Greetings Friends,

I have for some time now prayed to the gods above that the NHL would just die already.

It's no secret to my family or friends that there is no love in my heart for the sport from up north. But in the last few years my nephew has grown quite fond of hockey and so I did root for it to stick around for his sake.
That was until recently when I found out 2 players from the Detroit Red Wings decided to forgo the All Star Game for personal reasons and both receive a 1 game suspension.

Now here is what really pisses me off. Somewhere out in the world, some little boy or girl idolizes either Pavel Datsyuk or Nicklas Lidstrom, and they will be let down when their hero doesn't take the ice this Sunday. Not only that, but now their team will be without 2 of its stars for the first game back after the break. Now I know in the grand scheme of things 1 game in the NHL's incredibly long season is not that big, but it is to me and I'm probably not alone.

What makes matters worse is the state of the league. The NHL is on life support as we speak. The players need to understand that when you all-star game is at 6pm on Sunday night on the VS. channel, things are not going well.

I'm sorry if I offended the Versus Channel, but bull riding and cycling doesn't quite put you up there with ESPN now does it. Hell your not even at PBS level.

I look back to the days when the NFL was an up and coming league. The players fought through severe injuries, no pay, and horrible conditions to make not only a living, but to give the league a chance to survive. Now we have underachievers on skates thinking that they deserve to be up with the big boys. Let me give you all a word of advise, when you're lying in bed tonight, tucked in under those warm, soft covers, remember that you are only 1 step away from Nancy Kerrigan and a long career in the Ice Capades. Sleep tight.............

Steve Taylor
Co-Founder and Second Banana



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