I'll not repeat much of Ryan's post, but although he has related the
facts well, I disagree with virtually every conclusion he voices ...
 
>Bleah.... Shootouts don't prove anything. ...
 
   Shootouts provide an exciting and on-ice confrontation that provides
   a slim margin of victory for those folks that don't feel that a tie
   is an fine and honorable end to a match.
 
>Do shootouts make the game more exciting? ...
 
   5,000 Alfond Arena fans stayed to watch the shootout with BU Saturday
   night.  Maybe the newness will wear off after a while, but for now,
   fans seem to love to watch the shootout, no matter what the hockey
   traditionalists say later.  Even though the game Saturday went longer
   than normal, the media stayed for the shootout, too!
 
> ... then why bother have shootouts? ...
 
   Fan excitement.  I'd rather have a "mini-1-on-1", but the shootout is
   simpler and quicker.  Ice hockey without great fan support is just
   another college sport.  To get great regional and national fan
   support, we need the shootout.
 
> ... Why not give the teams a break after regulation to
>clear the ice and then have, say, a 20-minute sudden death ...
 
   This has been discussed to death elsewhere, but exhausting your
   student athletes, creating havoc with TV, radio and arena scheduling
   and keeping fans up until the wee hours is not a great way to promote
   the sport.
 
>Can you imagine baseball getting rid of extra innings and having a
>home run derby?
 
   Actually, I'd like to see something like a home-run derby before
   every game.  But baseball is too different from hockey to make such a
   comparison meaningful, IMHO.
 
cheers,
 
Wayne Smith
The College Hockey Discussion List administrator
Systems Group - CAPS              BITNET/CREN:  wts@maine
University of Maine System        internet:     [log in to unmask]
 
P.S.  I'll be away from HOCKEY-L for the next few days.  If you write to
      me privately, please expect a delay.  If some newbie expresses a
      problem on the list, please let them know I'll get to it in a
      couple of days.  If anyone has a $100 problem, and as a last
      resort, contact [log in to unmask]