NHL
By Chris Mackey
So, the National Hockey League is going to declare in a press conference on Wednesday that this season is going to be officially cancelled. In other news… blah, blah, blah.
My question is this: Does anyone really care now that this enevitable action is finally coming to pass after it had been on the minds of hockey fans everywhere all season? I at least know this: I sure don’t.
At this point in time, I’m disgusted with the state of the NHL and NHLPA’s bargaining techniques. I decided to write a letter to the NHLPA outlining some suggestions to them while still trying to be respectful of their stance.
Uniforms used to be something that fans could distinguish their allies by, when colours separated teams in a game they both shared a passion for. The team sweater used to have a power that allowed the bearer to show off who their heart laid with.
Then the alternate/third jersey was born and the death of the hockey sweater began.
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.
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.
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.
For those of us south of the Mason-Dixon line, hockey doesn’t come up on the register very often, if at all. Our psyche is so bent on baseball, basketball and football that the concept of following some sport we fail to understand and are incapable of playing seems laughable. But occasionally, there enters into the world a story so bizarre, so strange, so irrefutably perplexing, that our minds drift from the courts and fields more suited to our more tepid climes. Such a story has drifted from the glacial land of Canada, intertwined with the similarly frosty plains of Illinois, made a beeline in the livable domain of St. Louis, and finally arrived at our attentions, compelling us to train our minds to its endless complexities. It is a story of family secrets beyond which can be found in the Southern tradition of the dimestore novel, a betrayal which far surpasses the bounds of any film-noir screenplay, and smitten manipulation which exceeds the confines of even the most scandalous of tabloids. It is the story of Mike Danton, a young, talented left wing for the St. Louis Blues, who Friday pled guilty to murder-for-hire conspiracy, along with girlfriend Katie Wolfmeyer.
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.
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.
Two of the more recognizable figures in Buffalo hockey history, both in the top 4 on the all-time Sabres scoring list, just recently won hockey’s biggest prize representing a team that didn’t even exist when they were both in Buffalo and in their primes.