Detroit sport fans aren't too happy with the Stanley Cup Finals schedule that's shown below:
Game 1: Saturday, May 24 @ 8:00 PM ET: Pittsburgh at Detroit on Versus, CBC
Game 2: Monday, May 26 @ 8:00 PM ET: Pittsburgh at Detroit on Versus, CBC
Game 3: Wednesday, May 28 @ 8:00 PM ET: Detroit at Pittsburgh on NBC, CBC
Game 4: Saturday, May 31 @ 8:00 PM ET: Detroit at Pittsburgh on NBC, CBC
Game 5*: Monday, June 2 @ 8:00 PM ET: Pittsburgh at Detroit on NBC, CBC
Game 6:* Wednesday, June 4 @ 8:00 PM ET: Detroit at Pittsburgh on NBC, CBC
Game 7*: Saturday, June 7 @ 8:00 PM ET: Pittsburgh at Detroit on NBC, CBC
*If necessary.
If you'll notice, three games are on Saturday, which benefits the TV networks particularly CBC with their Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts.
For Detroit fans in particular, the schedule requires fans to choose which game they want to watch- the Detroit Pistons who are in the Eastern Conference Finals or the Detroit Red Wings? Or do you flip back and forth between the games?
What about those fans who wanted to attend a game? I was hoping to attend the Pistons' game on Monday, but since the Wings also play at home on the same night, I will be unable to do so. I won't even be able to watch the first two Pistons' home games in this series.
But Detroit sports fans aren't the only ones unhappy with the schedule. Here are some thoughts from other bloggers and media members:
Jes Golbez @ AOL FanHouse:
Yes, I realize that the Super Bowl often has a week or two of waiting before the big event, but the NHL's Stanley Cup Finals is not a one-off event. The longer you make the fans wait, the bigger the risk you have of losing the casual fan.
I know the NHL is hell-bent on having Saturday as their big day, but don't people watch more TV during the week? I'd think ye olde average commoner is more likely to be in front of the tube on a Thursday, when the nightclub/bar/hot date doth not beckon, rather than a Saturday night.
Eric Adelson at ESPN.com:
Those who grew up in Michigan watching "Hockey Night in Canada" on Channel 9 -- and full disclosure, I'm one of them -- know most Canadians love hockey enough to tune in anyway if these games started at, say, 7 p.m. So, I'm offering a week's worth of Timbits to anyone at CBC who can give Detroit fans a chance to see an extra hour of hockey and an extra hour (on the backside) of hoops. But this really isn't about CBC. It's about the NHL.
Brown calls it "one of those freakish things that happen," and wants to know "why the NBA doesn't move its games." Even if the NBA does decide to accommodate Detroit fans by delaying tip times by an hour -- and remember, those hoops games were set before the NHL Western Conference finals ended Monday night -- that would only be regarded as yet another fan-friendly move by David Stern. Can't Commissioner Gary Bettman be the hero instead?
A disgruntled reader at The Big Lead:
"Isn’t Detroit the one NHL market that gets really good NHL ratings, so by putting them on against the Pistons, is the NHL purposely trying to losing ratings in arguably its best market? The Finals will probably get better ratings than the NBA Conference Finals, but what about fans that have tickets to both teams? And the bar owners who would love separate nights of crowds? Games 1 and 2 are on Versus. Game 3 of the Pistons-Celtics is on ABC … why would you want to go against the one night where the NBA is on network TV? [The NHL] treats a storied franchise and its fanbase like crap."