The Thursday Memo

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey...

Couple of things thus far this morning.

- The San Jose Sharks Tuesday night tilt against the Dallas Stars enjoyed the best TV Ratings in the history of Comcast SportsNet's coverage of the Sharks. The game drew a 2.1, beating their previous record of 2.0 (Jan. 29, 2009) (Sharks).

- Although NHL.com is a great site for the league and the to-go place to confirm news, lets just say they triple-check their sources before letting rip. (Puck The Media).

- In College Hockey News, Michigan will host Michigan State in an effort to break the record for hockey attendance by playing an outdoor game at Michigan Stadium on December 11, 2010 (Western College Hockey). By 2010, Michigan Stadium is set to have renovations completed to up the capacity to 108,000 plus.

- Part III to the Second Half Attendance boost series will be coming on Sunday, but yesterday I took a capacity look at the same issue. Take a look (click to enlarge):



The two charts are essentially the same, but this one offers a different view because teams that have significantly smaller capacities are at a disadvantage in the average attendance area, but here that does not exist. For example, Nashville's Sommet Center tops out at 17,113; so although they have had a boost it is nowhere near as big as others in terms of average attendance. But, as shown, Nashville's capacity percentage is up just over 4%, which is great for that market. When I update the average attendance chart Sunday, this will go along with it, so check it out.

- Finally, take a look at this USA Hockey Commercial. I have heard of the OneGoal program, but I have never seen this commercial here in New York. Maybe they are reaching out to the grassroots areas:



Check back in a bit as more is to come.

- Update, 3:45 PM EST:

Michael Grange of the Globe and Mail takes a look at how Canadian Trade Deadline shows fared with such little action for the long time periods of broadcast. (Globe and Mail)