Drop The Puck!

Does anybody remember the NHL? I barely do, and I'm what you would call a rabid fan. Last year, the NHL's players and management were embroiled in a ridiculous CBA stalemate that effectively cancelled the season. Thus, the league pissed off even the most loyal of fans. (Read: me!)

Well, the lockout was ended recently, and now the NHL has come crawling back on their hands and knees - much like women always do to me. (Oh, sorry, I blacked out there for a minute.) Should hockey fans take them back? The jury is still out.

On the one hand, I get extreme pleasure out of the fact that the players got the shaft with the new deal. Had they agreed to the last proposed contract offered by the owners, they would have been better off. They didn't, and now I can do my Nelson Muntz impersonation: "Haw! Haw!"

On the other hand, the league is already trying their best to woo fans with a better product. Even the Philadelphia Flyers (I hate Bobby Clarke as a GM, so I'm a Rangers/Penguins fan until he is run outta town on a rail) have reduced ticket prices and created "family sections" for the Flyers faithful. It's a good start. NHL commish Gary Bettman has also implemented some much needed changes to the game itself in an attempt to spur exciting, wide open, higher-scoring contests. Among the new rules changes are:

• The reduction in size of the goaltender's equipment.
• The red line will be eliminated with respect to two-line passes (breakaways will be more common).
• The elimination of ties. Whoo hoo! If a game is tied at the end of regulation, the teams will play a four-on-four overtime. If it is still not settled, the teams will go on to a shootout. Finally, the teams will play "sudden death" until the game is decided.

I can't argue with any of these changes. In my humble opinion, I think the league is trying to capture the excitement of Olympic hockey, which I'm all for. Sure, the fights will still happen, as will the brutal checking, but I think this season will see scoring aplenty.

Okay, maybe I'm a sheep, just desperate for my favorite sport to come back. I'm still pissed that we lost a season, but I'll give the NHL another chance.

Stupid Questions

I am currently watching Seinfeld, so I have to ask: Would Babu Bhat (pictured, left) be on the FAA's "No-Fly List?"

What was the point of the NHL lockout? The players settled for a salary cap much less than was proposed months ago! (I'll post about that tomorrow.)

With today's splintering of the AFL-CIO, are Democrats jumping out of their high-rise windows ?

Why was NBC's Joey not cancelled? And who the hell is in charge of programming over there? "I have an idea, Mr. Chairman, why don't we do a Friends spin-off with the most annoying character?" Good plan, Einstein.

I watch golf on television (shut it!), and here's a question I want answered: If ABC is going through the effort of televising a "dream" golf match, why would they show the first hour on ESPN2? Cripes, it just came on, and I missed the first four holes!

Finally, can someone please tar, feather, and gag Skip Bayless of ESPN2's "1st and 10?" I had the misfortune of catching some of his show today, just in time for him to tell the world that Lance Armstrong is a great "endurance" athlete, but couldn't be spoken in the same breath as Jordan or Ali. Hey Skip, please enjoy a nice, cool glass of shut the hell up!

It's About God-Damn Time!

The NHL lockout is over. I'll comment more after the new contract is ratified.




Rangers right wing Jaromir Jagr in his office.