Stirring the Conspiracy Pot!

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

The Stanley Cup Finals are being moved up because Gary Bettman hates bunny rabbits.

So yeah, basically I'm saying I got nothing and I hate conspiracy theories in all things.

[55fan 5,133]

The Stanley Cup Finals are being moved up because Gary Bettman hates bunny rabbits.

So yeah, basically I'm saying I got nothing and I hate conspiracy theories in all things.

Bettmen does NOT hate bunny rabbits!!!!!

He had one for supper last night with penne alfredo and a side salad with a refreshing fruit platter for dessert.

I can go with the later start. More time for Lids and Dats to heal. Less offseason.

[FLWINGSFAN4013 5]

why not just make it 4 days in a row or how about just playing 240 mins in one game at the joe on saturday?

[OsGOD 3]

its no conspiracy... its programming. if everyone wanting to watch the game would be able to fit in the arena there would be no need for television and they could start the games whenever.

[redwingslady87 130]

It's not that they are waiting til after the Pens series, they are waiting until both teams finish with their current series. It was posted Monday, the Pens did not win their series until tonight, and the Wings could possibly win theirs tomorrow night. Should the Wings win tomorrow night, the Pens will have 1 more day of rest than the Wings. If the Wings don't win tomorrow night, it's June 5th. Had the Wings swept the Hawks in 4 games, we would have had 2 days more rest than the Pens. From the business aspect, it is a dumb decision to have all that time off between series. People lose interest. Ratings drop. It's not a conspiracy, its a business decision.

The scheduling conflicts arising also came up for the NBA as well, even though they've had an easier ride.

The back to back thing has been asserted in other topics addressing this issue, so it's best to hit ALL of the points of contention regarding the conspiracy against the Red Wings.

The scheduling issue has to do with gathering more ratings, more money, more ad revenue, and no conflicts in venue scheduling.

I will also iterate that the Wings WOULD HAVE HAD MORE TIME OFF than the Penguins if they had swept their series as well, since the Red Wings started their series earlier than the Penguins'. Is this a league conspiracy too the fact that the Wings didn't perform as well? f*** no. There's no naivety to using conventional wisdom to throw out a very flagrantly mind-boggling conspiracy.

Reiterate, and had the Wings actually swept their series as well, this thread would have never happened. I guess you can't tell a paranoid person, not to be paranoid. They'll just be more paranoid because you told them not to be paranoid.

[HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 878]

Well, considering today (Game Day) is the 27th, then the finals should start on the 5th of June if we win right?

Yes. Should be. Doesn't mean it can't or won't be changed up. There's no law against it. I hope not though.

That means there not back to back or they will be?

[BewareThePenguin 1]

You do realize the Red Wings are part of the conspiracy in the minds of the conspiracy crowd... as in, "the league has it all set up for Detroit vs. Pittsburgh."

You realize this right?

If you don't you should.

[Guest Shoreline]

That means there not back to back or they will be?

I would say chances are very high that there will be back to back games for the first two since it's going to NBC.

[Mors 201]

Waiting till June 5th for the next round to start might be good for the players, but it sucks for the fans and for the league trying to keep people interested over the next 9 days for a potential rematch of last year.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

I would say chances are very high that there will be back to back games for the first two since it's going to NBC.

And that's the only part that pisses me off beyond belief.

The Stanley Cup Finals represent the 4-7 most important games of the entire season. Putting two of the first four together as back to backs is completely unacceptable.

There's a line that shouldn't be crossed for the purposes of selling the game- and that's having marketing concerns effect the outcome of the series.

By making the first two games back to backs you seriously jeopardize the home team's 'home ice advantage' by making the second game essentially an overtime crap shoot. Look at the regular season schedule- teams are far more likely to split a home stand that's back to back than they are any two isolated games. Then, after stealing the home advantage away from the higher-seeded team, they hand a nice cushy home stand that's not back to back- conferring a comparative advantage to that team.

The only time I would say a back to back isn't so much of an unbalancing force is if it's one of the pairs of home and home games that occur after game 5.

The first 4 games are absolutely critical to any seven game series. I'll be utterly incensed if they end up ******* with this by making the first home stand back to back.

[BlakChamber 8]

Bettmen does NOT hate bunny rabbits!!!!!

He had one for supper last night with penne alfredo and a side salad with a refreshing fruit platter for dessert.

Incorrect. He ate the rabbit raw with some fava beans and a nice chianti.

[VM1138 1,921]

Here's to putting another conspiracy theory to bed.. :beerbuddy:

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2009...-cup-final.html

Last Updated: Thursday, April 2, 2009

Big flaw: Whyw ould all the games start at 8pm, stated way back in April? What if a team like Anaheim would have gone to the Finals? Seems like that'd be a grossly unfair travel schedule.