Showing posts with label Boston Bruins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boston Bruins. Show all posts

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Instant (Winter) Classic

Winter is not a good time to take holiday from a sports weather blog. So much happened while I was away, but hey, you can't spend all you precious time blogging, right? Right? By far the coolest sports weather event over the holidays was the NHL's Winter Classic outdoor game in Buffalo. By now you've all read and seen highlights of what was a hugely successful show for a league in deep need of some positive publicity. So, I'm not going to bore you with any of my asinine observations. But, isn't that what blogs are for? Anyway, as you know, the Winter Classic visuals, on television and in photographs, were and are spectacular. The snow element kicked the drama into overdrive. Let's hope the NHL decides to stage the event annually – at least do it every two years – and spread it around to different cities. I hear NBC had originally wanted the game to be in Yankees Stadium with the Rangers playing the Bruins. That would have been great, too, but Buffalo turned out to be a majestic venue for the inaugural outdoor game. Maybe next year the game can be played in either the old or new Yankees Stadium. Oh, and wouldn't you love to see the Blackhawks host the Red Wings in Soldier Field? Lambeau Field already has hosted a college outdoor game, so the folks there know the logistics of staging such an event. The question is: What two teams would play there? Minnesota Wild versus…who?

One more thing: I didn't realize until reading the Uniwatch Blog yesterday that snow now has fallen on NHL, NFL and Major League Baseball games in the past nine months. Remember Jacobs Field in April? Now, how can we cause a snow storm inside an NBA arena? I bet some Chinese meteorologists would know how.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Snow Leaves Garden Nearly Empty

I didn’t have time to mention Friday about the New England snow storm’s affect on attendance at the Boston Bruins Thursday night game against the New Jersey Devils. Heavy snow and slick roads in Boston left TD Banknorth Garden nearly empty for the Devils 3-1 victory. The lack of fans didn’t adversely affect the Devils’ Mike Mottau, who jokingly told reporters, "I think the ushers and the families were the only ones in the stands. It's always nice to play an NHL game – fans or no fans." The announced paid attendance for the game was 12,064. During pregame introductions, the Garden lights were dimmed and falling snow flakes were shown on the Jumbotron and message boards that ring the arena.