ugh. even i thought that one was a bit much. Anyway, as you have probably heard by now, the NHLPA finally has a new leader, and it's former MLBPA leader, Donald Fehr. Yay?
Sure, this is great for the union as this guy doesn't take any shit, but will this lead to another lockout after the 2012 season? The last union he was in charge of had a lock out if you remember. Ahh, the summer with no baseball. A blessing in disguise i suppose. But, and this is just my opinion, the NHL isn't quite as strong as MLB, and another lockout could prove detrimental to the league. Sure a work stoppage in any league is bad, but the NHL is coming off of a damn good season last year with both the Olympic tournament and terrific Stanley Cup playoffs. Hopefully the league can build on this popularity and draw in a larger, more committed fan base. "Faithful" readers, i assume you are already dedicated to the sport, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this wise ass's blog in the first place.
But imagine a world where hockey is front page of the sports section, and not just box scores towards the back. Well, does anyone still read newspapers anyway? Could you believe if hockey highlights were actually promoted on ESPN instead of filler between football and basketball? What about a better television presence too? Oh if only the league had more fans to warrant such an expansion! I guess the winter classic's excellent ratings and constant increase in playoff viewership doesn't count. At least we still get two games a week on Versus. Oh thank you hockey gods! Your bountiful gifts of two national games a week is more than we can handle. Yes i know there are packages you can buy through your cable/satellite provider, but that's not the point.
So yeah, new union president. He's got two seasons to make his mark and maybe, just maybe, avoid another lockout or shortened season. Mr. Fehr, show us what you've got.
No comments:
Post a Comment