Link round-up, April edition

Cleaning up some email ... here are some interesting links sent to me by a few of my Algonquin students:

• ESPN/ True Hoop: About those dancers
  "In most of regular life these days, outside of Las Vegas, half-naked gyrating women are considered inappropriate. Paying young women to act out that brand of 14-year-old heterosexual male fantasy, and generally sexualizing things to that degree, is too stark a slap to the face of sexual equality to be tolerated. After all, one of the most important lessons of the last century was that women aren't subservient sex objects, right... But is there any denying that one of the major lessons one could take from watching an NBA dance team is that women are just precisely that?"
• Officials tweaking Cowboys Stadium for smoother second year
  Changes include new stadium tours, an art tour, improvements to the actual scoring part of the scoreboard, and better wireless internet.
• Carolina Hurricanes/RBC Center - change of plans for January 30th
  Good communication with fans to help mitigate traffic and safety problems due to bad weather
  
• How You Doin'?
  Comcast-Spectator rolls out a successful customer service program to all of its facilities.
  
  

Bob McCown says one anthem is plenty

Here's an article for my Algonquin class -- specifically the group that's debating anthems this week. Here's a slightly different take on National Anthems from Bob McCown. He suggests one anthem is enough at pro sports events.

Still, the answer isn't to afford equal treatment to the anthem of another country. The answer is to get rid of it altogether. I mean, what is the basis for playing "O Canada" in the U.S. anyway? Well, the answer is because one of the 30 teams in MLB is in Canada. Is that enough? Uh, no!

Doesn't it make more sense to respect the nationalities of the players involved? Sure it does, but if you go down that road the playing of the anthems would have to commence before noon for a one o'clock start.

No, the correct response is gettting rid of anthem-playing all together.

Look, I've heard the song. It's catchy. But every tune gets old after a while. I mean, do you still like "Hey Jude" as much as you did the first 500 times you heard it?

When I go to a mid-season sporting event, the playing of the anthem is a mind-numbing experience. I don't stand there quietly pondering the great freedoms we enjoy or the majesty of the Rocky Mountains. I don't get teary-eyed or weak-kneed. And the only lump in my throat is likely to be the pizza I bit into just before the music started to play.

I confess there are moments when it is possible to feel real emotion when "O Canada" begins, but never at a sporting event.

I realize that eliminating the anthem altogether isn't going to happen, though that would be my preference. But surely we never need to hear more than one anthem at any one time…anywhere…under any circumstance!

John Buccigross on hockey music

Fun column from John Buccigross, with a bit of a rant and an idea about music in hockey arenas. (Note to John - a few teams already do have player goal songs, Detroit and Ottawa for example.)

Yes, music and hockey -- the two are perfect linemates and two of my favorite things. Both continuous, both physical, both creative, both emotional and both attracting passionate followers with creative tattoos. Their marriage was destiny. I revel in the union. Music has the rhythm, and hockey has the Blues.

As a teenager, I found this implementation of music at NHL games breathlessly cool and invigorating... When there was a stoppage in play, I would turn the sound up on the television to hear what song was being cranked in the arena. The cooler the music, the more I liked that team.

Then, as music videos made their pop culture imprint in the early '80s, changing music forever, it was only natural that sports music videos would follow. And few can match the JumboTron feeding hockey-related highlights for the way they feed and lovingly bombard the senses. Check your local YouTube listings and watch any pregame pump-up presentation before you attend your next NHL game. It's a great reason to get to the game early.

But it's time to introduce something new into the NHL/music experience with something unpredictable. I mean, how many times can we hear "Welcome to the Jungle" and really get fired up? It's starting to sound like hearing, and then instantaneously dreading hearing, Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll" at the 37th consecutive wedding from 1983 to 1992 to the present. We can blame Tom Cruise for this, too.

Anyhoo, I propose having my, my, my generation of NHL players, or someone else in their organizations, choose a song to play in the arena when a player scores a goal at home. A goal song. NHL players actually have better taste in music than baseball players, so they probably could handle the selections themselves. This would give the player a chance to express himself in a league that desperately is trying to connect its young, great athletes to a larger fan base and would save us from hearing the same tune over and over again at NHL arenas during a 7-1 Edmonton Oilers loss.

Read on for some song ideas...

How much does beer cost around the NHL?

A must read for hockey and beer fans: Puck Daddy's 2010 NHL Beer Cost Matrix, Version 1.0.

Since the start of the season, we've been commissioning fans in every NHL city to seek out label and price information for the beer in their arenas. This is because (a) we wanted something more in-depth than the information in Team Marketing Report's Fan Cost Index and (b) some NHL teams actually refused to provide concession price information when it was requested.

(And by "some NHL teams," we mean the Montreal Canadiens, who told us they don't "give out" information that's posted on signs inside their arena for 20,000 fans to see 41 times a year.)

The readers were told to report back with the beer types, sizes and prices for the largest brews available at their games. As you'll see, some provided a bit more than that and some provided a tad less.

See the matrix / chart here...

Recommended reading: BackTeching

If you like hockey, video, and technlogy, then you should check out BackTeching. It's a new blog by Chris Devivo, who's the Director of Media Technology for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He's using the blog to chronicle some of the cool video technology being installed at the new arena in Pittsburgh. Tell him I sent you!

From the history vaults: 1934 pre-game ceremony for King Clancy

Should have posted this last week, closer to St. Patrick's Day.... GreatestHockeyLegends.com has a great look back at a March 17, 1934 pre-game ceremony that the Toronto Maple Leafs held to honour King Clancy. He was presented with a green wool sweater with a shamrock on the back.

