Completely Conspicuous Episode 102: Trapped Under Ice

Special guest Phil Stacey and I take a look at the decade in sports, starting with a look at a turbulent 10 years for the NHL.

Topics:

- Sports, "the great bringer-together"? 

- NHL lost a season due to lockout

- Game has changed for the better

- Salary cap has led to more young stars

- NJ Devils introduced boring trap style in mid-'90s, continued in '00s

- Strategy and systems are more important now

- The shootout eliminated ties, but is it the right answer?

- Struggling franchises due to expansion: Phoenix, Florida, Nashville

- Phil: Cut six teams, improve the product

- TV package is troublesome: Dropped by ESPN, now on Versus

- No dynasties anymore

- Detroit was team of decade

- No Canadian team has won Cup since '93

- Ovechkin is best player in league

- Crosby: Coltrane vs. Ovechkin: The Clash

- Winter Classic has been great for the game

- Should NHL keep sending players to Winter Olympics?

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- EELS - Little Bird

- Molina & Johnson - Almost Let You In

- Calories - Let's Pretend That We're Older

- Lifter Puller - Lie Down on Lansdowne

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The EELS song is on the band's forthcoming album on Vagrant Records. Find out more at http://www.myspace.com/eels and download the track for free at http://www.eelstheband.com.

The Molina & Johnson song is on their self-titled album on Secretly Canadian Records. Find out more at http://www.molinajohnson.com and download the song for free at http://www.scjag.com.   

The Calories song is on the EP Let's Pretend We're Older on Smalltown America. Find out more and download the song for free at http://www.myspace.com/caloriesband.

The Lifter Puller song is on the compilation album Soft Rock on The Self Starter Foundation. Find out more and download the track for free at http://www.selfstarterfoundation/lifterpuller. 

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com, a leading supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and sports equipment. The promo code AFCOMP15 will get you 15% off any order at http://www.eastbay.com. The code AFCOMP20 will get you 20% off any order of $75 or more at http://www.eastbay.com. And the code AFCOMPFL will get you 15% off any order at http://www.footlocker.com.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at http://clickyclickymusic.com and http://www.keepingsomedarksecrets.net. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell; find out more at http://www.myspace.com/meandboristhebull. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography at http://bobdurling.blogspot.com/.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.