Saturday, May 7, 2011
Ice Hockey Skates
Another technology that has come along way over the years in ice hockey is the making of ice hockey skates. Ice skates are boots with blades attached to the bottom, used to propel the bearer across a sheet of ice. They are worn as footwear in many sports, including ice hockey, bandy and figure skating. The first ice skates were made from leg bones of horse, ox or deer, and were attached to feet with leather straps. A pole with a sharp metal spike was used for pushing the skater forward.
For ice hockey skates the boot is generally made of molded plastic, leather (often synthetic), and ballistic nylon. Skates used in competitive hockey rarely use molded plastic for the upper boot, as this results in limited mobility.
The skates used by goaltenders are cut lower in the ankle than a normal hockey skate and the boot sits closer to the ice for a lower centre of gravity. The boot itself is encased in hardened plastic, called a "cowling", protecting the toe, ankle and heel from the force of the shot puck. The blade is usually longer and has less rocker (curvature to the blade) to make it easier for the goalie to move side to side in the crease. Goalie skates lack a tendon guard.
The following video is of how hockey skates are made.
For ice hockey skates the boot is generally made of molded plastic, leather (often synthetic), and ballistic nylon. Skates used in competitive hockey rarely use molded plastic for the upper boot, as this results in limited mobility.
The skates used by goaltenders are cut lower in the ankle than a normal hockey skate and the boot sits closer to the ice for a lower centre of gravity. The boot itself is encased in hardened plastic, called a "cowling", protecting the toe, ankle and heel from the force of the shot puck. The blade is usually longer and has less rocker (curvature to the blade) to make it easier for the goalie to move side to side in the crease. Goalie skates lack a tendon guard.
The following video is of how hockey skates are made.
Friday, May 6, 2011
HBO 24/7
The previous video was of HBO's 24/7 Pengiuns/Capitals: Road to the NHL Winter Classic. HBO's 24/7 is an American reality television series that follows sportsmen, and sporting organizations, for a period of weeks in the lead up to a major sporting event. The show premiered with episodes featuring pairs of boxers as they prepare for their upcoming boxing match against one another. More recently it has expanded to other sport rivalries as well with NASCAR and the rivalry leading up to the 2011 NHL Winter Classic. Each edition of the show is generally split up into three to four episodes, and is narrated by Liev Schreiber.
The shows historically have focused on boxing, but now cover other sports. In December 2010, a special 24/7 featured the rivalry between the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals in the lead up to the 2011 NHL Winter Classic at Heinz Field on January 1, 2011. The hockey episodes paid special attention to the player rivalry between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin.
This this new exposure, the NHL has gained more popularity throughout the United States. Without the technology of cameras audiences would not have been able to see a behind the scenes look at the world of professional hockey in the NHL.
The shows historically have focused on boxing, but now cover other sports. In December 2010, a special 24/7 featured the rivalry between the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals in the lead up to the 2011 NHL Winter Classic at Heinz Field on January 1, 2011. The hockey episodes paid special attention to the player rivalry between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin.
This this new exposure, the NHL has gained more popularity throughout the United States. Without the technology of cameras audiences would not have been able to see a behind the scenes look at the world of professional hockey in the NHL.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
NHL Coverage
The NHL has also made great strides in recent years when it comes to the coverage of the NHL, the players, games, and analysis. The NHL used to be covered by local channels of teams home cities as well as nationally by ESPN. The NHL is now cover exclusively by Verus and NBC today.
The NHL's television deal with Versus was made at the conclusion of the 2004–05 NHL lockout that caused the cancellation of an entire season. At the time, Versus offered a two year, $130 million contract (with a network option for a third year) that delivered guaranteed money for Commissioner Gary Bettman (ESPN, which previously held the rights, wanted a revenue-sharing deal similar to NBC's). Versus was expected to use NHL coverage to show it was a legitimate suitor for Major League Baseball and National Football League packages that were to be negotiated later in 2005, but they did not land agreements with either league. In 2007, the NHL signed an agreement to extend the NHL on Versus to the 2010–2011 season. Versus paid $72.5 million for 2007–2008 and will pay inflationary increases over the next three years.
