ChicagoSportsBlogs : Non Compete

My brother came to visit this past holiday weekend from the Cleve. It was cool to hear about everything going on in Ohio. It was also great to catch up in person about the usual sports complaints we share: the mediocre baseball being played in Chicago, what the hell are the Bears doing, and hockey. Yes, hockey. I can hear both my readers crying, "Not another hockey article!" Stay with me fellas, this one will be short.

Both my brother and I have done a pretty good job of getting the message from the NHL. Go away. I don't have to be asked twice. Casein point, I didn't see the Blackhawks play a single time this year. I technically didn't see a full period on TV either! It is amazing to see how the mighty have fallen. If you think about it, the NHL was always the 4th major sport in America. Everyone knows the order, right? Football, Baseball, Basketball, and finally Hockey. Does 4th place really constitute mighty?

I bring this up every year, and specifically now because today is a special day to the dozen or so fans who still look upon hockey with warm and loving gazes. Today is the first game of the Stanley Cup. Once considered the most coveted, if not the most difficult to attain of all sports championships the Stanley Cup is now merely an elaborately etched candy dish. Hockey is irrelevant on the American sports landscape. Does anyone even know that the Ottawa Senators and the Anaheim Ducks are the two teams competeing for Lord Stanley's cup? Does anyone even know where to turn on the TV dial to even catch a glimpse of the game? I sure don't. My brother was getting tired of watching the NBA pre-game show on ESPN and he mentioned that his "hockey sense was tingling". He asked me if I could find the Versus network. The Versus network. Do I really need to spell it out for you? Isn't this the definition of being buried low on the dial?

This isn't how it was supposed to be. Hockey was supposed to take advantage of both baseball's steriod problem and the NBA's thug-image. High-Def TV broadcasting was supposed to dissolve the old adage that hockey was toughest sport to follow on TV. There wasn't a need for glow pucks this time around. Carefully positioned cameras were going to be able to capture the game in beautiful high definition. It was going to be easier to watch the puck movement. The ballet on ice, the one without the dresses and glitter was supposed to take off like a rocket. Instead, you tune to ESPN and find yourself waiting for 20 minutes to see a 30 second highlight of a goal or two during the Stanley Cup. (the link is actually a good preview of the Cup). And before all you die-hard baseball and basketball fans start writing in to tell me I am off my rocker, let me be clear: I'm not saying hockey would have been vaulted to number 2 status. I'm just saying that I could have seen them take advantage of the inevitable debacle that will ensue when Barry Bonds breaks the home run record, and when the ratings come in for a Utah v. Cleveland NBA final.

All it would have taken was a proper television contract, contraction, and a real effort to get the fans in the seats. (at least in Chicago) I'm prepared to see a ton more articles about how either horse racing, or even the Miss Universe Pageant got better ratings than game 1.

All I can say is what a shame. Glad to see I'm not alone.