So I was watching the NHL Skills Competition and All Star game last weekend, which was both fun and flat. Of course the NFL's Pro Bowl was later that night, so sports pundits spent the next day questioning the formats of every major sport's all star games. So in the spirit, here's my take.
The NFL's Pro Bowl is little more than a joke, and the NHL's All Star game itself isn't really that much better. The best players in the league are competing sure, but they're not bringing their best to the table and there's really no reason for them to do so. However, the NHL's saving grace is the skills competition.
Broken down into lots of different skills like "Hardest Shot" and "Puck Handling", the competition shows off the spectacular skills of the best players without the chaos of a full blown game. There's still a good heart of competition (everyone wants to win each skill simply for pride) and nobody holds back in them because there's no real risk of injury. Some events are fun like the "Breakaway Challenge" above (which is basically the NHL's equivalent of a dunk contest), while others are really tough like the relay below.
Now, the NHL has plenty of room for improvement in the skills competition. For one, I'd like to see teams that aren't just named for their two captains. Team Foligno and Team Toews don't do anything to keep your interest, but I understand that sometimes the East/West divide isn't quite balanced enough. I also would like to see that these events are for more than just random profit generation. So my idea was that you pick two charities for the event, and donate to the both of them. Each team represents one charity, and whichever one wins the skills competition will earn their charity a slightly larger donation. Something like a 55/45 split of the total. Not much, but enough to make it feel like they're playing for something tangible. At least one of the players is already in the spirit.
As I mentioned before, the NHL's All Star game itself is laughable. This year it was 17-12. Clearly the goaltenders don't care and the defensemen don't want to put forth a real defensive effort. So how can this be fixed? Well, on the show Around The Horn, Bill Plasche reminded me of the old way. It used to be that the Stanley Cup Champions would take on a team made up of the rest of the league's all stars, and I think this needs to come back. Do it right after the Stanley Cup and give it its own prestigious little trophy too. I'd love to see the champs go toe to toe with an all star team for just that little bit extra bragging rights. As far as the All Star break goes, just expand the skills competition. I'm fine with letting that run longer with a few new events and more players in each round.
Since almost nobody on here likes to talk about the NHL, I'll leave off there. Let me know in the comments what you think of the NHL's All Star game and Skills Competition as they are now. What would you do to improve things in the future?
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"Human babies are not that loveable. Believe me."
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Today In Music (January 29th)
Fortress by Protest The Hero released in January 29th, 2008. Also released on this day:
- "Afterlife" single by Avenged Sevenfold (2008)