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NHL General

Who the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks Cares

     You know your sport is in trouble when a month into the season, your fans haven’t even noticed that no games have been played.  You know your sport is in trouble when the biggest star in your sport has been retired for over five years.  You know your sport is in trouble when the television ratings for the climax of the season rivals that of a re-run of “Full House” (no disrespect to Bob Saget and the gang).  And everyone knows the NHL is not only in trouble, but up a creek, without a paddle, and in a quick sinking raft.

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NHL General

NHL Addition by Subtraction

I think we can all agree on one thing in the sports world: the NHL sucks.  Big time.  It’s plain boring to watch.  Hockey’s supposed to be the, “fastest game on earth,” but when the league is diluted so much, teams have no choice but to use defensive minded systems all the time.  I’m not knocking them for using the systems; it’s the best way to win in the league today.  The NHL needs contraction; it’s the only way to eliminate the trap as the system of choice by adding more concentrated talent.  They shouldn’t bastardize the game by altering the rules or changing the size of the ice.  They shouldn’t accommodate less skilled players by enlarging the nets or limiting the size of goalie pads.  The NHL should contract ten teams.

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NHL General

The NHL continues to skate around the issues!

 Recently an all star cast of the who’s who, in the NHL met to take on the task of improving its game. Discussions ranged from the size of goalie pads to were the net is located on ice. Once again the NHL will fail its goal of skating out of the ice ages! While they have Nascars for athletes they play at sprint car speeds. These so-called fixes are just Band-Aids on a gaping wound of lost interest and revenue! Here are the stitches.

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NHL General

NHL slain by Lord Stanley- again

The bottom line is that the NHL is a dying sports league. Everybody already is aware of the troubling labor issues the NHL has to deal with and getting slammed with a boring Finals will do nothing but dig the hole deeper. Barry Melrose may be on the streets in a year if nothing is done to rectify the situation.

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NHL General

Farewell NHL- We Hardly Knew Ye

Alright, I admit it. I’m the one. I know that bashing the NHL has become the chic thing to do right about now, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. I live for the NHL. I’m the one person who would rather watch a random Blackhawks/Thrashers game, than Red Sox/Yankees or even Florida State/Miami. There’s nothing like the two month passion-fest that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Give it to me over March Madness any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

It’s really a shame that when the Dave Andreychuk and the Lightning hoisted the Cup last month, it basically signaled the end of hockey in North America as we know it. The league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement ends September 15, and all signs point to a labor dispute that at the very least will wipe out the entire 2004-05 season before it even has a chance to get started. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA Head Bob Goodenow haven’t had official talks since last October, and no talks are scheduled in the foreseeable future.