Tag: NHL

Notre Dame on list of fan bases that don’t care for college basketball

Do you care for Irish hoops?

It’s no secret the past couple of years have been rough for Notre Dame basketball fans. The Irish vastly underachieved last year, and a new roster and coaching staff this year meant the program had to start from scratch. That doesn’t exactly draw interest from fans.

Whatever the reason though, Irish fans simply don’t care about college basketball. At least that’s the opinion of Big Game Boomer, a college list aficionado on social media who decided to include Notre Dame among a group of college fan bases that allegedly could care less about college hoops:

First of all, Irish basketball fans haven’t had much to cheer about over the past few years. Secondly, while football rules supreme at Notre Dame and always will, that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t care about the second-most popular sport at the college level. Finally, Purcell Pavilion is about two-thirds full for an average game just as it was a year ago.

It really makes you wonder what criteria Big Game Boomer used to create this list. Then again, maybe this shouldn’t be taken seriously. After all, this is the same person who thinks MLB, the NFL and, yes, the NHL all need teams in Honolulu.

Whatever. Irish fans will support the basketball team in droves when it’s really good again. We just need to be patient. The time will come.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

The Rangers scored the most chaotic OT goal to complete Stadium Series comeback

Artemi Panarin took advantage of the chaos in front of the Islanders’ net.

The New York Rangers emerged victorious from their outdoor Stadium Series bout against the New York Islanders in dramatic fashion.

Early in the second period, the Rangers were down 4-1 to their New York City rival with the game looking out of hand. However, the Rangers were able to battle back to tie the game 5-5 with just under two minutes to play in the third period to force overtime.

And the extra frame didn’t last very long either. Artemi Panarin forced an Islanders turnover in front of their own net and put the puck away during a chaotic scramble in the blue paint. Despite Islanders’ defenseman Noah Dobson knocking the net halfway off its pegs, the goal counted and the Rangers won!

There’s nothing like the explosion of nearly 80,000 fans in a highly contested outdoor hockey game. What a comeback and what a win for the Rangers.

St. Louis sports fans trashed the Blues’ Twitter for wishing Taylor Swift, Chiefs luck in Super Bowl 58

The St. Louis vs. Kansas City sports rivalry is no joke.

Sports rivalries are serious business and the St. Louis Blues just committed the biggest party foul there is.

Ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl 58, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, the Blues stirred the pot big time with their fans after a simple post on their Twitter. The tweet in question? A message wishing the Chiefs and Taylor Swift, who is dating Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, good luck in Super Bowl 58.

For those unfamiliar with the midwest’s sports rivalries, St. Louis and Kansas City sit on opposite ends of the state of Missouri. Not only that, the city lost its football team — the Rams — to Los Angeles in 2016, making the NFL a sore subject for St. Louisans. So, for the Blues to tweet its support for St. Louis’ biggest sports rival was either the biggest misstep possible or the wildest troll job imaginable.

As expected, St. Louis fans didn’t take kindly to the Blues tweeting well wishes to the Chiefs and Swift.

Hockey reporters hilariously spoof typical NHL press conference during Super Bowl Opening Night

This is an all-time parody of hockey reporters at the Super Bowl.

It’s no secret that some sports reporters fall back on reliable questions during a player or coach press conference. Hockey, especially, falls into this line of rote questioning, leading to boring, mechanical answers from NHL players, outside of a few notable exceptions.

With Super Bowl Opening Night on Monday, a pair of NHL reporters from the podcast What Chaos! sought to bring the energy of a typical hockey press conference to the NFL. During the first major media blitz for Super Bowl 58, the reporters went around to members of the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers and asked them some … unusual questions.

The result? A hilarious, trope-filled video with stars like Travis Kelce and Nick Bosa answering NHL-style press conference questions.

The attention to detail here is amazing. From the parody of the Sportsnet logo on their microphones to the visible confusion on some of the players and coaches faces. My favorite part is no doubt when the questions asked actually worked and people like Andy Reid or Patrick Mahomes gave a very hockey player-like answer.

It’s no “pucks in deep”, but what an absolute gem of a video.

2024 NHL All-Star Game Player Draft: Here’s the full list of players for all 4 teams

The 2024 NHL All-Star teams are set after a return to the chaotic player draft.

For the first time since 2015, NHL All-Stars were able to pick and choose their own teams for the event.

Gone are the boring, divisional teams of years past and in once again was pure chaos as captains handpicked their players for the four-team, winner-take-all tournament. This year, the NHL’s All-Star festivities are being held in Toronto, with the skills competition returning to a more traditional format for Friday and the usual three-on-three All-Star Game tournament set for Saturday.

Last time an All-Star Draft was held, Alex Ovechkin stole the show with his incredible sign begging to be picked last so he could win a car. This time, the stars were out in front of the fans in Toronto as they waited for their turn to hear their name called.

With the festivities now over, here are the players of all four teams set to take part in the upcoming 2024 NHL All-Star Game.

NHL February power rankings: Wild Western Conference remains as unpredictable as ever

The NHL’s Western Conference remains completely unpredictable in our February power rankings.

It wasn’t that long ago that everyone believed that the Edmonton Oilers were dead in the water. Plus, what about the Los Angeles Kings? A team that was once a league-wide darling is now teetering on the cusp of a playoff spot.

And don’t even get me started on the Vancouver Canucks and everything they’ve accomplished this season.

As the NHL’s All-Star break finally begins — and the calendar turns to February — it’s clear this season has not gone the way many expected it to. A big reason for that is thanks to the NHL’s Western Conference, where chaos reigns and 16-game win streaks are somehow the norm now.

