MISSING HOCKEY

by Jo Ann Lawery

October 13, 2004

I'm one of those fans that's in the minority that Bill Hogan rants about. Those that really care about and will miss NHL hockey.
And surprise, I am a minority in more ways than one, being a woman and an African-American, how's that for a minority trifecta?

But I'm getting off my subject here.
It's about hockey, NHL style.

I don't like the fact that the players and the owners, who created the mess they've gotten themselves into in the first place, are acting like a bunch of spoiled brats who didn't get or find the present they wanted under the tree on Christmas.

I have been a hockey fan since 1967, seven years after my late aunt, who was a die-hard Yankees fan, introduced me to baseball.
I could care less about the salary cap, luxury tax, and all that other nonsense both sides are feeding us.
Both sides are really getting me very angry and wanting to whip out a can of whip butt on both of them because neither side seems to want to settle this any time soon.

Do they need a woman's touch in handling this?

To those naysayers, especially here in the United States that think hockey is dead if they don't come back, relax. Hockey may not be doing that well here, but tell that to a young Canadian child, sitting with his parents in front of the television on Saturday nights, waiting for Hockey Night in Canada to come on.

(Hockey Night in Canada, for those of you who don't know, is just as much a part of Saturday nights in Canada, as Monday Night Football is here.)

Unlike Bill, I DO remember the last lockout.
It was in 1994.
As for the other lockout, I don't remember that one, and it probably happened way before I was born. As with the 1994 lockout, I'm going to do now, what I did then-watch hockey.

It may not be the NHL, but college and minor league hockey is just fine.
I do have baseball to watch.
The Boston Red Sox are playing MY Yankees in the division playoffs-again.
But when baseball season is finally over, I can get into football, especially the New York Giants and the New England Patriots.

As for basketball, forget it.
It doesn't really exciting until playoff time and since I live in the Los Angeles area, it's as though basketball season is all year long, with all the talk about the Lakers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

I have two reasons for missing hockey, NHL style.
One, I'm a fan, and two, a purely selfish reason.
I'm a freelance sportswriter who covers the Los Angeles Kings.

I will miss NHL hockey because to a true hockey fan, there is no other league and we would like both parties to stop the madness.

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