
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.
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