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NHL sinks further into niche status

MichiganMichigan Posts: 4,942 ✭
in Sports Talk
The LA Times has announced that they will no longer cover the LA Kings or Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
when they are on the road due to the low level of fan interest. It is not worth the time or money to
have a sports writer travel and do a story that so few people are interested in reading. Home games are cheaper to cover so they will continue to do that.

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    AxtellAxtell Posts: 10,037 ✭✭
    I don't see how they can't afford one guy to cover the team...seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy:

    'there's no interest...we won't cover it....hey, why doesn't anyone care about hockey?'

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    MichiganMichigan Posts: 4,942 ✭


    << <i>I don't see how they can't afford one guy to cover the team...seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy:

    'there's no interest...we won't cover it....hey, why doesn't anyone care about hockey?' >>




    Well, its not like they just started covering them this last season. The downward trend has been
    going on for quite some time. It is probably much more expensive to cover these teams than
    you might imagine. You have the salary of the writer, transportation and hotel costs and some
    meal plan for restaurants is probably included. There would be a lot of traveling and the costs
    would mount quickly. Most newspapers are watching the bottom line very closely these days
    with falling circulations for most of them.
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    bri2327bri2327 Posts: 3,178 ✭✭
    I forgot there was hockey in CA image
    "The other teams could make trouble for us if they win."
    -- Yogi Berra

    image
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    ToppsCo1lectorToppsCo1lector Posts: 2,633
    I could care less about some beat writer for a Cali paper no longer traveling with teams I don't follow. I'm a NJ Devils fan.
    Collecting;
    Mark Mulder rookies
    Chipper Jones rookies
    Orlando Cabrera rookies
    Lawrence Taylor
    Sam Huff
    Lavar Arrington
    NY Giants
    NY Yankees
    NJ Nets
    NJ Devils
    1950s-1960s Topps NY Giants Team cards

    Looking for Topps rookies as well.

    References:
    GregM13
    VintageJeff
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    BoopottsBoopotts Posts: 6,784 ✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>I don't see how they can't afford one guy to cover the team...seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy:

    'there's no interest...we won't cover it....hey, why doesn't anyone care about hockey?' >>




    Well, its not like they just started covering them this last season. The downward trend has been
    going on for quite some time. It is probably much more expensive to cover these teams than
    you might imagine. You have the salary of the writer, transportation and hotel costs and some
    meal plan for restaurants is probably included. There would be a lot of traveling and the costs
    would mount quickly. Most newspapers are watching the bottom line very closely these days
    with falling circulations for most of them. >>



    I remember hearing that a Kings game on OLN this year was watched-- and I'm not kidding-- by an estimated 124 people in the LA area. The thing with hockey in the US is that there are only a few fans for each team, but all those fans come to the rink and watch. Somebody once said that Chicago has 15,000 Blackhawk fans, and you can see every single one of them whenever the 'Hawks are at home. This makes for a great atmosphere at the arena, but it's just terrible for TV.

    Basically I guess what I'm saying is that the NHL audience in the US is very small, but very passionate. But it's not a sport that's growing, I don't think, and the huge influx of Europeans don't help the league's viabiity either.
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    BoopottsBoopotts Posts: 6,784 ✭✭


    << <i>I forgot there was hockey in CA image >>



    There used to be hockey in New York, but it disappeared 12 years ago.
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    AxtellAxtell Posts: 10,037 ✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>I forgot there was hockey in CA image >>



    There used to be hockey in New York, but it disappeared 12 years ago. >>



    Along with basketball?
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    yawie99yawie99 Posts: 2,575 ✭✭✭
    On one hand, that's pathetic; on the other, I wouldn't mind seeing a return to the garage league days of yesteryear.
    imageimageimageimageimageimage
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    ConnecticoinConnecticoin Posts: 12,538 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Move one of those teams to Hartford! The Hartford Courant will have 2 reporters covering the team on the road.
    *For Sale on BST* *For Sale on Ebay*
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    onlyanumberonlyanumber Posts: 2,433


    << <i>Move one of those teams to Hartford! The Hartford Courant will have 2 reporters covering the team on the road. >>



    That team should never have been allowed to leave Hartford.

    The Hartford Civic Centre--now there was a great NHL arena.
    Next MONTH? So he's saying that if he wins, the best-case scenario is that he'll be paying for it two weeks after the auction ends?

    Forget blocking him; find out where he lives and go punch him in the nuts. --WalterSobchak 9/12/12



    image


    Looking for Al Hrabosky and any OPC Dave Campbells (the ESPN guy)
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    nightcrawlernightcrawler Posts: 5,110 ✭✭
    Yup, send one team to Hatford and one to Winnipeg, then California can get back to just making movies about hockey image
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    jad22jad22 Posts: 535 ✭✭
    Who cares about the LA times. Waste of a paper, not even good enough to use for lining in a bird cage.
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    RedHeart54RedHeart54 Posts: 2,270 ✭✭✭
    There was player who said "there are 800,000 Canadians living in the L.A. area and now I see why: they hate hockey."
    (Was it Marcel Dionne or Eddie Shack or someone like that? It seems as if it was a Kings player from the '70s.)

    It is pretty bush league for a paper in that market not to carry the Kings. Then again, if L.A. can't (or doesn't care to) have an NFL team, how much longer are the Kings going to be around?
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