://www.usanetwork.com/sports/pgatourgolf/theshow/characterprofiles/patrick/index.html

- The schedule is fairly standard, your usual load of lots of Rangers, Flyers, Wings, Avs and Pens. Lots of Sabres and Bruins as well. Once again, most of the games feature Eastern teams, and the Western Conference clubs, particularly everyone but Detroit and Colorado, are mostly ignored. Because the Stanley Cup Finalist from the Western Conference never comes from the Pacific Division or Canada or anything.

-Speaking of Canada, all 6 teams from the Great White North make at least one appearences, with the Maple Leafs making three appearences and the Canadiens making 5, more than about 15 American teams. It's clear the NHL is using these two clubs, Original 6's with fans around North America, to draw some interest into the league.

-The NHL on VERSUS' 3 Inter-Conference games are real barn-burners: Carolina-Nashville, Washington-Detroit, and Pittsburgh-Minnesota. To be fair, Caps-Wings should be exciting, but Canes-Preds and Pens-Wild? Okay, you go do that VERSUS.

-Overall, there's really not much to say. VERSUS should be covering the Saturday London game, but they're not due to a Big 12 telecast. NBC can't cover it due to their round the clock President's Cup coverage. Perhaps the first game will be a launching pad for the NHL Network? Eh, maybe they'll just be dumb enough to not show it. Never know with this league.

VERSUS Announces 2007-08 Schedule

VERSUS RELEASES NHL SCHEDULE FOR 2007-08 REGULAR SEASON
Schedule Features 57 Exclusive Games Including Game of the Week

Network Also Announces Addition of Bill Patrick as New Studio Host for “Hockey Central”

STAMFORD, Conn. (August 15, 2007)—VERSUS, the national cable television home of the NHL, today announced the television schedule for the 2007-08 regular season and the addition of Bill Patrick as the new studio host of “Hockey Central.” The network opens its coverage with a southern California showdown between the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings in London on September 30 at 12 p.m. ET. Then, on October 3, VERSUS’ coverage returns to the U.S. with a double-header featuring a match-up between Anaheim and Detroit at 7 p.m. ET and Dallas and Colorado at 9:30 p.m. ET. Bill Patrick will be making his “Hockey Central” debut on October 3. All of the network’s regular-season games are exclusive and VERSUS’ regular-season schedule features an exclusive Game of the Week wherein VERSUS will be the only place on television to watch the NHL game in the U.S. at that time. Every NHL game on VERSUS will be produced and shown in hi def where available.

VERSUS’ 2007-08 NHL schedule highlights some of the most exciting hockey games of the season and every U.S.-based team will be featured on VERSUS at least once during the regular season, with teams like the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Colorado Avalanche, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Philadelphia Flyers making a season-high eight appearances each. In total, VERSUS will present 57 regular season games, All-Star weekend, wall-to-wall playoff action and the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final. Mike “Doc” Emrick will return as the network’s lead play-by-play announcer. He will be joined all season long by the best NHL announcers in the game today, including Eddie Olczyk, Joe Beninati, and Darren Eliot. Additions to the network’s hockey commentating team will be released as details become available.

“In the network's third year as the exclusive cable television home of the NHL, we worked closely with the league to deliver a schedule that features the best match-ups and most exciting games to continue building off the momentum of last year’s 31-percent increase in viewership during the regular season,” said Marc Fein, Senior Vice President of Programming and Production for VERSUS. "With our superior production quality, all games produced and available in hi def, along with first-rate announce teams and the addition of veteran sports broadcaster Bill Patrick as the host of ‘Hockey Central,’ VERSUS’ coverage this season will be the best viewers have ever seen."

As always, the network will wrap up the evening with its stellar NHL studio show, “Hockey Central,” with new host Bill Patrick and returning analysts Keith Jones and Brian Engblom. A veteran broadcaster, Patrick currently serves as an anchor for NBC’s Sports Desk and recently completed his fifth year as play-by-play host of USA Network’s PGA Tour coverage. Patrick, who first attained national prominence as a SportsCenter anchor on ESPN, has covered world-class sporting events such as the Super Bowl, NASCAR, Stanley Cup Final games, U.S. Open Golf and Tennis among other high-profile events during his 30-year broadcasting career.

