LabattBlue Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 It's the same reason why I don't want any players from the NHL to go...they are professionals and the Olympics was meant to be an amatuer event. To me playing in the Olympics is no different for the NHL guys than playing in the world hockey championships. This is why 1980 will always go down as the #1 all time great moment in sports history. Taking 22 college kids, putting them up against the so called amatuers from the other countries and coming away with a gold medal was just unbelievable... DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saber61 Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 i agree with your thread title but for a different reason... i don't want miller to wear himself out of worry himself about carrying the burden for team usa... he has a chance for greatness this year in the NHL... who cares about olympics... he's got his WHOLE career to be an olympian... he'll do it and he'll win gold... thats not to worry right now... lets just let him rest and well do ok on the final run... and perhaps go 2 rounds into the playoffs.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunkenSabre Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 i'd like him to have the honor of playing for Team USA, but i also prefer this. a "haha look u screwed up" at the GM (cant remember name). hehe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saber61 Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 i'd like him to have the honor of playing for Team USA, but i also prefer this. a "haha look u screwed up" at the GM (cant remember name). hehe. Don waddle lol.... guy's not to bright... maybe thats why heatley is in ottawa now... should never have let him go... i can't believe kovalchuk came back with out heatley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunkenSabre Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 Don waddle lol.... guy's not to bright... maybe thats why heatley is in ottawa now... should never have let him go... i can't believe kovalchuk came back with out heatley. possible felt overshadowed by heatley, and hossa was less of a threat. tho i suspect heatley was moved at his request, to the best of my knowledge thats what happened anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saber61 Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 possible felt overshadowed by heatley, and hossa was less of a threat. tho i suspect heatley was moved at his request, to the best of my knowledge thats what happened anyway. yes again another player demands to goto a 'contender' ah meh... teams like buffalo 'turn into' contenders... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 i agree with your thread title but for a different reason... i don't want miller to wear himself out of worry himself about carrying the burden for team usa... he has a chance for greatness this year in the NHL... who cares about olympics... he's got his WHOLE career to be an olympian... he'll do it and he'll win gold... thats not to worry right now... lets just let him rest and well do ok on the final run... and perhaps go 2 rounds into the playoffs.... Saber61 -- I can't disagree with you about keeping Miller fresh (and motivated) for our season, and this being more important to Sabres fans than what happens in the Olympics...BUT I have to say that I would be very psyched if Miller got on the team. I think he would definitely be the starting goalie, he would play very well, and probably lead us to a medal. With him in goal the US has a much better chance against Canada, Russia and the other strong teams. Wouldn't all of us watch all of his games? I definitely would. It was pretty cool when Dom put the Czech team on his shoulders and got them the gold, and Miller would give the US the same chance. Not saying he would deliver, but he might, and it would be pretty exciting. Either way, what a great season he is having. Go Sabres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKnowPhysics Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 Forget this noise. The olympic gold medal is a great honor, maybe even on par with winning the Stanley Cup. It's a chance to represent your birth country in an ancient contest of honor. The NHL has made accomodations to allow NHL players to play in the olympics so that the best players in the world may compete for the world honor. The olympics are no amatuer event. It'd be a shame for Ryan to get fatigued or injured while playing team USA, and missing Sabres games, but so what? Let him make the decision. It's saddening to see that the olympics aren't appreciated in the shadow of our by-comparison-meager NHL franchise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan in MD Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 i agree with your thread title but for a different reason... i don't want miller to wear himself out of worry himself about carrying the burden for team usa... he has a chance for greatness this year in the NHL... who cares about olympics... he's got his WHOLE career to be an olympian... he'll do it and he'll win gold... thats not to worry right now... lets just let him rest and well do ok on the final run... and perhaps go 2 rounds into the playoffs.... Wearing out is one thing, getting injured is another. Olympics and all-star games are great, but, quite frankly, I'd rather not see my guys participating. The risks are there, and can be career threatening. Check out the likes of Dizzy Dean and Ray Fosse (Indians catcher whose promising career was ruined after tearing up his groin in an all-star game). