My birthday wish list blog

(SAMPWOO.com)

My birthday wish list

1. The entire hockey community donates to Hockey Fights Cancer. I think we can all agree that beating cancer takes a team effort. I am going to make my private donation today to a charity that means a lot to me and the best birthday gift would be a cure one day. We’ve heard all of the courageous battles with cancer. The one I remember the most was former Devils head and assistant coach John Cunniff.
2. Patrick Marleau coming to New Jersey. The Devils already have the best set of left wingers in the entire NHL. Having Marleau in the lineup would give the Devils an added scoring threat and you would think he would center Elias and Rolston. Two dangerous scoring lines with a Lemaire system and a world class goaltender will make the Devils a sleeper team in the Atlantic. No pun intended for the wrongful ignorant trap haters.
3. Brick. I love the customized brick idea as the Devils are building a nice Championship Plaza next to the Prudential Center. Had I won the mega millions lottery last week, I would have purchased every single brick and some club seats.
4. Brian Metzer and Alex May from the Pens Buzzcast to get me tickets to the new building for a Devils/Penguins game. I am sure they are still on cloud nine and if they do come through, I’ll dress up like Sidney Crosby.
5. NHLPA should beware. I do not liking this firing because it really appears that a militant style leadership will be back. A lot of hockey fans will be on alert and if there is another work stoppage, there will be dire consequences. Get a leader that is strong, but willing to have a solid working relationship with the NHL.
6. Phoenix Coyotes. I hope they stay and the fans deserve this team.
7. The Devils did the right thing to have a “retro” night and having the Devils wear the old Christmas tree jerseys on the one year anniversary of St. Marty’s Day. Let’s take it one step further. Like the dollar hot dog promotion, they should have a dollar Guinness night as well.
8. For my friends that have left New Jersey or live in area outside the local broadcasting, Devils games in HD is not on Center Ice with DIRECTV.  Let’s get this resolved now.

And this is not just a Devils fan issue. It also applies to Rangers, Islanders, and Sabres fans.  How come the owners of MSG and MSG Plus network cannot provide this type of feed for hockey fans? How do you expect to promote a sport when you have the ability to utilize this great technology to the masses?

I’m speaking from a hockey fan’s point of view. I really do not care about the politics or Cablevision’s bottom line, but they should care about what hockey fans think about their product. My good friends should be able to get HD feeds of their favorite teams with Center Ice when they watch their teams play.

I am not too fond of Cablevision’s history when it comes to distributing hockey content. In the past, I had to go over to a friend’s house or to a bar to watch a Devils road playoff game because it got shafted to a little known channel called Metro, which only Cablevision subscribers get. After much bickering, they stopped doing this.

Of course, we all remember the issue pertaining to the New York Rangers website and the NHL. Nothing is ever easy when you deal with Dolan’s company. Time after time, you always hear something negative in the press about negotiations. (Remember the YES Network?) As hockey fans, we are at their mercy when it comes to providing good hockey content and coverage. All we really get are repeat footages and documentaries of the spring of 1994. Obviously, it wasn’t in HD because it happened a long time ago. Get over it.

My birthday wish: Give our out of town fans their hockey in HD on Center Ice.

e-mail: sampwoo@hockeyprimetime.com