Fed Up With Hockey

Fun times over at Off Wing today, where the ongoing World Junior Championships brought up a recent aside by Canadian teenage phenom Sidney Crosby. His comments were interpreted by some as suggesting he might play in the NHL next year alongside replacement players if the current collective bargaining agreement dispute isn’t resolved by next September.

So I commented:

Replacement players? Fine by me. The NHLPA hasn’t done anything to show me its players are interested in playing hockey in North America under a sustainable, competitive economic system (as opposed to the half of them who are playing for less money in Europe), so to heck with them. Bring on the replacements, I just want some hockey.

Beau responded:

Josh — Can you explain a little more? Are you saying the NHLPA is ignoring the wishes of the players playing for less in Europe, or are you fed up with all of them? // And what was your beef with the players’ latest proposal?

Good questions, and they require good answers. (Those who know the situation already can skip the next three paragraphs.)

Most NHL teams are losing money, some quite a lot of it. The occasional NHLPA argument that the league is in good financial health simply defies reality on its face. The players’ average salary is higher than that of NFL players; meanwhile, the league just had to sign a US TV deal offering no money up front, rinks are not nearly full league-wide, and merchandising revenue is a trickle compared to that of the other major North American professional sports. Even north of the border, the French-language broadcast of Hockey Night in Canada was moving to cable this season due to waning interest and advertising dollars. So hockey is in trouble, particularly in the two-thirds of the USA where it isn’t a natural part of the sporting landscape.

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Miami '04 (By Popular Demand)

ACC champions. Six years ago, had you told me I’d be celebrating our first Atlantic Coast Championship in the stands at the Orange Bowl, I’d have laughed at you. Four years ago, in the wake of the ACC’s failed 1999 expansion effort, I’d have laughed even harder. Last May, I might have either cried or punched you, as the conference claimed to want Syracuse rather than us. But all that’s past now.

First let’s look at the game action.

• I’ve already said all I really need to about Bryan Randall, but he earned more props from me in this game by his reaction to the early fumble. In previous years, he’d have gone into a shell, trying to play pocket passer and completely passing up his scrambling ability. Not this year, and not this game.
• OK, one more thing about Randall: in the last seven games of this season, he threw fourteen touchdown passes and ONE interception. That’s superhuman — that’s the ACC Player of the Year.
• Jimmy Martin’s injury the previous week against UVa hurt our running game badly — we could do almost nothing behind the left side of the offensive line. (Fortunately, both Martin and Mike Imoh will be back for the Sugar Bowl) In turn, I have to compliment Bryan Stinespring for calling and the whole offense for executing a game plan that let us make progress with a running game that everyone in the stadium knew was going right.
• The defense? Simply unbelievable. Complete domination of a very good offense.
• Special teams are starting to worry me.
• This game was unusually clean for a VT-UM matchup — not too much after-the-whistle action, and no outright thuggery. No complaints here.

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