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Does the NHL really need the Blue Jackets?
December 31st, 2008, 11:22 am · 78 Comments · posted by Al Balderas, staff writer
The NHL schedule-makers did Ducks fans a favor by having the Columbus Blue Jackets play at Honda Center tonight.
If you have plans to ring in the New Year, and they don’t involve attending tonight’s game, you aren’t going to miss much.
The Blue Jackets entered the league in time for the 2000-01 season. They’re still vying for their first trip to the playoffs. They began the day with 36 points, which essentially puts them in 10th place in the Western Conference, along with the Minnesota Wild and the Kings.
When the Blue Jackets were in town earlier this season, I asked some of the fans at Honda Center to name a Blue Jackets player. One gentleman said Rick Nash. The rest looked as if I’d asked them to recite the lineups of one of the Soviet Union’s Red Army team.
Truth be told, it might be time for the NHL to cut the Blue Jackets loose.
Ohio State University is better known in Columbus, Ohio (and a lot more successful) than the Blue Jackets. Even Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew has won more championships than the Blue Jackets.
I attended a Blue Jackets game several years ago and, true to form, Columbus was blitzed by Patrick Roy and the Colorado Avalanche.
When the Detroit Red Wings, or any other team for that matter, come to Anaheim, you usually see a cluster of their fans draped around the railing that overlooks the tunnel from the visitors’ dressing room to the ice.
When the Blue Jackets were here on Dec. 7, there weren’t any fans near the tunnel. There were a few Ducks’ fans.
OK, so comparing the Red Wings with the Blue Jackets is like comparing L.A. County to Orange County, but I think you see my point.
If the Blue Jackets were to go away, I seriously doubt they would be missed. At least Ducks fans would have fewer players to try and recognize.
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Apparently Al Balderas wasn’t a Ducks fan in the formative years, when many teams’ fans could have easily questioned whether the NHL needed the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. I used to hate other fans for wishing contraction on Anaheim, but I guess we’re now becoming that smug-and-detestable fanbase. A shame.
their goalie, Mason is really a good one, and they reason they are .500, not lower in the standings. he’s 2nd, yes 2nd, in the league in shutouts. but imagine how bad they’d be without him, or if Hitchcock wasn’t their coach?
Nash, and Klesla (don’t ask me why) are the only others I can usually name without too much trouble. I recall that they got Adam Foote as a free agent from Colorado so sometimes remember he’s with them. Leclaire is their other goalie, though I admit I had to look that up to remember.
Peca is still with them, but his scoring is way down these days so it’s excusable. there are a few other washed-up “name” guys like Modin that make for a good trivia question
well put, Earl.
whoops, forgot Foote went back to Colorado. scratch that
what else do the franchises have in common?
2 teams your average NHL fan won’t remember Sergei Fedorov playing for: Anaheim, and Columbus (ok, he had 31 goals in his only full year in OC, but they still won’t remember)
They have good home attendance and aren’t a horrible team, Nash is a true power forward. The blank looks were probably more due to ducky fans being dilettante’s than anything else…Kings fans would have given thoughtful informative answers.
Living in Columbus and being a CBJ season ticket holder since day one, I have to ask who the heck writes this blog … I guess he must live in the west coast bubbl, not know hockey and has never heard of Derrick Brassard, Steve Mason, Nikita Filatov, all up and coming stars of the NHL. Granted, the CBJ hasn’t yet made the playoffs, but that day is coming soon. Without checking, I suspect the CBJ might have more or possibly right around the same amount of season ticket holders that the Ducks have, who recently won the Stanley Cup. Also, maybe your blogger should ask the NHL about what he wrote in this uninformed blog!!!! If your readers want to read a real NHL blog, check out Puck-rakers, the BlueJackets blog at the Columbus Dispatch or Light the Lamp, a CBJ fan’s blog. Go Jackets!!!
This kind of article ticks me off.
