HUGE ... is the word in Buff

Old time hockey. Eddie Shore. Putting on the foil.
NBC went so far as to do an intermission feature on Ogie Oglethorpe.

Here are a few random thoughts scribbled down and IM'd to my buddy, Mark, a Buffalo native, who was watching the game from NYC as I watched in Boston.

1. This is tremendous.
2. I wish we were there.
3. Greatest move in NHL history.
4. Retire the award as it is now official - Sabres fans are the greatest fans in history of sports.
5. Best line shift I have seen in 20+ years (back and forth, two shots off the pipes; then two tremendous saves).

I even emailed the NHL office to say "Congrats" and send regards for their efforts.

The Boston Globe called it "HUGE." ... The New York Times dedicated a story and a column.

The NHL took over "January 1st" with a made-for-TV event that just had to reach more North American sports fans than any single NHL TV exposure in its history. The ratings will tell the tale (and I will get them and post to the terrylyons.blogspot.com as soon as possible).

NBC Sports and the NHL deserve a ton of credit. They saw the opening which was a 1pm (ET) Jan. 1st time-slot which drew competition from college bowl games on ESPN (Tenn. v Wisc) and the Cotton Bowl on another network. They might've stumbled into a 'hold' or beginning of a tradition to stake out January 1 each year for an NHL regular season event.

More to come on this event, as the TV numbers are posted. Regardless of the ratings, it was a HUGE success.