The network’s full schedule follows (subject to change):
*Denotes exclusive Game of the Week

DATE GAMES TIME (ET)
Sun. Sept. 30 Anaheim at Los Angeles 12:00 PM
Wed. Oct. 3* Anaheim at Detroit 7:00 PM
Wed. Oct. 3* Dallas at Colorado 9:30 PM
Tue. Oct. 9* Carolina at Toronto 7:00 PM
Wed. Oct. 10 N.Y. Rangers at N.Y. Islanders 7:00 PM
Mon. Oct. 15 Toronto at Buffalo 7:00 PM
Tue. Oct. 16* Atlanta at Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Mon. Oct. 22 Boston at Montreal 7:30 PM
Tue. Oct. 23* N.Y. Rangers at Pittsburgh 7:00 PM
Mon. Oct. 29 San Jose at Dallas 8:00 PM
Tue. Oct. 30* Pittsburgh at Minnesota 7:00 PM
Mon. Nov. 5 Philadelphia at N.Y. Rangers 7:00 PM
Tue. Nov. 6* N.Y. Rangers at N.Y. Islanders 7:00 PM
Mon. Nov. 12 Carolina at Florida 7:30 PM
Tue. Nov. 13* Detroit at St. Louis 8:00 PM
Mon. Nov. 19 Tampa Bay at Atlanta 7:00 PM
Tue. Nov. 20* Boston at Toronto 7:00 PM
Mon. Nov. 26 Buffalo at Washington 7:00 PM
Tue. Nov. 27* Calgary at Detroit 7:00 PM
Mon. Dec. 3 Dallas at Columbus 7:00 PM
Tue. Dec. 4* Detroit at Montreal 7:30 PM
Mon. Dec. 10 Boston at Buffalo 7:00 PM
Tue. Dec. 11* Pittsburgh at Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Mon. Dec. 17* Washington at Detroit 7:00 PM
Tue. Dec. 18 Ottawa at Boston 7:00 PM
Mon. Dec. 31* St. Louis at Detroit 7:00 PM
Wed. Jan. 2 Atlanta at Carolina 7:00 PM
Tue. Jan. 8 Colorado at Detroit 7:30 PM
Mon. Jan. 14* N.Y. Rangers at Pittsburgh 7:00 PM
Tue. Jan. 15 Montreal at N.Y. Islanders 7:00 PM
Mon. Jan. 21* Washington at Pittsburgh 7:30 PM
Tue. Jan. 22 Boston at Montreal 7:30 PM
Sat. Jan. 26 All-Star Skills 7:00 PM
Sun. Jan. 27 All-Star Game 7:00 PM
Tue. Jan. 29 Buffalo at Tampa Bay 7:00 PM
Tue. Jan. 29 San Jose at Edmonton 9:30 PM
Wed. Jan. 30 Anaheim at Minnesota 7:00 PM
Wed. Jan. 30 Chicago at Colorado 9:30 PM
Mon. Feb. 4* Pittsburgh at New Jersey 7:00 PM
Tue. Feb. 5 Carolina at Nashville 8:00 PM
Mon. Feb. 11* Phoenix at Dallas 7:00 PM
Tue. Feb. 12 Philadelphia at N.Y. Islanders 7:00 PM
Tue. Feb. 12 Anaheim at Colorado 9:30 PM
Mon. Feb. 18* Detroit at Colorado 8:00 PM
Tue. Feb. 19 Chicago at St. Louis 8:00 PM
Mon. Feb. 25* Philadelphia at Buffalo 7:00 PM
Tue. Feb. 26 New Jersey at Carolina 7:00 PM
Mon. March 03* Boston at Washington 7:00 PM
Tue. March 4 Buffalo at Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Tue. March 4 Vancouver at Colorado 9:30 PM
Mon. March 10* N.Y. Rangers at Buffalo 7:00 PM
Tue. March 11 New Jersey at Montreal 7:30 PM
Mon. March 17* Colorado at Minnesota 7:00 PM
Tue. March 18 Atlanta at Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Mon. March 24* Pittsburgh at N.Y. Islanders 7:00 PM
Tue. March 25 Philadelphia at N.Y. Rangers 7:00 PM
Mon. March 31* Pittsburgh at N.Y. Rangers 7:00 PM
Tue. April 1 TBD
Tue. April 1 Colorado at Vancouver 10:00 PM