It wouldn’t take you too long to find a snobish Canadian fan who thinks that any team south of the snow line doesn’t deserve to exist. So now we’re growing similar hockey snobs in SoCal?
Besides, the Columbus Blue Jackets won’t miraculously become a different (and better?) team by simply moving them to a new city, or changing their name. If you want to question the management and coaching of the Columbus team, they’re probably fair game. Questioning the existance of any one of the 30 teams is just stirring up the pot for no good reason.
As pointed out, similar things have been said about the Ducks during thier formative years, and the Kings during these rebuilding years. Grow up, and realize that the ONLY reason to move or remove a team is if they can’t make a financial go of it. The Columbus fans deserve their team if they can support it, and the NHL needs the support for every team.
Balderas, buy a clue…you can get it for free reading comments by Earl, bpsqwerty, ian, TiCKed… Seems like you phoned one in so you could have your post for the day…short-timing it on a holiday…oh, I see you made a second post right after it, forgive me for jumping to conclusions.
I’ve seen two games in Anaheim, both a couple seasons ago. 5-0 pasting by the Stars and a 6-2 loss to the BLUES. Does that really mean anything? You seem to think one game several years ago carries some weight? Just more filler for your post.
I’m sure we’ll spot some CBJ sweaters in the crowd tonight…that comparison to the Red Wings contingent is laughable…but then again, you see the folly of your ways a few paragraphs later…is it just filler again, because you didn’t really make a point. If it were a comparison to the Panthers, point taken, but Detroit? All circles back to the whole phoning it in, couldn’t really think of a good topic and man, it’s a holiday!
You’ve done your readership a disservice. I’m glad we’ve got guys like Porty, Reed and Arace covering the Jackets, we don’t get this kind of filler garbage from them. I know they’ve made it out to all the Western Conference barns more than once in the past several years. Maybe not Reed because he’s more recent, but at least he has a firm grasp of the origin of the club he covers, rather than your feeble understanding of the origins of your Disney Ducks.
I couldn’t agree more!!!!!! Get that team out of there. Put a team in a real hockey town….. Hartford, CT!
Hey Al - Here’s a link specifically for you:
If you don’t know how to use the link it reads:
This guy has some balls…
A frequent reader just sent this in to me (thanks Kevin!)… its from Al Balderas who is a staff writer for the OC Register.
… (you blog entry is repeated)…
Now I have seen hypocritical before but this one takes the cake.
Now here is a writer of a team that was named after a friggan Disney movie who thinks he knows this league and hockey enough to sound off on who or what is important.
How many fans in Columbus could name a single Anaheim player? Ohh.. guess we should contract them. It couldn’t be that they just don’t follow hockey outside of their own team now could it?
Seriously…this guy gets paid to write this garbage?
Stick to the Fying V buddy and we’ll worry about the Jackets.
-Gordon Bombay
Happy New Year - the Columbus Blue Jacket fan base, who according to you are not needed in the NHL.
Hey Al - Here’s a link specifically for you:
http://lightthelamp.blogspot.com/
If you don’t know how to use the link it reads:
This guy has some balls…
A frequent reader just sent this in to me (thanks Kevin!)… its from Al Balderas who is a staff writer for the OC Register.
… (you blog entry is repeated)…
Now I have seen hypocritical before but this one takes the cake.
Now here is a writer of a team that was named after a friggan Disney movie who thinks he knows this league and hockey enough to sound off on who or what is important.
How many fans in Columbus could name a single Anaheim player? Ohh.. guess we should contract them. It couldn’t be that they just don’t follow hockey outside of their own team now could it?
Seriously…this guy gets paid to write this garbage?
Stick to the Fying V buddy and we’ll worry about the Jackets.
-Gordon Bombay
Happy New Year - the Columbus Blue Jacket fan base, who according to you are not needed in the NHL.
Yea they should get rid of the Jackets so that the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim coached by Emilio Estevez could possibly win a game. 2-0, Carry the flag
“The Blue Jackets entered the league in time for the 2000-01 season. They’re still vying for their first trip to the playoffs.”
