Oh boy, the NHL is back. : |

As some know, my favorite sport is hockey. I play it (poorly), I watch it whenever I can (evidenced by me watching the NCAA Frozen Four tournament every year) and go to a lot of games (Coyotes season tickets since '97, plus went to two back east during vacations this past year). I'm one of those die-hard fans the NHL is counting on to come back. And I will, but not like before. I'm pretty irritated, by both the players and owners. They sat around doing nothing until December, then nothing again for a month, then met like crazy, with no deal, then a hint of a deal, then a cancelled season, then a last ditch effort for a deal, then nothing. Then they waited until about the end of what would have been the season to talk, and now there's a deal, which has pretty much everything the players said they would never cave to. So all of this whining and bitching, just to end up here. That's what pisses me off, a season was bascially lost for no real good reason other than stupidity and obstinance. Thanks. The all-star games is supposed to be here in Phoenix this year, but it may get cancelled since they're going to play in the Winter Olympics. That's actually not so bad because if you haven't been out to the sprawling Westgate development lately, here's what's there. 1 Arena, complete; 1 stadium, incomplete; 6 parking lots; dirt, dirt and more dirt. That'll make a great showcase environment for the fan fest and the broadcast, not that anyone will be watching anyway. It's sad that ESPN can show poker and get better ratings than with hockey (personally, I'd rather watch an hour of grass growing, in real-time, than poker, or golf for that matter). NBC has a network deal that they got for free, they just will share revenues with the NHL if there's any profit. So I'm sure that the NHL will cash a check for somewhere around $15 after NBC shows a whopping 7 regular season games and 2-5 games of the Stanley Cup Finals. I guess they have too much arena football to show. Anyway, as Dennis Miller ends his rants, so will I: Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.