Tuesday, October 11, 2005
 nhl hockey
october 2005 - june 2006
oln and fsn
folks, ive been struggling with something for quite some time now.
i think its been about 310 days or so.
thats how long the nhl lockout over collective bargaining took. it was the longest lockout of any north american sports league. ever.
but thats all in the past now.
hockey has returned and its better than ever.
professional level hockey has always been the fastest, most hard hitting, graceful and flowing sport in the world. in a live setting. the problem that hockey has always faced is that all that poetry in motion jazz doesnt translate as well to television. which is just a dumbed down way of saying that american sports fans are an slow bunch and need stoppages of play to keep up.
too bad for hockey that bad tv numbers mean bad numbers on the paychecks too. the nhl has experienced a slow decline in significance to the america sports fan, and that adds up to less and less money for the owners who have to pay the players who want more and more.
something had to break.
the saddest part about the nhl lockout is that hockey has always been a blue collar game. when other major sports leagues has labor disputes, the running joke in hockey circles was that professional athletes should be happy playing for $20 a hour, let alone millions a year. the players lost sight of this ideal, and the players lost big time.
however, we shouldnt lament them too much. the economics of game are now structure so that the league and the players will be able to keep playing for years to come.
the other, maybe greater benefit to come from the lockout process are the new rules of the new nhl. the previous league had gotten so bad, it was almost unwatchable, even for diehard fans like myself. for the non hockey fan, imagine an nfl where linemen can hold, quarterbacks and kickers are free game with or without the ball, and there is no such thing as pass interference. the old nhl game was like that. freeing up the puck carrier, tag up offsides, no two line passes all add up to a faster, cleaner game that is many times more fun to watch. the skaters get space to skate, the shooters get time to shoot, and most importantly, the playmakers get a chance to make plays. cuz even hockey players like to be on sportscenter once in a while.
welcome back.
posted by accident at 11:05:00 AM +
 
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