So what? There are eight NHL teams that haven’t won a playoff series since even before then. Two of those teams: the Blackhawks (haven’t won a series since 1996) and the Bruins (1999). Those two are Original Six teams. Do you think anybody is going to say the NHL is better off without them?
There are 23 teams that haven’t won a Stanley Cup since the Blue Jackets entered the league, including the Canadiens, Rangers, and Leafs, who have the longest current drought. That list also includes the aforementioned Blackhaws and Bruins. Do you think anybody is going to say the NHL is better off without them?
There are 9 teams that have had as long a streak of consecutive seasons without a playoff berth as the Blue Jackets, including the Rangers, Red Wings, Bruins, and Devils. Do you think anybody is going to say the NHL is better off without them?
The Rangers once went 20 seasons without a playoff series win. The Blackhawks once went 16 seasons without a playoff series win. The Devils once went 13 seasons without a playoff series win. The Red Wings once went 11 seasons without a playoff series win. The Blackhawks also went another 11 seasons without a playoff series win, an ACTIVE streak. The Bruins once went 10 seasons without a playoff series win.
There are 30 teams in the NHL. If you had a different team win the Stanley Cup every season for the next 30 seasons, you are going to have one team with a 30-year Stanley Cup drought. There are 17 teams that have a Stanley Cup Finals appearance drought of 16 seasons or more, including six such active streaks, including the Leafs and Bruins, Original Six teams.
Basically, all I’m trying to say is this: “GIVE THEM SOME FREAKING TIME!!!”
Al Balderas said: “The NHL schedule-makers did Ducks fans a favor by having the Columbus Blue Jackets play at Honda Center tonight.”
Not that much of a favor, as things turned out. ;)
Scoreboard!
Well Al, It’s like this. The NHL with it’s fan-base for certain franchises is like tunnel vision. Most fans of a team don’t bother to learn other line ups for other teams unless they’re more into the sport than the average NHL fan. That goes for every sport. It’s unfair to ask Duck fans the names of Blue Jacket players simply because they probably don’t follow the team. Your entitled to your opinion, but then so am I. It’s really unprofessional for a staff writer such as yourself to make such a ridiculous statement not only towards the Blue Jackets, but for the NHL as well. Not only does it belittle the sport, but it’s a cheap shot at a young franchise just trying to simply put themselves on the map in the NHL, and with effort and time they will do it. I am not a Blue Jackets fan but a fan of the sport in general. I am capable of naming a lot more than the average fan because of my love for the sport. Truth be told I favor the Red Wings because of my long history of following them. You’ve got to give credit where credit is due. The Blue Jackets came up with a big win tonight because they played with finesse, strength, and heart. If you want to bully someone try critiquing yourself. Maybe you shouldn’t be so one sided and expand your horizons a little. Keep this in mind… Does Sports writing need you?
Even the Kings held the BJ’s to one goal!
Funny. I think next time you ask them, Ducks fans will remember another name… Steve Mason. The goaltender for the worthless Blue Jackets that just shut out your precious Ducks who were doing the CBJ a favor by letting them play on their ice. Keep your words sweeter, Al. Next time they won’t sting so much going down.
So Al, let me get this straight. Because the Ducks fanbase isn’t well informed about a team, that team should be contracted so that “Ducks fans would have fewer players to try and recognize.”
If a fanbase is so poorly informed one would tend to look at the media outlets supplying (or in this case NOT supplying) information to those fans as part of the problem.
So basically what Al Balderas is saying is that he is a poor sports reporter, not informing fans about what is going on in the league. And because he doesn’t want to do any real work, lets just fold a team so that he doesn’t have to report on them.
And newspapers wonder why they are struggling…
wow Al i bet you feel like a big idiot now dont you. Ducks media trash is all this is
How many Blue Jackets players can you name this morning? CBJ 2 Ducks 0…
Carry the Flag!
