Friday, September 23, 2005

Cold Wars

Feuds are front and center in the new NHL

With the new scheduling emphasis on division rivals playing each other more this upcoming season there's going to be a number of very interesting and entertaining series for fans to keep their eyes on.

Shawn P. Roarke writing for Foxsports has put together a look at the NHL rivalries for 2005-06.
While new divisional rivalries will surely be formed through the implementation of the NHL's new unbalanced schedule, the league already has a number of can't-miss rivalries.

Those blood feuds will be the drawing card for many fans as they straddle the fence deciding whether or not to accept the return of hockey with open arms and, more importantly for the league, open wallets
.
He has the Calgary vs. Edmonton rivalry listed 4th best for the upcoming season (I would've had it higher).
The Battle of Alberta has it all. Not surprisingly its annual installments are always the highlights of the province's winter calendar. No matter the respective fortunes of the two teams, these games are always do-or-die affairs conducted at a frenetic pace that is absent from more than 90 percent of regular-season games. Not even the fact that these two teams have not met in the playoffs since 1991 has quelled the passion the residents of these two cities hold for the rivalry.
Edmonton, on the strength of its dynastic team led by Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier, holds a 4-1 advantage in the five playoff series between the two teams. With both teams making serious additions this summer, the next installment of the Battle of Alberta will apparently be as exciting as past editions
.
If your interested in totally immersing yourself in the Flames/Oilers feud... like I am ...the blogs Battle of Alberta and Covered in Oil are the places to go. We're talking total immersion here folks. The sites are run by a variety of contributors who each bring their own uniquely entertaining perspective and style to the back and forth debates that take place on and between these two blogs.

Check them out. It's the best one-two combination coverage of a NHL rivalry out there.

For a complete listing and analysis of Roarke's Top 5 best and most heated feuds for fans to savor this season >>> X <<< marks the spot.

3 comments:

andy grabia said...

I saw that you are a big fan of The Tropic of Hockey, and just thought I would pass along this review of Bidini's new one.

http://sportsmatter.blogspot.com/2005/09/book-review-best-game-you-can-name.html

I enjoy the blog alot! Keep it up!

Photomas said...

Andy,
Thanks for the link, much appreciated. I'm a big Bidini fan who thinks he's the best hockey writer out there right now... and thanks for liking the blog. Stop by and visit again when you get the chance.

We're always open.

hockey on.

Anonymous said...

Covered in Oil even runs their own cartoon for crying out loud. Hockey needs more of this coming from the fans. I think it's a good sign of things to come.