Outside of the big names, teams like the Winnipeg Jets and Arizona Coyotes have outperformed expectations, leading to surprise playoff pushes and more competitive games. Others, like the Calgary Flames and Minnesota Wild, have disappointed and will have to look inward to find the heart of their problems.

There’s lots of hockey still to be played, but the end is starting to come into sight. The trade deadline is a handful of weeks away and with it brings power shifts and a clearer focus on the playoffs ahead. As the NHL takes a much-needed break from the action, here is how we see things across the league in our February 2024 power rankings.

Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal: Everything we know so far and how the NHL is involved

Here’s all we know about the Hockey Canada scandal and the NHL’s response.

Editor’s note: This story contains mentions of sexual assault. Please proceed with caution.

The hockey world will likely be gaining some much-needed clarity about the Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal that has been the talk of the sport for years. On January 24, The Globe and Mail’s Robyn Doolittle released a report stating that five members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team are set to surrender to the London, Ontario police to face sexual assault charges.

This news is the latest domino to fall in the years-long investigation into Hockey Canada and the allegations that members of the 2018 World Junior team sexually assaulted a woman.

Here is everything you need to know about this ongoing situation with Hockey Canada and the NHL’s involvement in the matter.

NHL fans bashed the Flames for Dillon Dube’s ‘mental health’ leave of absence in wake of Hockey Canada investigation

The Flames should be made to answer for their handling of Dillon Dube’s leave of absence related to the Hockey Canada investigation.

Editor’s note: This story contains mentions of sexual assault. Please proceed with caution.

The 2018 Hockey Canada investigation continues to unravel at a rapid pace, with TSN‘s report Tuesday that four NHL players have been directed to surrender to London, Ontario police to be charged with sexual assault.

According to TSN‘s Rick Westhead, Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart, Calgary Flames forward Dillon Dube, and New Jersey Devils forward Michael McLeod and defenseman Cal Foote are set to be charged with sexual assault in connection to the 2018 Hockey Canada investigation. The years-long investigation into Hockey Canada stems from the alleged sexual assault of a woman by five members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team during a gala in June of that year.

Alex Formenton — former NHL player with the Ottawa Senators and current player in the Swiss National League — also surrendered to the London police as part of the Hockey Canada investigation.

While the hockey world awaits the next steps of this investigation, NHL fans are incensed at how the Flames seemingly handled Dube’s involvement in the case. On January 21, the Flames announced that Dube was stepping away from the team indefinitely “while he attends to his mental health.”

Mental health is a serious issue that impacts athletes and others alike. It’s possible Dube is also dealing with mental health issues during this time or the team wasn’t aware of the allegations when the statement was made. But the Flames’ ambiguous statement on the matter reflects poorly in light of this latest news.

Mental health issues are not a shield to be used to deflect away from sexual assault allegations. If the Flames knew about Dube’s connection to the investigation and allegations against him, they could have crafted a press release without using mental health as the crux of his absence, much like the Flyers did for Hart’s leave.

After Tuesday’s news broke, NHL fans took to social media to express their abject disappointment with the Flames’ handling of Dube and the Hockey Canada investigation.

Victor Wembanyama told Connor Bedard he was as tall as him at a mind-blowing young age

Victor Wembanyama was unbelievably tall at a very young age.

By now, you know just how tall Victor Wembanyama is as an adult. The San Antonio Spurs’ No. 1 overall pick is listed at 7-foot-4 on the team website, and sometimes it looks like he dwarfs already giant NBA players every time he steps on a court.

But you simply won’t believe how tall he was even as a child.

In a snippet of a conversation with the Chicago Blackhawks’ No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard, he asked Wembanyama to tell him when he was as tall as his currently listed 5-foot-10. After some pondering and math done on the fly, Wembanyama settled on the age of … nine.

NINE.

The average American adult male is 5-foot-9, and Wembanyama was taller than before he was even 10 years old. Just wow.

I can’t even remember when I was last 5-foot-10 and still growing. Meanwhile, Wembanyama added 16 more inches and became an NBA phenom. This is somehow so humbling and mind-blowing at the same time.

Detroit fans are so pumped about the Lions that they’re chanting ‘Jared Goff’ at Pistons, Red Wings games

The city of Detroit is having a moment.

This is a huge weekend for Detroit sports fans, and they’re rightfully pumped about it.

For the first time since the 1991 NFL season, the Lions won not only a playoff game but also the division and are one win away from a Super Bowl appearance. They’ll face the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game Sunday.

It’s an incredible moment for Detroit, and the Lions’ historic season is impacting the city’s other professional sports teams. For the second time this week, “Jared Goff” chants have broken out at Little Caesars Arena, first during the Red Wings’ 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, as The Athletic‘s Max Bultman reported.

And it happened again Saturday during the Pistons’ 118-104 loss to the Wizards.

In the third quarter as Washington power forward Marvin Bagley III was making two free throws, the crowd at the arena was chanting, “Jar-ed Goff! Jar-ed Goff!”

Following the chants during the Red Wings game, Goff said this kind of hype and excitement isn’t like what he previously experienced with the Los Angeles Rams. But a lot of that is probably because the Lions winning in the playoffs is, historically, a rarer occurrence.

“These fans are unbelievable,” Goff said in a video via ESPN’s Eric Woodyard:

Needless to say, the city of Detroit and its sports fans are ready for Sunday’s NFC championship game.

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