I bet the high-and-mighty Ducks Blogger and his fans who can’t name a Jackets player can name one now:
STEVE MASON.
So-Cal hockey fans: Leave the snobbery to those jackass Canadian fans that want to move every team in American to Hamilton, Quebec, and Winnipeg.
Glad we could do you a favor…..
CBJ 2 Ducks 0
Carry the Flag!
Let me get this straight, you got paid to write this piece of garbage? Unoriginal to say the least.
Basically a pile of crap, I don’t care what team is was written about.
Happy New Year, Al. Looks like you started things a little too early yesterday (both blogging and celebrating).
Better luck next year, eh?
Hey Al, do your write-ups come in any other flavor than vinegar and water? Your write-up is laughable.
Gee, does the NHL really NEED TWO teams in a market that really doesn’t care about hockey?!? Pretty brazen for the pot to be calling the kettle black on this one Big Al! There are 7 million people within a 2.5 hour drive of Columbus that are not being served by the Red Wings or Penguins franchises. So yeah, it makes more sense for the NHL to have a team in Columbus than in Anaheim.
Wow, this article was a little on the ignorant side.
This article just screams “West Coast Bubble”
You Asked, Can you make one player? Steve Mason
Wow, are you kidding me? Is the sushi in OC rotten? And I thought Alhers and Heyward were cocky (yeah we get Center Ice way out here in Cowtown). Hope you enjoyed the game. You got Mase-d.
Oh, and thanks for the bulletin board material.
1. Check the scoreboard!
2. Does the OC Register give you a paycheck? If so, I hope that they reconsider until you have something of value to write instead of this poor attempt at filler for the day.
3. Thanks for the points last night. We owned So. Cal on this trip.
4. Consider writing about something you know about? Resolve to find something.
That’s okay, I couldn’t name anyone but that Neidermeyer guy on Anaheim’s team either so I guess your fans are like most hockey fans: only concerned about their own team. Hockey is not football so comments like this in support of making the fan base of hockey even smaller is counterproductive to the sport we all love. I think someone was just a little upset that our “nothing” team just presented the “Mighty” Ducks with another shut out and had nothing better to say about it. Have a Hockey New Year!
Anaheim fans can’t recall any CBJ players? What a surprise. I think that tells you how knowledgeble the fanbase in California is and makes you think if the NHL rally needs the cartoon franchise.
Karma. Beautiful, eh?
Actually, Al what the NHL needs is not you blogging on it because you’re obviously clueless.
Truth be told, it’s time for you to look for a new job.
Looks like we got our payback Balderas. I’ll take mine in the form of points any day. Keep on writing your bulletin board material, especially when the CBJ are in town. I’m really proud that our hockey beat writers don’t lower themselves to writing this sort of BS. As for your criticism of the Jackets, get a clue dude. How many games have you attended at Nationwide? Our barn rocks; I’d like to stand you next to the cannon with ACDC going full blast and the cannon firing when we score a goal. Maybe that would get the cobwebs out of your thick skull. There are plenty of teams to pick on in this poor economy. I think you’d be better served to promote the NHL as a whole rather than writing negative articles. The Jackets are not the lowly franchise you paint them to be. Here’s hoping the CBJ continue to extract their payback in points as you watch Brassard, Mason and Filatov mature. Last night was just the beginning dude.
A writer for a team named after a kids Diney movie thinks our team doesn’t belong in the NHL? Get real! Columbus has beat the Ducks in attendance 6 of the 7 full seasons they have been in the league and it had to take the Ducks winning the Cup for them to top the Jackets that year! Yea they have not been successful on the ice, how will moving them change that? The Ducks sucked their first few years on the ice and their support reflected that. What your story should have read is “Does the NHL really need two teams in the SoCal market” BTW I have been to 3 games in Anaheim including the one you wrote about on the 7th with my 2 adult sons. I only wish I could have been there last night to witness the blanking of the Quacks by the Jackets! You need to write about something you might know more about…..Mickey Mouse maybe?
