Silver Nuggets: Hockey Becoming a Fading Memory
As the weeks drag on with no hockey and no resolution in sight, its hard to remember what NHL hockey is like.
This lockout has been the world's worst roller-coaster. Very few ups, many many downs. Optimism seemed to peak just a couple weeks ago when the League and the Union were meeting for hours every day. Now? Pessimism is at an all time high. Sure, the two sides are set to meet today, but when Bill Daly releases quotes like:
"We can confirm that we have tentatively agreed to get back together on Monday, either late in the afternoon or early evening," Daly said. "The meeting was requested by the Union and it's their agenda. We will see what they have to tell us.
It sure is hard to get your hopes up.
The lockout has been funny in a way though. Sunday has become my sports day. Yesterday, I scouted out the games on at 1, 4:30 and 8:30 to see which I had access to with my cable package (that was bought so I could watch hockey) and which games I was interested in watching. I parked myself on the couch and watched some highly entertaining NFL football. It took up most of my day, but its only one day a week and I have been able to organize my life accordingly.
No more looking at the weekly schedule for hockey, no more checking which network is carrying the Senators game, no more game day threads or game Raaycaps or Parisicaps. Most importantly, while I still get to enjoy watching sports, I no longer have that emotional investment that comes with loving a game and a team. And I miss that. But hey, I'm just a fan, and who cares about fans anyway, right?
Senators Links:
- Amelia gets to #17 in her By the Numbers series [SSS]
- Craig Anderson, Chris Phillips, Chris Neil, Zack Smith, Marc Methot, Guillaume Latendresse and Peter Regin are all part of the Northern Tour and are playing games up North right now. [SensExtra]
- A fantastic analysis of the Senators undisciplined play from a year ago. Now, without Zenon Konopka and Matt Carkner on the team, those numbers should improve. [6thSens]
- There was a line brawl, but more importantly, a win in the last Binghamton game. [SSS]
- Mike Lundin should figure to see more regular ice time (if) when the season does start, now that Jared Cowen is out. [6thSens]
League Links
- PA and League officials set to meet today. Thinking under 30 minutes. [NHL]
- Elliotte Friedman is even having trouble finding topics to write about, here he only gives 20 of his usual 30 thoughts. [CBC]
- Last but not least, Ray Emery has always had sharp masks, but this new Blackhawks design (as well as the rejected one also shown) is particularly nice. [Mask]