News of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman's decision to request the NHL's two sides trying to make peace take a two-week staycation from negotiating stinks of more white flag waving; as in another lap the race will be over and the checkered flag will be interrupted with Don Fehr wrecking Bill Daly from behind, Gordon/Boyer chaos will ensue and Danica Patrick will be declared the race winner by default. And then we can all declare the Mayans the Jeanne Dixon and Dionne Warwick of end-of-the-world prognosticators.
With neither the owners nor players seemingly poised to cave in and and bring a resolution and a season. By now, fans should be less angry and more annoyed. If hockey is not played this season, the NHL deserves whatever fallout and abandoning ship by the casual and even loyal fan this nonsense hatches.
Sure, perhaps this break and the thought of noshing on Thanksgiving turkey and sides could be cathartic for both the principles who will stare at love ones across a table next Thursday instead of those who each side blames for this mess in the first place. And post holiday they'll come back happy, bellies stuffed, reasonable and eager for compromise
But I'm skeptical. When this much money and stubborn pride seems to be involved, greed always trumps common sense.
On a very irrelevant note, I had just boarded a plane for Boston at SFO -enroute to Florida for me- Thursday morning and who do I see walk past with me his family? Sharks' general manager Doug Wilson (I could be wrong, but I'm convinced it was him). In what is a testament to how largely anonymous hockey is in the Bay Area (not to mention down to earth and humble), the Wilson's slipped through the rows back toward their coach seats at the rear of the plane with nary a passenger asking for an autograph or photo, or even as far as I could tell a whisper of "Is that......?"
So I didn't dare embarrass Wilson with a "Hey Doug, I'm a Sharks fan. Now tell your owner and players to get it in gear and end this stupid lockout!!!!!"
With neither the owners nor players seemingly poised to cave in and and bring a resolution and a season. By now, fans should be less angry and more annoyed. If hockey is not played this season, the NHL deserves whatever fallout and abandoning ship by the casual and even loyal fan this nonsense hatches.
Sure, perhaps this break and the thought of noshing on Thanksgiving turkey and sides could be cathartic for both the principles who will stare at love ones across a table next Thursday instead of those who each side blames for this mess in the first place. And post holiday they'll come back happy, bellies stuffed, reasonable and eager for compromise
But I'm skeptical. When this much money and stubborn pride seems to be involved, greed always trumps common sense.
On a very irrelevant note, I had just boarded a plane for Boston at SFO -enroute to Florida for me- Thursday morning and who do I see walk past with me his family? Sharks' general manager Doug Wilson (I could be wrong, but I'm convinced it was him). In what is a testament to how largely anonymous hockey is in the Bay Area (not to mention down to earth and humble), the Wilson's slipped through the rows back toward their coach seats at the rear of the plane with nary a passenger asking for an autograph or photo, or even as far as I could tell a whisper of "Is that......?"
So I didn't dare embarrass Wilson with a "Hey Doug, I'm a Sharks fan. Now tell your owner and players to get it in gear and end this stupid lockout!!!!!"
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