by alec on January 11, 2006
The Ottawa Citizen reports this morning that the Senators have done a new deal for the naming rights on the Corel Centre. The Senators will now play at "Scotiabank Place". I’m happy for Corel that they’ve unloaded this dinosaur. In 2000 I told then Corel CEO Derek Burney that he ought to sell the rights to someone else. An expenditure of $2M per year to brand a $100M company in it’s local market was just loopy.
I have to confess, though, that the whole thing leaves me a little cold. I’d much rather see the return of the Ottawa Palladium, the Montreal Forum, Candlestick Park, Maple Leaf Gardens, and so on. These were real places that sparked the imagination and invoked the emotions of the fans. They were more than simply expensive billboards for the latest bidder to snap up. What image does the Air Canada Centre conjure up? Long lines? Expensive tickets? Poor service?
by alec on December 31, 2005
We went to the Ottawa Senators vs the NY Islanders last night at the Corel Center. The Senators came back from being down 3-1 to win the game 4-3. It was a remarkable display of teamwork, made all the more so by team Captain Daniel Alfredsson. In the middle of the second period he took a slapshot from team mate Zdeno Chara in the ribs. Chara has a powerful shot, and Alfredsson left the game winded, and with a bruised and cracked rib.
This year’s Senators have grit. Rather than let the loss of their captain affect their game negatively, they rallied and turned around a losing game. This without Alfredsson, star center Spezza, and winger’s Havlat and Bochenski, all of whom are out with injuries.
Alfredsson has always led by example. Without him there, players like Shaefer, Fisher, and Neil stepped up and played a fabulous game. Afterward, following a trip to hospital confirming his cracked rib, Alfredsson had only this to say:
”That’s the way it goes,” said Alfredsson. ”Hopefully, Spezza is coming back soon and the good thing is we have guys stepping up and tonight was another big case of that, so we’ll find ways to win games.”