Jackets rule 2-0!!
Wonder how many Ducks fans would respond to an article written by a CBJ write? By looks of participation on the hockey boards (HFboards, Hockeyfanzone, etc) I’d say nada…
Why does the NHL need the Ducks? Why does Southern California need two teams when most people in SoCal don’t even know what NHL stands for? I’ve lived in SoCal for 15 years and there is so little interest in hockey here.
Contrast to Ohio, where hockey is a major sport. There is a long tradition of minor league, college and high school hockey in Ohio. There are hundreds of ice rinks where kids play youth hockey. People in Ohio care about hockey. They want an NHL team. A good NHL team, which is why the Blue Jackets are probably the most criticized team in hockey after the Leafs. Fans are demanding a winning team.
But even when the Jackets aren’t winning, there is far more interest in them in Ohio than there was when the Ducks weren’t winning. I remember when there was barely anyone at Ducks games. And if they continue to lose to team like the Jackets, the interest is going to wane again. But Ohio will continue to be a hotbed of hockey interest because the people there love hockey and kids grow up playing hockey.
Wow. At first I thought this was sour grapes about losing last night’s game. Then I saw when the article was posted.
I don’t get it. So because randomly polled Anaheim Ducks fans can’t name CBJ players, the team should fold or move? I’m a Jacket fan that’s taken the time to learn the names of more than a few Ducks players. You’ve got Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Teemu Selanne, both Niedermayers, Bobby Ryan, George Parros and JS Giguere, to name a few. You also have former Jackets Francois Beauchemin and Todd Marchant.
I can’t name your whole depth chart, but I’d imagine there are a few Duck fans at Honda Center more into the game that can recognize Jakub Voracek or Derick Brassard as talented rookies, former 2-time Selke winner Mike Peca, or Fredrik Modin, who’s known for a blistering shot & right now, is playing well despite three broken toes. They may also remember Pascal Leclaire, who shut them out 4-0 on the CBJ’s opening night last year.
Your logic makes as much sense as asking “Should SoCal have two hockey teams, including one originally named after a Disney movie?”
“At least Ducks fans would have fewer players to try and recognize.”
If the CBJ were moved, the roster would probably stay somewhat the same. So when Anaheim played the new team, they’d have the same faces to try and recognize, just with new jerseys. Sort of a lateral move, there.
Seems to me that a person in attendance at an Anaheim hockey game that can’t name at least one player on every NHL hockey team is not a hockey fan at all. A real hockey fan can name at least one player, even on the so-called worst teams, as you’ve tried to make everyone believe of the Blue Jackets, who by the way shutout your beloved Ducks last night.
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I TOTALLY agree with you. I also think the NHL should eliminate:
Phoenix, San Jose, St. Louis, Anaheim, Dallas, Colorado, The Kings, Nashville, Minnesota, Carolina, Tampa, Florida and Washington.
The only people who understand hockey are in the Northeastern US and Eastern Canada. I’d only leave Detroit and Chicago because they are original six teams.
Fantastic - another moron with no clue what he is talking about, trashing the Blue Jackets. Seriously, dude, the Register actually pays you? Because you sound more like a teenage troll on some hockey message board than a genuine member of the media. And you clearly are as ignorant about the fan base of the Columbus Blue Jackets as anything in the world.
Our last home game had a standing-room only attendance of 18,400 - one game after we were skunked 3-0 by LA. Our fans are knowledgeable about hockey, and I am POSITIVE if you asked them, almost everyone in Nationwide Arena for a Ducks-Jackets game would be able to name several current Ducks. That nobody in Anaheim knows who plays for Columbus says one of two things: either you blatantly exaggerated to make Columbus look bad (this is what I’m guessing), or the fans at the Honda Center don’t know jack about hockey, and your posting about it only exposes their ignorance.
