So you liked the Lovano disk??

Next question....is Kyle dead?

Oh right, hockey.

My point is that, no matter how much the assholes who run the game fuck it up, and I don't deny that they're capable of that, the game itself is still marvellous, and I love the hell out of it. There's no other sport that I feel this way about. I don't know if you've ever played hockey, but that's a big part of the connection that I and so many Canadians have with it. And I do get a little tired of people saying that the game is sick blah blah blah. The fact is the players now play far far better than even half a generation ago. Look at an Oilers game from their classic period in the eighties, or the Islanders before that, and even some of those legends look like ankle skaters. I don't believe that the talent pool has dwindled despite expansion, since twenty to thirty years ago there were very few Europeans and Americans in the game...in fact the talent pool has grown tremendously.

I think the game would benefit from a few minor rule changes, taking the red line out, consistently calling holding, and (yes!) regulating goalie's equipment - again, take a look at what Billy Smith wore when the Isles won four straight. Ridiculously different.

The economics of the game are fucked and I don't give a rat's ass who wins and loses in this negotiation. The owners are moronic but it's their money. Definitely 82 games are too many, but I love to watch it, so would never want it cut it in half? People who don't like pre-Christmas hockey can tune in in January, that's their call. For me, I wouldn't want to wait much longer than the chilly winds of November (so, let's say 70 games). And sure, I'd prefer to see hockey leave places like Nashville, Columbus, Phoenix, etc, and I think it will eventually, the way things are headed. Either way, get it over with and let the boys play hockey.

And, to finish off the rant, I mean, riposte, I thought the World Cup was damn exciting; even the final, which was played a little too defensively for most of us, was still too close to call, and featured some very exciting plays. The Canada-Czech game before that was a classic, played at a very high level.