Stephen A. Smith rants on ties in hockey, which don’t exist anymore

Monday's daytime SportsCenter thankfully didn't spend the entire morning on the Harlem Shake, but they did deliver inanity in spades once again.  This time it was resident debating expert Stephen A. Smith comparing the impressive streaks of the Miami Heat and the Chicago Blackhawks.

The streaks are fundamentally different.  Miami has won 14 straight games.  Chicago has recorded a point in 22 straight to begin the season (19 wins, 3 OT losses).  But because this is "Embrace Debate", one has to be better than the other and ESPN had to trot out one of their analysts to take a side.

Of course, who better than one of Bristol's resident expert debaters, Stephen A. Smith to rant on this topic… because he's such a respected authority on the sport of hockey, you know.  Just watch and cringe in pain and agony as Screamin' A. totally dismisses the Blackhawks point streak because of "ties."

Then note that the NHL hasn't had a tie since April 4th, 2004.  

For the record, it was 3 shootout losses for the Blackhawks, not 3 ties.

This is what happens when you employ only one competent hockey personality and prefer bluster to knowledge.  You end up with an ESPN analyst talking about things that haven't existed for almost nine years.  Hockey is about points, yes.  So is soccer.  Hockey is a different sport than basketball and orders its standings differently, rewarding teams with points for not losing in regulation.  This is apparently a difficult concept to grasp.

This is what also happens when you try to compare and debate the merits of two winning streaks when one isn't even a winning streak at all.  It's a point streak.  There's a difference.

I just wonder if Stephen A. Smith's lack of understanding about the rules of the sport and flippantly saying "it's hockey we're talking about here" still counts as proof of ESPN talking about the NHL?

If ESPN is really the worldwide leader in sports as they proclaim to be, maybe they can find someone to put on television next time to talk hockey who is aware of the existence of the Columbus Blue Jackets.  They've only been around for 13 years.

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