If you absolutely MUST run your mouth about NHL contraction, we might as well start with the Ducks as the Blue Jackets. Sure, the Ducks make the playoffs regularly, but how strong is their franchise compared to Columbus? In the season after the Ducks won the Stanley Cup, Columbus - with another bottom feeding team - averaged 12 more fans per game than the Ducks…. A natural hockey market Anaheim is not. And if you honestly believe the Ducks would be doing any better as a franchise than the Jackets if they’d had the same recent record, then you are kissing your own ass.
For someone who openly admits not having been to a game in Columbus since we got destroyed by Colorado one game several years back, you sure act like you know what you are talking about. Get down off your high horse, come to a game when we play the Wings or the Predators at Nationwide, and realize how you just wrote all of that for nothing…
P.S. I just spoke to my friend who moved out to L.A. from Columbus about three months ago. He not only stood over the tunnel when the Jackets came out for warm-ups, but he and another Columbus fan got into a conversation and talked about hockey for the entire warmups; they moved behind the net after the teams came out.
So, not only are you distorting the facts, but it seems now that you are just plain lying.
Maybe, you’ll remember this name…
“No. 2 star: Steve Mason, Columbus Blue Jackets
The rookie goaltender did it again, recording his third straight shutout and fifth overall since making his NHL debut in early November. Mason stopped all 27 shots the host Anaheim Ducks threw at him.” (Puck Daddy - Yahoo)
Carry The Flag !!!
ho hum, they aren’t the thrashers. The team was under incompetant management and coaching up until former assistant gm Scott Howsen of Edmonton and Ken Hitchcock took over in the 2007 off season. The team’s been properly redone. Defense was a problem, so Howsen traded Zherdev and Fritsche for Tyutin and Backman, with the new void in offense, they signed Huselius in the off season, while filling the cup board in legit draft picks. Until his injury, Derick Brassard was the rookie point leader this season, Jakub Voracek is reconized as an elite prospect, and Nikita Filatov receives comparisons to Ovechkin, and is also the captain of the Russian Juniors team, and may wind up to be the tourney’s MVP, such as Steve Mason was last year, who now leads essentially every category in goaltending statistics this season, what with his 3rd straight shut out. Columbus is becoming a legit threat. I wonder if people were saying “Who needs the “Mighty” Ducks?” Back when all you had was Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne.
our no-name players just shut your mallards out………..orange county register sucks!
Are you really a paid writer? Really? When asking these types of ignorant questions of a SoCal “hockey writer”, it just shows how blatently dumb and shallow you really are. Sports writing doesn’t need this guy, i’m going to send a letter to the editor just for the fact of such an undeserved attack on a good fanbase with many up and coming stars. Ever heard of Rick Nash? What about Steve Mason? I guess that a 2-0 win in Anaheim won’t do. Perhaps the game several years back against Colorado would be a better judgement of the team. “The NHL schedule-makers did Ducks fans a favor by having the Columbus Blue Jackets play at Honda Center tonight.” Does this mean that Anaheim was supposed to win? You couldnt even manage a goal! Maybe you should have written this ill-advised article after the New Years eve game, and you wouldnt have to deal with all the CBJ fans reppin the win we got on your ice. Hoser.
People who cheer for glass franchises shouldn’t throw rocks. :)
Nationwide Arena is packed every night. Snow or sleet… ever seen that stuff? Ever seen a frozen pond?
I think some of these warm-weather teams should be moved north, where people actually play hockey. Florida, Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Disney Ducks wouldn’t be missed.
What kind of Mickey Mouse organization would allow this bad article to be published for all to see? What’s that? Oh, yes. Right.
The Blue Jackets deserve a place in the NHL. The first GM ruined some things in Columbus, but the current one is fixing them. They’ve got a big league coach now, and the team is relatively young.
Oh, and it looks like the league did the Blue Jackets a favor by scheduling the (not so mighty) Ducks.
Way to represent Columbus fans! I think the most credit, however, goes to the Ducks fans who recognize how arrogant and hypocritical this guys comments are. Well done peeps.
