Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 4.40

www.afootinthecrease.com

What`s the old saying? If it ain`t broke, don`t fix it? That`s it, right? Ya. Well obviously the NHL isn`t too familiar with that notion after seeing its first attempt at hosting the annual awards show live from Las Vegas. If there was ever something from the big swing and a miss category, that was it. Clearly, the NHL was trying to add some luster and thrust itself into the big leagues of American sports events by holding it in the most lustrous city in the world, not the secluded little hamlet of Toronto, Ontario.

Instead what they ended up with was a directionless event with numerous awkward moments and surely more people laughing than those who were impressed. It was the kind of event that left me thinking of the reaction you get from the kid who`s no good and nobody wants to pick when picking teams. So eventually someone feels bad enough, picks him, he gets his chance but then fails miserably leaving everyone to roll their eyes.

What the NHL had with its awards show in Toronto was already unique and among the bigger spectacles for awards shows of the major North American sports leagues. It didn`t need changing. The focus in years past was on the game of hockey; Thursday night in Las Vega, I`m not really sure what the focus was on: ad for the Palms Casino and Resort, b-list actors and musicians with an opportunity to get on TV and wear that new tux? You definitely wouldn`t see b-list NHLers, let alone a-list NHLers handing out Oscars and Grammys now would you?

By the way, who hosted the show? Was it Jeremy Roenick? Michael Buble? The big voiceover guy? A curious question to be left with though isn`t it after watching an awards show that was trying to appear to be a bigger deal than it actually is? But hey, all that was just rigamarole.