Exerpt from X-IHL game

[MDE3]

"Jablonsky has the puck and is flying down the boards...he better watch it, two of the defenders have him lined up with their sharpend stick blades"...."OMG..Jablonsky tosses the puck skyward off his stick, then leaps up onto the edge of the boards in a high speed grind"....."He rolls into an invert while doing a 540 over top of the defenders." "He lands smoothly backwards on one skate. and catches the decending puck on his blade" ...."Jablonsky spins into another 360 and slings the puck past the mesmerized goalie.....GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLL"

"Wow.....now that's what you call "extreme hockey" "

[sactosaxons]

MDE3: I've read your posts regarding the new XIHL and I do understand your thinking/reasons for not embracing this new league but... Instead of criticizing & making fun of it, why not keep an open mind, listen to the still-unfolding information about it and then form an opinion about it? I think Charlie, Benny, and Steve deserve at least that from all of us.

[NLane]

I guess it's the name that grates you but I remember players thinking MAJOR LEAGUE Roller Hockey was a stupid name in the beginning also. It was the product that made the name legit. Same will happen here.

[MDE3]

I have had some vicarious involvement with "extreme" sport which is what may be influencing my thinking...from bmx'ing to motocross and flat track quad racing..with all the injuries and daredevil stunts that ensue.

Those who participate in the sport, do so for the thrills and the high from taking the risks, from the participants through the fans. That is their choice.

However to create that kind of image and expectation from fans to whom the word "extreme" has a very specific context, is to misrepresent the sport, and risks once more trashing it's credibility which is already a frail enough thing. Do you not think Pro Beach hockey with it's ramps did enough of that? Do we head out in the same direction again?...I challenge anyone to find 20 players who did not think Pro Beach was a joke. Where do you think that concept came from..the players? Is the same TV carrot being used to drive the inclusion of the word "Extreme"? If so can we expect the same resounding acceptance that Pro Beach recieved? And then there was "Speed Hockey"

Look, I do not have issues with the goodwill and dedication of the three partners involved in this latest incarnation of the sport....my concern is that they do not hinder their own efforts to gain credibility by starting off with a name that will in most cases impede their struggle to gain acceptance of the sport rather than enhance it.

If their market analyses has shown that there are too many fans with whom the league name MLRH has a negative context, or if the legal issues involved in the continued use of the MLRH handle are too great to overcome, then at least start with a new league name that will not have 2 strikes against it's future success.

I am all for improvement, but adding the term "extreme" may be creating expectations and subsequent dissapointments that will hinder their prodigious efforts from the beginning.

What you may see as a "spoof" above, is in the eyes of the fans who expect "extreme", not a spoof at all, but would in fact be consistent with their expectations.

Let me put it this way....if the league founders had come to you before the fact and asked if you thought the name "extreme inline hockey" should be the one used for a new league to replace MLRH...what would you have told them?

All the positive feedback we see about this latest news is from fans and participants who know the people involved, and are willing to overlook their own reservations about the new handle, simply based on the credibility of their past relationships with those individuals. However the feedback we really need is from those outside "the circle of friends"..the fans who know nothing of the past and politics of MLRH but are viewing the league soley on it's own merits.

[NLane]

A full check, offsides inline hockey is extreme compared to the other versions as far as I see it. Only the Pro versions of any tournament group comes close. The name Pro Beach wasn't a problem was it? Just the product...my point. 2 of Webster's definitions of extreme: 1.in or to the greatest degree and 2. far from what is usual or conventional. Works for me. I like the name.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by NLane on 08/09/04 09:09 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

[MDE3]

However to hockey fans who might just watch NHL hockey on television....(whenever it may reappear)

[NLane]

Hopefully they will settle their conflicts and we may again see them play (NHL).