VERSUS (VERSUS.com) celebrates real competition in all its forms. Now in more than 72 million homes, the network is the national cable home of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Stanley Cup Playoffs as well as best-in-class events like The Tour de France, the America's Cup, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), Professional Boxing, the Boston Marathon and Davis Cup. The network also offers collegiate sports from top conferences such as the Pac-10, Big 12 and Mountain West. VERSUS features the best field sports programming on television and is a destination for sports fans, athletes and sportsmen to find exclusive, competitive events that audiences can't find elsewhere. VERSUS, a wholly owned company of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK), is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.

A Battle of New York Apology...

We'd like to say we're sorry for not getting you the TV schedule.

A VERSUS PR rep and The Globe and Mail's Bill Houston told me in good faith that we would see it today (Wednesday, August 15, 2007).

Besides, we reported it first. So there.

Anyway, we'll show it to you tomorrow. We promise.

NHL VERSUS to announce sked Tomorrow

So says the title of the post.

We'll be here tomorrow to give u the official release before ANYONE ELSE. We promise.

And then, later in the day, check out our analysis of what looks to be an interesting year 3 of The NHL On VERSUS.

The NHL On NBC may be announcing their sked as well tomorrow, so stay tuned to Battle of NY ALL DAY.

Weekes to Join O'Ree on "Everybody Hates Chris"

From the NHL Today:

New Jersey Devils goaltender Kevin Weekes will join Willie O'Ree on the set of "Everybody Hates Chris" today in Los Angeles. Weekes will play an extra in O'Ree's scene. In the episode entitled "Everybody Hates Gretzky," Chris (played by Tyler Williams) and his brother, Drew (played by Tequan Richmond) ditch school to meet his hockey hero, Wayne Gretzky, when the Edmonton Oilers visit the New York Islanders. When they realize they are lost, they stop an older gentleman (played by O'Ree) for directions but also get a hockey history lesson. An air date for the episode has not been set.

The 2007-08 NHL On VERSUS Schedule

Hey, Look what I found!

Sept. 30 – 12:00 Anaheim vs. Los Angeles
Oct. 3 – 7:00 Anaheim vs. Detroit
9:30 Dallas vs. Colorado
Oct. 9 – 7:00 Carolina vs. Toronto
Oct. 10 – 7:00 NY Rangers vs. NY Islanders
Oct. 15 – 7:00 Toronto vs. Buffalo
Oct. 16 – 7:00 Atlanta vs. Philadelphia
Oct. 22 – 7:30 Boston vs. Montreal
Oct. 23 – 7:00 NY Rangers vs. Pittsburgh
Oct. 29 – 8:00 San Jose vs. Dallas
Oct. 30 – 7:00 Pittsburgh vs. Minnesota
Nov. 5 – 7:00 Philadelphia vs. NY Rangers
Nov. 6 – 7:00 NY Rangers vs. NY Islanders
Nov. 12 – 7:30 Carolina vs. Florida
Nov. 13 – 8:00 Detroit vs. St. Louis
Nov. 19 – 7:00 Tampa Bay vs. Atlanta
Nov. 20 – 7:00 Boston vs. Toronto
Nov. 26 – 7:00 Buffalo vs. Washington
Nov. 27 – 7:00 Calgary vs. Detroit
Dec. 3 – 7:00 Dallas vs. Columbus
Dec. 4 – 7:30 Detroit vs. Montreal
Dec. 10 – 7:00 Boston vs. Buffalo
Dec. 11 – 7:00 Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia
Dec. 17 – 7:00 Washington vs. Detroit
Dec. 18 – 7:00 Ottawa vs. Boston
Dec. 31 – 7:00 St. Louis vs. Detroit
Jan. 2 – 7:00 Atlanta vs. Carolina
Jan. 8 – 7:30 Colorado vs. Detroit
Jan. 14 – 7:00 NY Rangers vs. Pittsburgh
Jan. 15 – 7:00 Montreal vs. NY Islanders
Jan. 21 – 7:00 Washington vs. Pittsburgh
Jan. 22 – 7:30 Boston vs. Montreal
Jan. 26 – 7:00 All-Star Skills Competition/Young-Stars
Jan. 27 - ??? All-Star Game
Jan. 29 – 7:30 Buffalo vs. Tampa Bay
Jan. 29 – 10:00 San Jose vs. Edmonton
Jan. 30 – 7:00 Anaheim vs. Minnesota
Jan. 30 – 9:30 Chicago vs. Colorado
Feb. 4 – 7:00 Pittsburgh vs. New Jersey
Feb. 5 – 8:00 Carolina vs. Nashville
Feb. 11 – 8:00 Phoenix vs. Dallas
Feb. 12 – 7:00 Philadelphia vs. NY Islanders
Feb. 12 – 9:30 Anaheim vs. Colorado
Feb. 18 – 8:00 Detroit vs. Colorado
Feb. 19 – 8:00 Chicago vs. St. Louis
Feb. 25 – 7:00 Philadelphia vs. Buffalo
Feb. 26 – 7:00 New Jersey vs. Carolina
Mar. 3 – 7:00 Boston vs. Washington
Mar. 4 – 7:00 Buffalo vs. Philadelphia
Mar. 4 – 9:30 Vancouver vs. Colorado
Mar. 10 – 7:00 NY Rangers vs. Buffalo
Mar. 11 – 7:30 New Jersey vs. Montreal
Mar. 17 – 8:00 Colorado vs. Minnesota
Mar. 18 – 7:00 Atlanta vs. Philadelphia
Mar. 24 – 7:00 Pittsburgh vs. NY Islanders
Mar. 25 – 7:00 Philadelphia vs. NY Rangers
Mar. 31 – 7:00 Pittsburgh vs. NY Rangers
Apr. 1 – 7:00 VERSUS Choice Game
Apr. 1 – 10:00 Colorado vs. Vancouver

