Finally, It's Over

The National Hockey League finally officially canceled their season as a result of a labor dispute, putting to end months of speculation and annyoing stories. The NHL is now the first professional sports league in United States history to cancel an entire season.

Finally.

I know how that sounds, but I actually kinda like hockey. I'm a casual fan, and I only became one as a result of going to the University of Michigan. Michigan has a great hockey program, and we won two national hockey titles while I was a student there. That, combined with the fact that I was surrpounded by lots of Michigan natives who loved the Detroit Red Wings and hockey in general, helped me get into the game to a degree. That said, I'm not exactly crying over the fact that the hockey season won't happen this year.

The owners obviously got themselves into this mess by overpaying for players when the league wasn't making enough money to support those salaries. But the players' union steadfastly refused to accept reality, insisting that the league did not need a salary cap even though the NBA and NFL both have caps (while Major League Baseball has a luxury tax that is increasingly curtailing irresponsible spending).

Now the "drama" is over. The few fans that read about the NHL's squabbles every day can now find something else to do. And the rest of us can rest easier knowing that our sports pages won't be clogged with non-news about a sport we didn't care a ton about anyway.

links: digg this    del.icio.us    technorati    reddit