[dcdonkey]

I wouldn't consider roller hockey anymore extreme than ice hockey. Oh wait, they're extreme because this league plays while wearing roller blades. Obviously this name isn't a suitable representation of the actual product that will be played. Would we be providing a false promise to a fan that hears only the league name and a location of a game (without any other information)? We should also look to names that have been successful to the public like: IHL, ECHL, WCHL, WHL, OHL, NHL, NBA, NFL, MLS, and so on. I would also assume that to use the word "extreme" would represent a lose in professional credibility from the beginning. How is this hockey "far from what is usual or conventional"? I wouldn't consider the use of roller skates far from usual or conventional.

[NLane]

Do our 16U play check inline hockey? But ice do so to the teen ice player this isn't extreme, but to the roller player it is. And doesn't TORHS still play cherry pick hockey with no offsides in the Adult division? Hitting in the middle of the floor is extreme to the other forms of inline. I don't think I wrote that it was more extreme than ice hockey.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by NLane on 08/09/04 09:56 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

[Rebecca]

On the lighter side....

think of it though this way

This has been the Generation of X. So many thing have used the "X" in the title, whether extreme in nature or not. Its almost just a catch phrase. Now I have no comment on why the league was called "X-anything" but I also have no problem with the league name if the product puts out and is going to unite MLRH and PIHA groups (under those names or any other).

But, imagine this......

What will the next generation be?

My take on it will be Generation B. (B standing for Bankruptcy).

Or to do a 180: Generation-R. (R standing for Recovery).

Bankruptcy from: depletion of Social Security, monies spent on health care, monies spent on Drug addiction, monies spent on the rebuilding of losses from September 11th, monies spent on attorneys from false allegations against celebrities and the media hype around them, monies spent by Paris Hilton, monies lost in Sports-contract fall outs, monies spent on campaigning, monies spent to make documentaries, monies spent by the government on oversees projects, war, champagne spending on beer budgets, bad investments, yuppie spending on $300k homes with balloon payment due on year 15, and inline hockey ventures.

Recovery from: Drug addiction, Parental discontent, September 11th, Sports injuries, false allegations against celebrities and the media hype around them, Paris-Hilton wannabees, Sports-contract fall outs, Burnout, general dissatisfaction of the government, war, champagne spending, bad investments, divorce, layoffs, and rebuilding inline hockey from the ground up.

So, dunno bout you guys but the name XIHL sounds a whole lot better to me than RIHL or BIHL which sounds like Bill when you say it and that wouldn't work out.


Rebecca

[NLane]

HAHAHAHA

[jamie20]

If you don't like it don't participate or rather your son.
It's easy to sit here and comment on what should, who should, instead people should get off their ass and try themselves before they rip someone elses efforts. I know because I tried and failed not because of my efforts but because of the lack of efforts from everybody else who committed and didn't follow through on their ends. These three guys have a well thought out business plan. They only need to keep the owners in the loop for now. The rest of you are on a need to know basis and thats that.

[SpiderRat]

How about a like to know basis? I'd like to know. Just kidding Jamie. Lighten up kid.

[MDE3]

Well that's an encouraging attitude...I am not &quot;ripping&quot; the efforts of these people at all....just seriously questioning the choice of the name in the hopes of short circuiting what I see as an avoidable problem....

I applaud the efforts that Steve has provided last year, and the efforts that all the owners must be also putting out to make this thing work. Rather than knocking these efforts, I am more concerned that they are being wasted..as I know better than most exactly how much effort is involved and for what small returns. You know that I have as great a desire to see any elite inline league succeed as anyone involved in the whole industry..so take that into context in reading what I write...I am not simply taking the time to write this stuff for my own edification..I do have other things to do.

As for your invitation for my son to &quot;not participate&quot; in any league that may arrive...he has nothing to do with my posts, and does not even read them, so I would seriously hope that is not some sort of veiled &quot;threat&quot; from you as a team owner, as a way of getting me to stop expressing my opinion....

[FAfromCT]

The girl has a dam good and valid point!! I like the way you think Rebecca!!