Games By Team:

Colorado - 8
Detroit - 8
NY Rangers - 8
Philadelphia - 8
Pittsburgh - 8
Buffalo - 7
Boston - 6
Carolina - 5
Montreal - 5
NY Islanders - 5
Anaheim - 4
Atlanta - 4
Dallas - 4
Washington - 4
Minnesota - 3
New Jersey - 3
St. Louis - 3
Toronto - 3
Chicago - 2
San Jose - 2
Tampa Bay - 2
Vancouver - 2
Calgary - 1
Columbus - 1
Edmonton - 1
Florida - 1
Los Angeles - 1
Nashville - 1
Ottawa - 1
Phoenix - 1

Sabres on VERSUS

Well...they're a New York team. Do not judge me...


Mon. Oct. 15 Toronto vs. Buffalo 7:00 PM
Mon. Nov. 26 Buffalo vs. Washington 7:00 PM
Mon. Dec. 10 Boston vs. Buffalo 7:00 PM
Tue. Jan. 29 Buffalo vs. Tampa Bay 7:30 PM
Mon. Feb. 25 Philadelphia vs. Buffalo 7:00 PM
Tue. Mar. 04 Buffalo vs. Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Mon. Mar. 10 N.Y. Rangers vs. Buffalo 7:00 PM

VERSUS info...

VERSUS' schedule of NHL games, along with likely NBC's, will be released the week of August 13. Of course, NBC's games will be flex-scheduled, with the 1 Game of the Week chosen 2 Weeks in advance.

Also, I'm sure many of you would be wondering if VERSUS is going to go to England and cover the two Ducks-Kings games at the 02 Arena in London.

The answer is yes...and no. They will be covering ONE game in England, the Sunday game on 9/30. It is not known yet whether or not they will air the Saturday game.

The thought behind that is that...NBC will air it if the plans for an outdoor game fall through, or VERSUS will move the start time of the TBD Big 12 Football Game from 12:30 to as late as 4:30, since they have less wiggle room than usual because they have a PBR event at 8 and a Mountain West game at 10

Thought you'd all like to know.

Why the NHL Needs to Be on a Network in the Afternoon

When I was a kid in the mid-late 90's, my dad tried hard to get me into hockey. I played the sport in grade school on the floors of gyms, but it was hard to watch the games as my bedtime fell before the then 3-hour games would end.

