I Still Like Hockey

Last night as I was watching SportsCenter, I saw a score scroll across the Bottom Line: NHL - Blues 5 Stars 6.

I didn't even realize preseason games were starting. No warning. No in-depth season preview. No fantasy draft special. No Barry Melrose making the rounds on ESPN Radio. I love the Stars, but I've been focused on football just like everyone else. It kind of pissed me off, because I still like hockey.

First of all, let me start by saying that the NHL did this to themselves with the lockout a few years ago and they need to accept their share of the blame. The sport was doing well, its popularity was on the rise and at the worst possible point, the players and owners decide to pull the rug from underneath one another.

That being said, I hate what ESPN has done to the NHL as well. The network is punishing the league for the lockout and is wielding its power by not covering it. I hate how much influence ESPN has over the sports world -- it has zero competition. Instead, we get more NASCAR, Barry Bonds, Adam Jones, Bengal/Texas Longhorn Criminal of the Week, Michael Vick, Terrell Owens, Yankees-Red Sox, Womens' Basketball, Little League World Series, Spelling Bees and Dog Shows.

Do you remember when there used to be an entire show, like Baseball Tonight and NFL Primetime, devoted to hockey? It was great. More games than you could handle on the network. Now I'm lucky if I get to see the Stars at all. I live four hours from Dallas and I have a better chance of seeing them live than I do seeing them on TV.

NHL, grovel -- do whatever you have to do to get back in ESPN's graces.