TSN made the game unwatchable

[VOB]

Take obstruction out of the game - good lord there was very little obstruction to begin with in any sanctioned IHF tournament because hitting was/is frowned upon. Now you cannot even breath on your opponent!

Lets please stop with this BS call everything crap and lets get back to the real game.

BTW as an American, I can only DREAM of having access to TSN and the wonderful job they do!

 

[MattintheHatt]

Yeah, i was at both swiss and norway games, so i didn't have to hear Pierre or Gord (i saw him goin nuts in the box a few times though )

And yeah. It was still almost unwatchable. The hockey was EXCELLENT during five on five play, but when some idiot calls 50 penalties a game it just ruins it. I've never booed a ref or linesman so much in my life.

On another note, who loves the LUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCC chants we got going for our boy Bourdon. Cant he play for the canucks NOW PLEASE?? (i know, i know...)

 

[VladNYC*]

All I am saying is that i dont hear too many Russian fans complaining about it even though we had 45+ in our last game and 45 in this game against Latvia and the 3rd has just begun. This is the juniors, so the refs are more strict. I mean lack of officiating is not good either. Just watch some of the 1991 Juniors games. In fact watch the gold medal Can vs USSR game you see how bad it is when it goes the other way.

I think everyone is just blowing this a bit out of proportion. This is still the prelims. It'll get better.

 

[espo*]

I do read these boards sometimes

Well you came on a hot night man,people are upset with the quality of the product.

 

[Holly Gunning]

I agree that the officiating has been horrible in the two USA games I've seen via Center Ice, but I will also say that I was even more annoyed by the TSN announcers going on and on and on and on about it.

We get it, please talk about something else like the fantastic players.

 

[Siberian]

The paying customers, who weren't watching or listening to TSN, will tell you that the officiating in this tournament is ruining it for them. And I generally take the word of someone who is shelling out big money to watch it. The IIHF is attempting to implement a radically new officiating system (zero tolerance) for the very first time in this tournament and the results are predictable. The NHL went to zero tolerance but spent countless man hours and dollars on education for the players, coaches, managers and even the fans. The NHL, whatever you think of it, has an infrastructure in place to work with the officials. These guys doing games here have basically been given a new standard and away they go. Trust me, the fans who have paid big money to watch this tournament are very, very disgruntled with what they are seeing.

The viewing enjoyment of many of the games, and not just those involving Canada, has been greatly diminished. The fans in the building today were booing calls made against Norway and for anyone who is trying to suggest Gord or Pierre or myself or anyone else on TSN was whining about calls against Canada, our over the air assessments were across the board for both teams. IMHO, the only whining I hear is coming on here after a game and getting the predictable yet groundless accusations of homerism. But, hey, that's just me.

I said going in that this tournament was going to be interesting because it was being used as a IIHF guinea pig for the Olympics. If you guys think the noise coming out of here is loud over the WJC game calling, wait until Turin because if this is a hint of things to come, well, you ain't seen or heard nothin yet.

Oh, yeah, by the way, 53 penalties in tonight's game. WJC one-game record for both teams in a game involving Canada. Old record was 27. Tied the record for most penalties, both teams, in a one period of a game involving Canada (14).

You have some valid points but couple of things: IIHF is not a business corporation, they get very little profit from the actual attendance so I am not so sure that IIHF will be adjusting to what the customers paying big bucks are saying. Also, TSN whining was not about IIHF new officiating mainly, their whining was about the person who officiated the game. They called this guy everything they officially could on TV, this was just embarassing to listen how Mcguire dissed the guy all game long.

 

[Canuck21t]

What did u expect? It's a hockey tourney in Canada. Canadians aren't that much keen on any one else's hockey programs these days. If Canada wins agian it will be one of the greatest games of all time, if Russia wins it will be a mediocre tourney ruined by the refs.

Why the heck do you always bring race into the mix?!? You Russians are getting on my nerve! I had nothing against Russians going into this tournament then a bunch of you guys just can't stop whining about Canadians. I know everything in Canada is wrong and we're not as perfect as Russia. You have to forgive us, we're simply just inferior, I bow to you my Russian Masters .

 

[espo*]

All I am saying is that i dont hear too many Russian fans complaining about it even though we had 45+ in our last game and 45 in this game against Latvia and the 3rd has just begun. This is the juniors, so the refs are more strict. I mean lack of officiating is not good either. Just watch some of the 1991 Juniors games. In fact watch the gold medal Can vs USSR game you see how bad it is when it goes the other way.

I think everyone is just blowing this a bit out of proportion. This is still the prelims. It'll get better.

well if they are'nt they should be.What's been going on isn't hockey.

I sure hope you are right about them tucking it in soon.

 

[Gord Miller]

And on that note, I am on my way. Glad everyone has strong opinions (although some are obviously more reasonable than others). Try not to get personal folks, it's when these boards go astray.

