03-08-2004, 02:43 PM
India beats New Zealand in the Olympic Hockey Qualifiers.........
I think this victory assures us a place in Athens. Rejoice, fellow Hockey fans.
<!--emo&:ind--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/india.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='india.gif' /><!--endemo-->
in other news, more details on the new National Hockey League are out. And what a sell-out it is. The games have been made to look a lot like American games, with time-outs and smaller quarters.
Plans in place for National Hockey League
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->With Rs 7.1 million as prize-money on offer and live telecast of matches on ESPN STAR Sports guaranteed, plans are in place for a National Field Hockey League in India.
As per the proposed format, the league will comprise two tiers. Tier I will be called the Premier Division and Tier II the Second Division. The leagues will follow a round-robin format, with all teams playing each other twice. The winner will be decided on the basis of total points aggregated.
In order to make the game a viewing spectacle, each game will have four quarters of 17 minutes and 30 seconds instead of standard two halves. The concepts of time-outs will be introduced to liven up the game. The winner within the stipulated time will get 3 points for each victory while the team winning in the extra-time will share the points.
All Tier I matches will be played on Fridays and Saturdays. In the inaugural year, the premier division matches will be played in floodlit stadiums across India, including Hyderabad. Tier I teams will have an option of bringing in a maximum of five foreign players.
According to the list made available by the IHF, the first tier will have teams liker Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Jalandhar and Hyderabad.
Tier Two will have Delhi, Chandigarh, Imphal, Lucknow and Ranchi or Kolkata.
<b>So, come September, fixtures between teams like Delhi Dynamos and Bombay Bombers could be on the Indian hockey calendar.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Is it just coincidence that in a post in this thread on September 18th last year, i had mentioned Dehradun Dynamos and Bangalore Bombers?!?! Plagiarism! <!--emo&:cool--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' /><!--endemo-->
I think this victory assures us a place in Athens. Rejoice, fellow Hockey fans.
<!--emo&:ind--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/india.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='india.gif' /><!--endemo-->
in other news, more details on the new National Hockey League are out. And what a sell-out it is. The games have been made to look a lot like American games, with time-outs and smaller quarters.
Plans in place for National Hockey League
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->With Rs 7.1 million as prize-money on offer and live telecast of matches on ESPN STAR Sports guaranteed, plans are in place for a National Field Hockey League in India.
As per the proposed format, the league will comprise two tiers. Tier I will be called the Premier Division and Tier II the Second Division. The leagues will follow a round-robin format, with all teams playing each other twice. The winner will be decided on the basis of total points aggregated.
In order to make the game a viewing spectacle, each game will have four quarters of 17 minutes and 30 seconds instead of standard two halves. The concepts of time-outs will be introduced to liven up the game. The winner within the stipulated time will get 3 points for each victory while the team winning in the extra-time will share the points.
All Tier I matches will be played on Fridays and Saturdays. In the inaugural year, the premier division matches will be played in floodlit stadiums across India, including Hyderabad. Tier I teams will have an option of bringing in a maximum of five foreign players.
According to the list made available by the IHF, the first tier will have teams liker Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Jalandhar and Hyderabad.
Tier Two will have Delhi, Chandigarh, Imphal, Lucknow and Ranchi or Kolkata.
<b>So, come September, fixtures between teams like Delhi Dynamos and Bombay Bombers could be on the Indian hockey calendar.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Is it just coincidence that in a post in this thread on September 18th last year, i had mentioned Dehradun Dynamos and Bangalore Bombers?!?! Plagiarism! <!--emo&:cool--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' /><!--endemo-->