In April 2011, NBC Sports and Versus announced they had reached a ten year extension to the television contract with the National Hockey League worth nearly 2 billion dollars over the life of the contract. As part of the announcement, the chairman of NBC Sports, Dick Ebersol announced that the Versus channel would be renamed "within 90 days", in order to reflect the synergy of the two networks after the Universal-Comcast merger.
On April 19, 2011, the league and NBC/Versus announced a new ten-year agreement. Beginning with the 2011–12 season, the terms of the agreement include:
Versus also provides postgame coverage after every game they broadcast. The postgame show is known as Hockey Central, airing from their Stamford, Connecticut studios.
The NHL's television deal with Versus was made at the conclusion of the 2004–05 NHL lockout that caused the cancellation of an entire season. At the time, Versus offered a two year, $130 million contract (with a network option for a third year) that delivered guaranteed money for Commissioner Gary Bettman (ESPN, which previously held the rights, wanted a revenue-sharing deal similar to NBC's). Versus was expected to use NHL coverage to show it was a legitimate suitor for Major League Baseball and National Football League packages that were to be negotiated later in 2005, but they did not land agreements with either league. In 2007, the NHL signed an agreement to extend the NHL on Versus to the 2010–2011 season. Versus paid $72.5 million for 2007–2008 and will pay inflationary increases over the next three years.
In April 2011, NBC Sports and Versus announced they had reached a ten year extension to the television contract with the National Hockey League worth nearly 2 billion dollars over the life of the contract. As part of the announcement, the chairman of NBC Sports, Dick Ebersol announced that the Versus channel would be renamed "within 90 days", in order to reflect the synergy of the two networks after the Universal-Comcast merger.
On April 19, 2011, the league and NBC/Versus announced a new ten-year agreement. Beginning with the 2011–12 season, the terms of the agreement include:
- Versus (which will be renamed) will increase its regular season telecasts from 50 to 90.
- NBC Sports Group will have exclusive coverage of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning with the Conference Semifinals (2nd round). All games will air on one of the NBC Sports Group channels. This means that there will no longer be any local broadcasts after the first round.
- Exclusive American broadcaster of the Heritage Classic.
- Exclusive coverage of Games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Versus also provides postgame coverage after every game they broadcast. The postgame show is known as Hockey Central, airing from their Stamford, Connecticut studios.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Goalie Camera
The previous video shows a camera being attatched to a hockey goalie's helmet. From this, you are actually able to have a view of what a goalie is looking at. This is a technology that is still being tested. At the same point in time some goalie's may not be comfortable with having the camera on or in their helmet. One reason may be the fact that this adds extra weight to the helmet that is not neccessary. However, this is something different and really puts a viewer into the game.
The National Hokcey League (NHL) has recently been looking for new ways to make the game of hockey more appealing to viewers, both to come to the actual event and those that watch it on TV. By inplementing new technologies and accepting change, the league has become more viewer friendly. This has also come about because of the willingness of players in the league to embrace and support the changes as well. I know they have also used this on regualar players as well. But once again this usually does not take place during regular season games. The main issue again making the technology so it will not get in the way of the player's ability to perform with the main issue being weight or a different feel to the equipment.
The National Hokcey League (NHL) has recently been looking for new ways to make the game of hockey more appealing to viewers, both to come to the actual event and those that watch it on TV. By inplementing new technologies and accepting change, the league has become more viewer friendly. This has also come about because of the willingness of players in the league to embrace and support the changes as well. I know they have also used this on regualar players as well. But once again this usually does not take place during regular season games. The main issue again making the technology so it will not get in the way of the player's ability to perform with the main issue being weight or a different feel to the equipment.
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