 

[sonnytheman]

The paying customers, who weren't watching or listening to TSN, will tell you that the officiating in this tournament is ruining it for them. And I generally take the word of someone who is shelling out big money to watch it. The IIHF is attempting to implement a radically new officiating system (zero tolerance) for the very first time in this tournament and the results are predictable. The NHL went to zero tolerance but spent countless man hours and dollars on education for the players, coaches, managers and even the fans. The NHL, whatever you think of it, has an infrastructure in place to work with the officials. These guys doing games here have basically been given a new standard and away they go. Trust me, the fans who have paid big money to watch this tournament are very, very disgruntled with what they are seeing.

The viewing enjoyment of many of the games, and not just those involving Canada, has been greatly diminished. The fans in the building today were booing calls made against Norway and for anyone who is trying to suggest Gord or Pierre or myself or anyone else on TSN was whining about calls against Canada, our over the air assessments were across the board for both teams. IMHO, the only whining I hear is coming on here after a game and getting the predictable yet groundless accusations of homerism. But, hey, that's just me.

I said going in that this tournament was going to be interesting because it was being used as a IIHF guinea pig for the Olympics. If you guys think the noise coming out of here is loud over the WJC game calling, wait until Turin because if this is a hint of things to come, well, you ain't seen or heard nothin yet.

Oh, yeah, by the way, 53 penalties in tonight's game. WJC one-game record for both teams in a game involving Canada. Old record was 27. Tied the record for most penalties, both teams, in a one period of a game involving Canada (14).

I agree that the refereeing has been horrible and has ruined the games so far, and I'm sure the two posters how spoke of the telecast being biased/homeristic did not even watch the game on TSN.

Personally, I tune in to the games to watch Canada's future stars play, and I prefer listening to expert analysis into how the players are doing, rather than how the referee called the game, that's all my point was. The calls were bogus, that's true and the commentators should call it as such, but once that's done I hope that the attention is turned back to the players.

It just makes it worse when I'm trying to follow the penalty kill and all that I hear is how the referee is ruining the game (and not how the Canadians are playing, or how the Norwegians are playing). I tried the MUTE button, but without the sounds of the game it somehow doesn't feel right. That's all.

 

[espo*]

I agree that the officiating has been horrible in the two USA games I've seen via Center Ice, but I will also say that I was even more annoyed by the TSN announcers going on and on and on and on about it.

We get it, please talk about something else like the fantastic players.

I think they would do that if the refs would let them show their stuff.I'd have a hard time pulling fantastic plays out to brag about the players because the game calling won't allow them to get into a traditional ryhthm where the best plays from these great players naturally come about.
i don't know what i'd talk about if i were them,you can only dissect power play and penalty kiling tactics and where the players came from and played their minor hockey so much.Their has to be FLOW to get the best out of the players and the game itself.Thats the way hockey is,it's better and at it's best when intense and moving along.

 

[Bloggins]

Why the heck do you always bring race into the mix?!? You Russians are getting on my nerve! I had nothing against Russians going into this tournament and a bunch of you guys just can't stop whining about Canadians. I know everything in Canada is wrong and we're not as perfect as Russia. You have to forgive us, we're simply just inferior, I bow to you my Russian Masters .

Oh no...do we need to bring back the "Nyet, nyet Soviet, Da, da, Canada" chant?

Um, it was a 1972 thing, perhaps I'm dating myself

 

[Joe Hallenback]

I have to say that for the first time I turned the game off and went watched the WHL on a webcast instead. Sorry but that many penalties is ridiculous and it made the game unwatchable. Whether or not the TSN guys were whining about it or not that game was a disgrace.

Can you imagine in one of the most anticipated games of the year this Saturday having 40+ penalties? Sorry but I dont want to watch that.

 

[Brock]

Honestly, they are just telling it like it is.

If you watched the broadcast and actually listened, Gord and Pierre weren't just saying "Oh Canada is getting robbed, oh these big bad refs are out to stop Canada." They were complaining for both sides.

Sure they spent a lot of time complaining during the broadcast. But you know what? If I was commentating I would have had a hard time not doing the same. I was getting so frustrated by the ref, that any enjoyment I would have gotten out of that game was ruined then and there. I didn't use to be a huge fan of Pierre's commentating, but I've really come around on the guy. I'd much rather have someone as passionate about the game of hockey, like Pierre, then some stiff with zero emotion. And when you get someone like Pierre who does seem to wear his heart on his sleeve and speaks through emotion, you are going to get games like this where hes going to get just as frustrated as any one of us did during the game and lose focus on the game itself.

I've seen the arguments on this thread about the commentating and how they should have spent more time focusing on the game itself and how good the players were and yadada, instead of the officiating. But you know what? THAT was the game. The official made himself bigger then the players himself. He didn't really give Gord and Pierre much to talk about besides the officiating. With a penalty occuring, what every 2 minutes or so, what else are they supposed to talk about. Pierre starts talking about how good of a forechecker Steve Downie is and BAM a penalty is called. Then its the job of the commentating team to explain the penalty and examine it. 30+ penalties called in the game, thats a lot of examining and explaining to do. What on earth do you expect them to talk about?