That's when network TV came in. I LOVED the NHL On FOX and ABC as a kid. It gave me an oppurtunity to see all my favorite players, since the Devils were rarely on. Watching the New York Rangers get crushed on National TV every week against guys like Lemieux, Fedorov, Lindros and Amonte in the early part of the contract. I watched the Devils win the Stanley Cup in 1995 on FOX. In later years, the Devils would actually get an appearence against the Rangers or the Islanders once in a while, and many of the Devils playoff heartbreaks were broadcast on FOX.

By the time 1999 came around, I was 10 and watched the NHL On FOX every week. It was the game's last year on FOX, and they only showed a couple of regional games a week, which meant once in a while, the Rangers WOULDN't BE ON. That was fun. At the end of the year, they showed Wayne Gretzky's final game as an NHL player on the network. After yet another Devils heartbreak in the playoffs in '99, I stopped watching the games (except for the Finals) and that was it for FOX NHL Saturday.

The NHL On ABC continued the tradition of afternoon hockey, but by the time that came around, my dad would let me stay up to watch most games. That, combined with the fact that ABC rarely broadcast games, and I couldn't stand Gary Thorne (who would do the game of the week) I kind of lost interest.

NBC and VERSUS have sort of revived my love affair with the game, outside of the Devils. NBC broadcasts nearly as many games as FOX and devotes time to an online pre-show. VERSUS has been interesting to follow as well.

My point is, the NHL needs to keep some games on network TV to get kids interested in the games. It would help if there were more games, but I'll take what we have now.

HOCKEY ON TV ALERT!

And it's one of them fictional TV comedies too! And a good one at that.

This from the NHL Today:

Former NHL player Willie O'Ree will film an episode of The CW's "Everybody Hates Chris" on Thursday, August 9 in Los Angeles. In the episode entitled "Everybody Hates Gretzky," Chris (played by Tyler Williams) and his brother, Drew (played by Tequan Richmond) ditch school to meet his hockey hero, Wayne Gretzky, when the Edmonton Oilers visit the New York Islanders. When they realize they are lost, they stop an older gentleman (played by Willie O'Ree) for directions but also get a hockey history lesson. An air date for the episode has not been set.


Very interesting. Can't wait to check it out. "Chris" is a pretty good show, though it's 2nd season wasn't quite up to snuff with the first. Think an urban version of "Malcolm in the Middle" sparked by Chris Rock's unique comic voice.

Another strike in my "NHL on CW" campaign!

NHL/ESPN in talks?

Sports Business Daily is reporting that the NHL and ESPN are in talks to bring the league back to ESPN2 by 2008-09.

Vote For Sidney

Make Sid the Kid "Who's Now" at ESPN

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/sportsnation/whosnow

NHL On NBC

Here's the flex schedule for 2008.

They'll pick one game each week

NBC Flex Schedule
Jan. 1
1:00 Penguins vs. Sabres

Jan. 20
1:30 Ducks vs. Stars
1:30 Bruins vs. Rangers

Feb. 10
1:00 Flyers vs. Penguins
1:00 Rangers vs. Capitals
1:00 Ducks vs. Red Wings
Feb. 17
1:00 Avalanche vs. Blackhawks
1:00 Red Wings vs. Stars
1:00 Penguins vs. Sabres
1:00 Sharks vs. Rangers

Mar. 2
3:00 Panthers vs. Islanders
3:00 Red Wings vs. Sabres
3:00 Flyers vs. Rangers
3:00 Thrashers vs. Penguins

Mar. 9
3:00 Bruins vs. Rangers
3:00 Penguins vs. Capitals
3:00 Predators vs. Red Wings
3:00 Lightning vs. Blue Jackets

Mar. 16
3:00 Flyers vs. Penguins
3:00 Bruins vs. Capitals
3:00 Red Wings vs. Blue Jackets

Mar. 30
3:00 Bruins vs. Sabres
3:00 Rangers vs. Penguins
3:00 Predators vs. Red Wings

Apr. 6
3:00 Wild vs. Avalanche
3:00 Sharks vs. Stars
3:00 Rangers vs. Devils
3:00 Penguins vs. Flyers
3:00 Blackhawks vs. Red Wings3:00 Blues vs. Blue Jackets