While the rest of the Leafs wore their familiar blue, King Clancy wore this very special outfit for the first period. In the second and third Clancy had to return to his normal jersey as Lester Patrick, coach of the opposing New York Rangers, complained about the alternate jersey on the ice...

The Leafs were hosting "King Clancy Night." Clancy was as big a star as Toronto has ever seen. They honored him with the night, the jersey, and a number of stereotypical gifts that would keep any Irish eyes smiling.

Several junior players stepped on to the ice through large potato props. Red Horner emerged from a boxing glove. New York Ranger's star Bill Cook hid in a shamrock. All the while the Knights of Columbus Minstrel Band played Irish music.

But the highlight of the night was when Clancy was introduced to the sold out arena. There has never been anything quite like it in sports before or since.

Here's Clancy's own memories of the event:

When my turn finally came, the lights were all turned out and, dressed in royal robes and wearing a crown, I was ushered in on a big throne pulled by Hap Day. As the float reached the middle of the rink, I got hit in the face with a handful of soot from (Hap) Day and (Charlie) Conacher. When the lights came on, I looked like Santa Claus but my face was pitch black. It took me two or three days to get that stuff off."

Read the entire article (with photos)...

(via Kukla's Korner)

Weekly Twitter round-up, March 21

• Our e-marketing team just emailed to let us know that the Alfie 1000 Microsite is live. Check it out: http://www.ottawasenators.com/alfie/
• RT @cdevivo: New blog post., short & sweet. Mellon scoreboard vs. Consol Energy Center visually. http://bit.ly/cmQXw8
• Cool job: "Jumbotron and A/V Technician" at un-named Philadealphia entertainment venue http://bit.ly/cwTFxJ
• More good stuff from Puck Daddy - the cost of beer around the NHL http://bit.ly/cGpnsG
• In honour of St. Patrick's Day - some green mascots http://bit.ly/aoveji
• A fun kiss cam story from Puck Daddy: http://bit.ly/9mdomW
• Great read for St. Patrick's Day - a look back on a special Leafs game honouring King Clancy in 1934 http://tinyurl.com/ydy9beq
• From last night's Sens game - @kimberlyg_ with Rick, the world's largest leprechaun http://tinyurl.com/ybtbere

St. Patrick's Day Promos

Anybody seen any really good / creative / original St. Patrick's Day promotions yet this year?
So far the best we've seen is from the Syracuse Crunch:

The Syracuse Crunch announced today that that the first 1,500 fans at this Wednesday’s March 17 game vs. Manchester will receive a green cowbell in recognition of St. Patrick’s Day, courtesy of Ale ‘n’ Angus Pub. (Read the full press release...)

Any other good ones out there?

Weekly Twitter round-up, March 14

Here's the collection of fun links & notes that I posted in the past week to Twitter. If you want to read these every day, instead of once a week, follow me here.

• GameOps.com blog - mascot round-up http://bit.ly/btdmLP
• I propose a new internet acronym: SOMCL. Sitting on my chair laughing.
• Video: how many times can Matt Carkner bench press 90kg in 20 seconds? http://tinyurl.com/ykh69m8
• The Bruins Bear reminds you: never leave the game early to beat traffic http://tinyurl.com/yjfbnxe
• @peteshelly More about Cotton Eye Joe here: http://tinyurl.com/y85oplv
• Puck Daddy weighs in on national anthem etiquette http://tinyurl.com/yagz2y3
• Check out a new blog from @cdevivo http://www.backteching.com a mix of hockey, technology and video
• Swedish viral video about a certain hero that Sens fans may know http://tinyurl.com/yesk2q8
• Video from Saturday's night's Sens pre-game ceremony - gold medal winners Botterill, Virtue, Moir: http://tinyurl.com/ylz77pk
• Cant' believe somebody is complaining about this: Chicago fans cheering during Star Spangled Banner: http://tinyurl.com/y8c5byt
  
• Just sent a text to 44144, still waiting for a dolphin to text me back. Dolphins not as smart as they think

Weekly Twitter round-up, March 7

Some links and notes I posted to Twitter this week. Follow me here, please.

1. Prediction: CTV is going to play that "I Believe" song if any Canadians win an Oscar.
2. Gotta see if I can find the Frankfurt Lions goal song on YouTube. Schuerzenjaeger - Zillertaler Hochzeitsmarsch
3. Ever wonder what music they play at hockey rinks in Germany? Now you know: http://bit.ly/b5BHSq
   
4. Gord Wilson: the hardest working man in hockey. http://bit.ly/coZ9o8
5. RT @bgrantcampbell: Breakdown of Sidney Crosby's goal, courtesy of the Tor Star: http://www.thestar.com/staticcontent/776280
6. RT @PixelPictures: http://twitpic.com/16uwdm - Dallas Cowboys Jumbotron control room - controlling the world's largest HD screen.
7. What Youtube will look like in the year 2025. http://bit.ly/cQdoq9 I think we'll see most of these features way before then...
8. Avalanche goalie Peter Budaj talks music. Classical music. Interesting: http://bit.ly/aEsiud
9. It's Don Cherry night in Boston http://bit.ly/boSbiZ
10. RT @griffinshockey: @glengower another dance video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiLuH5ecqmg
11. Ron from Nashville just sent me a link to this great intermission dance video http://tinyurl.com/ye42nvz