Been watching alot of NHL Network, and it has it all over NFLN. The chick that hosts the show (Kathryn Tappen) seems to know her hockey and does a good job in keeping the show moving. EVERYONE else on the show are hockey guys. It's no bullshit....good highlight and analysis....none of this Top 100 nonsense.

what kills that network is a call in show that features Uncle Gary fielding calls from fans....are you serious?

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Yeah, that's true, Beth....I really only watch "NHL Tonight"

NHL Network did show the Pens cup clincher from '92, vs. Chicago last year. I loved that, I never saw it before, because I was living in Baltimore and that was a year the NHL had no national TV contract.

Just a few quick fixes at NFLN that would go a long way IMO...

1. Replace the smug fuck Rich Eisen with Steve Sabol. Not sure how Mr. Sabol's recovery is going, I pray it's going well, but this gentleman is light years smarter about the great game of football than Eisen will ever be, and we'll get sincerity and heart, not fucking hype and bullshit.

2. In the offseason, devote either a Saturday or Sunday to running complete game broadcasts of great games of the past. Hell, even mix in some of the old commercials of the times as well.

3. Stop running the same fucking commercials at each commercial break. They're annoying.

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I'm not sure why, but this is what they seem resistant to. They do it less now than ever, they used to do it much more, and I love that more than anything they have, I used to scan their schedule looking specifically for such stuff. Even if they had it in the middle of the night, I'd set my timer and record it. I have the 3 hour versions of Super Bowls 13&14 taped from NFLN. I also taped Super Bowl III, which is also awesome historically and a few more. But they definately have moved away from that sort of thing, not sure why? Did they get poor ratings? if they did, do more people REALLY enjoy the "top 10", "Eisen Podcast" or "Sound FX" more than classic games? I can't imagine that, but it could be.

I just scanned the NFLN schedule and found that on Monday, they'll be showing SB XIII, Pgh/Dallas, but it's the 90 minute version, not the actual broadcast, probably with interviews and crap interspersed. Myself, I don't want that, I want to see it as it was seen on TV the day it happened. But they seem to be now going more with the condensed versions.

Well it's all about attention spans now I guess. They don't cater to the diehard NFL fans anymore, and they actually consider us a dying breed. Maybe they're right. They cater more to what we call "pink hats' here in the New England area. These are the people who like their NFL in Reader's Digest format and can't be bothered with the extraneous stuff that true NFL fans enjoy.

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Amen to this. Absolutely. I always thought Steve Sabol would have brought a ton of class to their channel. It's a shame they tried to go with hip, all they got was smarmy and disrespectful and a lack of historical perspective in that smarmy fuck Eisen. God Bless Steve Sabol and his dad.

Also, clearly, I agree, and think they should fill more of their programming by showing complete games of the past. From any era, as long as there is tape. What the fuck else is there to do in the off-season, other than the draft?

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Playing football was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. If I could go out today and suit up, I would do it.--Jack Butler