Hockey doesn't suck... But the NHL and the Blackhawks do. Therefore, my slightly-more-than-casual interest in hockey has dwindled to zero. My Canadian customers and our two Canadian sales reps have gone on and on about the Hockey World Cup two weeks ago, and I was only aware that it was going on because of their national pride. Anyway, pro hockey sucks as it has overexpanded, largely abandoned Canada (only Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal have franchises these days), and become too sterilized. I'll still go to an occassional Wolves game, but the last Blackhawks game I went to in January was absolutely depressing. The Hawks beat Calgary, and there were far fewer than the announced 10,000 fans in attendance. Capacity at the United Center is 22,000, remember.
Anyway, the hockey lockout bothers me less than the housefly that was swirling around my desk this afternoon. But now comes a story that 50 locked out players were going to form a 6-team 4-on-4 league, the Original Stars Hockey League, and start play with franchises named Toronto, Detroit, Montreal, Boston, New York and Chicago. Get it? The Original Six.
So now I'm interested. How cool would it be for maybe a team made up of ex-Hawks like Chris Chelios, Tony Amonte, Jeremy Roenick and Ed Belfour comprising the Chicago team? They could play in Rosemont, or at the UIC Pavillion, or at Lake Forest College. Who cares? They'd draw all kinds of fans, and Bill Wirtz wouldn't be happy. But then, the Toronto Sun pours ice water on my hopes! Not so fast. The place-names are meaningless. "It's just a name," Gumbley said. "It's just easier for fan recognition. The teams themselves will be named after corporate sponsors."
There are no U.S. teams, if you can call them that. The Toronto games would be at the Ricoh Coliseum. Cities with major junior tenants, Ottawa, London, Kitchener and Peterborough and Halifax, as well as Quebec City, Winnipeg, Vancouver and didn't you just know, Hamilton, would be hosts of games. Your town could be put on the list. It's all very fluid.
OK, well it's a good deal for Canadians, and I guess that's the way it should be.
But now comes word that some preseason games won't happen, or that the preseason has been suspended. Actually, nobody seems to know what is up.
It actually sounds like it was too good to be true:
The first few games, however, were marked by little intensity and no hitting or defense. The league has not said how long the regular season will last.
Toronto beat Detroit 16-13 in the opener Friday night in Barrie and Boston defeated Montreal 14-11 in Brampton on Monday night. A crowd of 2,176 showed for the game in Barrie, with only a few hundred paying fans Monday.
Oh well. I guess there's still the chance of Chelios skating for the Wolves this year, right?
# posted by T.J. Brown @ 4:56 PM