I’ve never read such ignorant nonsense in my life. If anything needs to change, it’s that homers should broaden their horizons.
SCOREBOARD!!!!!
It’s great to know that there are hockey fans who don’t understand hockey outside of their own town.
Please understand that Columbus has one of the greatest goalies in the NHL, he leads the league in SV%, GAA and shut outs, topping even Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo.
And please, do you honestly expect a Columbus fan to travel 2200 miles on a Sunday when there’s work the next day? I’m sorry, but I know most of us here in Columbus can’t afford to make that kind of round trip, even if it is our team.
Our day has arrived. Columbus, and the entire state of Ohio deserves a halfway decent sports team.
Does the NHL really need any teams in California? Do they even know what ice is?
2-0 CBJ last night hahaha
It seems my mother was right when she said not to count my chickens before they hatch. Also, hold off popping the cork on the Champagne until next year.
The Jackets aren’t the Redwings, that’s for sure. But they do have a large and passionate fan base.
The funniest part of your post is trying to compare the Blue Jackets to Ohio State University. I’m no Buckeye fan, but use your head and give credit where it’s due. Until Columbus landed NHL and Major League Soccer franchises, the only professional sports that the city had for the last 30 years was a AAA baseball team. But they also had Ohio State University, which has been a fixture in Columbus for 138 years. Is it any wonder that OSU is better known than an NHL franchise that’s only been around 8 years? If you can show me ANY professional sports team in North America that can consistently sell out over 102,000 seats like Ohio State does then you might have a point. Otherwise, all I can say is…
Carry the flag!
Can I ask how many Ducks fans remember Terry Yake, Bob Corkum, Anatoli Semenov, and Maxim Bets?
Aw crap, a bunch of bandwagon fans that don’t remember the early years…..contract the Ducks!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah.
SCOREBOARD.
Just because you asked a few people isn’t a good sampling of the hockey fanbase.
CARRY THE FLAG.
In response to Earl, Al used to cover the Kings for the Register. Now he just writes junk to get clicks on the website. IMO, he’s the OCR version of the loud-mouth jerk who joins a message board just to get people all agitated.
I think he also recently posted about the benefits of the Ducks picking up Sean Avery from Dallas and how Hiller is ready to displace Giguere.
I wonder why so many CBJ fans are on here blasting Ducks fans as if we actually have any control over what Al writes on the Register’s blog.
As far as I’m concerned every NHL team has its passionate fans. Some franchises have more than others, but the numbers speak nothing about the level of passion or the level of knowledge individual fans have.
What a ridiculous blog to begin with. Wow…
I’m ashamed as a ducks fan.
This article isn’t even a legitimate argument for contraction - it’s simple schoolyard belittling. His rationality is looking at the number of fans hovering above the visitor’s tunnel compared to Detroit, an original six team.
Does it truly need be stated that - obviously - a recent expansion team isn’t going to have an active fan-base in a city over 2,000 miles away from it? What reasonable person would expect it to?
I’m not a Ducks or an Blue Jackets fan, I was directed to it by a professor of mine who’s pointed to it as an example of shoddy journalism. It’s sad that this writer is so incapable of producing worthwhile content that he’s forced to write degrading shock pieces to get readership.
I know I’m positively reinforcing the practice by posting this, but it’s hard not to say something when you see someone embarrassing the profession so badly.
Congrats to the writer, you are now the laughing stock of Hockey Message Boards.
HF Boards FTW!!!!!
“Great” article, I have to say I enjoyed the comments a lot more though.
I’m getting pretty scared though, Anaheim is within 19 points of the Sharks for the division lead! Maybe your joke team is as irrelevant as you think Columbus is? (By the way, CBJ has played the Sharks a lot tougher than Anaheim has this season)
If you wanted exposure for your articles you’ve got it…too bad everyone now knows you’re a ‘quack’!
Marc - CBJ fans aren’t blasting Ducks fans, they are blasting this totally ignorant blogger. CBJ fans have been giving the Ducks fans props for seeing this blog post for what it is - GARBAGE!