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted February 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 The NHL has made accomodations to allow NHL players to play in the olympics so that the best players in the world may compete for the world honor. The olympics are no amatuer event. The Olympics used to be an amatuer event. Now they allow professionals to compete in many Olympic events in order to increase TV ratings and draw more interest to the event. It's all about....$$$$$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopeleslyobvious Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 Couple thoughts...First I like the NHLers in the Olympics. The bigger ice makes it a better tournament than the world cup. Second, on NHL this morning on XM, they said team USA has up until 24 hours before the first game to make a roster change. So we may see Miller after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 The Olympics used to be an amatuer event. Now they allow professionals to compete in many Olympic events in order to increase TV ratings and draw more interest to the event. It's all about....$$$$$. LabattBlue -- In many respects I agree with you that it's all about the cash. I watch almost none of the Olympics. However, one of the things that I really like about the NHL is that I think just about every player in the league would go through a wall to represent his country in the Olympics AND that the players who are there are going to absolutely kill themselves to try to win. I think it's a matter of pride and bragging rights among the players. As an example, Razor keeps talking on MSG about how Canada is going to win the gold this year. Maybe it's annoying, but he really cares about it. This isn't like some juiced-up sprinter running in the olympics for the power bar endorsement contract or some bored, lackadaisical NBA "star" opting out of the Olympics because he'd rather get baked and play XBox for the 2 weeks. The NHL guys look at it as a huge honor to get selected and really want to win. I personally would be very psyched to watch Miller and Drury (and Connolly, if he hadn't gotten hosed and then hurt) lead the US team. I would watch every game. Go Sabres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregkash Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 The Olympics are supposed to the BEST athletes in the world. Nowhere in the olympics does it say, "The Olympics are for Amateurs" the NHL had rules against sending it's people to the Olympics, not the other way around. THE BEST ATHLETES SHOULD GO. Ryan Miller is the BEST AMERICAN GOALIE. He should go. it would suck if he got hurt, i know, but the olympics are something special. I would be pissed if I were Ryan, no lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted February 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 The Olympics are supposed to the BEST athletes in the world. Nowhere in the olympics does it say, "The Olympics are for Amateurs" the NHL had rules against sending it's people to the Olympics, not the other way around. THE BEST ATHLETES SHOULD GO. Ryan Miller is the BEST AMERICAN GOALIE. He should go. it would suck if he got hurt, i know, but the olympics are something special. I would be pissed if I were Ryan, no lie. That is the way it is now, but it wasn't always that way. All I am saying is that I think the Olympics were more pure when it was just amateurs. The excerpt below is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games Amateurism and professionalism In Coubertin's vision, athletes should be gentlemen. As in most cases only amateurs were considered such, professional athletes were not allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. The exception to this were the fencing instructors, who were indeed expected to be gentlemen. This exclusion of professionals has caused several controversies throughout the history of the modern Olympics. 1912 Olympic pentathlon and decathlon champion, Jim Thorpe, was disqualified when it was discovered that he played semi-professional baseball prior to winning his medals. He was restored as champion on compassionate grounds by the IOC in 1983. Twenty-four years later, Swiss and Austrian skiers boycotted the 1936 Winter Olympics in support of their skiing teachers, who were not allowed to compete because they were considered to be professionals, earning money with their sport. It gradually became clear to many that the amateurism rules had become outdated. For example, many athletes from Eastern European nations were officially employed by the government, but effectively given opportunity to train all day, thereby only being amateurs in name. Nevertheless, the IOC held to the traditional rules regarding amateurism. In the 1980s, amateurism regulations were relaxed, and completely abolished in the 1990s. This switch was perhaps best exemplified by the American Dream Team, composed of well-paid NBA stars, which won the Olympic gold medal in basketball in 1992. As of 2004, the only sport in which no professionals compete is boxing; in men's football, the number of players over 23 years of age is limited to three per team. Advertisement regulations are still very strict, at least on the actual playing field, although "Official Olympic Sponsors" are common. Athletes are only allowed to have the names of clothing and equipment manufacturers on their outfits. The sizes of these markings are limited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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