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That time again. Not that you’re technically missing out on hockey this weekend, but there would have been a preseason game to peruse and discuss. Now there’s not. Just men in suits in a conference room, where I’m pretty sure nothing will happen. But anyway…
A lot of people, mostly outside our strange little world, were trying to draw connections between the NHL lockout and that of the NFL referees. However, the issues were very different. The refs were locked out over disputes over pensions and job security. In that sense, the NFL referee lockout was much closer to the teachers’ strike than it was the NHL Lockout.
But the furor over it this week and the resolution last night was an excellent demonstration of why it sometimes hurts to be a cult/niche sport, even though that’s part of the attraction for a lot of us.
While we stare at people having a staring contest waiting for one of them to blink so we can have something to talk about again, some of the Hawks prospects have actually strapped on the skates in anger. I know, it’s a reach here. But we might as well check in with some of the kiddies.
It feels like it’s been years since we last did one of these. Probably because it has been. But with the new digs it felt like the right time to bring it back. We got the best and brightest….well, we got the Hawks bloggers who talk to us to discuss the issues of the day. Jeff Bartl from Cheer The Anthem.com, Forklift And Cieslak from Hockeenight.com, Chris Block from The Third Man In.com came out of his Fortress-like lair to chip in (if you’ve seen Fortress, this is a very funny image. Random intestination!), and we even somehow located The Fifth Feather. Let’s see what the boys have to say.
With all this time to kill and too much rattling around the ol’ cranium to not let it spill out occasionally, I think every Monday until we have hockey I’m going to bother you with whatever’s on my mind. Mostly just a review of the weekend sporting action I previewed on Friday. You’ll just have to deal, but you’ve never shied away from being my catharsis before.
Perhaps you’re like me and every other hockey blogger you read. Maybe you’ve been inundated with emails from someone imploring you to join some sort of fan protest or walkout against the lockout. If you have, you’re probably like me in seeing the futility of it. Obviously, no one cares what we really think, as the return of our asses to arena seats and our eyeballs to the TV screen whenever these jerk-stores deign to return the game we love to us is pretty much assured. No matter how big of a crowd one gathers outside the NHL offices, you can bet Bettman and Jacobs would laugh at us.
So, in the coming weeks, I’d like to spend my time with something a bit more productive. Instead of just shouting at the rain on both sides, I think it’s more beneficial to try and come up with solutions. It has about as much chance as ending the lockout as these silly protests and walkouts do. But it’ll be more productive for us and at least maybe, if others catch on, we can feel that we did something to try and end the madness. At least we’ll feel better.
This week it contains an R.W. McQuarters mention, a Zorich to linebacker reference, and even a Living Colour reference! We’re doing our best, and we haven’t decided yet if we have to apologize for it yet. Get yours by hitting the button on the top right there.
Unfortunately, I’m going to be doing these for a while. Not that there was really hockey scheduled to be watched this weekend anyway. But it would have been the training camp festival and it would have felt like the season was really close. Our previews would have been in full gear. Discussions about lineups and surprises on the roster would be at full heat. So we’re just going to have to make-do with what we have here. And thankfully, there’s a lot if you’re willing.
Let’s to it.
While what I really want to hear is that everyone’s going to stop acting like children and there’ll be hockey in October and I can get back to work, it’s obvious we need to settle for incremental steps until we get to that point. And what these negotiations have lacked, other than logic or understanding of the world around them, are any creative solutions. Both sides have basically said, “We want money. Give it to us.”
Obviously, for a breakthrough to happen someone is going to have to get creative. Or there’s going to have to be a couple new wrinkles in the CBA to help out. I won’t sit on a hotstove waiting for this one, but I’d love someone to suggest the idea of a Larry Bird Exception in the new CBA.
