With the revelation that the Blue Jackets have lost in the neighborhood of $80 million since 2002, and that discussions were afoot to transfer ownership of Nationwide Arena to Franklin County, utilizing a “sin tax” increase, the full range of doomsayers, conspiracy theorists and panic-mongers are emerging and forecasting imminent Armageddon at the hands of [...]
May 29th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 4 comments | ContinuedArchive for Jeff Little
A native of the SF Bay Area, my first exposure to hockey was the SF/Oakland/California Golden Seals, including Charlie Finley and the white skates. Fast forward to the late 1980's when Gretzky and the Kings came up to the Bay Area for an exhibition game at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, for which we had glass seats. I was at the first San Jose Sharks game in the Cow Palace, and followed them for their first few pathetic years, before moving to Columbus in 1994. I attended the first pro-NHL rally downtown, and have been a season ticket holder since Day 1, wife & I are active in the Jacket Backers, and son is an avid fan as well. I cover the Jackets for Inside Hockey, and contribute regularly to a variety of hockey sites. I maintain contact with the Jackets organization, and like to dig into stories, bringing a fresh, and sometimes irreverent perspective to hockey.
Stop Me If You Have Heard This One Before . . .
Work has been a nightmare for the past few weeks, so I have been unforgiveably absent from the blogosphere for that period of time. For better or worse, I am back, and am working on several pieces on the draft, broadcasters, etc. Watch this space! Anyway, could not resist the opportunity to point everyone to [...]
May 22nd, 2009 | Jeff Little | 1 comment | Continued
Ryan Salmons Loses His Battle
The CBJ family lost one of their most ardent and courageous followers yesterday, when Ryan Salmons succumbed to the cancer that he had so valiantly battled for the past year.Ryan’s death comes just eight days after I saw him in the locker room after the Jackets’ Game 4 elimination at the hands of the Detroit [...]
May 2nd, 2009 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
Another Level
In the aftermath of Game 4 vs. the Red Wings, my gut instinct was to pounce on the keyboard, vent about the officiating, decry the injustice and gush about the energy and atmosphere in the arena. Somehow, I thought better of it. Instead, I decided to take a bit of a breather, let the immediate [...]
May 1st, 2009 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
Support Your Local Broadcasters!!!
According to the Dispatch folks, the broadcasting contracts with Matthews, Davidge, Gare and Rimer are all in limbo, though Rimer appears to be safe. Check out the article here. Now, I can’t speak for everyone, but I think this is a bad time to do a shakeup. I, for one, think that the radio [...]
April 29th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 7 comments | Continued
Out But Not Down . . .
The Blue Jackets may have lost a game tonight, but they gained far more than that. In trading scoring blows with the Detroit Red Wings, taking the best they had and giving it right back to them, the Jackets climbed far up the ladder in seasoning, respect and character.There will be plenty of time to [...]
April 24th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 2 comments | Continued
An Amazing Piece Of History . . .
I may have just witnessed the most amazing period of hockey in Bluejackets history. In the playoffs for the first time . . .at home . . .against the Red Wings . . . elimination game . . . trailing 3 – 1 entering the period. First, under 2 minutes in, Nash on the [...]
April 24th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
Time To Shine!!!
About 20 minutes to puck dropping, and unfortunately this is a much different atmosphere than Tuesday. Where the seats were packed long before the game started then, Nationwide is 70% empty right now, with the majority apparently still outside, perhaps engaging in the consumption of an adult beverage or two. I am sure the energy [...]
April 23rd, 2009 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
A Helluva Show!!!
I will be reviewing the game later, but full marks to the City of Columbus, the Blue Jackets organization, affiliated sponsors, and the fan base for putting on a great, great show. From the carnival atmosphere on the Plaza, to the massive line for free Blue Jackets flags (nice idea, Nationwide!!), to the elbow-to-elbow crowds [...]
April 22nd, 2009 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
Time For A Deep Breath . . .
So Games 1 and 2 have not gone according to plan, from the Blue Jackets’ perspective. In fact, pretty close to as far from plan as could be expected. Detroit has played like, well, Detroit. When Detroit does that, virtually every other team in the league becomes spectators, to one extent or another. The Jackets [...]
April 20th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 2 comments | Continued
Retribution Day!
A new day has dawned, and the bad taste left after Game 1 is gone. We have taken our initial hits, and know what we need to do. This is not an insurmountable task — we have beaten the Wings 3 times this year, and played a strong 1st half on Thursday.We are about to [...]
April 18th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
Lessons Learned
As the commercials for the PGA Tour say — “These guys are good. . . ” Detroit fired on all cylinders tonight in a 4 – 1 victory over the Jackets, aided by deflections off of Manny Malhotra and Jan Hejda. For the first thirty minutes, this was a breathtaking hockey game. 27 shots fired [...]
April 17th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 3 comments | Continued
The Time Has Come!!! — Some Playoff Day Ramblings
Hard to believe that after 82 regular season games, 226 goals and 2,363 shots on goal, the playoffs are about to begin!!! Hitch has had several days to review his options and draw his battle plans, we have had the chance to get the bumps and bruises healed, rest up and get in shape for [...]
April 16th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 1 comment | Continued
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