No one should want to see ANY city lose a sports franchise. L.A. lost it’s NFL team and that sucked! Ohio football fans know first hand how awful it feels to lose a sports franchise when Art Modell moved the original Browns to Baltimore. CBJ fans would be devastated to lose the Jackets.
Trust me, when the CBJ become a bona-fide play-off contender, you will see Nationwide Arena sold out every night like it used to be, even through many years of suckage. Even now, most weekend games are, or are near sell-outs, but the casual fans won’t show up at the week day games till there is a good reason to do so. It is that way in most NHL cities.
When your team is named after a Disney movie you should just keep your trap shut.
GO JACKETS!
The Mighty Ducks made the playoffs twice in their first 9 seasons. Given that Columbus has turned it on and are still in the hunt this season, they could equal that next season.
Does the NHL really need the Ducks?
1) Horrible attendance (CBJ has beat them)
2) Clueless fans
3) Their owner is a criminal
I’m a Kings fan, and I’m embarassed for Ducks fans about this. But even though you’re a fan of one team, that doesn’t mean you’re not knowledgeable about the rest of the league. If you are the fan of ANY NHL team, how can you not know about guys like Rick Nash, a player who led the league in goals in only his second season? How about Michael Peca, a great NHL veteran? Pascal Leclaire, a good solid goaltender? Steve Mason, the hottest goaltender in the league and the leading candidate for the Calder Trophy? Remember that the Blue Jackets once had former Duck Sergei Fedorov? What about three great young talents in Derick Brassard, Jakub Voracek, and Nikita Filatov?
See? A Kings fan, somebody who doesn’t dedicate his life to the Blue Jackets, and I know the names of several amazing players that could be stars.
If you, yourself were writing on behalf of a well-respected franchise, with a deep history, you might have actually not made a complete fool of yourself.
this crap of the small taking shots at other small-markets sounds more like you expressing your own insecurity. i’m sorry that your team is named after a disney movie… a cute little bird that flies south when it gets too cold.
if that’s the best you can do, it’s time to start looking for a new job. that was the most undignified post i’ve ever read.
I can’t believe that I’m even taking the time to respond to your small-minded article.
If you want to talk about contraction, let’s start by talking about your contraction from the oc-register. You’ve made a fool out of yourself and the publication you represent.
I’m proud to call myself a Blue Jackets fan and I’d be devastated if that were taken away from me. You need to choose your words more carefully the next time you open your mouth about something you obviously know very, very little about.
You’ve grossly underestimated the passion of the Ohio sports fan, and in doing so have lost respect from your own readers.
This might just be the worst, most unfounded, most ignorant, most pointless, most LAUGHABLE blog post I’ve read in my entire life. No wait, it is. Go Jackets! Nice SHUTOUT over the DUCKS (named after a DISNEY KIDS MOVIE)! HA.
You sir aren’t very bright. If I looked at both Anaheim’s and Columbus’ roster, I’d take Columbus’. Main reason. What happens in 3-6 years when you lose Selanne, Nieds, Pronger, Giggy? Anaheim isn’t very high on prospects. Aside from Ryan, Gardiner, Mitera, and MacMillan, this team’s future looks bleak. But Columbus, my god you still have Derick Brassard, Jakub Voracek, Nikita Filatov, Steve Mason, Cody Goloubef, Stefan Legein, and Teddy Ruth.
Yeah, they lost out of a high end prospect with Gilbert Brule but that was MacLean’s mess. With Scott Howson now, this team has a VERY bright future ahead of them.
And just inc ase you were wondering, I’m not a Columbus fan. As a matter of fact, they are a bitter rival of my team. I’m a Blues fan.
Will the Jackets be missed? Hell Yes they will be! The funny thing is the Ducks will “Miss” the playoffs this year and the Jackets will be missing the ducks in it. Ducks Suck. Go Jackets!