Nanochick wrote:
] So I start to get excited about hockey season long before it
] ever begins. It happens about mid-July....I will be sitting
] there, and boom, all of a sudden I get a mad craving for a
] hockey game. (I guess I have a love for hockey in my genes).
] Hockey games are one of my favorite things to go to...there is
] nothing better than sitting in the stands (whether close to
] the rink or back at the top of the stadium, in the
] fear-of-heights-inducing seats), drinking a cold beer,
] surrounded by friends (and siblings) chanting "We want blood,
] we want blood", all the while hoping that the "kiss cam"
] doesn't land unsuspectingly on Tom and I (lets face it
] folks...that would just be akward:)). Thus, it saddens me
] greatly to hear that I might not get to have that experience
] this year. The owners and the players are having conflict over
] salary capping, and thus, there has been an NHL lockdown until
] further notice, and it isn't looking good. It is almost
] October 7th, the day that Nashville Preds were going to come
] down and play the Atlanta Thrashers...and that day will come
] and go with no hockey played. Last time this happened, in
] 1995, the lockdown came to an end in January...but it seems
] that they don't think that will happen this year. This
] lockdown could go on for more than year, which is just too
] much for me to think about now. Anyway, I just wanted to rant
] about how sucky this hockey season is going to be without any
] hockey. What is that hockey withdrawl helpline number again?
]
] -Nano

you're right. It sucks. Royally. And it shows absolutely no end in sight. And what really sucks is that it's not just the petulant owners versus players squabbling part. Millionaires versus millionaires. That would be bad enough. But it comes at the absolute WORST time in the sports history to have such an inpasse. With ratings treading insignificant in the US, interest in the sport waning after nearly 20 years of exceptional growth, and the end of dynasty ability of any team - NHL hockey has become almost a parady of itself. The only good things to appear lately, the most significant being the Lightning winning the Stanley Cup in a very nontraditional market, are being completely vaporized by the labor situation. Add to that the fact that the fans are getting totally screwed on this, PLUS the little people that support the sport through good times and bad (vendors, concession stand workers, trainers, front office people, etc). Having spent the entire summer reading the Hockey News, and the Hockey Digest's reports on the situation, it's clear that both sides are absolutely crooked and unscrupulous. The sport will not just have a black eye when this is all over. It will be critically wounded, and likely take years to recover (if at all?).

and finally, we probably saw Steve Yzerman's last career game end with a puck to the eye. What a way to end one of the most storied careers in the sport! Sad.

In the meantime, watch REAL hockey:
http://www.theahl.com/

RE: NHL lockdown