This board kills me sometimes, it really does.

 

[Dream Big]

I find it interesting that the refs who are doing what they've been told to do are being so brutally disrespected. It's obvious that since they are all doing it that it is not one rogue cop. They have their instructions and they are following orders.

I'm somewhat torn. I can see where the games could get out of hand if allowed to as there is so much on the line. Those who will do anything physically to win should not be able to terrorize the rest. But a bit of give and go would be nice.

Who has authority to modify the no tolerance rule? Also who defines the criteria that would be followed if such a modification were to be made?

 

[Zine]

Must be because Russia has been crap on the world stage for ages now I guess, so you need to whine about something other than your wretched national program

What do you mean wretched national program??????

Russia has, arguably, been the most successful program at the junior level this decade. What kind of wretched program produces players like Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalchuk, Frolov, etc.?
The only reason they've not been dominant at the senior level is that the ex-Soviet players rarely give a care. Even with that, they're the only country to have won a medal in both the past 2 olympics.

 

[Greg7]

As one of those customers paying big dollars, I'm glad TSN is talking a lot about the officiating. It is horrendous, it is ruining the hockey, and quite frankly it is both embarassing to the IIHF and a disgrace to this tournament. The more attention this atrocity receives the better, because it might wake someone up and maybe the refs will start doing their jobs correctly, instead of trying to enforce an absolutely RIDICULOUS zero tolerance standard which is both poorly planned and highly unrealisitic. Maybe this isn't the fault of the referees themselves, but when it comes down to it, I don't care whose fault it is, because it's disgusting. Sure, maybe it's tough on the refs to be reamed out constantly because of something that might not be completely their fault, but it sure is a whole lot more unfair that these talented kids are having a once in a life time opportunity ruined by some farcical officiating standard. Like I said, the more attention the better because maybe it will help the IIHF realize that something needs to change.

 

[VladNYC*]

Oh no...do we need to bring back the "Nyet, nyet Soviet, Da, da, Canada" chant?

Um, it was a 1972 thing, perhaps I'm dating myself

I think that stopped after the whooping in the 1974 Summit Series




Also i would like to add that although we get miffed at each other from time to time it shouldn't be taken personally and that the fact that we care enough to get heated and argue just shows how awesome this sport really is

 

[BeerTuzzi]

I am also one of those customers. I paid 1200 dollars for my tickets. I am a fan of Canada but above all I am a fan of hockey. What I saw tonight was not hockey. It was a discrace, an absolute joke and if anyone thinks differently they don't understand the game of hockey. I am glad PM and GM complained about it because this needs some serious attention. If this continues there are going to be alot of pissed off fans (no doubt there already are). I want to see a good hockey game on Saturday night, and if this **** continues I am writing a letter to the tournement sponsor and demanding my money back.

 

[Siberian]

I am also one of those customers. I paid 1200 dollars for my tickets. I am a fan of Canada but above all I am a fan of hockey. What I saw tonight was not hockey. It was a discrace, an absolute joke and if anyone thinks differently they don't understand the game of hockey. I am glad PM and GM complained about it because this needs some serious attention. If this continues there are going to be alot of pissed off fans (no doubt there already are). I want to see a good hockey game on Saturday night, and if this **** continues I am writing a letter to the tournement sponsor and demanding my money back.

The funniest post of the day! On a serious note, are the tickets that expensive? I think Hockey Canada is just ripping off the hockey fans.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

Now THAT is a post. Bravo Bob.

You should write for a website or somthing. No seriously.

 

[Hedberg]

Non-stop whining by P. Mcguire absolutely ruined the experience of watching these games.

I know. The refeering was bad, but don't keep going on about it

 

[MOGiLNY]

Guys, look back at the NHL in it's first few weeks back from the lockout. We had about the same amount of penalties in every game and an insane amount of powerplays which vastly inflated the amount of goals scored.

Now, as Bob said, this is the first tournament that IIHF is trying out the zero tolerance refereeing so obviously it's going to take some time to oil this machine. As long as all the teams are having the same problem, we are still on the same level field.

Also, not only is it the first time that the refs have to do this, but this is also the first time for the players. Hopefully the players will also learn about what is allowed and what isn't in the remaining round robin games and then show us some discipline in the playoffs.

 

[tml_4ever]

I do read these boards sometimes

well you know....it's not like you guys have anything better to talk about anyways C'mon, it's hockey, damn it! If there wasn't *****ing and complaining, there wouldn't be a need for comentators. Read the word, people: COMENTATORS. they give their oppinions....that's what these people are paid to do!

 

[Bubbles]

McGuire says on the air he won't address the officiating anymore, than one minute later he saids he can't hold it in anymore. Hmm.

The good thing is he didn't mention Phaneuf or Parise this time.